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EDIT! 24" iMac vs 13" MBP & 24" ACD vs 24" $1299 SONY VAIO® L Series All-in-One

I've had my 13" MBP since june and I just purchased the Apple cinema display today! It's freakin' unbelievable!

I got the student discount on a new one, so it came to $799, or about $860 with tax and I'm still a little anxious about how much I spent, but I'm falling in LOVE with the combo. I was so tired of looking at the 13" screen and trying to do things like edit video or record on logic. I love the portability and power combo that is the 13" and it has been my main machine since June but I can see why they're so popular and high priced. The screen is just gorgeous and it makes my desktop so much better. No more looking down and hurting my back after extended use at the desk!

I could have gone with a much cheaper alternative that would have sufficed, but why not get the best? I think the combo of MBP and ACD is absolutely perfect.
 
tempusfugit said:
I've had my 13" MBP since june and I just purchased the Apple cinema display today! It's freakin' unbelievable!

I got the student discount on a new one, so it came to $799, or about $860 with tax and I'm still a little anxious about how much I spent, but I'm falling in LOVE with the combo. I was so tired of looking at the 13" screen and trying to do things like edit video or record on logic. I love the portability and power combo that is the 13" and it has been my main machine since June but I can see why they're so popular and high priced. The screen is just gorgeous and it makes my desktop so much better. No more looking down and hurting my back after extended use at the desk!

I could have gone with a much cheaper alternative that would have sufficed, but why not get the best? I think the combo of MBP and ACD is absolutely perfect.
Click to expand...

Glad you're enjoying your sweet combo. Is there a reason though, that you didn't save the extra $200 and just get a refurb unit ACD 24" for $599? I see them pretty much every day available at the online refurb store for that price. Also, did you buy Apple Care for both machines? I guess if you buy them together you get them both covered for 3 years for the same $239, educational discounted price.

Cheers,
Steve R
 
stever500 said:
Glad you're enjoying your sweet combo. Is there a reason though, that you didn't save the extra $200 and just get a refurb unit ACD 24" for $599? I see them pretty much every day available at the online refurb store for that price. Also, did you buy Apple Care for both machines? I guess if you buy them together you get them both covered for 3 years for the same $239, educational discounted price.

Cheers,
Steve R
Click to expand...

Well, maybe I'm just a shallow person, but if you have the money, why would you get a product that is inferior? BTW; did you ever think of not getting the ACD? Would you be fine with just the 13" screen? 90% of the people that I know that get ONLY a desktop, when they could have gotten a laptop, regret it down the road. And you really don't need AppleCare. You already have a 1-year warranty+it doesn't cover accidents.
 
QCassidy352 said:
Before you recommend a TB hard drive, how about asking how much data the OP has? His current computer has a 20 GB HD, so I'm thinking telling him to spend a couple hundred dollars on a TB HD isn't good advice. Even taking in to account additional media and such, a much smaller HD, say 320 or 500 GB, should be more than enough.
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I agree that recommending $200 1 TB drives would be a disservice.

However 1 TB external hard drives are dirt cheap. I got mine for $80 5 months ago. Western Digital USB external drive. Works perfectly fine.

Imo it's not real worth getting a smaller 500gb external hard drive because they aren't much cheaper on average. A quick check on www.newegg.com shows a $10-$20 difference. Not enough of a difference to recommend getting the smaller drive.
 
trip1ex said:
I agree that recommending $200 1 TB drives would be a disservice.

However 1 TB external hard drives are dirt cheap. I got mine for $80 5 months ago. Western Digital USB external drive. Works perfectly fine.

Imo it's not real worth getting a smaller 500gb external hard drive because they aren't much cheaper on average. A quick check on www.newegg.com shows a $10-$20 difference. Not enough of a difference to recommend getting the smaller drive.
Click to expand...

This is good to know. A guy at Apple on the phone told me that all I need for my measly 20gig Dell conversion is an 8 gig thumb drive for around $29. He said that it would only take 2 times to transfer all my info to the Mac. He said after the first transfer of say, all my pictures, I'd wipe it clean and then fill it up with my documents and other files and then I'd be done with it, for around $30 or so.

reptiledude4 said:
Well, maybe I'm just a shallow person, but if you have the money, why would you get a product that is inferior? BTW; did you ever think of not getting the ACD? Would you be fine with just the 13" screen? 90% of the people that I know that get ONLY a desktop, when they could have gotten a laptop, regret it down the road. And you really don't need AppleCare. You already have a 1-year warranty+it doesn't cover accidents.
Click to expand...

