Repair my MBP or buy a new imac?

[FrenzyBanana]

i have a mbp 17" (2009) with 3.6ghz logic board and 8gb memory that is in need of $767 for logic board replacement.

my option now is to have it repair or buy a new imac.
my mbp is great. the only problem i have is when i edit videos on FCP X. it runs very slow and hang (i need to force quit the apps and relaunch sometimes), i guess that is because of lack of memory.

heres my question
if i buy a new iMac. what part of the imac will solve my problem? ist the processor or the memory?
can anyone explain to me what the proccessor and the memory do?
my only concern is the slow and hang when editing videos on FCP. i don't care about the performance speed. stable is what i want.

if the problem will still exist on new imac. then i will stay with my mbp and have it repair


need some advice please. i want to save money.
wish it didnt happen so i can buy an ipad 3

 

[Medic278]

i have a mbp 17" (2009) with 3.6ghz logic board and 8gb memory that is in need of $767 for logic board replacement.

my option now is to have it repair or buy a new imac.
my mbp is great. the only problem i have is when i edit videos on FCP X. it runs very slow and hang (i need to force quit the apps and relaunch sometimes), i guess that is because of lack of memory.

heres my question
if i buy a new iMac. what part of the imac will solve my problem? ist the processor or the memory?
can anyone explain to me what the proccessor and the memory do?
my only concern is the slow and hang when editing videos on FCP. i don't care about the performance speed. stable is what i want.

if the problem will still exist on new imac. then i will stay with my mbp and have it repair


need some advice please. i want to save money.
wish it didnt happen so i can buy an ipad 3

your MBP has a C2D or Core 2 Duo processor the new Core i5/i7 are leaps and bounds better than the C2D you will see quite a noticeable jump right there. $800 is a lot to put into a machine that is already sort of dated. I would recommend the new iMac you'll be much happier. RAM upgrades are seen when a program loads faster and wakes from sleep quicker. The current iMacs come with 4GB of RAM which is a decent amount if you upgraded it to 8GB then you would be golden, but either way I would put the $800 toward a new iMac.

 

[CaptainChunk]

i have a mbp 17" (2009) with 3.6ghz logic board and 8gb memory that is in need of $767 for logic board replacement.

my option now is to have it repair or buy a new imac.
my mbp is great. the only problem i have is when i edit videos on FCP X. it runs very slow and hang (i need to force quit the apps and relaunch sometimes), i guess that is because of lack of memory.

heres my question
if i buy a new iMac. what part of the imac will solve my problem? ist the processor or the memory?
can anyone explain to me what the proccessor and the memory do?
my only concern is the slow and hang when editing videos on FCP. i don't care about the performance speed. stable is what i want.

if the problem will still exist on new imac. then i will stay with my mbp and have it repair


need some advice please. i want to save money.
wish it didnt happen so i can buy an ipad 3

I guess the answer to your question will lie in whether or not it's important to be mobile. You obviously give up mobility switching to a new iMac. But as a tradeoff, you get a LOT more power.

In terms of raw performance, the current iMacs are significantly faster than your 2009 MBP (all 2009s used dual-core Core 2 CPUs). All current iMacs use quad-core Sandy Bridge CPUs and support up to 32GB of RAM (4x8GB).

I would venture to guess that your biggest bottleneck in FCP X has probably been the CPU performance. Again, the CPUs used in current iMacs and MBPs are much faster.

A simple Geekbench comparison (64-bit):

Mid 2009 MBP (3.06GHz C2D): 4555
Mid 2011 21.5" iMac (2.5GHz i5; $1,200 entry-level model): 8030

 

[roanmartigan]

i have a mbp 17" (2009) with 3.6ghz logic board and 8gb memory that is in need of $767 for logic board replacement.

my option now is to have it repair or buy a new imac.
my mbp is great. the only problem i have is when i edit videos on FCP X. it runs very slow and hang (i need to force quit the apps and relaunch sometimes), i guess that is because of lack of memory.

Your computer is a bit outdated and this is why it will run demanding applications slowly. Consider your need for mobility, a big screen and make a choice between laptop and desktop.

You cannot go wrong with an iMac.

After the end of warranty, logic board failure is a bit of a death sentence. This is essentially replacing the entire computer. Or you could try to find a dead MBP (crashed screen, horrible scratches oncomputer body) on CL for a few bucks, and cannibalise the logic board. Easier said than done.