Which should I get for college?

[Gemmy]

Hello everyone. I'm new here and very new to macs. I'm happy to say, due to college and the classes I'll be taking, I'll be able to get a mac for school. I'll be taking computer graphics and possibly web programming so I'm going to need a computer with excellent performance and something where I can use Adobe Photoshop CS6, Sony Vegas, and a few other programs. In general, I'll also be using it for a small graphic design business I'll be making soon and just for surfing the web. I'll also be using it in conjunction with a Wacom Intuos4 graphics tablet. As I said before, I am new to macs so I'm very confused on which I should buy for school.

I'm trying to decide between 15" Macbook Pro or the 21" Imac. It's very confusing trying to decide between the two. The macbook pro, of course, is portable so I can take it with me on the go. The Imac, however, is bigger but is a desktop computer. I would be happy with either one but I need to know which is better for me. If anyone can help me decide, I'd really appreciate it

 

[miles01110]

Absent any mention of a budget and nothing conclusive on whether portability is important to you, go for the iMac.

 

[maflynn]

Given that the 15" MBP is on the Ivy Bridge chipset and the iMac is not at the moment, I'd say the MBP is probably the better choice.

The MacBook Pro gives you the mobility that will be a plus for college, i.e., taking to class and better performance.

While the iMac is no slouch, its best attribute at the moment is the screen size vs. the MBP's. If you think you need more screen real estate and don't need the mobility, then consider the iMac. The performance will be about 15% slower then the MBP

 

[Gemmy]

Thanks for the speedy replies Mobility and price are not an issue for me. I do have to admit I like the iMac's bigger screen but I do like the fact I can take the MBP on the go. I'm going to go to one of the apple stores in the area just to try out both of them in person to which I really prefer. I'm just going to keep doing research for now. On a side note, between the iMac and the MBP, which will last longer? I don't want to pay for either and then it flunks out on me within 4 years. That's exactly why I've much washed my hands with PCs because of the many problems with them.

 

[ChristianVirtual]

I also would suggest portable ; and once money allows go with a second monitor for home which gives you quite some flexibility.

 

[maflynn]

between the iMac and the MBP, which will last longer?

the longevity of them are probably identical, given that the MBP is only slightly faster (if you consider 15% slight).

Don't discount the screen real estate, i.e., larger display with the iMac. Slightly related - I went from a 13" MBP to a 15" MBP because in using Lightroom and Photoshop, the 13" MBP was just too constrained. the iMac will provide a much better user experience with Photoshop with the larger display imo.

With that said, I still think the MBP is a better option because of the mobility.

 

[theSeb]

Unless I am missing something, Sony Vegas does not run on OSX so you will need to add the cost of purchasing Windows and then installing it using Bootcamp.

 

[tstrayer]

external monitor for MBP

You could also get an external display to connect to the MBP if you wanted a bigger screen but need to maintain portability at times.

 

[bf2008]

If money is no issue buy a retina MBP and a Thunderbolt display. You'll get a crazy fast computer plus a very large high quality monitor including a dock solution for apple laptops.