Advice for uni student: iMac+MacBook Air or MacBook Pro?

[miles01110]

I always recommend two or more computers.
Simply imagine you've got to write a serious dissertation and your single MacBook breaks. What then? Waiting till Apple fixes it?

I rather deal with synchronisation (there are several very good tools out there, I use my own though), than having no backup machine in case that one device fails.

That's why I would definitely go for iMac + MacBook in your case.

That's funny; I almost never recommend buying two computers at the same time for personal use. They get outdated at the same time. It's annoying to sync between the two. If you're a moral person you can run into licensing issues with > 1 copies of software ( ). I'd just get the MBP (or, depending on what programs you're going to be running day in and day out, a Windows machine).

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Seeing as you're in for engineering, I'm assuming you're got some technical know-how.

So. Why not build yourself a hackintosh, keep your Macbook for the times when you're away from home/dorm, and use the rest of the money on bills or beer?

 

[mac-matt]

I don't think that you guys quite get it. If you have to carry around a laptop all day it can actually get very annoying: especially if this this idea of carrying it around is literal.

1. It's annoying when getting some food in (carrying heavy laptops round busy supermarkets after a days work is not my idea of fun)
2. It's annoying when you get that call to go out to the pub thats a 20 minute walk away, and you can't drop your lappy off at home beforehand
3. any situation where you have to walk for more than 15 minutes with the laptop AND a number of textbooks.

I would be very happy for my macbook to be half as powerful if it was half as light. Nothing is more of a 'drag' than a computer that has to go with you always, so making it as light as possible is very important.

get yourself an ipad then. the only thing that is more of a drag than a computer that has to go with you always is a computer that is under powered and has a 3 hr battery. get yourself a nice satchel (indiana jones has one) for your laptop and a backpack for your text books. problem solved. your complaining about heavy laptops yet you dont seem to have your books with you in the supermarket or going to the pub, therefore you had a chance to drop them off or else you enjoy carrying your laptop everywhere with you which again leads to you treating yourself to a nice carrying case. lastly im assuming your of a fairly small build because 3kg isn't that heavy to have on you for 20 minutes, unless its attached to your ankles

 

[wordoflife]

Macbook air plus iMac

 

[itou]

Hello, I've been thinking for a long time and I still can't decide which option I should go for. I'm a uni engineering student and currently I've got an old-shape white MacBook.

Now I can buy a new 27" iMac i5 with alongside a refurb Macbook Air (1.6 or 1.86 GHz?). Another option, which is slightly less expensive, is a new 17" Macbook Pro.

Let me know which one you'd go for and why. Thanks in advance

let me tell you from experience, that carrying a 17" daily, no matter how far or close your commute is, is a bitch. you'll have to buy a big bag for it, pack all your cables, your books, etc. back when i was in school, i didn't have the luxury of being able to buy a macbook air, so i had a powerbook g4 17inch for everything. i spent my entire savings on it at the time, because i needed the portability and the screen size. my entire life was on it.

it didn't crash, or die on me, in fact, it's still running...i wouldn't worry much about this aspect. just back things up. but if i had to do it all over again, i'd go with a smaller notebook and a desktop at home. working on a dissertation on a laptop is really hard. reading multiple PDF's whilst trying to figure our reference sources, then you've got safari open, and some chat program... 17" will not be enough.

having a desktop at home/dorm is good too. it'll force you to stay home/dorm so you get some work done.

 

[student_trap]

get yourself an ipad then. the only thing that is more of a drag than a computer that has to go with you always is a computer that is under powered and has a 3 hr battery. get yourself a nice satchel (indiana jones has one) for your laptop and a backpack for your text books. problem solved. your complaining about heavy laptops yet you dont seem to have your books with you in the supermarket or going to the pub, therefore you had a chance to drop them off or else you enjoy carrying your laptop everywhere with you which again leads to you treating yourself to a nice carrying case. lastly im assuming your of a fairly small build because 3kg isn't that heavy to have on you for 20 minutes, unless its attached to your ankles

Clearly you haven't experienced carrying any reading material of weight, or you would know where I was coming from (or at the very least not get so uppity about it).

I am actually quite happy with my macbook, it was cheap, has a nice enough screen and more importantly, a superb keyboard.

I'll give you some advice, try to listen and take on board other's opinions. It will take you much further.

For example, some people slam macbook air's because they don't have this or that, while forgetting that it may just be the perfect machine for others. The same goes for the mac mini.

