Mac advice

[patseguin]

I have (I think) the first 27" aluminum iMac with 2.8GHz i7, 8GB RAM, 2TB hard drive, Radeon 4850 graphics.

I also have a unibody 15" Macbook Pro that I bought maybe 2 years ago. It has a 2 GHz i7, 4GB RAM, Intel 3000 graphics, 500GB HD.

I have a couple questions. For whatever reason my MBP seems to perform as good or better than my iMac with slightly better specs. I newed to consolidate and I was think about selling the iMac and keeping the MBP. Would the MBP make a good replacement for my iMac for every day use? I won't game on it, just do music, photo editing, etc. I'm assuming I'd want to max out the RAM and put in a larger hard drive. This leads me to my next question.

Are the hard drive and RAM user replaceable or would I have to take it to Apple?

 

[McGiord]

The screen size is one of the main difference. You can update both.
Check here for RAM and SSD and HDD:
www.macsales.com

I think you have many options including using the iMac as a monitor for the MBP.

Upgrading RAM and SSD makes a huge difference.

 

[patseguin]

The screen size is one of the main difference. You can update both.
Check here for RAM and SSD and HDD:
www.macsales.com

I think you have many options including using the iMac as a monitor for the MBP.

Upgrading RAM and SSD makes a huge difference.

Well, the idea is to sell the iMac. I can get used to the screen size. I was just wondering if adding HD space and more RAM would make it as good or even better than my iMac. I might even have a spare SSD I can install for boot and use an external drive for data. If the HD and RAM are use serviceable then that makes a big difference to me. I remember the MBP I had before this and I had to remove a million screws to get inside.

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Here's another thing. I leave the MBP plugged in most of the time and I just unplugged it to bring it upstairs and update software. I noticed that the battery is at 65%. Why would it not be at 100%? Does the battery lose power by being plugged in most of the time? Oh, and it's an early 2011 MBP I found.

 

[TechGod]

Well, the idea is to sell the iMac. I can get used to the screen size. I was just wondering if adding HD space and more RAM would make it as good or even better than my iMac. I might even have a spare SSD I can install for boot and use an external drive for data. If the HD and RAM are use serviceable then that makes a big difference to me. I remember the MBP I had before this and I had to remove a million screws to get inside.

----------

Here's another thing. I leave the MBP plugged in most of the time and I just unplugged it to bring it upstairs and update software. I noticed that the battery is at 65%. Why would it not be at 100%? Does the battery lose power by being plugged in most of the time? Oh, and it's an early 2011 MBP I found.

If you leave it plugged in all the time it is VERY bad for the battery. You may have just killed your laptops battery I think.

 

[patseguin]

If you leave it plugged in all the time it is VERY bad for the battery. You may have just killed your laptops battery I think.

Well I read that it is safe to leave plugged in because the Mac has circuitry to protect the battery. However, the battery icon does say "Service battery".

 

[talmy]

That iMac is the first 27" model, and top of the line at that time. I've got the same one. Your MBP is an early 2011 base model. However, yes it will outperform the iMac, although probably not for graphics. But since you don't play games it probably won't matter.

Increasing the RAM will make the MBP "better" but how much better depends on how you use your computer. It is certainly possible that you aren't using the 4GB you have. You can check by looking at the ratio of page-ins to page-outs in Activity monitor prior to Mavericks, or the "memory pressure" in Activity Monitor in Mavericks.

Putting in a larger HDD will get you nothing unless it is nearing full or is 7200 RPM. Putting in a hybrid drive or SSD will give a speed improvement, at least for booting and program loading.

Your battery is dead -- which is why you are getting the service battery warning. If you are under AppleCare you can probably get it replaced for free (I did in these circumstances).

 

[T5BRICK]

I also have a unibody 15" Macbook Pro that I bought maybe 2 years ago. It has a 2 GHz i7, 4GB RAM, Intel 3000 graphics, 500GB HD.

Keep in mind that this is one of the units with a Radeon GPU that seem to be experiencing a higher than normal occourance of GPU failures.

 

[patseguin]

That iMac is the first 27" model, and top of the line at that time. I've got the same one. Your MBP is an early 2011 base model. However, yes it will outperform the iMac, although probably not for graphics. But since you don't play games it probably won't matter.

Increasing the RAM will make the MBP "better" but how much better depends on how you use your computer. It is certainly possible that you aren't using the 4GB you have. You can check by looking at the ratio of page-ins to page-outs in Activity monitor prior to Mavericks, or the "memory pressure" in Activity Monitor in Mavericks.

Putting in a larger HDD will get you nothing unless it is nearing full or is 7200 RPM. Putting in a hybrid drive or SSD will give a speed improvement, at least for booting and program loading.

Your battery is dead -- which is why you are getting the service battery warning. If you are under AppleCare you can probably get it replaced for free (I did in these circumstances).

I ran the iMac through a value calculator online and it said $560. Does that sound right to you?

 

[talmy]

I ran the iMac through a value calculator online and it said $560. Does that sound right to you?

Sounds about right, although I'd like to think mine is worth more.

 

[patseguin]

Sounds about right, although I'd like to think mine is worth more.

It didn't seem right to me so I listed it for $1200. So many oeople responded to the $560 listing that it just had to be too low.

I do now know that my MacBook Pro can take it's place. It's a 2011 2GHz i7 and I just upgrade it to 8GB RAM and a 1TB seagate SSD hybrid drive. It feels so much faster than my iMac. The iMac always seems to get beach balls everything I do. The MBP does everything more or less instantly now and I'll probably make it my main Mac and sell the iMac.

 

[patseguin]

Just an update, I had an offer on Craig's List for $700, an offer on eBay for $800, and another offer on eBay for $900 (for which the guy never responded). I decided to let the auction run out and the machine sold for $1,050.

I'm taking it to the UPS store for packing and shipping along with the keyboard and mouse. I couldn't find the discs that came with it but I plan on telling the buyer that Mavericks is free on the App Store and offer to make him a USB boot drive (or DVD) if it comes up.