Trying to help a friend decide between cMBP and iMac

[class77]

Owns his own business(but just starting out) and has a YouTube channel. His old 2006 MBP is dying and he needs a replacement. He makes iMovie videos all the time(5-15 minutes long) and goes out into the field to give lectures.

I think the best combo for him would be an MBA and a 27" iMac to do his videos on. I honestly don't know whether to advise him on an i5 or an i7 and what configuration. The second thing is whether he should wait to buy the iMac now or will it be substantially updated in the next couple of months. I don't like the 21" because the RAM can't be updated and Apple's price for it pushes me to the 27".

He is toying with the idea of just buying a non-retina MBP. He's been running everything on a MBP up until now, but I don't know the demands of iMovie making. I would think he would need to wait for a new machine to
be out??

Has anybody got some educated opinions about what might suit his needs the best? Does he need to go with the i7 or will the i5 do the job with plenty of power to spare?

 

[rkaufmann87]

Owns his own business(but just starting out) and has a YouTube channel. His old 2006 MBP is dying and he needs a replacement. He makes iMovie videos all the time(5-15 minutes long) and goes out into the field to give lectures.

I think the best combo for him would be an MBA and a 27" iMac to do his videos on. I honestly don't know whether to advise him on an i5 or an i7 and what configuration. The second thing is whether he should wait to buy the iMac now or will it be substantially updated in the next couple of months. I don't like the 21" because the RAM can't be updated and Apple's price for it pushes me to the 27".

He is toying with the idea of just buying a non-retina MBP. He's been running everything on a MBP up until now, but I don't know the demands of iMovie making. I would think he would need to wait for a new machine to
be out??

Has anybody got some educated opinions about what might suit his needs the best? Does he need to go with the i7 or will the i5 do the job with plenty of power to spare?

This comes up all the time, the answer is based on one question and one question alone. Does your friend want or need portability or not? If so then the answer is obvious.

 

[mslide]

MBA and a 27" iMac

That's a very expensive option. Not a smart investment considering he's just starting out with a new business plus it sounds like he doesn't need the horsepower of a 27" iMac. I'd get a non-retina 13" or 15" MBP, or a 13" MBA, and a non-Apple monitor to go with it (to save money). It sounds like he doesn't need a lot of power considering he's using a 2006 MBP now. If that older MBP really can do the job and he just needs something new, then maybe just a 13" MBP or MBA and that's it. He could start out with one of those and return it if it's not enough horsepower.

I wouldn't pay extra for the i7. Few people will ever notice the difference. I doubt he would either considering he's still using a 2006 MBP.

I'm assuming that when you say he goes out into the field to give lectures that he really does need his computer with him and thus portability is a requirement.

 

[class77]

That's a very expensive option. Not a smart investment considering he's just starting out with a new business plus it sounds like he doesn't need the horsepower of a 27" iMac. I'd get a non-retina 13" or 15" MBP, or a 13" MBA, and a non-Apple monitor to go with it (to save money). It sounds like he doesn't need a lot of power considering he's using a 2006 MBP now. If that older MBP really can do the job and he just needs something new, then maybe just a 13" MBP or MBA and that's it. He could start out with one of those and return it if it's not enough horsepower.

I wouldn't pay extra for the i7. Few people will ever notice the difference. I doubt he would either considering he's still using a 2006 MBP.

I'm assuming that when you say he goes out into the field to give lectures that he really does need his computer with him and thus portability is a requirement.

He's using the 2006 because that's all he had. It's been undersized for his needs for some time now.

My reasoning on getting the MBA now because it was all new and he could get it before the current machine died. That would give him the leeway to wait until the iMac was upgraded in a couple of months, although I'm not sure how many upgrades the iMac will be getting. The lower 27" iMac costs the same as the better 21.5" because of the need to have Apple install their expensive RAM.

It just seems silly to buy the cMBP now when it will be upgraded in the next couple of months. Even MacRumors buying guide has a do not buy recommendation on it.

Not trying to be argumentative, just telling you my reasoning.

 

[zipur]

Well you can say the cMBP is known dependability. The Haswell may be full of bugs and frustration. Ala the rMBP Screen issues, so tis something to consider. Plus the built in DVD and either-net connections. Some folks don't want to hassle with an external DVD and adapters. Because as soon as you need it most, it's lost.