I am starting a small production company and I need a new mac. I have choice of 24" iMac (2.66 GHz, 650 GB HD and 4GB RAM) or a 15" Macbook Pro (2.4GHz, 250 GB and 2 GB) all are current gen. and I don't with the exact model of GPUs in them. All I need is a mac the will do Adobe Production CS4. I like the portability of the Macbook Pro and the screen of the iMac. I can't get a extra monitor but I will have a 500 GB external HD. But downsides of each are iMac not portable, can't change the HD yourself and downsides of Macbook Pro are the screen and only 2 GB of RAM (I am willing to upgrade at a later time). Thanks you guys, Thomas Mahaffey
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24'' iMac vs. 15'' Macbook Pro
- Thread starter mrmahaffey
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couple self tapping screws and a piece of rubber makes that imac portable...
I'd go with the MBP, upgrade the ram... Later on get a screen if you want.
You can make a MBP more "stationary" Your not really going to make a imac portable if that is something you want.
I'd go with the MBP, upgrade the ram... Later on get a screen if you want.
You can make a MBP more "stationary" Your not really going to make a imac portable if that is something you want.
my wife has a macbook I can use (sometimes) she says I can use that but if I get the iMac she might turn around and say "well use the iMac". I don't want that to happen.
...if you need to take this to a job site, MBP... if not then the iMac would be a better "bang for your $$"...
i went from owning desktops to laptops. the portability is always worth it to me.
if the portability will make you more productive get the MBP
if the portability will make you more productive get the MBP
true but i am working from home and not in an office so i want to take it around the house not to forgot that it will be my primary computer. so i would like it for traveling.
I always used iMacs. Bought the top of the line 24" aluminium iMac in 2007. In October 2008 I bought a unibody MacBook as a second computer I could use for college. I ended up selling the iMac, though. I'd never owned a laptop, but after I got the MacBook, I immediately realized I'm all for portability. A friend of mine even goes so far as to say that everybody is a laptop person, but they just don't know it yet. Don't know if that's true, but for me it was.
Get the MacBook Pro. My next computer will be a MacBook Pro, too. I got the MacBook because I intended it to be my second computer. Had I known that it would soon be my only and thus primary computer, I might have gone for the Pro back then. But then again, I love the small form factor of the MacBook. The weird thing is, that I don't miss the huge 24" screen of the iMac. Sure, a big screen is nice, but portability pretty makes up for any inconveniences. Also, the ability to put it next to my 40" LCD tv and use that as a second screen is handy every once in a while.
Get the MacBook Pro. My next computer will be a MacBook Pro, too. I got the MacBook because I intended it to be my second computer. Had I known that it would soon be my only and thus primary computer, I might have gone for the Pro back then. But then again, I love the small form factor of the MacBook. The weird thing is, that I don't miss the huge 24" screen of the iMac. Sure, a big screen is nice, but portability pretty makes up for any inconveniences. Also, the ability to put it next to my 40" LCD tv and use that as a second screen is handy every once in a while.
I used to have the first 24 iMac that came out. 2,16ghz I belive it was. I needed portability and swapped it for a "classic" MacBook pro 2.5ghz. I have to say the laptop felt slower when using final cut studio, than my 2 year older iMac.
If you need to do a lot of rendering in premiere I think the iMac will be the better choice.
I have to say I miss my iMac, specially the screen
If you need to do a lot of rendering in premiere I think the iMac will be the better choice.
I have to say I miss my iMac, specially the screen
Your facing the same dilemma as I did. I went for the MacBook Pro because of its portability. If you really need the portability, then go for the MacBook Pro, also upgrade the RAM.
As mentioned million times before, MBP if you need portability and iMac if it will be on the desk all the time. MBP will do your job fine so there's no need for extra power than iMac has.
Why can't you get an external monitor? That's amazing way to turn your laptop to a desktop with low money ($100-200 for monitor, $100 for keyboard and mouse)
Why can't you get an external monitor? That's amazing way to turn your laptop to a desktop with low money ($100-200 for monitor, $100 for keyboard and mouse)
my wife is a grad student over at the law school (fsu) and I am a high school teacher. we can't fork up big money for a laptop now (i don't paid over summer. duh) and we make little money now so a monitor now is off the table. Is the GPU in the MBP better than the iMac?
The MBP has a dedicated graphics card, while the 2.66 iMac has the same integrated card as the macbook. It's a good card, but MBP's is better. The 2.9 has a dedicated card though.
thanks they don't tell you that on the website, i guess i am getting a MBP. thanks for the help. any last tips?
...one other thing to think about is even though people say the iMac uses mobile parts - its still a desktop 3.5" HDD which will beat the performance of the MBP HDD in 2.5" form factor even if you swap it out for a 7200 RPM drive...
i have heard great reviews on the performance on the seagate 500GB 7200rpm laptop hard drive. might hurt the battery life a little though.
@op are you planning on using the external as your scratch disk? what type of drive is it?
@op are you planning on using the external as your scratch disk? what type of drive is it?
Yeah, SSD's are still prohibitively expensive given the disadvantage in space that it concedes to a traditional HDD.
Right, but a MBP or Mac mini with an SSD would be at least as snappy as an Imac with a desktop 7200, right?
Oh it'll be snappy alright, albeit at the cost of storage space, though. Even the highest capacity currently available to consumers (256 GB still, right?) is still paltry compared to the 1-2 TB that the iMac is capable of.