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Apple Laptop or Apple Desktop

T

TeddyLeroux

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 28, 2009
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Im thinking about buying a computer for college and i was wondering if the imac or macbook pro would better suit me... I am going to go to a two year school which is a mile away then transfer in a year or two... this being considered what would you guys suggest??:apple:
 
TeddyLeroux said:
Im thinking about buying a computer for college and i was wondering if the imac or macbook pro would better suit me... I am going to go to a two year school which is a mile away then transfer in a year or two... this being considered what would you guys suggest??:apple:
Click to expand...

Hard to say without knowing what you intend to use it for. What's your major going to be?
 
Well im going to school for a major in marketing and i forgot to bring up one more thing... do you believe that there will be a black friday discount on macs??
 
There's nothing in marketing that can't be done on a laptop. A laptop is portable. If you need/want that...case closed.
 
The answer is quite simple. If you need portability, get a laptop. If you don't, get an iMac.

Apple usually knocks $100 (+/-) off their computers for Black Friday. Your educational discount will be just as much, if not more. The discounts do not stack, so waiting will probably not save you anything.

Hope this helps,
Bryan
 
i'm currently in professional school and had this choice over the summer. i chose the imac, hoping my powerbook would hold up for one more year and it didn't. then for the past month or so until i got this mbp it was painfully obvious how important portability is as a student.

you'll know what's best for you, but if you're a student you really need a laptop. if you go imac, get a netbook.
 
I agree with the laptop suggestion. Unless you are an engineer or science major, you probably aren't going to need the extra power of the desktop, and you'll appreciate the ability to work wherever you happen to be. When I was an undergrad/grad student, no one had laptops, but when I was in law school everyone brought their laptops to class to take notes. You might find that laptops can be brought into the classroom, which is a lot easier than taking notes by hand.
 
cmaier said:
which is a lot easier than taking notes by hand.
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Oh I beg to differ. Admittedly, it's been 10 years, but I can't imagine it being much easier to take notes in any type of science or engineering course on a laptop over by hand unless you're using some sort of laptop with a tablet/stylus mode.
 
RexTraverse said:
Oh I beg to differ. Admittedly, it's been 10 years, but I can't imagine it being much easier to take notes in any type of science or engineering course on a laptop over by hand unless you're using some sort of laptop with a tablet/stylus mode.
Click to expand...

Don't confuse the two things I mentioned. In science/engineering, handwriting is a must. In other majors (such as law, like I mentioned, or marketing, which is the OP's major) a laptop is much easier.
 
I want to browse the net, check email, podcasting, little video editing(for youtube video podcasts), a little gaming... my question is what size processor should i consider for the MBP?? I was thinking 2.66:apple:
 
donga said:
i'm currently in professional school and had this choice over the summer. i chose the imac, hoping my powerbook would hold up for one more year and it didn't. then for the past month or so until i got this mbp it was painfully obvious how important portability is as a student.

you'll know what's best for you, but if you're a student you really need a laptop. if you go imac, get a netbook.
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I will be doing. I bought a netbook that I use already, and come January, I will be getting the baseline 21.5" iMac. The netbook was $300. The iMac is $1150 with a student discount. The 15" MacBook Pro I wanted is $1600 with a student discount. Why get one computer when I can get two for $150 cheaper? Plus, I ended up hackintoshing my netbook anyway.
 
I don't think I'l ever buy another desktop, laptops are so versatile compared to desktops. It is so nice to just take it somewhere quiet when you need to concentrate, or take it to someone's place if you need to show them something, or even when you're sick, use it in bed, rather than just having to make do using a desktop. Unless someone wants high performance, I can't see a good reason to buy a desktop nowadays.
 
Why not get a 13" MBP and a 24" external monitor? It doesn't sound like your needs would require a high-performance graphics processor- the 9400m should work just fine. You can get a decent monitor from Dell that would give you more screen real-estate when you're working in your room, yet have a portable machine to take to class, meetings, the library, coffee shop, etc.
 
Ya... I have been looking at external monitors... more specifically ... a 23 inch samsung with a built in tv tuner... but I was wondering is the 2.53 ghz processor plenty fast.. if not id prefer the 15 inch
 
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