Don't know how much longer i'll hold out to do the iMac/MBP or MBA combo though. With the iMac being so old i'd be better off getting a MBPr for a year and then switching when they redesign (hopefully) the iMac next year🙂 I would love to just use 1 computer, but with live streaming being hard on laptops and not feeling safe leaving the house with a 2,400 dollar computer, it's hard for it to be a laptop:/
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Why do people use Mac desktops over laptops?
- Thread starter macuser1232
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Yeah the current iMac is freaking ancient, so ancient in fact that the ancient high end 27" iMac is still faster than the newer Macbook Pro! 😀
Retina Macbook Pro ---> 2.7GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7 Cost: $3049
27" High End iMac ------> 3.4GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 Cost: $2199
If you need a desktop computer, getting the Macbook Pro now instead of the antiquated 27" iMac makes a lot of sense! 🙄 🙄
Naw the iMac I priced was 2,700 bucks, and I'd only go up to a 2.3ghz on the MBPr, the benchmarks are pretty close though which is crazy.
Stock 27" 3.1GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 $1999
3.4GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 [Add $200.00]
Total Price - $2199
All I did was compare stock prices on the high end units with only the CPU upgrade.
If I wanted to be unfair I could have loaded the iMac up with a bunch of crap to boost the price.
? Dude some people don't like sitting in one spot all day. Plus it's a lot more convenient. I'm not saying that I don't like using a desktop. I'm just saying for my purposes now I don't use them that much.
Dude some people don't need to sit in front of a computer all day long. A computer is not my life, it does not control me, I do not want it in front of me everywhere
I go. I have a life that involves more than the computer.
Think about what I said ..... people who have to take their computer with them to the bathroom, the kitchen, the bedroom, family room, etc. What kind of life do they lead?
Oh make no mistake, I know people who are like that and it seems their entire life revolves around that notebook computer and that is sad.
It's a generational thing to be sure, I am a much older mature individual. Call me old fashion but I prefer to social network face to face.
If I want to watch a TV show or a movie, I have the TV/Family room for that I don't need to watch it on my computer or on my telephone.
The computer for me is 95% income generation, it is one of several tools of my trade. When I look at it I think about work. No way I want to think about work all the time! 😉
TennisandMusic
Guest
Man what does it matter to you what kind of computer he wants? Some people like laptops, some like desktops, and some people hate computers completely.
I will never ever understand people who begrudge others their choices. 😕
Try school boss man. Can't carry a 27" iMac to class everyday...
You do realize that the difference in power between say a 15" MBP @ $1,800 and a $1,700 base 27" iMac is really not that much... If you want a "POWERFUL" desktop then an iMac is not an option...
However I wouldn't buy a 15" MBP or an iMac... Neither fit my needs or wants...
Exactly. And that's where I would have to choose. Between an iMac and a Macbook Pro. And in this case I choose Macbook Pro. Though, I may come back and purchase an iMac for home later, but there's no way I can afford a Mac Pro.
Steve.P.JobsFan
macrumors 65816
Agreed. That's why Apple made the Macbook Pro. So you can still have power, but be able to have portability.
7enderbender
macrumors 6502a
It depends on usage. I do most of my work-work (Excel, Word, Access) on a Windows workstation at my office. Other stuff, like internet browsing, personal emails, writing, etc I prefer on my laptop, even when sitting at my desk at home.
But when it comes to audio recording and photo editing and stuff like that I need a fast and reliable desktop that is permanently attached to all the periphery that comes with that sort of work. Laptops are a little challenged in that area. Not saying it can't be done but it is a bit of a compromise.
Especially disconcerting is the lack of space in the new generation of SSD laptops. Yes, they are fast but don't hold my data unless I work with external drives and such which kind of defies the purpose. Another issue is that there are very few laptops available with high enough screen resolution/real estate for that purpose. The standard MacBooks don't cut it. The only viable options I see at the moment is the discontinued MacBook Pro 17" and the regular 15" both as hi res matte. Everything else is too consumer grade (incuding the Retina due to its inability to house a second hard drive for storage).
What if portability is worthless? The main purpose of my home Mac is as a media server for the several AppleTVs in the household. If I want to surf the web portably I have an iPad for that. I need a computer that's cheap for the power and storage it offers, that never moves, that never turns off or goes to sleep, and that features a comfortably large display for when it's in use to edit video. The iMac meets every one of these metrics, while any Mac notebook fails all of them until you add a $1k external display, and then it fails all of the metrics except that one.
Not everyone has the same computing needs as you.
I do have a MBP, but I bought it to tide me over between iMac releases because my older iMac wasn't making it to September (or later, or 2013) as a primary household server under that task load. I'll flip the 2012 MBP when it's time, and lose relatively little money because it's still current and likely still will be. But make no mistake, its portability is availing me little, and I wouldn't pay a single dollar for that aspect on a permanent basis.
You have a server? Please PM me about it more. I am interested. Also, I don't just surf the web with my Macbook Pro. I do a lot of major things(Photo edit, video edit, program, watch videos, etc.) And so far my MacBook Pro has been doing an excellent job and I really don't see any reason to buy a desktop.
My iMac (and for the time being the MBP I replaced it with to tide me over until new iMac) functions as media server for the household. Several AppleTVs spread across several rooms, for myself, the wife, and three kids to use and enjoy. You can use an ATV by itself with no server but then your video and photo libraries are limited to what's in the cloud: iTMS purchases, Photo Stream, and iTunes Match. Considering I have over 6TB of movies, serving it from a thunderbolt drive attached to the Mac is the way to roll. Keeps the blu-rays in the closet pristine, saves me a device worth of clutter (two if you count no cable box needed), and is easier and simpler to use in any event. (One of my daughters is only two years old but she can use the ATV perfectly).
So, here you have a Mac computer need that is the opposite of wanting or desiring portability. In fact it should NEVER move, and NEVER sleep! Any time it does either of those things, it is failing to function as needed. And it just so happens that the iMac provides all that plus has the big display built in instead of charging an additional $1k for it. and it just so happens the notebooks are not suitable for this purpose.
Also if you're editing video on a notebook of any kind... I hope you don't plan on using your eyes as you get older because you're going to ruin them. Far, far too small a display for work that is as granular as video editing. To say nothing of close photo work. For web surfing it's another story, you can use anything you want. And once again the notebooks aren't the best option because I can do all the portable web surfing that matters on a $500 iPad.
There's a purpose for the notebook computers. For a person who wants their office with them at all time, as it were, it may be ideal. I can't imagine an attorney or realtor or IT engineer being without a notebook for their work. But for a non-trivial number of other workflows, a notebook is not the right tool for the job. You can pound in nails with a rock, true, but wouldn't a hammer be better?