MBP or MB+Imac?

[mikethemovie]

Hey Fellas,

I was wondering something..
Lately i had this thread about getting a Macbook Pro 17" HR.. A friend of mine in canada bought one for me and then brought to Europe.. But something went wrong with shipment so it was to late.. He's was already in Europe when the MBP arrived.. Im not gonna pay 19% VAT (Netherlands) and 300$ shipping.. So he decided to keep it for himself.. So im looking for a some options now..

A friend of mine goes to the States in July.. If i let her bring a Macbook (black) and buy a low end Imac here, it would costs around the same price as MBP 17" HR..

Or should i stick with the MBP 17" and let her bring that?

I need it for Fashion School! Lots of design work, magazincovers, storedesigns, retailconcepts etc.. Texting, music, movies etc..

What are your recommendations?

 

[peterdevries]

Hey Mike,

I had the same idea buying in NYC, being from Amsterdam and all. I ended up buying a MBP 15" and couldn't be happier. What is the point of having a MB AND an iMac? This would make only sense if you travel a lot, but also work a lot at home and need a big screen. I can see however that you might need extra resolution and a large screen for your fashion designs... In that case the MB wouldn't be such a good bet as the screen is smaller than the 15" MBP. Those few inches make a large difference.

I'm using my MBP at home with an extra screen I had lying around from my ****** old PC, and this works beautifully. The MBP even works with the very large cinema screens on high resolution, and in addition the aluminium is cool.

Just a suggestion: think long and hard about buying the 17" version of the MBP. It is heavy, and if you use your MBP mostly at home and a bit on the road, I would suggest buying 15" MBP and an extra screen and hooking this up to it at home. Dual screen use is really great because of the magnificent Spaces function of OS X. Although the 17" is called a laptop, I wouldn't recommend carrying it around, as it is heavy. In addition the 15" already has a LED backlit screen which is absolutely great!

And a last suggestion considering VAT and buying in the US: I have experienced first hand that custom checks are more rigourous at Schiphol airport. They look for Apple products now. You can buy apple products for a good price at prowarehouse in Amsterdam (www.prowarehouse.nl). The guys have good prices and are very helpful. You can pick stuff up at their office at the Herengracht. I wish I had found out about them before I bought my MBP at one of the premium resellers. Give them a call and negotiate a price, they deviate from the prices on the website and you can negotiate some extra stuff such as extra memory..

Send me a private message if you want more info. Be glad to help.

 

[greekpaz22]

I totally agree that the MBP is amazing but also caution you on the 17 inch version as it is quite large and heavy. Depending on how much power you need on the road, the idea of a iMac and MB is quite interesting..If you can make do with a less powerful graphics card and so on then I would probably consider the dual computer option..

 

[peterdevries]

I totally agree that the MBP is amazing but also caution you on the 17 inch version as it is quite large and heavy. Depending on how much power you need on the road, the idea of a iMac and MB is quite interesting..If you can make do with a less powerful graphics card and so on then I would probably consider the dual computer option..

I agree. The 17"is cool, but I saw a guy a few weeks back on the airport with it and it looks so big! With 4 of these you have enough aluminium to make an entire Airbus 380. Try finding an elegant laptop bag for it..

It can probably be summed up as follows:

1. you need good resolution and good graphics on the road: MBP 15" and cinema screen 20". Cost around: 2000 Euros

2. solid computing on the road. Graphics work at home: MB and iMac 20". Cost around 2000 Euros also.

Depending on the config you choose the price can be in both cases somewhat lower or a LOT higher.

Having a MB and an iMac both is quite cool for networking at home and stuff. Although for me personally I have found that it is a bit overkill. After a while I tend to use only one of the computers and get lazy about transferring files and backing up. That's why I use the dual screen and a timecapsule.