Switching to Mac - Need advice on what to buy

[Flcarguy]

I have been a PC user for over 15 years. After purchasing an Iphone, I found the interface to be very intuitive which lead me to due some research on Mac's in general. I am very impressed with what I see.

I am going to wait till Leopard is released but I need some advice on what to purchase in terms of a system.

It will be for home use with some presentations and spreadsheets being generated for work. I also play some PC based games.

I am interested in getting a Macbook Pro and either an IMac or a Mac Pro. I read that there is a possibility of both the Macbook Pro and Mac Pro's being updated in the near future.

Any recommendations on whether to get an IMac vs. waiting for a Mac Pro. Also, should I hold off on the Macbook Pro until the new ones come out?

Thank you in advance for the advice.

 

[CalBoy]

Wait until after Leopard has been out for a few weeks at the very least before making a final decision about what to buy. Since the notebook lines have historically been updated during November (or right before) in time for the Holiday Season, I'm betting we'll see that again this year. The macbooks have the most to gain, and you might find that they have some good stuff after the next update.

The iMacs are essentially settled for the next 10 months or so, so don't worry about them being updated. The Mac Pro on the other hand could see the latest Intel chips quite soon. I believe there was a story about this this week. Apple has already requested the latest chips from Intel, and we might see them in Mac Pros by December.

However, your needs will probably dictate your purchase more than anything else. If the macbooks get SR chips, and they are likely to, then they will be a better bet for you. Depending on how(or if) the macbook pros are updated, the following can change:

Option 1: Macbook + Mac Pro (both updated models)
Option 2: Macbook Pro + iMac
Option 3: Macbook Pro + Mac Pro

If you're looking for the best $ to power ratio, I'd have to go with Option 1. The macbook will likely have similar processing power compared to the macbook pro, and the Mac Pro will take care of your heavy needs. In my opinion, Option 2 is the weakest because the iMac is only marginally more powerful than a macbook pro. I think that if you have some real heavy project needs, the Mac Pro will probably be a must. Again, this all depends on what your exact needs are.