Apple MacBook Pro Core2Duo 2.33GHz as a desktop machine

[GlynJones]

Hello All,
Looking for some advice. I'm currently down to two machines after selling my Intel Mac Mini. The machines I have now are a Powermac G5 dual 2.0 with 1.5 gig of memory and an ATI 9650 256mb graphics card and a Powerbook 12" 1.33 G4.

This is my idea. Sell the Powermac, pass on my Powerbook to my partner and buy a refurbished Apple MacBook Pro Core2Duo 2.33GHz. I'll also buy a WD MyBook Pro external hard drive to boot via Firewire 800 and connect the whole kit to my Dell 20" widescreen monitor.

The question I'm asking is dues this seem like a viable option? My Powermac is my main machine for everything from mail to photo manipulation and the odd game of "World Of Warcraft". My powerbook is not used that often unless I’m away.

Can anyone suggest anything better or will this setup be fine for my needs.

Thanks in advance for any replies that I receive.

 

[Edge100]

Hello All,
Looking for some advice. I'm currently down to two machines after selling my Intel Mac Mini. The machines I have now are a Powermac G5 dual 2.0 with 1.5 gig of memory and an ATI 9650 256mb graphics card and a Powerbook 12" 1.33 G4.

This is my idea. Sell the Powermac, pass on my Powerbook to my partner and buy a refurbished Apple MacBook Pro Core2Duo 2.33GHz. I'll also buy a WD MyBook Pro external hard drive to boot via Firewire 800 and connect the whole kit to my Dell 20" widescreen monitor.

The question I'm asking is dues this seem like a viable option? My Powermac is my main machine for everything from mail to photo manipulation and the odd game of "World Of Warcraft". My powerbook is not used that often unless I’m away.

Can anyone suggest anything better or will this setup be fine for my needs.

Thanks in advance for any replies that I receive.

The Macbook Pro will certainly outperfom the Powermac, especially if it has enough RAM.

However, do you need the expandibility of the Powermac? Are you using any PCI-X/PCIe cards that cannot be replaced with the ExpressCard equivalent (e.g. audio cards, eSATA, etc)? Is the video card in the PM better than the X1600 Mobility in the MBP, and if so, does this matter to you?

If not, I would say there's no reason not to go with the MBP; you'd be getting a slight increase in raw power, plus portability. And since you'd be getting an external monitor, you'll have loads of screen space to play with.

 

[allroy]

Go for it...

I just bought a refurb MBP (2.33, 2GB ram, 256MB x1600, 120GB hd) as a desktop addition/replacement (my work machine is a dual 2 G5 with 2.5GB ram and an nVIDIA 6800 GT).

I'm an art director and use it for everything design (print and web), photography, audio and video related. Unless I'm going to do any video capture work, my MBP is noticeably faster and it's portable. I have the matte screen and there is some minor light leak issues, and I mean pretty minor, I don't even notice it working. When I do anything color accurate I hook it up to an external Eizo monitor.

I don't own a single game so I can't speak for that, but I'd say go for it, best laptop Apple has made and the best machine I've owned.

Hello All,
Looking for some advice. I'm currently down to two machines after selling my Intel Mac Mini. The machines I have now are a Powermac G5 dual 2.0 with 1.5 gig of memory and an ATI 9650 256mb graphics card and a Powerbook 12" 1.33 G4.

This is my idea. Sell the Powermac, pass on my Powerbook to my partner and buy a refurbished Apple MacBook Pro Core2Duo 2.33GHz. I'll also buy a WD MyBook Pro external hard drive to boot via Firewire 800 and connect the whole kit to my Dell 20" widescreen monitor.

The question I'm asking is dues this seem like a viable option? My Powermac is my main machine for everything from mail to photo manipulation and the odd game of "World Of Warcraft". My powerbook is not used that often unless I’m away.

Can anyone suggest anything better or will this setup be fine for my needs.

Thanks in advance for any replies that I receive.

 

[dmw007]

Hi GlynJones, this is basically the course of action that I took last year: I sold my 2.3GHz DP Power Mac G5 and a 12" 1.33GHz iBook G4 and replaced them with the 2GHz MacBook Pro in my signature.

Using a MacBook Pro as your only machine is feasible, you just need to accommodate for the lack of HDD space (which you are planning to do by purchasing an external HDD). The main downfall is that if you use your laptop often on the go, it can be a pain to be constantly unplugging and then re-plugging cables into the laptop.

So far I have been very happy with my MacBook Pro, it is fast, fairly lightweight, and gets good battery life. That said, I have been considering purchasing another Apple desktop (24" iMac, Mac Pro, or maybe even a Power Mac G5) so that I could just use my MacBook Pro for on the go (I commute to college from my house, so it is nice to be able to bring my own computer to campus). But since I have not really needed to use my laptop for any of my classes this semester, I might just stick it out with just using my MacBook Pro for a little while longer.

Hope this helped.

Is the video card in the PM better than the X1600 Mobility in the MBP, and if so, does this matter to you?

The 256MB ATI Radeon X1600m will most certainly outperform the ATI Radeon 9650.

 

[northernmunky]

of course!

I'm still using my Powerbook G4 connected to a widescreen external monitor and it acts just like a desktop. When I'm editing and colour correcting I connect via the S-video to my 14" tv set (poor mans monitor!)

It works so well, I dont have a need for a desktop at the moment.

 

[GlynJones]

Hi all,
Thanks for all the replies. It looks like this idea is a go.

I intend to alleviate the cable swapping a bit by buying a USB2/Firewire hub.

As I don't travel that much these days then it will be mainly used as a desktop machine. The advantage of this is that I don't have to keep 2 machines up to date.

I've already got £700 in the pot so I just need another £700 for the refurb. Looks like another eBay sale is on the way.

Glyn

 

[dmw007]

Hi all,
Thanks for all the replies. It looks like this idea is a go.

I intend to alleviate the cable swapping a bit by buying a USB2/Firewire hub.

As I don't travel that much these days then it will be mainly used as a desktop machine. The advantage of this is that I don't have to keep 2 machines up to date.

I've already got £700 in the pot so I just need another £700 for the refurb. Looks like another eBay sale is on the way.

Glyn

The USB2/FW hub sounds like a good idea GlynJones.

 

[allroy]

Hub...

I really like the miniStackv2 from NewerTechnology, adds 2 firewire and 3 usb ports in a pretty slick external HD.

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ministack/

Hi all,
Thanks for all the replies. It looks like this idea is a go.

I intend to alleviate the cable swapping a bit by buying a USB2/Firewire hub.

As I don't travel that much these days then it will be mainly used as a desktop machine. The advantage of this is that I don't have to keep 2 machines up to date.

I've already got £700 in the pot so I just need another £700 for the refurb. Looks like another eBay sale is on the way.

Glyn

 

[Edge100]

The 256MB ATI Radeon X1600m will most certainly outperform the ATI Radeon 9650.

I missed this in the OP; my bad. Go for the MBP.