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21.5 iMac or 13 MBP?

R

rednano74

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 18, 2009
79
0
Dover, DE
I currently have a 6 yr old Gateway that has treated me well as I use it mainly for internet, Quicken, excel and word stuff, and playing music out of great speakers with bass box. My main concern is the Intel Pentium is tiring down with the 1G of ram, takes forever to shut down (recent issues) and the HD is just too loud. I live in an efficiency. I also have a 4 yr old, very low end Dell laptop I inherited with only 40g HD and a Celeron processor which is yes, slow, heavy and almost 2 inches thick. Technically I don't need a laptop but they are nice to have for slouching on the couch or while in bed.

Which one would you get? One other pc I am even considering is the HP Envy 14 @ $999 because of the specs and price.
 
The iMac will make you happier with the speed and screen size. The downsides? Portability


I needed portability so I got the MBP 13" rather than the iMac.

Its up to you, whether you want a desktop or laptop.

I'm thinking a laptop might be good, but the situation is different for everyone.
 
A Mac mini and iPad would be a good solution for you if you already have a monitor. A mini Would be plenty fast enough for what you want to do, and an iPad is way better for slouching with. $1200 new for the pair.

Unless they've improved quicken on the mac, the pc version is much better. When I was In your boat I turned my old pc into a virtual machine and run it under vmware fusion. Being able to keep your current versions of word and excel are nice as well.
 
If you can wait, and want a mac instead of pc, wait for the next MBP update, then make your decision. But if you decide to go for an iMac, then you can buy it right away.
 
I had to make the same choice. I chose the 13" MBP because at the time portability was important to me.

But looking at your needs, I think the MBP would be best for you.
 
If you don't really need the portability, then get the 27' screen iMac. Believe me, if you don't need to take a computer with you, after you get an iMac with its speedy performance and fantastic screen, you will not go back to laptops.
 
I would get the iMac as it has just been updated with faster memory and has double the hard drive. The processor is 6.06ghz faster and supports hyper threading which brings the 2 cores into one.
 
samk8000 said:
I would get the iMac as it has just been updated with faster memory and has double the hard drive. The processor is 6.06ghz faster and supports hyper threading which brings the 2 cores into one.
Click to expand...

What the...

6.06 Ghz? :confused:
 
As many others have already posted, essentially, this is a trade off between power and portability. You must decide which of these you need more and that will determine your choice; personally, I like portability, (although the stunning screen of the iMac is a compelling enough reason to buy one). If you will do whatever you need to do at one work-station, go for the iMac, if portability is what you require, then the 13" MBP (which is a superb machine for the money, and incredibly powerful when compared with the laptop/notebook computers of only a few years ago.

Cheers and good luck
 
iMac! Unless you need the portability. The iMac has probably the best performance per price point outta the whole Mac lineup.
 
i already have a 24" iMac, so i'd get a macbook pro. my mom has one, but 15 inch. it's amazingly fast, and all she really does is surf, webcam, email, and spider solitaire. she wanted a bigger screen and aluminum. not save a hwole bunch of money and get white plastic and 13".

(still, that would be pretty good.)
 
While you probably think the Core 2 Duo is enough for your needs, it wouldn't be future proofing your machine at all. If you get the iMac, go and save for one with a dual i5(Or Quad if you want) but if you get the MacBook Pro either wait for the refresh(13" will get the i3 or i5, probably the i3) or get a 15" now.

While having a laptop is great for leasure, I'd recommend the iMac, more power is always a good thing.
 
well since you live in a studio apartment, can't you just set up your imac near your bed and use the wireless keyboard and mouse(well for this I would get a trackpad)?


I've had a 20" imac since they release the aluminum ones in 2007. I love the huge screen and its still really fast for everything I need to do. You pay a premium for portability that you may not need. I fully see using this imac for at least another 4 years. If you decide you need portability later on, you can always buy a low-end ipad in a year or two. In the meantime, you already have a laptop for lounging around the house. :)

As others have suggested, if you already have a screen, you could just get a mac mini, but they aren't as future-proofed as the imac. if its a CRT monitor then you'll love getting some space back on your desk!
 
Get the one you want. These are two different kinds of computers. Just make a decision.
 
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