Truth is, for me, all I really do on my macbook is type up to around 25 000 word documents. As long as it can do that, and has a keyboard that wont slow me down or give me RSI, I'm happy. battery life isn't an issue because I'm always near a socket, a dvd drive would not be missed either. But it would be nice if the unit was half as light.

I couldn't afford the macbook air, so went for the macbook which I bought new for half its normal price in the January sale. The OP however has the funds, and from my experience, the less obtrusive a computer is to your day, the better. Which is especially true at uni where you are always bumping into old friends, and changing your plans.

Oh, and as you are new here, please try to use paragraphs as huge blocks of text make for ugly posts.

Thank you

 

[iSamurai]

A lot of thoughts from many readers, thank you very much. Now to assert my views:

Macbook air plus iMac

I think the iMac + Air would be a great combination.

I have a 24" iMac along with a Macbook Air and find it excellent at uni.

I think it's an excellent idea too.

...running something like LogMeIn on your desktop and using either a) any random lab computer, or b) any random/cheap netbook or laptop to remote control your desktop.

I don't think that's really practical. Lab/library computers are restricted in software installation and are usually occupied. They've just replaced all the Dell computers in the library with iMacs so everyone is gazing at it's shiny aluminium; netbook defeats the purpose of using a mac. Thanks for the different advice though.

just a good old fashioned 8GB thumb drive

I misplaced mine 2 days ago.

I don't think that you guys quite get it. If you have to carry around a laptop all day it can actually get very annoying: especially if this this idea of carrying it around is literal.

yes, this is especially true when my campus is very big and have to walk around a lot.

Reason why I suggested MBP 13" over the MBA is because of the dvd drive. Yes it's light, but the inconvenience later may be a drag.

The last time I inserted a DVD into my MacBook was last year upgrading to 10.6. If I were to go with a MacBook I could just stay with my current one as it's got 2.2GHz and 4GB of RAM. HD space is currently tiny and needs an external drive as it's the sole computer; there's not much of a difference in weight.

My solution was to buy the 27" Quad core iMac for my room allowing me ample power, screen real estate (I also have a 23" Philips monitor plugged into the iMac) ... I then bought the base model MacBook to take to class.

My advice would be to do something similar. Im not sure, but if you can go without using CAD during the day until you can use the more powerful machine, then the base line MacBook would save you some $$$ and should serve as an acceptable option?

Thanks for the photo! I like your setup, but I don't really need a 2nd screen with the 27" iMac as it's really big already for my use. The CAD programme we're using is Solid Edge, so that means I have to boot in Windoze or run in Parallels. I don't think Solid Edge uses much RAM or graphics but it's the booting in Windows part that will eat the most power.

I think my MacBook is ok to carry to class provided there are no other paper/books to carry with it, but unfortunately this case does not really apply. I need to take a lot of notes with me and often lectures & tutorials are often stuck together so I have to carry most of the stuff for the day.

Have you thought about getting a 15" MBP, external monitor and a refurb Air?

Then that's 2 laptops + my existing MacBook...
The MBP mid range would cost the same as the iMac i5.

Seeing as you're in for engineering, I'm assuming you're got some technical know-how.

So. Why not build yourself a hackintosh, keep your Macbook for the times when you're away from home/dorm, and use the rest of the money on bills or beer?

Hackintosh is a good idea, but it defeats the notion to use a Mac... it's like jailbreaking and unlocking an iPhone... oh dear, the good o' days with the 2G iPhone. I wasted a lot of time on that too.

get yourself an ipad then.
...
a computer that is under powered and has a 3 hr battery.
...
get yourself a nice satchel (indiana jones has one) for your laptop and a backpack for your text books.
...
lastly im assuming your of a fairly small build because 3kg isn't that heavy to have on you for 20 minutes

an iPad is not out yet and it is total lockdown. I can't work with CAD, process word documents comprehensively and moving/coping files is a headache.

I am aware of the battery life of the MBA but it'll probably outlast my current white MB so I'm quite happy with it. Carrying a backpack AND a messenger bag is crazy. I did that 2 semesters ago.

Na mate, I'm not small, but not fat or big. I'm fairly average, 180cm and around 65kg. I do gym -- but that won't do it for carrying around 3kg + notes for the whole day. But I'll have a look into the iPad, though I don't foresee it suiting my needs.

let me tell you from experience, that carrying a 17" daily, no matter how far or close your commute is, is a bitch.
...
having a desktop at home/dorm is good too. it'll force you to stay home/dorm so you get some work done.

