Upgrading this year any suggestions- Sell Macbook, get iMac and iPad

[MacGenius1211]

Well after 4 years with this MacBook Im finally due to upgrade. Im a college student and I like portability

I have a really nice laptop desktop setup
My Macbook is a late 2007 2.2ghz. I upgraded the ram to 4GB put a 500GB Drive in her. The top case has been replaced by Apple a month ago. Shes connected to a 24inch LCD which lets me use it in desktop mode when im at home. I prefer a desktop when im at home


So ive considered selling the Macbook and getting a 27 inch iMac or getting a Mac Pro and an iPad for college, I mainly do light duty stuff in college like opening word documents, viewing powerpoint presentations, typing notes and general browsing the web.

As far as at home, Im quite the power user, Im a network engineering major. I work with old macs, and everything, So I need a good desktop computer at home.

Any suggestions on what I should do, Are you iPad users happy with them, I know I would be waiting until june to get one

 

[Voondebah]

I'm in a similar situation myself. I'm also a college student, and I want to upgrade my desktop (mac mini) , but also my laptop (4 year old macbook). As far as your iPad concerns, it's a tough question. I have an iPad, and I can say that it will suffice if you only expect to ever have to read and compose documents. But for me, I need to have a legitimate laptop. I need to work in groups at the university, and need to be able to interface with devices and write/compile code. If it wasn't for my need to do these things portably, I could get by with only the iPad for use during classes.

 

[Jphillippe]

I made the mistake of getting an iPad and it is the worst decision I made. After a few months I just couldn't stand surfing the web. webpages load up way slower than on computer, typing gets annoying and you just want the freedom to type in a laptop, youtube videos always get stuck no matter how fast your wifi connection is, and the lack of flash just makes the experience so not worth it.

I recommend getting a macbook pro instead. If size is an issue, get a display with it. Totally worth it.

 

[MacGenius1211]

I made the mistake of getting an iPad and it is the worst decision I made. After a few months I just couldn't stand surfing the web. webpages load up way slower than on computer, typing gets annoying and you just want the freedom to type in a laptop, youtube videos always get stuck no matter how fast your wifi connection is, and the lack of flash just makes the experience so not worth it.

I recommend getting a macbook pro instead. If size is an issue, get a display with it. Totally worth it.

My setup now is a Late 2007 MacBook 13 4GB RAM 500GB Hard Drive, Hooked up to a 24inch Acer HD Display. Apple Keyboard and mouse. Its a pretty good set up for desktop use, the 13 inch screen is a bit small for in class use. My other option for this is to just up the ram to 6GB get a new keyboard and mouse, and replace the incase hardshell that ive had on there since I bought it. The hard shell is showing its age, the MacBook however looks new.

 

[J&JPolangin]

...install a 80 - 120 Gb SSD and use your 500Gb for an external inclosure... that will give you more life out of your current machine for another few years until something really entices you to switch.

 

[MacGenius1211]

...install a 80 - 120 Gb SSD and use your 500Gb for an external inclosure... that will give you more life out of your current machine for another few years until something really entices you to switch.

Ive already got 2x 1TB externals right now, but going to an 80-120 SSD would probably make it quicker, Up the ram to 6GB drop in an SSD- and if i recall they make an adapter board so I can mount a regular drive in the space of the optical drive. The only really damper on this thing is the onboard graphics. I dont do much gaming, but the intel graphics kind of stink.

So this is what I think

Upgrade to the 6GB RAM
Install a 120GB SSD
Remove the optical drive and put in another hard drive
New keyboard and Magic Mouse
And replace the incase hard shell since its had it