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Selling iMac 27" for a MacBook Pro 2011

LouieSamman

LouieSamman

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 23, 2008
909
9
Orlando, Florida
So I have an iMac 27" Core i7 2010

& I want to sell it once the new MacBook Pro comes out.

The Buyer's Guide shows that it is soon to be updated.

I will continue to have the iMac 27" until the new MacBook Pro comes out.

Why would I want to switch from a beast of a machine to a MacBook?

1 is I don't like to be constraint to a computer desk when doing work and want the flexibility to use the computer around the house.

2 is the comfortable aspects of using the laptop on my bed or couch.

3 is I can hook the MacBook up to a 50" HDTV and get a better experience playing mac games and watching movies than the 27" iMac screen. So I can play video games on my MacBook 17" screen if I want to just play alone or choose to play on the 50" HDTV screen if I want to share my gaming experience with people around me. The whole fact that I am on a desk with my 27" iMac playing games and not being able to share it with anyone because theres no other computer chair, and the screen isn't large enough to share to a broad amount of people bums me out.

With the power of the i5 and i7 in the MacBook Pros today they can do more than enough to play intense graphical games, I believe the next MacBook Pros of 2011 will be more than efficient to play computer games.

The whole reason I bought an iMac was the power and screen size but now with figuring out that I can get enough power from the MacBook Pro to play games and a bigger screen size with hooking up the MacBook to the TV, the iMac is not needed.

Also I always want an illuminated keyboard.

I will purchase a separate wireless Mouse for my MacBook so I can continue to play games without using the trackpad.

How do you feel about my decision? Is this a good choice? I truly will be more happier if I go along with this.
 
as long as your happy then thats all that matters. I have both a desktop and a laptop. and since i purchased my mbp last month i think ive used my desktop once. my desktop is much more powerful than my mbp but the mbp is much more convenient.
 
You will miss having a desktop. Trust me, you will. I sold my first Mac Pro because I thought it was too much machine for me. I used my MacBook Pro as my main machine for nearly 2 years. I missed having a desktop dearly, and finally gave in and got another Mac Pro. The power of the desktop plus the convenience of not having to plug/unplug cables constantly plus it ALWAYS being there are things I don't take for granted. I am really glad that I have my desktop back, and also have a MacBook Pro in the bag for when I need it. I find myself using my desktop almost 24.7 now and barely using my MacBook Pro at all. The MacBook Pro is on eBay right now, I'm going to buy a new one when the refresh comes.

Best of luck with your decision. I would keep the desktop, unless you utterly hate your iMac. That iMac is as fast as my Mac Pro, by the way. a BEAST!
 
lickitysplit said:
as long as your happy then thats all that matters. I have both a desktop and a laptop. and since i purchased my mbp last month i think ive used my desktop once. my desktop is much more powerful than my mbp but the mbp is much more convenient.
Click to expand...

But the 2011 is going to become even powerful, not as much as the iMac once the iMac gets updated but the power if the MacBook would be powerful enough to do everything I want it to do and I get the portability on my side. With the 50" TV it's even better than a desktop experience.

WardC said:
You will miss having a desktop. Trust me, you will. I sold my first Mac Pro because I thought it was too much machine for me. I used my MacBook Pro as my main machine for nearly 2 years. I missed having a desktop dearly, and finally gave in and got another Mac Pro. The power of the desktop plus the convenience of not having to plug/unplug cables constantly plus it ALWAYS being there are things I don't take for granted. I am really glad that I have my desktop back, and also have a MacBook Pro in the bag for when I need it. I find myself using my desktop almost 24.7 now and barely using my MacBook Pro at all. The MacBook Pro is on eBay right now, I'm going to buy a new one when the refresh comes.

Best of luck with your decision. I would keep the desktop, unless you utterly hate your iMac. That iMac is as fast as my Mac Pro, by the way. a BEAST!
Click to expand...

The 50" would make the MacBook Pro like an iMac and when it comes to power, the iMac will always be on top but the MacBook Pro of 2011 is going to be powerful enough to play all my steam games, which was why I got the iMac but now that the MacBook are getting more powerful I am making the switch.

revelated said:
My question is, why the 2011? Why does that matter?
Click to expand...

Because it's going to have a better graphical card, basically better specs, battery life. It's getting an update soon so why should I buy a MacBook Pro now?

I can just enjoy the iMac until the MacBook Pro gets updated.
 
You have to take into account that even the new MBP will still be a big deal slower than a quad core i7 2010 iMac. I mean, I have a base iMac 21." here, and it's WAY faster than the MBP at anything. Can't imagine what the i7 would be like!
 
I just got a MBP i7 with 8gb ram and it screams! dont think that they will announce any game changers next week other than upping the 13" specs. I opted for the MBP instead of an iMac so I can take it with me...and to make up for the desktop portion i bought a 24" LED on apples refurb site....you would never know this thing wasnt brand new....now i have an iMac but even better....cant get much faster than blazing fast..
 
christophermdia said:
I just got a MBP i7 with 8gb ram and it screams! dont think that they will announce any game changers next week other than upping the 13" specs. I opted for the MBP instead of an iMac so I can take it with me...and to make up for the desktop portion i bought a 24" LED on apples refurb site....you would never know this thing wasnt brand new....now i have an iMac but even better....cant get much faster than blazing fast..
Click to expand...

Yeah so the MBP are not getting updated in the DEC 20 event but they will in early 2011 and it will scream even more because of it being updated.

I also am looking at getting the MBP i7 but with the 2011 update they will add better battery life, better graphics. Which is what I am looking forward to.
 
Most likely will keep the 330m as the GPU is usually kept for 2 generations.