I guess you summed it up there.
Unfortunately my dorm is the noisiest place ever, but I plan to move out anyway.

Clearly you [mac-matt] haven't experienced carrying any reading material of weight, or you would know where I was coming from (or at the very least not get so uppity about it).
...
For example, some people slam macbook air's because they don't have this or that
...
I couldn't afford the macbook air

Yes, a good example would be the telephone directory-thick Calculus 6E by J Stewart (it's also full of numbers, haha). Yeah, I can't really afford the MacBook either along with an iMac, so I'm planning to sell my old MacBook and buy the refurb MBA.


***

Thank you guys very much for your thoughts. I really appreciate it!

So after all the input I am considering the iMac + MBA option. The other more talked-about option was a bigger MBP, however that would be heavier to carry around. My current MB would even be lighter than that. While the MBA outputs 1/2 of the power my MB provides, it also weighs nearly 1/2 of that too, it still is able to run most apps I require during uni.

 

[duky]

Then that's 2 laptops + my existing MacBook...
The MBP mid range would cost the same as the iMac i5.

Just for clarification I was under the impression that you were giving up the white MacBook and thinking of getting the iMac and MBA. Why would you want an iMac and two laptops? Am I understanding incorrectly?

 

[Hellhammer]

Just for clarification I was under the impression that you were giving up the white MacBook and thinking of getting the iMac and MBA. Why would you want an iMac and two laptops? Am I understanding incorrectly?

Because he thinks the MacBook is quite heavy and not very fast (I think that was the reason?)

 

[kolax]

15" MacBook Pro and 24" Cinema Display. You could even invest in the 30" Cinema Display if you have the cash

I sold my 15" MBP for a 13" MBP couple weeks ago, and was going to buy a 21.5" iMac to go with it.. but decided against it because I'd rather have my data all on one machine. I'm now going to sell the 13" MBP and buy a 15" MBP (i5 when ever they are released) along with an external display.

 

[iSamurai]

Just for clarification I was under the impression that you were giving up the white MacBook and thinking of getting the iMac and MBA. Why would you want an iMac and two laptops? Am I understanding incorrectly?

I'm going to sell my existing MacBook (or pass it on to a family member), but before it's sold for the duration owning 3 laptops is a bit too much.

I sold my 15" MBP for a 13" MBP couple weeks ago
...
I'm now going to sell the 13" MBP and buy a 15" MBP

You'll have a fun time selling and buying. You'd lose money (like I did) when I sold my near new 24" iMac as I heard the new ones were about to be released.

 

[Cizzion]

Thanks for the photo! I like your setup, but I don't really need a 2nd screen with the 27" iMac as it's really big already for my use. The CAD programme we're using is Solid Edge, so that means I have to boot in Windoze or run in Parallels. I don't think Solid Edge uses much RAM or graphics but it's the booting in Windows part that will eat the most power.

I think my MacBook is ok to carry to class provided there are no other paper/books to carry with it, but unfortunately this case does not really apply. I need to take a lot of notes with me and often lectures & tutorials are often stuck together so I have to carry most of the stuff for the day.

Thats fair enough - Glad I could be of any help

Just out of curiosity, what sort of bag do you tend to carry all your gear in between classes? I've just bought a Crumpler Hee Goer but I'm always on the lookout for peoples opinions.

 

[diamond3]

Just a suggestion, if you have multiple computers I would really recommend dropbox for all of your school files. I just use the free 2gb version, but it works wonders around mobileme idisk. If your uni has wifi all over, it makes syncing files effortlessly. Then you can also connect your imac as well and the files will always be in sync. The other advantage to this is if you need to print something on campus in the lab, you just log into dropbox, download the file and print. You don't have to worry about losing a thumb drive. There's also a free dropbox app. I gave up on idisk since it would take FOREVER to start syncing. This is my first semester with drop box and I would never go back to a thumb drive.

Also, it's really nice for group projects. You can give other people access to a specific project folder on your dropbox where they can download files as well as add their own to it.

To answer your question - iMac for now, wait for updated macbooks pro or air.

 

[bjb.butler]

I always recommend two or more computers.
Simply imagine you've got to write a serious dissertation and your single MacBook breaks. What then? Waiting till Apple fixes it?

I rather deal with synchronisation (there are several very good tools out there, I use my own though), than having no backup machine in case that one device fails.

That's why I would definitely go for iMac + MacBook in your case.

Spending that much money is pointless. Did you buy two homes as well? Just in case one gets flooded, you'll have your back-up home to live in?

