Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

ninjaslim

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 27, 2010
96
0
I've been conflicted for a while now about what kind Mac to get. I used a MacBook Pro for the first one and a half years of college, but then I switched to a Dell for research work. Unfortunately, I left that laboratory and am itching to go back to a Mac. However, as I said, I'm very conflicted about what to get. I don't really require portability, as I don't really take my laptop anywhere. I don't need to take a laptop to any of my classes. So, should I go for an iMac (Core i3 3.2 GHz)? I was also entertaining the new MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro Core i5, but I think the latter would be excessive and the first might be crippling. What do you guys think?
 
If I had a roommate I'd get the MacBook so I could secure it when I wasn't there and someone else had access to my room/apartment.

If you are living alone then seriously consider an iMac.
 
Portability is always nice in college. When you're going to home in holidays etc, MBP is much easier to take with you than an iMac plus if you don't really need speed, you could just get MBP + ext monitor
 
You haven't told us anything. If its just for web browsing, get yourself an imac G3 :D

Oops...

I'll just be using it for browsing, a little light gaming (probably won't ever get around to it, but I like to think that I can), document processing (writing essays, reading papers, the usual), photography (it's a hobby, and speed is a must during post-processing), browsing the internet and video editing.

As for taking it home, even when I had a MacBook Pro, I would just use the iMac we have at home as our family computer. The screen is just so nice and large...
 
I've been conflicted for a while now about what kind Mac to get. I used a MacBook Pro for the first one and a half years of college, but then I switched to a Dell for research work. Unfortunately, I left that laboratory and am itching to go back to a Mac. However, as I said, I'm very conflicted about what to get. I don't really require portability, as I don't really take my laptop anywhere. I don't need to take a laptop to any of my classes. So, should I go for an iMac (Core i3 3.2 GHz)? I was also entertaining the new MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro Core i5, but I think the latter would be excessive and the first might be crippling. What do you guys think?

Get an iMac and an iPad and save money compared to a comparable mbp. If I were starting college this year it's exactly what I would do.

The iMac will have a larger screen, will be faster, and could double as a small tv for watching movies etc. The iPad will handle typing notes in class and casual web surfing when on your couch.
 
Get an iMac and an iPad and save money compared to a comparable mbp. If I were starting college this year it's exactly what I would do.

The iMac will have a larger screen, will be faster, and could double as a small tv for watching movies etc. The iPad will handle typing notes in class and casual web surfing when on your couch.

I was actually thinking of doing this, especially considering that the iPad can output videos to a television and has iWork, which would basically fulfill all of my portability needs anyway.
 
I was actually thinking of doing this, especially considering that the iPad can output videos to a television and has iWork, which would basically fulfill all of my portability needs anyway.

Do it man, you won't be sorry.
 
Does anyone have any other thoughts? I'm now considering the iPad 16 GB and the iMac Core i3 3.06 GHz or 3.2 GHz.
 
I actually did this

This was my plan from when the iPad was released. I have a 64GB wifi ipad and just picked up my i3 iMac yesterday. And i love it! I don't see myself ever really having that big of a problem with this setup. I also have mywi4.0 on my iphone 4 so if i need to access the internet on my iPad i can. Let me know what route you decided to take.
 
I'll let you know. By the way, how does your iMac perform? What model did you end up getting?

Does anyone have any other thoughts?
 
I've decided to wait until September and see what Apple does with the MacBook Air. In all honesty, I'm just itching to see a MacBook Air that could fill the void of the PowerBook G4 12.
 
So, I've been offered a relatively fast PowerBook G4 12.1" for one-hundred dollars. It has the 1.33 GHz processor and 1.25 GB of memory. Would this suffice for my mobility needs? I could just stick with the iMac for everything else.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.