I'm confused. Was this directed to me? I would not be happy with just a 13" laptop. And what product are you referring to that is inferior? The iMac or the Sony? I've ONLY had a desktop for 11 years and never once wished I had a laptop.
 
stever500 said:
This is good to know. A guy at Apple on the phone told me that all I need for my measly 20gig Dell conversion is an 8 gig thumb drive for around $29. He said that it would only take 2 times to transfer all my info to the Mac. He said after the first transfer of say, all my pictures, I'd wipe it clean and then fill it up with my documents and other files and then I'd be done with it, for around $30 or so.



I'm confused. Was this directed to me? I would not be happy with just a 13" laptop. And what product are you referring to that is inferior? The iMac or the Sony? I've ONLY had a desktop for 11 years and never once wished I had a laptop.
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Replying to the question about not buying a refurb.
 
Decided what to do. I'm waiting on the new iMac 24". Instead of getting iWorks, since I'm a PC guy from day 1, and all my stuff is on Word, Excel and Powerpoint, I'm going to get the Microsoft Suite for the $145. It's $100 more than iWorks, but will be an easier transition for me.

The people in the store are really recommending me getting the 1-1 for $99 for the data transfer and lessons so I'll probably bite the bullet and buy that, but not 100% sure yet. I told them I found the tons of tutorials on line but they said there's so much more I can get out of my machine working 1-1 with someone in the store for that $99.

I'm guessing it's best to get the AppleCare up front for the edu discount of $119. Then, after 3 months I still have the phone help for 2.75 more years. Still deciding on that. Some folks said that they new machines are so reliable I don't need it. Some said to wait till the 11th month to space out my money outlay, but then I don't get free phone help in month 4-11, right?

I've decided to try the wirelss mighty mouse and keyboard even though you folks recommend the MX Revolution Logitech mouse so strongly. I figure, for $50, I get them both when buying the new machine as they're so cheap. If I purchased a wireless keyboard separately without the might mouse at time of purchase, it would be $69 refurb alone. I could always upgrade later to Logitech if I don't love mighty mouse. Or, maybe with the new Mac's wireless equipment will come for free like the new Sony has. I can only hope for that. They should. Who really wants to be tethered to a wire? I could care less about installing batteries every 6 months. I hardly ever replace batteries in my current logitech keyboard and mouse.

I defragged my Dell for the 18 millionth time yesterday and it says I only have 9% space left. I can't wait for the new iMac. It'll be nice to have a blazingly fast computer. I decided portability isn't important to me at all so I'm shelving the MacBook Pro idea for now. I can always pick up a used 13.3" or 15.4" MBP in the future if need be. I'll have to start saving ferociously for that too!

Cheers,
Steve R
 
Congrats on your decision. Give yourself a full week to fall in love with your new mac and you will never look back. You will be telling your PC buddy he has been making a poor choice time and time again! Don't forget if you ever do need to run windows there are many options for you to do so on your Mac, the operating system actually comes preloaded for you to be able to go out and buy a copy of windows, install, and choose which operating system you wish to boot into (mac/windows). Enjoy and welcome to the dark side!
 
Thanks folks. Well, the new Educational discounted 27" is $172 more ($1599 w/discount) than the refurb $1299 24" (when you add in the $69 and $59 for the old wireless mouse and keyboard to the refurb) so I guess I'll pony up and spend the extra go and go with the base model 27". I just want to see it in the store next week to be sure.

Awesome. 27". That's kind of scary, big.
 
stever500 said:
Thanks folks. Well, the new Educational discounted 27" is $172 more ($1599 w/discount) than the refurb $1299 24" (when you add in the $69 and $59 for the old wireless mouse and keyboard to the refurb) so I guess I'll pony up and spend the extra go and go with the base model 27". I just want to see it in the store next week to be sure.

Awesome. 27". That's kind of scary, big.
Click to expand...

isn't it cool how just a few weeks ago we were saddled with buying last years technology and now we have the ultimate computer. (minus bluray :)
 
dwd3885 said:
isn't it cool how just a few weeks ago we were saddled with buying last years technology and now we have the ultimate computer. (minus bluray :)
Click to expand...


It sure is. But, do I buy that remote for my iMac? Is that something most people get? I can't imagine any need for it as I've never used a remote with my computer!
 
stever500 said:
It sure is. But, do I buy that remote for my iMac? Is that something most people get? I can't imagine any need for it as I've never used a remote with my computer!
Click to expand...

It's primarily useful if you plan to watch movies on your iMac from a distance. I wouldn't bother getting it if that isn't the case.
 
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