MacBook Pro as a Desktop Replacement

[Scarpad]

I have a Late 2011 Imac with an 2.7 mhz I5, 12GB of Ram, 1tb HD. I've been considering selling it in favor of a Macbook, I'd like the ability to use it as a desktop replacement in the house and outside of the house. Have anyof you given up the Desktop and exclusiely use a laptop now? I probably won't go Retina, prob looking at the 1499 13.3 in MBP as it has the fastest i7 in it, or perhaps the 15inch non-retina.

What would be a good ball park to charge for the Imac, I belive its covered by applcare till 2013

 

[The-Pro]

You could use a macbook pro as a replacement for your iMac, but it really depends on your needs and what you use your iMac for. So what do you do on your iMac? Its easier to do some tasks on a desktop rather then a laptop and vice versa.
On another note, do everybody here a favour and change the thread title to MacBook Pro as desktop replacement instead of Mac Pro as the Mac Pro is a desktop.

You can check ebay for finished listings of your iMac to get a realistic look at what you could expect to get from selling it. 12GB ram might give you 20-40 over base models 4GB
Apple care would lead to getting a little more for it but mainly it greatly increases the likelyhood that you will sell it, since people are obviously more confident purchasing a used computer that still has warranty

 

[RedCroissant]

I have a Late 2011 Imac with an 2.7 mhz I5, 12GB of Ram, 1tb HD. I've been considering selling it in favor of a Macbook, I'd like the ability to use it as a desktop replacement in the house and outside of the house. Have anyof you given up the Desktop and exclusiely use a laptop now? I probably won't go Retina, prob looking at the 1499 13.3 in MBP as it has the fastest i7 in it, or perhaps the 15inch non-retina.

What would be a good ball park to charge for the Imac, I belive its covered by applcare till 2013

I have an iMac and a 15" MBP and I can tell you that it's awesome when you need something portable, but it always feels better to be sitting at a desk and looking at the bigger screen. SO even though I have been using it primarily for school and such, that was only because I can't work on my iMac in my room because I have to be able to work and watch my kids at the same time. Good luck!

 

[Lame duck]

I use a Macbook Pro retina as primary device for work (BYOD scheme but have to use windows on VMWare fusion as the BYOD policy states machine level encryption (which I translated as VM-level encryption)) and also as my main home machine. I'm away during the week and only use it as a laptop, but at home I have a 27" display, arc stand, wireless keyboard etc and it works really well in that setup. I also use iPad2 for purely personal stuff which keeps a lot off the MBP (only exceptions are Minecraft and Reason 6.5).

I used an early 2011 MBP 15" 2.2/8Gb/256Gb until the retina - same setup and it worked fine. I was tempted to switch to an air but the retina won me over. If you're using one machine all the time, it pays to get the best you can afford - the cost per hour over a 1 or 2 year lifespan works out to peanuts.

 

[designs216]

The advent of quad core processor and increased RAM capacity motivated me to sell my MP in favor of the MBP which I can take to meetings or on the road. Like you, I would rather have the non-retina version so I can add a second drive and perhaps change the RAM if higher capacity modules become available. You shouldn't have any problem selling the iMac especially since Applecare remains.

 

[wsk]

I gave up the desktop in favor of my MacBook Pro. I have a powered USB hub and can plug in most of my peripherals with one input to the MBP....Keyboardand mouse, Time Machine drive and iPhone...though I can't sync my iPad via the external USB. I run an HDMI monitor through the Displayport/Thunderbolt port with the adapter. I plan on getting one of the new docking ports, either the Belkin or the Matrox when they become available.

Try it for a while before totally abandoning your iMac.

 

[Omurices]

I have replaced 27" i7 iMac and Mac Pro Server to 17" Macbook Pro earlier this year due to the mobility purpose.
Here are my current set up.
* 17" Macbook Pro - Photo/Video editing/converting, running VMs & gaming with the appropriate screen real estate while moving mobile.
* 13" Macbook Pro - Jack of all. Does every little things, plus save the small/little power consume computer work, such as internet browsing, emails, and document works.
* iPad 2 - ebooks, simple browsing research, and watch movie.
* iPhone 4S - snap shots and social media purpose

Now I'm in transition to 13" Macbook Air to replace 13" Macbook Pro and iPad2 (Already have iPhone 4s for iOS use).

I personally like the transition from desktop h/w to mobile h/w due to less dust to clean, less clutter on the desk, and I can move my work to different work area + offsite if needed without losing focus or connectivity.

I still have the 24", 27" screens to use dual screen view for VMs, and photo/Video editing at my work desk, along with keyboard and mice.

This was a tough decision, and highly costed move (losing money on trade-ins on desktop h/w) for myself, however it is the life and work style that I chose to take.

 

[Aodhan]

I have the 2012 MacBook Pro, non-Retina because I wanted upgradeability. I use it as a desktop replacement. Usually it is in a BookArc, connected to a 23-inch monitor, a wireless Apple keyboard and Magic Mouse. The MBP is powerful enough to handle anything I would ask a desktop to do, plus I have the added bonus of being able to take it with me. The best of both worlds.