help: Which one of these would you buy?

[old]

Sorry if this is the wrong place to ask this question.

Hi there - first post on this forum,

I'll be waiting until the end of October to make my decision but I have been waiting for a long time.
I am in dire need of a computer (Mac). I will never buy a PC/windows again.
I have a Mid 2010 17" MacBook Pro (benchmark score of 5515) at the moment and it is not enough for the tasks I'm running.

Which one of these two do you think is a better computer/deal?


1) Mid 2011 21.5", i7, 2.8ghz iMac from the refurb store:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/G0M50LL/A
Benchmark score: 10077
Price: $1,449.00
Cons: 500+ days old. Top dollar for old tech.

2) Current (2012) 15", 2.3ghz MacBook Pro.
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook_pro/select
Benchmark score: 11775
Price: $1,899.00 (w/ anti-glare),
and I'll be upgrading RAM and SDR. So, an additional ($350ish ?).
Cons: It's more expensive than option 1.


Thank you in advance for your insights,

 

[jimmiealan]

Sorry if this is the wrong place to ask this question.

Hi there - first post on this forum,

I'll be waiting until the end of October to make my decision but I have been waiting for a long time.
I am in dire need of a computer (Mac). I will never buy a PC/windows again.
I have a Mid 2010 17" MacBook Pro (benchmark score of 5515) at the moment and it is not enough for the tasks I'm running.

Which one of these two do you think is a better computer/deal?


1) Mid 2011 21.5", i7, 2.8ghz iMac from the refurb store:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/G0M50LL/A
Benchmark score: 10077
Price: $1,449.00
Cons: 500+ days old. Top dollar for old tech.

2) Current (2012) 15", 2.3ghz MacBook Pro.
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook_pro/select
Benchmark score: 11775
Price: $1,899.00 (w/ anti-glare),
and I'll be upgrading RAM and SDR. So, an additional ($350ish ?).
Cons: It's more expensive than option 1.


Thank you in advance for your insights,

I just bought my iMac Mountain Lion 21.5 at Staples for $1149.00 sorry but a refurb should be only about $750 at the most, my 2 cents worth

 

[radiohed]

You get more bang for the buck with the iMac, even with the older tech. Better graphics card, bigger screen, etc. With the 400 you save you could even add an ssd and memory upgrade. I like desktops though.

 

[Starshadow]

You get more bang for the buck with the iMac, even with the older tech. Better graphics card, bigger screen, etc. With the 400 you save you could even add an ssd and memory upgrade. I like desktops though.

Actually the GT650 even with 512 Ram is light-years ahead of the HD 6770M in the iMac.

Extra ram will cost you alot less than the 300+ you are quoting, just don't buy it from apple and it will be cheap.

$1400 is alot of money for old technology and little resale value when ( hopefully ) the new iMac arrives.

If i were you i'd get the MBP retina, but the base line MBP 15" is better than the iMac in most cases, particularly the graphics card.

Its a powerful, portable, light, fairly highly customisable machine. And with the GT650 I run it on displays of very high resolutions with no problems what so ever.

 

[bgsnmky]

Actually the GT650 even with 512 Ram is light-years ahead of the HD 6770M in the iMac.

Extra ram will cost you alot less than the 300+ you are quoting, just don't buy it from apple and it will be cheap.

$1400 is alot of money for old technology and little resale value when ( hopefully ) the new iMac arrives.

If i were you i'd get the MBP retina, but the base line MBP 15" is better than the iMac in most cases, particularly the graphics card.

Its a powerful, portable, light, fairly highly customisable machine. And with the GT650 I run it on displays of very high resolutions with no problems what so ever.

Do you run it on the apple cinema display or what monitor do you use.

 

[Starshadow]

Do you run it on the apple cinema display or what monitor do you use.

I've connected it to a 40 inch samsung tv, blasting out a resolution of 1920x1080. Playing games like Skyrim at that resolution, high settings, 40 FPS.

Mind you im using a baseline MBP Retina, but its the same graphics card, any benchmark will show you how much better the GT650m is compared to the HD in the iMac.

Which is a bit of a joke.

 

[bgsnmky]

I will be buying my first Mac and am struggling with which way to go. I am sure I will be posting soon. But deciding between iMac and macair. Or MacBook pro regular or retina

If I get a MacBook I will definitely want a monitor and docking station set up so it is about the same price as the two computers.