Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

macbook imac which to buy right now

A

armenakadino

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 30, 2008
81
0
I am planning to get a macbook and a imac and was planning to buy one mac right now and buy the other mac during the 09 update with the new intel chips. I was wondering which one to buy right now Ill list the purpose of each computer

Imac- Powerhouse, movie ripping, itunes libary, photos, video editing, heavy gaming and internet, bootcamp vista ultimate, parallels xp

macbook- for school, powerpoint, internet, encyclopedia, occasional movie, and my music
 
I'd get the Macbook now, as they were just updated. Then, buy the iMac after their next revision.

Actually, I hate having two computers (a MacBook + iMac), so if I were to do it all over, I'd buy a Macbook Pro, but that's just me. :D
 
I agree with above. Buy the macbook now because it just got refreshed. The iMac seems to be due for a nice refresh.

Have you even considered buying a macbook and one of the new displays to go along with it? You might find you can get by with just the macbook.
 
buy the mac book because its a mac and its prtable so you can take it every where unlike a desktop where it has to stay in one place
 
I agree with the people who posted earlier. The MacBook is the smarter choice right now since it was refreshed weeks ago.
 
yep, just like everyone said, get the macbook. personally i agree with "EricNau", get a macbook pro and then get a new external display if you need a lot of screen space too. I'd recommend either the 2.55ghz macbook pro or the 17" old style one. both will be plenty powerful for your needs

hope this helps
 
so you dont think that its better to buy the imac in the january updates and wait until next winter for the macbook updates which are suppose to have intels newest chip
 
I am thinking of getting a Macbook or MBP with a large mointor. That way, it's cheaper, you will get large display while still having the ability to compute on the go.
 
I have the iMac and MacBook from my sig (mid 2007 24" 2,8GHz iMac and late 2008 aluminium 2,4GHz MacBook) and I'm selling my iMac. Haven't used it nearly as much as I used to before I got the MacBook. Sure, the screen is way larger, but the portability does it for me. It's just as fast (slightly slower processor, but that's compensated by the higher bus speed) and just so much more versatile.

So my advice is to get the MacBook. You could always get an external screen to hook it up to, if you think the screen really is too small. I have a 40" Full HD LCD TV, though, which does wonderful service as an external screen. And besides, you can't go couch surfing or (even better) bed surfing with your iMac.

Plus, last but certainly not least. (Don't know if you have one, but just assuming you do.) Your girlfriend will like it way better if you compute next to her on the couch, instead of sitting behind your desk all the time.
 
I would get a macbook first, probably the white one, you dont need much power for what you described.

Get the iMac when they are updated next. And Id say a macbook + iMac is better than just a MBP for YOU, because a desktop usually has better graphics
 
What are you using now? If its a windows machine, I'd say get any mac NOW. If you're using an older mac, and it is not mission critical to buy a new system now, you maybe should wait for six months or so for some new machines to come out. The new intel nehalem chips are supposed to be leaps and bounds faster than the current penryn family.

They're saying the iMacs may be coming out with the new chips at Macworld. If I could, I'd wait and buy one then. Then I wait for the mobile version to come out for the MB's and MBP's.

Oh, and finally, do as I SAY, not as I DO.
 
Well, Apple just updated the MacBooks and looking at your uses, I don't think you need more power than the powerful Core 2 Duo. The new MacBooks are already powerful and speedy, so you will be able to accomplish those tasks easily, but I find having a laptop and desktop a bad match. You will be spending more time on one of them, so you'll end up leaving one of them collecting dust.
If you plan on doing lots of those big tasks on a computer often, then you might want to go for a MBP. If you buy the MBP, it's cheaper than buying two computers and the MBP is easily a desktop replacement. Think about it.
Anyways, this is totally up to you.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back