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15"MBP or 20"imac

SpankyPenzaanz

SpankyPenzaanz

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 4, 2006
705
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Even if and when MBPs and 20"iMacs get updates what should my choice be? any advice? I have had a powerbook for about 4years and feel it is about time to make a purchase. for about the last year or so my pb has been relegated to desktop mode because the battery holds about 1 hour charge and the mouse track pad has been schizo
 
SpankyPenzaanz said:
Even if and when MBPs and 20"iMacs get updates what should my choice be? any advice? I have had a powerbook for about 4years and feel it is about time to make a purchase. for about the last year or so my pb has been relegated to desktop mode because the battery holds about 1 hour charge and the mouse track pad has been schizo
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If you're like me and are spoiled by having a computer with you all the time, go with the MacBook Pro. Otherwise go for the iMac.
 
Sometimes it's really a shame that you can't run Mac OSX on a ToughBook CF-29 :D

icon_29_oc.gif


I think you will be MUCH safer, have greater performance, better storage, better graphics and super nice screen real estate out of a 20" iMac.

The only problem is that you are used to having a portable.

I would wait for the Merom/Conroe update and buy the iMac, then wait until after Apple releases the Santa Rosa/Leopard notebooks before you plunk down any more money on another portable.
 
It depends on your needs. Do you need portability? Or do you mostly use your computer at home. I find for school that a laptop is absolutely essential. Plus the Macbook Pro's just look cool (even though I only had enough money for a Macbook).
 
It sounds like you had some negative experiences with your PB. I have had my MBP since March and although it has served me well, it has some pretty tolerable traits like processor whine, fan noise and heat...lots of heat. My 15PB screen went about a year ago - so you can say that I haven't had the best of luck with apple portables.

I just got a Mac Pro + 30" Cinema display at work and that's where I do the majority of work now. I love the power and the large real estate...and I don't have to worry about what I mentioned before, in addition to it getting stolen or dropping it or anything like that. But like the previous few posts have mentioned, if you need the portability, you can't go wrong with the MBP or Macbook.

Either way, you'll be happy! :) :)
 
macanudo said:
It sounds like you had some negative experiences with your PB. I have had my MBP since March and although it has served me well, it has some pretty tolerable traits like processor whine, fan noise and heat...lots of heat. My 15PB screen went about a year ago - so you can say that I haven't had the best of luck with apple portables.

I just got a Mac Pro + 30" Cinema display at work and that's where I do the majority of work now. I love the power and the large real estate...and I don't have to worry about what I mentioned before, in addition to it getting stolen or dropping it or anything like that. But like the previous few posts have mentioned, if you need the portability, you can't go wrong with the MBP or Macbook.

Either way, you'll be happy! :) :)
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To the contrary - I could never have been happier witth my pb. My problem ahve only been of recent and the trackpad issue comes and goes. I don't need portability its a nice luxury. and I am used to it I have brenthaven backpack and shoulder bag as well as another messenger and a tenba backpack that can hold my camera equip and pb and a north face backpack for genral purpose. But I enjoy working with photoshop and and very eager to use aperture (aftercountless hours with it at apple store) the screen real estate would be nice to have. Then again the portable factor is so hard to pass up. Then the price becomes issue as the imac is considerably cheaper.
 
The new MacBook 2.0's are damn near as powerful as my DP 2.0 G5 tower.
Smaller yes, but with an external display and a good back-up drive,
you could have a pretty nice set-up.

If you set one up with 2 GB RAM, that might be enough for your portable needs.

Adobe Software is dragging under Rosetta, so you'll need to max out the RAM until
Adobe gets their act together on UB CS3.

That goes for the iMac as well.

You do have to consider the Pros and Cons of Glossy and Matte displays
for photo work.
 
right now i already dual display with a 19"samsung multifunction lcd and a 300GB FW maxtor and a lacie ext dvd burner. so you make a valid point - i already have this equipment and i may as well continue using it.

to help narrow down would the 100gb7200rpm hd be better or is the 120gb the better option - if i decided on mbp
 
if you want to maximize on internal space then get the 120gb 5400rpm. from what ive heard the difference in speed isn't extremely noticeable.
 
Even the finest quality HD's fail sometimes.

I would set a laptop up with a good solid working drive and keep the
strorage on a fast external.

The default OSX install is about 12.5 GB plus formatting space.
If you Custom install the OS in a lean install, it frees up roughly 5 GB of HD space that you can use to install quite a few applications.

I just pulled up the system requirements for Aperture

The shared memory VRAM in the MacBook makes it unsuitable for use with
Aperture.
http://www.apple.com/aperture/specs.html

I'm glad I caught this.

It looks like your best bet might be a refurb 2.0 MacBook Pro or back to the iMac.
 
it depends alot on your needs, but id get the macbook pro and an external display, giving you a laptop and when you use ut at home large screen space. I have a macbook and run it with a 17" in extended desktop and love it.
 
I would go with the Macbook Pro w/ 7200 rpm drive ... Trading 20 GB for higer speed is worth it. notebookreview.com had a very good review of 7200 rpm notebook drives. THey have a lot of praise for them.

PS: I always felt totally painfully using the Desktop setup with a mac portable. I think it is because of the lack of docking port for easy access. in my opinion get the 15" MBP or if you can get some Developer discount get the 17" one. Imacs are nice and all but they are not upgradable ....neither are they faster than MBPs so i donot see the point.
 
Just oredered a 24"imac with 2gbram and 2.33core2duo and 256videocard and i want it now:D
 
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