Then buy the macbook pro? You aren't going to take an iMac with you so if you want portability why would that even be an option?
Obviously you don't know what you're talking about... the high end 15" has the same gpu as the 17" Only differences are screen size and resolution.
Ok, again you don't know what you are talking about.
High end i Mac is $2000
17" Macbook Pro is $2500. Apple Cinema Display is $1000.
$2500 + $1000 = $3500, that is $1500 more than the iMac, even more expensive if you buy the low end 27" iMac which starts at $1700
Yeah like we already told you in this thread, you are paying more money, getting a slightly slower processor and not as good of graphics. You are also missing 2 RAM slots and are getting a smaller hard drive.
You need to determine your needs because a 13" macbook air is NOT a valid replacement for a 17" mbp. The mbp is infinitely more powerful than the air. If you can use an air in place of the macbook pro i'm not even sure why you are worried about any type of specs.
If you had read my post in its entirety, then you would have read that even the highest-end 15" MBP only has WSXGA+ and not WUXGA as its maximum resolution. This happens to be of utmost importance to me, so on that basis alone, it disqualifies all but the 17" MBP. The current MacBook Air's specs are not of any interest to me. I was merely saying that the idea would add a certain coolness factor but who knows what next month's (hopefully anyway) MacBook Air refresh will bring in terms of Sandy Bridge CPU's besides the obvious ThunderBolt port. The fact that they only come with a max. of 4GB of RAM is a true dealbreaker, though and I don't see that changing even for the 13" Air.
I appreciate your calling attention to the amount of RAM, and 8GB is more than enough for me, but I wouldn't want to roll with less than 6GB, so again, the Air is a no-go.
As far as portability is concerned, and again, if you read my post, you'd know that I have come accustomed to looking at a gorgeous 27" super high-res. display, but at the same time, I'd like to be able to take off for a few days (or weeks) and still have a BIG screen with HIGH resolution. It's called convenience and again, I am fully aware of all specs involved.
In fact, thanks to the fact that ALL MBP's and ALL iMac's now have QUAD core CPU's means that from a CPU perspective (and to the same extent, the GPU as well), the new MBP's are actually comparable to the iMac's with the exception of the highest-end iMac. Having said that, it's no secret that I have the less expensive 27-incher which has a Core i3 550, a DUAL-core processor, albeit with Hyper Threading and a higher clock, so it's pretty powerful (for me anyway). Based on that fact, I'd say that ANY of the QUAD i5's will suit me just fine, no matter if it's an iMac or a MBP. The iMac that I would buy (if I were to go that route) comes with a Quad Core i5-2500S @ 2.7GHz and a GPU w/ 512MB of video RAM. The 17" MBP has a Quad Core i5 with 2.2GHz but it has a more powerful video card and DOUBLE the dedicated video RAM. I also like the fact that with a MBP, I can toss in a ferociously fast SSD, which will make an even bigger difference. Trust me, I've used solid state drives for almost 3 years and the difference between the fastest hard drive and even an average SSD is phenomenal.
Alright, that's it. I think this going back and forth has been a fairly valuable exercise. I'm just waiting for Apple to start its annual "Back to School" promotion where they give away an iPod touch with every Mac purchase. If history is any indication, that should be coming up shortly. Last year, they started around May 25, if I'm not mistaken, which would be quite soon.
At any rate, I thank you for your time, although I dare suggest that this exchange could have been less adversarial and much more fun.
Hi, just wanted to give my thoughts. If i were you (and money was not a concern), I would go with the MBP + External Monitor because of the huge added advantage of portability.
However, I must agree with some of the other posters that the ACD really isn't worth the money, it's not that great a display and costs a lot more than many other comparable IPS displays. Sure, you may argue that the ACD is sexier but I feel that here the opportunity cost is way too high with the ACD. I could get a great keyboard & mouse combination and have enough money left for a decent speaker system
Or better yet you could use it on your other hobbies, etc.
Anyway, just my 2 cents worth. whatever you decide just make sure youre happy with it lol I think that's the most important.
Hi jimmy, thanks for the advice. Yea, I was looking at reviews in the same price range and what other manufacturers have to offer. I haven't found that much to be honest. Do you have any specific examples that might be interesting to consider? I would definitely consider a different monitor but I haven't found any with what I'm looking for: Higher-than 1080p resolution.
NEC makes some of the best monitors, according to some friends who are videophiles and there was a 26" one for $1,300 that had all kinds of high-end professional features that I wouldn't use and even that one only came with 1920x1080. There is also the added benefit of no surprise because my 27" iMac is exactly what I would get if I were to purchase the 27" ACD and I am crazy about this screen.
However, Samsung just recently came out with some stunners like a 1440p (or close to it) screen for a 10.1" (tablet) screen. That will be coming to the iPad 3 as its so-called "Retina" display. I can hardly wait. lol
Either way, I'm more than open to other manufacturers, so it definitely doesn't have to be an Apple ACD. And yes, I understand that Samsung and LG are major suppliers for Apple's humongous LCD needs. ;-)
Thanks for your post!
