Food for Thought: MBP+ACD vs. 27" iMac

[js81]

OK, this is PURELY for thought. I'm not ready to purchase yet, and I realize things may change between now and when I am ready, but let's assume things stay the same for the sake of consideration.

I currently have an older white iMac and a quite old PowerBook G4. My wife has a year-old Macbook, but that's solely her machine. I'm looking to replace my machine(s).

I fell in love with the 27" iMac when I first saw it. However, if I get a 27", I'll have to limit myself (more than likely) to the base model at $1599 (with edu. pricing). I have on hand (from upgrading my sister's Macbook) 2 extra GBs of DDR3, so I'd be able to upgrade it right away to 6GB. If I buy the 27", I'll definitely have to sell my iMac and probably my PowerBook, too, in order to get the funds to purchase it. I don't need a laptop very often at all, but I LOVE having one.

So option one is the base 27" 3.06GHz C2D, upgraded to 6GB of RAM.

Option 2, then, is a 13" MBP ($999 for the 2.26GHz refurb) and a 24" ACD ($599 refurb). Add to that the fact I'd need the memory upgrade ($72 for 4GB) and a hard drive upgrade ($90 for 500GB), and you come up to a total of $1760. That's a bit more than the iMac, but its portable, and I can buy it a piece at a time. Not to mention I wouldn't HAVE to get the ACD; I could get a cheaper 24" LCD for <$300.

What do you guys think? I know the iMac would be more powerful and the 27" screen would be awesome... but I really like having a laptop (even though mine is ancient). Or should I consider something else altogether?

 

[thegoldenmackid]

Without an update to the MacBook Pro (which is by all means happening in January/February) get the iMac. The power difference is huge. With that being said, I have no clue what you'll be doing, so that might help.

 

[js81]

^^ Sorry about that. I use my machine mostly for basic-type stuff - web surfing, word processing, PowerPoint, email, etc. I occasionally do some light video editing and Photoshop work, but its all for home use only, nothing professional. I also play a very few games, but that's not an issue, because everything I play plays great on my current iMac.

To be quite and completely honest, my current iMac serves me very well. The only reason I want a new machine is for a larger screen (mine is a 17") and a higher RAM capacity (my 3GB occasionally fills up when I have several things, including Windows XP in Fusion, open). My current PowerBook is useful only as a "netbook," so I'd thought about the MBP+ACD to replace that. But like I said I don't NEED a laptop very often at all, so I can use my wife's whenever I actually NEED one.

 

[js81]

OK, so I left out the fact that I would also have to get a keyboard and mouse... well, I wouldn't HAVE to, but I don't think I could stand using my white ones with the pretty new MBP+ACD setup...

Sounds to me like the iMac is the only way to go.

Could always do the upper Mini ($749) and refurb ACD ($599), total of $1348. That would save $251 over the 27" iMac, but I would lose 3" of screen (plus extra res.), 680GB of hard drive, and .53GHz of speed, not to mention the wireless keyboard and magic mouse. I think all of that would be worth $251 myself...

Geez, sounds like I've made up my own mind...

 

[thegoldenmackid]

I think you have. The other option is to consider how much your Powerbook could realistically fetch, it might make sense to wait and save and keep the Powerbook. I definitely think the Mini is not the way to go and the extra power will be worth it in general because you seem to like to keep your machines for a decent amount of time. The longevity of the iMac versus the MacBook Pro is something that might benefit you as well: simple - desktops last longer then notebooks.

 

[js81]

I think you have. The other option is to consider how much your Powerbook could realistically fetch, it might make sense to wait and save and keep the Powerbook. I definitely think the Mini is not the way to go and the extra power will be worth it in general because you seem to like to keep your machines for a decent amount of time. The longevity of the iMac versus the MacBook Pro is something that might benefit you as well: simple - desktops last longer then notebooks.

Yeah, whatever I get I plan to keep at least 3-5 years. But the current age of my machines is a bit of misnomer... I switched full-on to a Mac a little over three years ago when I bought my then-new (but old stock) Core Solo Mini. This was after going through several older Macs (all G4s, one G3).

My current iMac only replaced the Mini last year - I only made this switch because the opportunity presented itself to make an "even trade." The iMac had better specs (Core 2 Duo, 3GB RAM max, x1600 graphics, superdrive), so it was a no-brainer. And I actually MADE money in the trade (though I had upgraded the Mini to a Core Duo and 2GB RAM)! I knew it was a temporary fix, so I didn't mind that it wasn't EXACTLY what I wanted (at that time I wanted a 24" iMac!).

And I just bought the PowerBook 6 weeks ago to replace my (very disappointing) HP Mini netbook. Again, another even trade, thanks to the wonderful world of eBay! While the PowerBook is perfect for what I bought it for, it just makes me want more!

So yeah, the Apple bug has bitten me again. This time, though, I'm going to get what I want. Now the only problem is I have to decide what it is that I want. (Though I think I may have made that decision now...)

 

[MacKiddyWiddy]

unless you definately need portability, its the imac for sure... so much power