imac vs macbook pro

[josephmccutchen]

I'm planning on buying another Mac this year, hopefully by summer, and I'm looking for some advice. I sold my MacBook Pro to a friend of mine, and here are the specs on it:

MacBook Pro Mid-2010 15.4"
Intel Core i5 2.4 GHz
8GB RAM
120GB OWC SSD
750GB WD Scorpio Black HDD
Mac OS X Lion

I was really happy with it, but it did lack processing power, which I crave when doing video. However, it is easy to upgrade, and it's portable.

Why an iMac? For one, a bigger screen; even the 21" model would be great. It can use more RAM than the MacBook Pro can, which is a plus for me.

However, I have read numerous articles about not being able to replace the HDD. I'm a technician, and I replace HDD's when they get close to being full. This is a downside for me.

In the end, the question is this: how much of a difference is there between the processing power of the iMac vs the MacBook Pro? Is it enough to justify buying it? That's what I really want to know. Thanks!

 

[miles01110]

For editing video? It's noticeable. Also you can replace the hard drive in an iMac, it's just not easy. If you're comfortable inside a computer it shouldn't be that big of a deal for you.

 

[KylePowers]

The HDD is replaceable... just not easily. But it'd only take a weekend afternoon to do it. Of course, if you're not comfortable with that, I can see why the MBP would be advantageous in that aspect. Just saying though

 

[wilsonjm]

Check out barefeats.com. they often have interesting comparison tests for all the Mac range.

http://barefeats.com/macs11_01.html

http://barefeats.com/fcpx01.html

Regarding the storage issue, the iMac can have a 2TB HDD. And even if you use all of this, an external Thunderbird HDD makes dealing with large volumes of data painless, no need to think about replacing the internal drive, in my opinion.

Regards

 

[josephmccutchen]

The HDD is replaceable... just not easily. But it'd only take a weekend afternoon to do it. Of course, if you're not comfortable with that, I can see why the MBP would be advantageous in that aspect. Just saying though

Sorry I wrote that wrong. Yes, the HDD is replaceable, but the issue I've read about is about the fan spinning at around 6,000 RPM because of an issue with a different HDD than the one Apple has installed. Is there another fix for that besides downloading a program to control the fan speed? Seems inconvenient, having to crank the fan speed higher when you are doing more CPU-intensive work.

 

[KylePowers]

Sorry I wrote that wrong. Yes, the HDD is replaceable, but the issue I've read about is about the fan spinning at around 6,000 RPM because of an issue with a different HDD than the one Apple has installed. Is there another fix for that besides downloading a program to control the fan speed? Seems inconvenient, having to crank the fan speed higher when you are doing more CPU-intensive work.

From the reading I've done (as I would like to attempt this relatively soon), is that yes, if you replace the stock hard drive, you'll lose automatic fan control and will have to resort to some type of application.

However, if you simply add a hard drive, you're fine. Say for instance, you order an iMac with a stock 1TB or 2TB hard drive. You can then add an SSD, make it the boot drive, and just use the stock hard drive for media files and what not.

Granted, as the wilsonjm mentioned above, what's wrong with doing externals? USB, FireWire, and Thunderbolt are all valid options. Even some type of NAS could work.

 

[josephmccutchen]

From the reading I've done (as I would like to attempt this relatively soon), is that yes, if you replace the stock hard drive, you'll lose automatic fan control and will have to resort to some type of application.

However, if you simply add a hard drive, you're fine. Say for instance, you order an iMac with a stock 1TB or 2TB hard drive. You can then add an SSD, make it the boot drive, and just use the stock hard drive for media files and what not.

Granted, as the wilsonjm mentioned above, what's wrong with doing externals? USB, FireWire, and Thunderbolt are all valid options. Even some type of NAS could work.

Working on an iMac is more difficult, yes, but I don't think that would be a bother for me; just take my time, watch what I'm doing, and I'll be good to go. Still, that would cause me to lean toward a MBP again. Say, what if the HDD went bad? It's just plain stupid to me that one cannot replace the HDD without having the fan issue. As you said, one could use an external Firewire/USB/Thunderbolt HDD, but does it have to be that way? Come on Apple!