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Computer for college

G5Unit

G5Unit

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Apr 3, 2005
2,107
10
I'm calling the cops
I have a feeling this question has been asked to death, yet I suppose everyone has different situations.

I'll be heading off to college next fall and as of right now I have a 1.8Ghz PowerMac G5, which I know will not last me through the next 4 years.

What would be the better option?

iMac+Netbook
or
MacBook Pro

I'm afraid I would be paying too much for too little power in the MacBook Pro compared to the iMac, yet then I loose the portability factor with the iMac(hence adding on a cheap netbook).

I mostly work with Photoshop, After Effects, iPhoto, Internet, Music, etc. and I'm just much less familiar with the newer intel processors than I was during the IBM era.

Can anyone help me out?
 
MBP 15". Big enough but not too big. I personally own a 17" and I dont consider it very portable. Remembering my college schedule it would have been a nightmare to drag around. I did have the 15" Powerbooks and they were no problem.
 
iMac+Netbook - Good if you don't need power and mobility at the same time.
or
MacBook Pro - Good if you want to trade some power for mobility

I'm assuming that you're not a gamer. So just get a laptop, it's less hassle and it's fast enough.
 
G5Unit said:
What would be the better option?
Click to expand...
It really depends on how you work. For example are you one of those students who will do light task like taking notes with your laptop in class and then go home or will you be staying on campus a lot to do your homework? Depending on your school, it might have a really good computer lab so you might not need to bring a powerful laptop. Although the computer labs can be full many times though and you won't have access to all your files like you do if it was your own computer. Many computer labs also have a time limit.

You might want to wait and see what you really need for college first before buying. In general if you spend a lot of time at school you probably will benefit if your main computer was a laptop because your desktop would be wasted sitting at home not being used much. It also depends on your major because traditional lecture classes won't benefit much from a powerful computer. On the other hand if your classes uses a lot of computer work then you'll most likely benefit from having a portable good computer.
 
I'll probably never go back to a desktop again until i'm done with my studies.

Granted I do pay a hefty premium for external storage, and I do take a performance hit on intesive tasks, being portable is worth it to me. Take my MBP on the go, and use my setup (four external hard drives, 20" ACD, wireless keyboard, magic mouse etc) in "desktop mode" (aka clamshell mode) when I return. Much easier for me to have just one system to rule it all, especially since I use apps like omnifocus which are difficult to sync across multiple machines (plus I'd need multiple licenses).
 
I'd wait till next fall...its always best to buy your college computer as LATE as possible (but still within the back2school event so you get your free ipod).

I love my MBP with an external, but then again I need all my power with me at all times. I spend less time at home and more time in my studio so really its just up to your work flow. But it would suck if you got an iMac then realized you'd rather be out and about working whereas it never hurts to just leave your laptop at home like a desktop.
 
xhambonex said:
I'd wait till next fall...its always best to buy your college computer as LATE as possible (but still within the back2school event so you get your free ipod).
Click to expand...

Yet another reason, if you wait after June it's unlikely you will see another update. Although the introduction of the aluminum iMac seems to be an exception to this.
 
G5Unit said:
I have a feeling this question has been asked to death, yet I suppose everyone has different situations.

I'll be heading off to college next fall and as of right now I have a 1.8Ghz PowerMac G5, which I know will not last me through the next 4 years.

What would be the better option?

iMac+Netbook
or
MacBook Pro

I'm afraid I would be paying too much for too little power in the MacBook Pro compared to the iMac, yet then I loose the portability factor with the iMac(hence adding on a cheap netbook).

I mostly work with Photoshop, After Effects, iPhoto, Internet, Music, etc. and I'm just much less familiar with the newer intel processors than I was during the IBM era.

Can anyone help me out?
Click to expand...


Wait until mid next year and buy the next generation of MBP : ) Hopefully the quad core processors will be on em by then. My college gave me my macbook. It isn't a pro... however it is performing fine for photoshop and such. I will upgrade the ram and hard drive and wait till maybe like 4th quarter next year or spring 2011 to buy a replacement. I really want a quad core notebook, juiced with alot of ram for photoshop.

I love my 13.3" unibody. It's great.
 
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