Okay, so I know this is my 100th thread on finding the right machine. I keep waiting and waiting and waiting.
I have a 12" PB 1ghz 768 ram with a 40GB HDD. My main complaint: the screen resolution sucks. My second complaint: videos sometimes take 30s-1m to render on my screen after I double click it (I use VLC) when I have multiple apps open.
At all times, I have Finder, Firefox, AdiumX, iTunes, Word, TextEdit, Dictionary, Colloquy, Terminal, iCal, and Preview open.
Stuff used on occasion: I will open mathematica as needed and do work in there. I'd like to start using matlab in the future, but nothing too serious for the time being. I will also do light (ie auto levels, auto color, and resizing) editing in Photoshop. I open up Cyberduck for sftp to access my server. I use Excel sometimes and compile and view presentations in Powerpoint. I use Azureus (for legal file sharing, of course) maybe 3 times a month. DVD player (this is really off-an-on, depends, but usually, 5 times a year), I burn everything via Handbrake. I use Handbrake to put DVDs I rent from NetFlix on my computer. I use ImageCapture every few days to get my Fuji pictures. I *may* get a digital video camera but I won't do any editing (just to record ski races). Google Earth ~5 times a year. Hopefully I will have enough money to use Quicken 2007 on a regular basis someday soon. VLC is used at least once a day.
That's it. Nothing intensive. Nothing that requires the speed of a MBP, but hereinlies the problem, I HATE the 1024x768 screen res I currently have on my PB and I don't know if the MB will be enough. I really love high screen res. Yes, I know I could hook it up to a 23" monitor and it would be a good deal, but is it worth it? Or should I just get an all-in-one in the low-end MBP and be happy?
OR....should I keep my 12" PB and use it when I am out (I will be doing some work in a cog sci lab this year as an RA and then transfer whatever work I do over to a 24" iMac. But then I have two computers and have to worry about transferring the files. Is there any software that lets you sync whatever you've changed on one machine and put it on the other so it's always in sync when I get home and hook the two machines up via ethernet, firewire, or USB 2.0?
13inch LCD
2.16 C2D
1GB ram
120 GB HDD
Super Drive
$1199
+ Dell 22" Widescreen monitor 1680x1050 resolution $299
+ 50 or so for keyboard and mouse
TOTAL=1656.36 with taxes
OR
MBP
* 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 1440 x 900 resolution
* 2GB memory
* 120GB hard drive1
* 8x double-layer SuperDrive
* NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics with 128MB SDRAM
$1924.93 with taxes
OR
24 iMAC
* 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 1GB memory
* 320GB hard drive1
* 8x double-layer SuperDrive
* ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB memory
(1920x1200 resolution)
$1817.93
So, those are my options. There's a $256 difference between the MB and MBP and I think for that, I'm better off with an all-in-one machine. Do you? Since the resolution will be about the same, all that means is the screen will make everything bigger, which isn't always the best (a la 12" vs 14" iBooks).
Now, if I were to buy a laptop, I could sell my 12" PB which, on eBay, is selling for around 400-450 so I would get that back. I wouldn't be able to sell that if I chose the 24" iMac.
So, macrumor fans, what do you think I should do? This is a very important decision and I need something that will last me 3-5 years. Maybe even going to the refurbed store to get a CD would be fine, I don't see why I need 64 bit processing power and that could save a hundred or two.
What do you think?
THANK YOU!
MERCI!
GRACIAS!
I have a 12" PB 1ghz 768 ram with a 40GB HDD. My main complaint: the screen resolution sucks. My second complaint: videos sometimes take 30s-1m to render on my screen after I double click it (I use VLC) when I have multiple apps open.
At all times, I have Finder, Firefox, AdiumX, iTunes, Word, TextEdit, Dictionary, Colloquy, Terminal, iCal, and Preview open.
Stuff used on occasion: I will open mathematica as needed and do work in there. I'd like to start using matlab in the future, but nothing too serious for the time being. I will also do light (ie auto levels, auto color, and resizing) editing in Photoshop. I open up Cyberduck for sftp to access my server. I use Excel sometimes and compile and view presentations in Powerpoint. I use Azureus (for legal file sharing, of course) maybe 3 times a month. DVD player (this is really off-an-on, depends, but usually, 5 times a year), I burn everything via Handbrake. I use Handbrake to put DVDs I rent from NetFlix on my computer. I use ImageCapture every few days to get my Fuji pictures. I *may* get a digital video camera but I won't do any editing (just to record ski races). Google Earth ~5 times a year. Hopefully I will have enough money to use Quicken 2007 on a regular basis someday soon. VLC is used at least once a day.
That's it. Nothing intensive. Nothing that requires the speed of a MBP, but hereinlies the problem, I HATE the 1024x768 screen res I currently have on my PB and I don't know if the MB will be enough. I really love high screen res. Yes, I know I could hook it up to a 23" monitor and it would be a good deal, but is it worth it? Or should I just get an all-in-one in the low-end MBP and be happy?
OR....should I keep my 12" PB and use it when I am out (I will be doing some work in a cog sci lab this year as an RA and then transfer whatever work I do over to a 24" iMac. But then I have two computers and have to worry about transferring the files. Is there any software that lets you sync whatever you've changed on one machine and put it on the other so it's always in sync when I get home and hook the two machines up via ethernet, firewire, or USB 2.0?
13inch LCD
2.16 C2D
1GB ram
120 GB HDD
Super Drive
$1199
+ Dell 22" Widescreen monitor 1680x1050 resolution $299
+ 50 or so for keyboard and mouse
TOTAL=1656.36 with taxes
OR
MBP
* 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 1440 x 900 resolution
* 2GB memory
* 120GB hard drive1
* 8x double-layer SuperDrive
* NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics with 128MB SDRAM
$1924.93 with taxes
OR
24 iMAC
* 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 1GB memory
* 320GB hard drive1
* 8x double-layer SuperDrive
* ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB memory
(1920x1200 resolution)
$1817.93
So, those are my options. There's a $256 difference between the MB and MBP and I think for that, I'm better off with an all-in-one machine. Do you? Since the resolution will be about the same, all that means is the screen will make everything bigger, which isn't always the best (a la 12" vs 14" iBooks).
Now, if I were to buy a laptop, I could sell my 12" PB which, on eBay, is selling for around 400-450 so I would get that back. I wouldn't be able to sell that if I chose the 24" iMac.
So, macrumor fans, what do you think I should do? This is a very important decision and I need something that will last me 3-5 years. Maybe even going to the refurbed store to get a CD would be fine, I don't see why I need 64 bit processing power and that could save a hundred or two.
What do you think?
THANK YOU!
MERCI!
GRACIAS!