Having a buying dilemma.

[Rovias]

I am getting a decent bonus from my employer at the end of February, which I was totally prepared to drop on a refurbished Macbook Pro. That is, until this MWSF came and went. Now I'm second guessing myself.

For $1349, I could get a refurb MBP.

Or, for $1251, I could get:

Refurb Mac mini (1.83 Core Duo w/Superdrive)
Apple Wireless Keyboard
Apple Wireless Mighty Mouse
New Airport Extreme (802.11n)
AppleTV

...and probably have some money left over to splurge on a RAM upgrade.

I really would *like* a laptop, but it isn't necessary. The only thing is that I have to go out-of-town for job training for three weeks (one week per month starting in March), and I would like a laptop to be able to bring with me. After that, however, I won't really HAVE to have a laptop. Like I said in my last thread, I'll be using this machine for the basics: internet, word processing, iPhoto and iMovie. Maybe a little Final Cut Express from time to time, but nothing more.

By February, I'm sure both refurbs will ship with iLife '07, so that's a non-issue. Question is...WHAT SHOULD I BUY?

 

[brendanryder]

stick with the MBP

 

[Grimace]

it really depends on how portable you want to be. I'd personally get the laptop - you can always hook it up to a larger screen.

 

[fivetoadsloth]

between those two id DEFINATLY go with the MBP its so nice to have a portable and the mbp is just better. You can always get another screen if you decide 15" is a bit small for you.

 

[phungy]

Another vote for the MBP.

 

[knowledg333]

I see no comparison there. MacBook Pro for sure. (depending on the specs...)

 

[Father Jack]

The MBP wins every time.


FJ

 

[balamw]

If you're seriously considering the Mini, I'd think about the 20" iMac C2D which seems to be $1299 refurbished and would have better performance.

Part of it depends on how picky you are, as there seem to be more defects reported for the MBPs than for the iMacs.

B

 

[siurpeeman]

macbook pro. faster, dedicated graphics, portable. it can do everything a mini can do, more even, and it can do it better.

 

[After G]

MBP. Portability is always a plus. And you can hook up your laptop to TV to emulate TV functionality.

 

[queshy]

Get the portable...because it can do both...the mini, however, can only stay at your desk! You'll notice that you use take advantage of the portableness in many other ways than you initially thought you would.

 

[Planner Dude]

MBP!!!

 

[Rovias]

Wow...overwhelming vote for the MBP! I guess that's a testament as to how good the machine is.

I'm almost sold, but before I make a final decision...any reason why I should NOT get the MBP? Are there any widespread issues with this latest batch (the C2D), or did they pretty much iron them all out?

 

[Planner Dude]

Wow...overwhelming vote for the MBP! I guess that's a testament as to how good the machine is.

I'm almost sold, but before I make a final decision...any reason why I should NOT get the MBP? Are there any widespread issues with this latest batch (the C2D), or did they pretty much iron them all out?

There is a post somewhere on this site with a link to a survey done on macbook (an pro) repairs....it basically says most problems have been ironed out with the C2D.