Sell Imac 24" and Dell Xps and get a 17" MacBook Pro and 30" Display?

[youyou]

Hi People,
So I have a few decisions to make and hopefully you guys can steer me in the right direction.
I currently have a Imac 24" C2Duo fully speced out. I also had a Dell Xps
M1210. I had some major issues with my XPS m1210 and Dell decided to finally refund me my money completely on that laptop and that i could go ahead and buy a new one. So to my surprise the new Xps M1330 was just released so i decided to go with that and placed the order for a fully speced Xps M1330. On a side note i always like having a Mac Computer and A windows computer as well...
So after placing my order for the Xps they gave me a 6 week waiting period!!! So I was really aggrivated but decided I would wait... Now on Thursday my order was completely cancelled from Dell because of some sort of shortage, and my salesperon said t would be resubmitted soon.
At this point I have had enough and don't want to do any business with Dell ever again.
So here's where the problem comes in.
I went to future shop and got myself a MacBook Pro 17" to try it out and see if i like it (14 day return policy)
And I absolutely love it. I installed bootcamp and realized how easy it is to run windows whenever i need it...
But the problem is the Macbook Pro is 3500$ Canadian and the Xps M1330 came out to 2000$ Canadian... Huge difference.
So here are my options...
1. Sell my 24" Imac and buy a 30" Cinema Display with a 17" Macbook Pro
2. Sell my Imac wait for the rumored new Imac and just wait for the Xps...
3. Keep my Imac and get a Macbook...
I'm leaning towards option # 1 but then i'd be trading in 2 computers for one Macbook Pro and my dream 30" Display...
The thing is though that I love my Imac with it's 500gb hard drive and it's simple and fun ease of use...
So i'm really torn here and don't know what to do...
Any advice, help would be greatly appreciated.
On a side note i absolutely hate buying a product and then a few weeks or months later a completely redesigned product comes out. I know that waiting for the next new thing will ultinmately always leave me with nothing, but i'm sure you guys can relate to what i mean...
Will there be any new Cinema Diplays? Imacs? MacBook Pros anytime soon.

Thank you all again for taking the time to read this and giving your advice.

 

[youyou]

Anyone????

 

[Hellenek]

Well a new iMac is expected as soon as next month so it may make sense to get as much as you can for your current one.

Option 1 seems to make most sense as having an iMac & MBP seem to be overkill. Let the Dell go...

 

[iBookG4user]

I'd go for the MacBook Pro and the 30" cinema display. It will be just like having a desktop and a laptop. I have a MacBook Pro and a larger external display and I find the setup great.

 

[mkrishnan]

What motivated you to get the XPS1330? It seems kind of odd that one moment, you're gung ho about getting an ultraportable and the next minute, you want a 17" notebook? What drove you from one end of the spectrum to the other? What had you in the ultra camp to begin with?

 

[youyou]

What motivated you to get the XPS1330? It seems kind of odd that one moment, you're gung ho about getting an ultraportable and the next minute, you want a 17" notebook? What drove you from one end of the spectrum to the other? What had you in the ultra camp to begin with?

Well because i had a 12'1 xps m1210 and i like the whole ultra portable vibe...
I had the portable notebook and the nice big 24" Imac.
But the 17" Macbook Pro has always been a notebook i've dreamed of and same goes for the 30" Cinema Display...
I dont absolutely need an ultra portable.
I wonder as well if the MacBook Pro can hadle everything I throw at it like the Imac does...

 

[kikobarbada]

I would sell the iMac and but a Macbook Pro 15in 2.4ghz with 2 23" Apple Cinemas.

Reasons:
1. Macbook Pro 15in is portable.
2. 2.4ghz will last you for a long time, plus the 256mb video ram which is great too.
3. The 30" screen is quite too big and will give you headaches. The 23" also offers you a huge size and the good of having two screens is that you can keep different stuff on each screen (especially with Leopard's spaces).

Extra tip: Try to keep with your configuration for a while instead of always replacing for a newer one unless you really need it or you can easily pay.

That's all.

 

[mkrishnan]

I wonder as well if the MacBook Pro can hadle everything I throw at it like the Imac does...

In that case, why not? Go for it. It doesn't sound like you need or benefit from a very small notebook. The Macbook Pro should be very close in performance generally to the iMac 24". As long as it is adequately stocked with memory, it should be a winner for you.

 

[iToaster]

MBP > iMac. Sell the iMac, get the 30" and maybe a keyboard and mouse if you want to use it in lid closed mode. I'd break my own arm off for a 30"er (not really), those things are insane, but I can't afford one (right now). MBP + 30" is an awesome combination, you're sure you want the 17"? It's pretty massive, but if you'll be using it at your desk, you'll be fine, I went for a 15", not that I'd be using it unplugged that often, but I'm obsessed like that. Decline the Dell, get the MBP.

 

[Mossman]

Decisions!

Hello from sunny England!

Personally, I think a 15" and a 30" screen would be the way to go - best of both worlds.

The 30" does not give you headaches!

Cheers!

 

[jnash]

you have pm

 

[Zwhaler]

Wirelessly posted (LGE-VX9900/1.0 UP.Browser/6.2.3.2 (GUI) MMP/2.0)

If i were in your situtation i would definitely go for the mbp and cinema display. Sell the dell as quickly as possible

 

[EvryDayImShufln]

Just thought I'd share this with you: the 14 days future shop gives you is not a "trial period". They lose money every time somebody does this, maybe you should've been a little more considerate and realize that the box does not magically reseal itself as soon as you give it back.

