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Which Mac should I buy for Christmas?
- Thread starter mtthwcmn1
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"powerful" is a word i associate with the processor. i think the 15" is more powerful. you can upgrade on the imac to a better processor, though.
one cool thing with the mbp is that you can upgrade to an ssd. if you are asking about "faster" at certain tasks, then the ssd wins hands down.
the real question is: what will you do with it?
Get the laptop over a desktop if you are going to be a college student and would ever want to take your computer with you from class to class.
Desktop > laptop when desktop price = laptop price. That's a reasonable generalisation I've always found. And I've hardly moved my Macbook Pro as a student-so I could have got an iMac for the same price with a lot more horsepower. :/
I think what he means by 'versatile' is more mobile, lighter and easier to take places...
But IMHO, I'd have to go for the Macbook Pro, for what he's going to be doing with it, I'd pick the MBP over the iMac everyday...
I guess in truth I did mean portable. I should have been more specific, so thank you.
However power wise the iMac is the one to go for. But I can't help thinking that a laptop is more useful for a student.
Buy an entry level 21.5 iMac and an iPad 2 instead of your choices.
If you are even considering an iMac over a laptop you obviously consider portability not an essential factor. I've had 3 work laptops over the years and the last one never left my desk (yes never in 2 years). Of course some people carry them around everyday but it seems likely that you are not one of these people. I'm not sure what an iPad would be like for taking notes in class someone else may be able to advise on that but I think I would have liked to use one when I was there (although they weren't invented then).
If you are even considering an iMac over a laptop you obviously consider portability not an essential factor. I've had 3 work laptops over the years and the last one never left my desk (yes never in 2 years). Of course some people carry them around everyday but it seems likely that you are not one of these people. I'm not sure what an iPad would be like for taking notes in class someone else may be able to advise on that but I think I would have liked to use one when I was there (although they weren't invented then).
cute !!
WIsh all macs came like that for xmas
I too, am looking for a mac around xmas time. The MBA, although ulta thin, didn't prove up to performance, as i would would to play the odd games. I don't think Skyrim would work too well. Also, doung handbrake stuff, Parallels, and just the usual browsing/emailing.
So, my choices are either an iMac (base model), or MBP 15".
Just out of curiousity, since both the iMac, and MBP comes with the AMD 6750M with 512MB VRAM. why is the resolution higher on the imac ? 1920x1080 vs 1440x900 on the Macbook Pro. Aspect ratio and all aside, shouldn't the images on the imac be less detailed as if at the same resolution, therefore the pixals would get bigge ?
Native resolution is dependent on the display panel itself, not really the GPU. Pretty much every modern GPU can handle 1080p resolution for most things, that's why when you plug the MBP into an external display it can push more pixels to the display depending on what the resolution of the display is.
Portability is portability
In that case go MBA.
College student? I would get a laptop...
You'll take it with you, and rapidly type during lectures. A lot better than a notepad.
Ultimately:
Mac mini: $600
Monitor: $100
Keyboard Mouse: $20-100
Large External HD: $100
Macbook Air: $900
You're looking at about $1800-2100, if you were considering the 27" iMac this should be in your price range. Take that macbook air with you on campus, use the hell out of it, take good notes, go home, upload them to your mac mini/external hard drive.
But if you feel you must have either a mbp or 27" iMac.... and the reason you're buying a mac is because of college... id say you need the mbp. If you just wanted to update your computer then the iMac.