Mac buying dilemma! Need advice please?

[Fallinangel]

Hello,

I'm currently using a 3.06 GHz iMac with 4 gigs of RAM and a NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS. It's still serving me well for my every day needs, such as email, web browsing, music listening, video watching (>720p), Photoshop editing, scanning, music ripping, etc..
However, heavy work loads under Photoshop (>300 dpi), Illustrator and InDesign push the machine to its limits.
Modo, AutoCAD, Maya and other 3D-oriented apps could easily devour even more power.
Currently, I'm not using CAD- and other 3D-apps that much, apart from Sketchup and Maya, but once I start my architecture classes in March, I'm going to need something far more powerful, and even portable.

I'm probably going to sell my current mac. Then, I'll purchase a MacBook Pro or even another iMac!?

The iMac would easily be my preference, since it usually sports a similar or even better performance than the MacBook Pro for less money, a bigger display, and more voluptuous HDD.

However, I absolutely need some degree of portability to do some serious work when I'm travelling or spending my holidays at my parents'.
I'm talking here about 3 to 4 months a year.
The MacBook Pro does also feature the anti glare screen that I'm really fond of, but does it/is it going to have enough juice?

Any suggestions? The iMac isn't prone to be upgraded very soon, however rumor has it that the MacBook Pro line will get a refresh in the foreseeable future!?

I'm willing to spend 2,500 Euros.

 

[Hellhammer]

Well, if you need portability, then MBP is your only choice. It's possible that MBPs will get option for quad core which would be great for your needs.

 

[chrismacguy]

Well, if you need portability, then MBP is your only choice. It's possible that MBPs will get option for quad core which would be great for your needs.

Yeah, a 15"/17" Quad MBP would be perfect for what you want (portability, great screen + you can always hook up an external cinema display/ whatever when your not away)

 

[Vantage Point]

Current iMacs are faster than current MBP's, but current MBP's can be faster than your 3.06 C2D iMac. I have a base model 15" i5 MBP which replaced my 2009 27" 3.06 C2D iMac and in many types of photo editing work it is noticeably faster. 8GB of RAM that I added also helps a lot as software like Photoshop CS5 is 64-bit and can use more RAM instead of a slower hard drive as scratch.

Take a look at my Geek score - 32-bit free version. The 64-bit test would offer about a 12% higher score but there is a fee. Check that out vs the score you get on yours to compare (quit all software for the test) and remember the free 32-bit version doesn't really offer higher scores with more RAM. Here's a link to do the test on yours http://www.primatelabs.ca/geekbench/

 

[snberk103]

Also, look at RAM capabilities. You might find a slower machine with more RAM works faster than vice versa. Look at the RAM requirements for the programs you want to run to help gauge what you need.