Now they're going to have to sell it as an open box. Maybe you should think things through before making rash decisions.

 

[youyou]

Just thought I'd share this with you: the 14 days future shop gives you is not a "trial period". They lose money every time somebody does this, maybe you should've been a little more considerate and realize that the box does not magically reseal itself as soon as you give it back.

Now they're going to have to sell it as an open box. Maybe you should think things through before making rash decisions.

thank you for the wise input. I spend
between 5 to 10 thousand dollars a month at future shop. If I want to get a laptop to try out then I have every right to. They make enough money with Me as it is... Now I might just end up keeping it... But if I don't then that's why the 14 days are there for.

 

[jnash]

thank you for the wise input. I spend
between 5 to 10 thousand dollars a month at future shop. If I want to get a laptop to try out then I have every right to. They make enough money with Me as it is... Now I might just end up keeping it... But if I don't then that's why the 14 days are there for.

ill trade for my mbp in my sig for your imac 24 and give u some cash

 

[chex]

30" is great, wouldn't waste my money on an ACD though, but if you're spending $10000 a month on stuff I suppose you can afford it.

and I would go for the 2.4 15" MBP too, I can't see the point of a 17" if you're going to have a 30" screen too, for me the extra portability of the 15" outweighs the minimal gains from the bigger 17" screen.

As far as getting 2x23", thats also pointless with a laptop (I know it wasn't your idea) - the laptop only has one output, the 30" *won't* give you a headache (where on earth did you come up with that) and you can split your windows between the laptop and the monitor.

so my choice = 2.5 15" MBP + 30" monitor + cordless mouse & keyboard.

 

[numbersyx]

I too would go for the 15" MBP if you are going to use the ACD 30". No need for the extra screen space on the laptop with that display and you get a little more portability (although the 17" is not bad in the portability department)...

 

[jtrwallace]

definitely go for the 15". because you want to take it places, it will be portable. Also, you'll want a bright display when you travel and the 17" is much dimmer than the 15". The specs are literally the same and you'll have so much screen at home anyway it will pointless to have the big laptop. the performance gains in the 17" are negligible

 

[katorga]

Heads up on 30"

I've seen a lot of posts on Apple's forums and other forums that 30" displays are having timing issues with the dual link DVI output of the 8600GT. The symptoms are flashing green "static" in large areas of black on the 30".

The recent 1.3 firmware update did not appear to fix it.

It is probably just a timing issue that can be fixed with a driver update, but the problem seems prevalent.

Kind of a bummer, because the setup I want is a 30" ACD and my MBP 15" 2.4. The 23" is an option, but in that case I would rather have the Dell 2407 because it has HDMI inputs that can be used for an xbox or PS3.

 

[youyou]

Thankx guys for all your great advice...
It seems s though you are all more or less pointing me towards the 2.4ghz
15'4 Macbook Pro + the 30" Cinema Display.
Few questions though...
Isn't the 15"4 MPro about the same weight as the 17" ? I mean ya it will be a little smaller but is the size and weight difference significant?
Also I will essentially be trading 2 different computers for one... So when you say i connect the Mpro to the 30" display, can i be doing 2 different things on each screen?? For example every app that is open on my MPro will essentially be open as well on my 30" Display right??

 

[iBookG4user]

Thankx guys for all your great advice...
It seems s though you are all more or less pointing me towards the 2.4ghz
15'4 Macbook Pro + the 30" Cinema Display.
Few questions though...
Isn't the 15"4 MPro about the same weight as the 17" ? I mean ya it will be a little smaller but is the size and weight difference significant?
Also I will essentially be trading 2 different computers for one... So when you say i connect the Mpro to the 30" display, can i be doing 2 different things on each screen?? For example every app that is open on my MPro will essentially be open as well on my 30" Display right??

The 15" is a pound lighter. And yes you can be doing different things on the two screens if they're not mirroring each other.

 

[ziutek]

Just a warning, if you want to use the macbook pro with a 30" in windows vista (and i believe xp, too), it won't work right now. The 30" works fine in OS X, but not in vista. Hopefully Nvidia or apple will release a new driver with a fix.

 

[youyou]

Just a warning, if you want to use the macbook pro with a 30" in windows vista (and i believe xp, too), it won't work right now. The 30" works fine in OS X, but not in vista. Hopefully Nvidia or apple will release a new driver with a fix.

Wow that's great to know... Thankx alot.
So that means that i won't be able for example to use vista on my Macbook Pro and Osx on my 30" display at the same time right??

 

[ziutek]

Wow that's great to know... Thankx alot.
So that means that i won't be able for example to use vista on my Macbook Pro and Osx on my 30" display at the same time right??

Well, that's not exactly what I was getting at. You can use OS X and vista at the same time with virtualization software (VMWare or Parallels), but I'm saying that if you boot into windows vista with Bootcamp, and connect your 30" monitor to the macbook pro, the resolution on the 30" will be very low because the current graphics drivers for vista don't support the 30" 's high resolution. However you can still use the macbook pro's interal display with vista.