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Advice for a newbie...

B

Bewarethewolves

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 2, 2011
13
0
Hello everyone, this is my first post, i'm sorry if this question has been answered a thousand times but your advice is badly needed. I am looking to purchase an Apple computer mainly for the use of Logic Studio and internet browsing, would i be better getting a 15'' MBP or the new refreshed imac? Feedback on why which one is the right choice would be helpful. Thankyou for your time:D
 
The new iMac will be a bit faster and have a bigger display and screen resolution, but if you want portability, you might take a closer look at the MBP.
Both Macs will be sufficient for your uses, unless you do really, really heavy Logic work.

A more descriptive and precise thread title will help cater to the right audience and get you more adequate responses. (see rule #3 under How do I get help with a hardware or software problem)
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Have you also taken a look at MRoogle, since that question may have been asked several times?
Click to expand...
 
The hardware on both will be fine for your needs. So:

If you would like the portability of the MBP then there's your answer.

But the iMac has a much bigger screen for working on and the computer will be better at the more demanding processes for longer as it uses desktop components rather than laptop.

The only other thing I would say is that if you can get a solid state drive (SSD), these really fly and having just upgraded it's like a totally new machine. The best option would be to get an after market SSD to put in the iMac as an additional drive (it will take 2 drives) as Apple drives are very expensive.

Also don't get an Apple RAM upgrade as they are too expensive and that is REALLY easy to upgrade yourself. This means that you don't have to do it straight away - you can upgrade if you find you need it later.
 
You should get an imac. I m currently using imac 27 inch. What a great product from apple
 
can you not just buy an external ssd drive and use it as your mac's ssd ? as in putting mac os on it and all applications ? is it possible ? if it is then no need to install ssd in imac by removing the screen and all that jazz
 
zombierunner said:
can you not just buy an external ssd drive and use it as your mac's ssd ? as in putting mac os on it and all applications ? is it possible ? if it is then no need to install ssd in imac by removing the screen and all that jazz
Click to expand...

Yes, that will work too, but you will not get the full speed the SSD offers, as it using an SSD as external HDD is limited to the interface one uses. Right now external HDDs only come with USB 2.0, USB 3.0, Firewire 400 and 800 and eSATA. Maybe there will be external HDD enclosures with TB, thus one can take full advantage of an SSD with a TB equipped Mac.
 
simsaladimbamba said:
Yes, that will work too, but you will not get the full speed the SSD offers, as it using an SSD as external HDD is limited to the interface one uses. Right now external HDDs only come with USB 2.0, USB 3.0, Firewire 400 and 800 and eSATA. Maybe there will be external HDD enclosures with TB, thus one can take full advantage of an SSD with a TB equipped Mac.
Click to expand...

what about the lacie little big disk with thunderbolt .. whenever it comes out ... i mean it has ssd and thunderbolt? should be alright i guess but how would you even put mac os in it .. i mean if its on your regular 1tb drive .... how would you transfer the os to the external drive?
 
zombierunner said:
what about the lacie little big disk with thunderbolt .. whenever it comes out ... i mean it has ssd and thunderbolt? should be alright i guess but how would you even put mac os in it .. i mean if its on your regular 1tb drive .... how would you transfer the os to the external drive?
Click to expand...

Use CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper to make a 1:1 copy of Mac OS X onto an external HDD or SSD, or install Mac OS X onto the external SSD or HDD.
 
Thanks for everyones advice. But if I buy one of the new imac's, why would I need to install new drives, won't it be fast enough? I'm looking at getting a 21'' with 1tb.
 
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Thanks man
 
I'm trying to make the same decision for the same reason (Logic).

Apparently iMacs are very quiet, which might be useful for you if you're producing music.

I don't have an MPB but I have heard that they can run hot causing their fans to get very loud.

Is this accurate? If iMacs are quieter I will definitely be leaning in that direction.
 
shtoat said:
I'm trying to make the same decision for the same reason (Logic).

Apparently iMacs are very quiet, which might be useful for you if you're producing music.

I don't have an MPB but I have heard that they can run hot causing their fans to get very loud.

Is this accurate? If iMacs are quieter I will definitely be leaning in that direction.
Click to expand...

Yes, i have heard that also, do you think I would require additional speakers for an imac or will the built in ones be sufficient?
 
Bewarethewolves said:
Thanks for everyones advice. But if I buy one of the new imac's, why would I need to install new drives, won't it be fast enough? I'm looking at getting a 21'' with 1tb.
Click to expand...

The 21inch will be good enough, however, do wait for this refresh, and if you can afford the bigger iMac with a spec-update, the computer will last much longer in the future.
 
Bewarethewolves said:
Yes, i have heard that also, do you think I would require additional speakers for an imac or will the built in ones be sufficient?
Click to expand...

Built in speakers are alright, but if you have that little bit of extra money left over, invest in a set of speakers. You can never go wrong with Speakers.
 
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