You will see an improvement on the Sandy Bridge IGP, that is if sandy bridge is used
 
do whatever u think is best, if u feel a mbp is more suitable then get that.

ps if u dont want a small display get 13" then get external monitor and it'll mimic a normal desktop :)
 
I just bought the same imac and a 2.4 i5 mbp all within the last month and will keep them both. Both do every thing I need. Even with an update I can rest assured the current ones I have will be more than enough for the next many years. Save your money and buy the mbp and keep your desktop. They both serve different purposes. But whatever you decide upon you will have a great machine.
 
I am never a desktop guy... I went all the way with notebooks. MacBook Pro is my 3rd so far. 1st was Dell huge 17" and 2nd is the HDX 16"

Yeah... I went from 17" -> 16" -> now 15" -> (missing!) -> 3.7" (iPhone)
 
I haven't used a desktop for almost 4 years... we have 3 MBPs in our house, and I never feel limited. I really enjoy the flexibility and convenience of using my computer wherever I want to. But as others have said, to each their own.
 
WardC said:
You will miss having a desktop. Trust me, you will. I sold my first Mac Pro because I thought it was too much machine for me. I used my MacBook Pro as my main machine for nearly 2 years. I missed having a desktop dearly, and finally gave in and got another Mac Pro. The power of the desktop plus the convenience of not having to plug/unplug cables constantly plus it ALWAYS being there are things I don't take for granted. I am really glad that I have my desktop back, and also have a MacBook Pro in the bag for when I need it. I find myself using my desktop almost 24.7 now and barely using my MacBook Pro at all. The MacBook Pro is on eBay right now, I'm going to buy a new one when the refresh comes.

Best of luck with your decision. I would keep the desktop, unless you utterly hate your iMac. That iMac is as fast as my Mac Pro, by the way. a BEAST!
Click to expand...

... Don't you experience lag when you're hooking up to the ACD with your MacBook Pro? I have the exact one (2.4 Ghz / base 2GB RAM) and it's so slow! It's terrible for playing games. I don't know why it's like this.

The only reason why I am unsatisfied with my MacBook Pro is because I can't use it like a desktop. I feel limited by the lag that I experience and the lack of performance in games. I was about to build a desktop but then I decided it was a bad idea-I'm going for boarding next year so I got the option to swap my MacBook Pro for a new one.

I'm going the same route as LouieSamman - I'm waiting for the new i7s to come out after 10.7 presumably comes out on the 20th.
 
rekhyt said:
I'm going the same route as LouieSamman - I'm waiting for the new i7s to come out after 10.7 presumably comes out on the 20th.
Click to expand...

Awesome to hear you doing the same. I should assume you are not getting a 50" to at least enhance your experience from time to time with gaming/watching movies.

I believe you can get the i7s in the MacBook Pros today. Bought only for the 17" MacBook Pro.

I guess you want the i7 in a smaller MacBook Pro, probably the 15". If so then that's what is coming up for the 2011 Macbook Pro.

As for the 10.7 OS X, it's not coming out on the 20th. Maybe in 4-6 months. Maybe it will be available along with the new MacBook Pros.

For me I am going to get the 17" MacBook Pro 2011 & later as I save up some money, get a 50" HDTV to put in my room. Yes my bedroom. I live with my parents at the moment and but I want a nice experience in my bedroom to play games and watch movies rather than going to the living room where the TV is always used by my family & the distance of the TV and couch is too far away for my liking. My bedroom is small so the distance of my bed and opposite wall is perfect to get a great experience with the 50"HDTV.
 
rekhyt said:
... Don't you experience lag when you're hooking up to the ACD with your MacBook Pro? I have the exact one (2.4 Ghz / base 2GB RAM) and it's so slow! It's terrible for playing games. I don't know why it's like this.

The only reason why I am unsatisfied with my MacBook Pro is because I can't use it like a desktop. I feel limited by the lag that I experience and the lack of performance in games. I was about to build a desktop but then I decided it was a bad idea-I'm going for boarding next year so I got the option to swap my MacBook Pro for a new one.

I'm going the same route as LouieSamman - I'm waiting for the new i7s to come out after 10.7 presumably comes out on the 20th.
Click to expand...

I never do experience lag... I overclock notebooks for the last 2 notebooks. This MBP GPU is overclocked.

I do special custom mod on notebook like people do on their desktop. Nothing impossible.
 
So you're going to go with the 17"?

Good choice I think. That and the big screen TV will work nice. If you want a desktop / workstation down the road just add the 27" acd to the set up and you've got the best of all worlds.

Post back what you end up doing and let us know how you like it.
 
entatlrg said:
So you're going to go with the 17"?

Good choice I think. That and the big screen TV will work nice. If you want a desktop / workstation down the road just add the 27" acd to the set up and you've got the best of all worlds.

Post back what you end up doing and let us know how you like it.
Click to expand...

I have to wait until the 2011 MacBook Pros to come out since it's soon to be updated. But I have made my decision in doing this.

So it's going to be awhile before I do this but when I do, I'll take a photo of how things are set up and show you what I mean towards this type of setup that I believe overtakes the iMac.
 
rekhyt said:
... Don't you experience lag when you're hooking up to the ACD with your MacBook Pro? I have the exact one (2.4 Ghz / base 2GB RAM) and it's so slow! It's terrible for playing games. I don't know why it's like this.

The only reason why I am unsatisfied with my MacBook Pro is because I can't use it like a desktop. I feel limited by the lag that I experience and the lack of performance in games. I was about to build a desktop but then I decided it was a bad idea-I'm going for boarding next year so I got the option to swap my MacBook Pro for a new one.

I'm going the same route as LouieSamman - I'm waiting for the new i7s to come out after 10.7 presumably comes out on the 20th.
Click to expand...

Make sure your laptop lid is closed. That way, the gpu isn't wasting power pushing pixels to that as well.
 
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