OP, I would go with a 13/15'' MBP. Honestly, lugging my 6lb. 15'' around campus is enough of a struggle, I really couldn't see myself moving around with the 17'' on my back.

 

[evarian]

I switched to a macpro in my junior year. Don't know how i lived without it. I brought it to class everyday (15 min walk) so weight really isnt an issue.
I'm not graduating from med school and am still using the same computer. Wouldn't change a thing if I could go back in time.

 

[student_trap]

I switched to a macpro in my junior year. Don't know how i lived without it. I brought it to class everyday (15 min walk) so weight really isnt an issue.
I'm not graduating from med school and am still using the same computer. Wouldn't change a thing if I could go back in time.

you must be very, VERY strong

 

[Jayomat]

I'd go for a 15" MBP.. it's only 500g more than the 13", I don't see how this is not portable.. as for the size, sure it's bigger, but you'll have a nice portable "workmachine" and you can hook it up to an external Display at home.. no sync problems, one machine, powerful enough...

 

[evarian]

you must be very, VERY strong

you are right, my back is ripped now.

 

[iSamurai]

Yeah, interestingly before i placed my order I had a thought again.

A 13" MacBook Air is light, but there are many reasons to carry a laptop out and about, for projects, as an example. Screen resolution would be insufficient and doing all those stuff (I had a wild time typing and cross referencing on my current white MacBook) + running a batch of programmes would drain the battery for the day -- meaning I would have to bring the adaptor cords along as well. That would probably add up to 2kg.

500g more would equal the weight of a MacBook Pro 15", and that has a much better screen res, longer battery life and so I can drop the power cables. As many have pointed out here in the forum and after chatting about it with my mate I think this is the better option (with an iMac as a base at home).

But as I'm getting the iMac I'll hold out a bit for the MacBook Pro until it's updated. I just hope they'll up the screen resolution to 1680. I'd probably go for the base or mid model, depending on how the new specs are.

Just out of curiosity, what sort of bag do you tend to carry all your gear in between classes?

I got a Promax messenger bag (the one that goes on one side of your shoulders) that fits my A4 uni books. Today I had 4 lectures in a row and 4 books is a bit weighty already as my campus is really big. Any walk between lectures is at least 500m, especially when you need to get to the next venue quickly.

A new MBP would probably not fit in any of my existing bags, but until then I won't bother looking around.

Just a suggestion, if you have multiple computers I would really recommend dropbox for all of your school files.
...
To answer your question - iMac for now, wait for updated macbooks pro or air.

Yeah thanks, I'll have a look at it. I saw it on BBC Click the other day and it looks promising. I'll wait for the MBP. A brand new MBA is too expensive anyway so I'll be looking at the refurbs -- which would eventually be the ones that's being sold now.

OP, I would go with a 13/15'' MBP. Honestly, lugging my 6lb. 15'' around campus is enough of a struggle, I really couldn't see myself moving around with the 17'' on my back.

You're probably right... I intended to shrink the iMac and MBP/MBA into 1 machine but that would probably be unrealistic as a uni student...

you must be very, VERY strong

I think he meant a MBP.

I'd go for a 15" MBP.. it's only 500g more than the 13", I don't see how this is not portable.. as for the size, sure it's bigger, but you'll have a nice portable "workmachine" and you can hook it up to an external Display at home.. no sync problems, one machine, powerful enough...

Yeah it's a nice machine... but having owned an iMac before, just that feeling of having all the data stored on it and not having to carry 'valuable' (or whatever the word is) stuff around and get it damaged, deleted or corrupted and so on is better... I can hook up the MBP to the iMac too.

 

[Alvi]

15" High/Mid -end MacBook Pro + 24" Apple LED Cinema Display

 

[TRAG]

15" High/Mid -end MacBook Pro + 24" Apple LED Cinema Display

Since OP is worried about weight, why not get a high end 13.3" MBP and 24" LED Cinema Display?

 

[snakelda]

I'm also and a university student and I would definately go with the Macbook Pro.

 

[Airforcekid]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/7D11)

I always recommend two or more computers.
Simply imagine you've got to write a serious dissertation and your single MacBook breaks. What then? Waiting till Apple fixes it?

I rather deal with synchronisation (there are several very good tools out there, I use my own though), than having no backup machine in case that one device fails.

That's why I would definitely go for iMac + MacBook in your case.

Go for the air SSD refurb 1.8Ghz with the iMac you will not regret it.