It is time to replace an ancient tower (B&W G3). I was looking at the new imacs, but wondered if getting a macbook pro and using my current home monitor (19 inch sony) would be a better value. Would I take a hit in performance to gain the mobility of the laptop?
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new imac or macbook pro?
- Thread starter jumpinjoe
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Wow. 2 responses in a minute of posting. This forum is certainly active, and you guys are a great help. I'll have to check out the laptops. It would be my first laptop. Heck, it will be my first experience with OSX, Ive been using 8.6 for years. I might wait to see if Apple comes out with a cooler running chipset in January. Thanks to all for advice.
Yes the MBP is fast but the iMac 24" 2.4 is the same speed and the 2.8 Extreme is faster! Plus how many screen are you really going to need? Also, if you go with an iMac and a MacBook, you will get the best of both worlds. Plus you will have two separate computers. If something happens to one (like a stolen laptop, oops dropping it, etc) you have the other one to back you up. Oh by the way, it totals out to about the same for an iMac and MacBook together compared to a MBP and a separare screen. Trust me you will want a new screen. You will be looking more at the MBP screen, it will be nicer than your 19". This is my opinion. Good Luck!
Having 2 separate computers is a big plus. There is a large price difference without factoring in the cost of a new monitor, but still worth considering the benefit vs cost. Thanks for the advice.
dmw007
macrumors G4
I can vouch for that, my 2.2GHz MacBook Pro, 4GB of RAM, and 160GB 7200rpm HDD is a speed demon- very snappy for everything that I throw its way. When at home, I hook it up to my 24" Dell 2407WFP LCD. So to make a long story short, you will not take a performance hit for going mobile. 🙂
motulist
macrumors 601
If you already have a nice monitor, and are considering an iMac price range, then for a bit more money perhaps you should consider a refurb mac pro. They cheapest one at the moment is $2,200 for this model:
Refurbished Mac Pro Quad 2.66GHz Intel Xeon
Two 2.66GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors
1GB (2 x 512MB) memory (667MHz DDR2 fully-buffered DIMM ECC)
250GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s 7200 rpm hard drive
16x SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT graphics with 256MB memory
Edit: in fact, I just checked and saw that the price for this refurb mac pro is actually $100 LESS than the top end current model iMac!
Refurbished Mac Pro Quad 2.66GHz Intel Xeon
Two 2.66GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors
1GB (2 x 512MB) memory (667MHz DDR2 fully-buffered DIMM ECC)
250GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s 7200 rpm hard drive
16x SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT graphics with 256MB memory
Edit: in fact, I just checked and saw that the price for this refurb mac pro is actually $100 LESS than the top end current model iMac!
ktbubster
macrumors 6502a
Typically we don't suggest the mac pro to people who probably won't need that much power, but since you noted in your above post you tend to hang on to computers for a long time it seems (bw g3 running 8.6! yikes!) maybe a mac pro refurb isn't that bad an idea for you. You could upgrade your monitor as you see fit when you have cash or something catches your eye, and have a machine that you should be able to upgrade to your hearts content as the years go on. (unlike the imac and a laptop... although they do have good resale value, so you could always sell if you want to upgrade like most people do)
If you don't go that route, I'd go with a macbook and then hook it up to your external and then see if you really need an imac... do you do anything graphics card intensive? Probably not if you are still runnin a g3 b/w with 8.6, unless you plan on it, because the 2.2 macbook with tons of ram will be a HUGE increase over your current set up.
You may be fine with just a regular one hooked up to your 19inch for now.
Otherwise, i'd say just a macbook pro. Personally having a second computer may sound like a good idea, and I know a lot of people who do it, but really, from my experience you end up just using one a lot more then the other (unless one is a media hub or something) and it becomes a moot point.
All the advice has been sound, but the above is just my 2 cents 🙂
Oh, and definitely wait till macworld for any of the above options. If they don't come out with anything new, the current refurbs/models will drop in price, which is always a good thing if you want to replace an aging monitor as well 🙂
If you don't go that route, I'd go with a macbook and then hook it up to your external and then see if you really need an imac... do you do anything graphics card intensive? Probably not if you are still runnin a g3 b/w with 8.6, unless you plan on it, because the 2.2 macbook with tons of ram will be a HUGE increase over your current set up.
You may be fine with just a regular one hooked up to your 19inch for now.
Otherwise, i'd say just a macbook pro. Personally having a second computer may sound like a good idea, and I know a lot of people who do it, but really, from my experience you end up just using one a lot more then the other (unless one is a media hub or something) and it becomes a moot point.
All the advice has been sound, but the above is just my 2 cents 🙂
Oh, and definitely wait till macworld for any of the above options. If they don't come out with anything new, the current refurbs/models will drop in price, which is always a good thing if you want to replace an aging monitor as well 🙂
I have an iMac Core Duo 20" at home and a MBP C2D when running around and I've pretty much found that I use the laptop a lot more then the iMac. Since the MBP is a Core 2 Duo its considerably faster and more agile than the iMac hopes to be.
Its great having 2 computers to run to if anything happens (recently been having some issues with the iMac) and I wouldn't live with out.
Like a previous reply I'd have to reccomend perhaps an iMac and a MacBook. It would be an awesome combination I'd imagine. There is also the Refurbished Mac Pro that sounds pretty sweet. The upgrade value of that computer should justify the price in my opinion. Plus if you give it some rocket fuel it'll take you to the moon in seconds. 😎
Its great having 2 computers to run to if anything happens (recently been having some issues with the iMac) and I wouldn't live with out.
Like a previous reply I'd have to reccomend perhaps an iMac and a MacBook. It would be an awesome combination I'd imagine. There is also the Refurbished Mac Pro that sounds pretty sweet. The upgrade value of that computer should justify the price in my opinion. Plus if you give it some rocket fuel it'll take you to the moon in seconds. 😎
Thanks for all the replies! From what I understand, the Imac has the same hardware as a laptop housed in a big beautiful screen. It seems the macbook pro has a better graphics card, and I would like to do some gaming. Also the freedom of not being tied to a desk in one room is appealing. With an airport extreme setup what kind of range would I have? Could I acces the internet in the yard, weather permitting, as well as in other rooms in the house? I am waiting to see what updates are coming at Macworld before making a purchase.
I went to an apple store to check out the goods. My interest was in the 15 inch macbook pro to use with an external monitor. Then I get a look at the 17 inch high def screen on it's bigger sister and my heart beats faster. I don't think I would need another display, and it seems light enough for occasional travel. Of course it is also more expensive, and the forums say there could well be an update in January. This could be an ideal desktop replacement. I'm excited to see what happens at Macworld.