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SmithLaw

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 18, 2014
8
0
First time posting here guys and girls, but I need your opinions please.

I have a mid-2012 Macbook Pro (non-retina) that I purchased in 2012. I upgraded to 8gb ram, HD glossy screen and have a 750gb 7200rpm HD. The HD seems to be failing or at least is now dinosaur slow. I have iMacs at my office (my personal is a late 2013 21inch 2.7 i5 with fusion drive) that is SOOOO much faster than my Macbook Pro. I had a spare iMac at home that I was using but when I hired another assistant I had to bring it to the office. Now the thought of doing work at home on my slow macbook makes me cringe. I am not sure if it is more the size of the screen or the slowness (which is becoming a huge problem). So, my options now are:
1. Buy a SSD drive for the macbook for a few hundred dollars and watch it speed up considerably (much cheaper option);
2. Buy a new iMac 21" with a fusion drive and upgraded ram for approx. $1699; or
3. Buy a 2013 gently used iMac 27" 3.4 processor with 32g ram, with 1tb fusion drive for $1700.

Keep in mind, I do like the portability of the MacBook if I need it and I do have the iMac's at work where I spend 75% of my time. However, my wife does have a 13" macbook should I ever HAVE to have a portable computer I guess...

So which should I go with?
 

BeamWalker

macrumors 6502a
Dec 18, 2009
531
285
The decision between Desktop and portable is something nobody but you can really help you with. It comes down to usage and personal preference.

Since upgrading the Macbook to a fusion drive is quite inexpensive these days I would do that anyway. A 120 Gig SSD and a Caddy to replace the Superdrive will run you about 100 bucks. A Harddrive with 1TB is about 60 and there is now even the option for a 2TB Version.

If you can't spare the superdrive, even a 500 Gig SSD doesn't brake the bank anymore.
 

2984839

Cancelled
Apr 19, 2014
2,114
2,239
Seems like a no brainer to me, considering you value portabiity.

Option A.) Spend $100 and have a portable machine

Option B.) Spend $1700 and lose portability

I'd go with A without question.
 

SmithLaw

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 18, 2014
8
0
Well if I choose to stay with the MacBook Pro, I will be getting a 1000 GB SSD drive for approximately $500.
 
Last edited:

Samuelsan2001

macrumors 604
Oct 24, 2013
7,729
2,153
As said above

Well if I choose to stay with the MacBook Pro, I will be getting a 1000 GB SSD drive for approximately $500.

it is much cheaper to put a 256gb SSD in the main draive bay and swap out the optical drive for your current hard drive for storage space, you can even set it up as a fusion drive if you like there are many guides for hoe to do this online, do you really need that optical drive??? If you do then just get an external enclsure for it for about $20 and hey presto.
 

SmithLaw

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 18, 2014
8
0
So you all definitely believe keeping the MacBook over the iMac is the way to go? Biggest draw to the iMac to me is the ability to have multiple windows open and viewable but I guess that isn't such a huge deal...
 

mac8867

macrumors 6502
Apr 5, 2010
457
22
Saint Augustine, FL
I am not a reseller... I just use this drive. The Crucial MX100 512GB SATA 2.5" is reselling for ~210 right now. I also use a henge doc with an external monitor.
 

cambookpro

macrumors 604
Feb 3, 2010
7,189
3,321
United Kingdom
So you all definitely believe keeping the MacBook over the iMac is the way to go? Biggest draw to the iMac to me is the ability to have multiple windows open and viewable but I guess that isn't such a huge deal...

An SSD (or smaller SSD and HDD in drive bay) and an external monitor would still be cheaper than an iMac, while giving you the advantages of both desktop and laptop. It's what I'd do in your situation.
 

jsagurton

macrumors member
Aug 6, 2014
43
7
Pennsylvania
I know everyone else has said the same thing, but using a 2010 17" MBP and upgrading it to the Crucial MX100 512GB has made a WORLD of difference for me. I was considering purchasing either a new rMBP or iMac, and I'm now very glad I didn't. I spent $250 or so and got an insane performance difference.
 

SmithLaw

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 18, 2014
8
0
Mac8867 - how do you turn your MacBook on and off when it is in the hinge dock and you are using an external monitor?
 
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