cant decide between iMac and MacBook Pro.

[Purestang]

Hey guys, first post here and need some advice. I am set on buying a Mac (my first owning one).

My choices:

iMac 27-inch
2.93GHz Intel Quad-Core i7 processor
4GB memory
1TB hard drive
ATI Radeon HD 5750 graphics with 1GB memory

MacBook Pro 17
2.53GHz Intel Core i5
4GB Memory
500GB hard drive
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M (512MB memory)

my predicament is which one should i get. I use my current Dell XPS m1330 as an awful desktop replacement (plus 22" external monitor, which i hate). So the mac will spend 80% of the time sitting on a desk (obviously imac is always on a desk lol).

i also game a little bit (Civilization 5, WoW), but mostly use my computer for productivity (documents, spreadsheets, picture/video editing, etc).

i would love to hear what you guys would do in a situation like this. Thanks guys!

 

[brucem91]

Hey guys, first post here and need some advice. I am set on buying a Mac (my first owning one).

My choices:

iMac 27-inch
2.93GHz Intel Quad-Core i7 processor
4GB memory
1TB hard drive
ATI Radeon HD 5750 graphics with 1GB memory

MacBook Pro 17
2.53GHz Intel Core i5
4GB Memory
500GB hard drive
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M (512MB memory)

my predicament is which one should i get. I use my current Dell XPS m1330 as an awful desktop replacement (plus 22" external monitor, which i hate). So the mac will spend 80% of the time sitting on a desk (obviously imac is always on a desk lol).

i also game a little bit (Civilization 5, WoW), but mostly use my computer for productivity (documents, spreadsheets, picture/video editing, etc).

i would love to hear what you guys would do in a situation like this. Thanks guys!

I have that exact iMac, and I LOVE it. I can push Starcraft 2 graphics to almost the max (in OS X). I also have two laptops, a high-rez 17" dell, and a 13" MBP (used to be 15" in sig, traded with family). The 27" screen is AMAZING to work on. It takes up almost my entire field of vision, which is what I like. Do you need portability at all? If you need portability, get the MBP. At 17", you should be fine in the screen real-estate problem. The 17" MBP should be pretty portable as well, I would assume.

 

[Purestang]

I have that exact iMac, and I LOVE it. I can push Starcraft 2 graphics to almost the max (in OS X). I also have two laptops, a high-rez 17" dell, and a 13" MBP (used to be 15" in sig, traded with family). The 27" screen is AMAZING to work on. It takes up almost my entire field of vision, which is what I like. Do you need portability at all? If you need portability, get the MBP. At 17", you should be fine in the screen real-estate problem. The 17" MBP should be pretty portable as well, I would assume.

i dont ABSOLUTELY need the portability. the more and more i think about it, im thinking of going with the iMac, and reformatting my 13" dell with Win XP (currently vista, and slow as all get out) and using that whenever i need to go somewhere i need a laptop.

thanks for telling your experience, i'd like to hear more from others before i pull the trigger on the iMac.

Oh, and i will be buying a refurbished to save a bit of money cause im a poor college student. plus, i feel buying refurbished is a lil better since it was checked twice through to make sure its working

 

[BenDP]

Yeah i think it really depends on the need for portability. Those are also really powerful computers, what are you going to be using it for? The i7 is a bit more powerful than the i5.

 

[shyam09]

have you thought about the HDD + SSD option on the imac? just a little thought

 

[Mike Macintosh]

I would consider this, although you say you don't need the portability now what will you say when you go on a long trip, obviously you can't take the iMac easily.

However owning a i5 27" iMac I can't put it down either, it has a amazing display and since you will only need 20% portability it should serve you fine, especially with gaming.

A Macbook Pro is great to, but since you may only need the portability 20% it may not be needed for you, although thats completely and utterly up to you, a Macbook Pro can serve you as a desktop itself, just plug it into the external you already have and you got a great desktop when you need it, and when you don't want to be tied to a desk you can just unplug and go elsewhere.

It's really a win win because both are amazing machines, but if you plan on gaming constantly get the iMac, if maybe you will want the portability later on down the road for say travel and or sitting on a sofa, or taking places, the Macbook Pro should be your answer.

 

[Purestang]

I would consider this, although you say you don't need the portability now what will you say when you go on a long trip, obviously you can't take the iMac easily.

However owning a i5 27" iMac I can't put it down either, it has a amazing display and since you will only need 20% portability it should serve you fine, especially with gaming.

A Macbook Pro is great to, but since you may only need the portability 20% it may not be needed for you, although thats completely and utterly up to you, a Macbook Pro can serve you as a desktop itself, just plug it into the external you already have and you got a great desktop when you need it, and when you don't want to be tied to a desk you can just unplug and go elsewhere.

It's really a win win because both are amazing machines, but if you plan on gaming constantly get the iMac, if maybe you will want the portability later on down the road for say travel and or sitting on a sofa, or taking places, the Macbook Pro should be your answer.

at the time of the posting, there was no i5 27" iMacs on the website. but when i just checked, there was 1, so i guess they just updated their inventory. i would take the i5 over the i7 because i dont need the i7 (and the price is substantially lower).

Portability is really all it boils down to. Like I stated above, i will always have my 13" dell if i wanted to go anywhere. Maybe i will try to make it a Hackintosh.

Oh, and as to the SSD. Way too expensive for my tastes.

 

[tom vilsack]

Macbook Pro

-resale value
-the 27" imac has been known to give people headaches