So... MBP for college or iMac/macbook combo?

[Timepass]

go for the MBP. my 15" PB with a 20" external monitor are the best things for college. you have a good 20" monitor for doing work when your at your desk, and a powerful machine for going to class with. thats just my experience in college, but its still a great set up, though some people dont want the external monitor.

I think getting a set of external everything is great for a laptop of any type if it is you main computer.
External monitor, Mouse, Keyboard, speakers, Hard drive if space is needed. And maybe even an extrnal web cam if you plan on using it a lot. Oh yes and a USB 2.0 hub.

That way you have all the advatages of a desktop and the portiblility of a laptop.

Also there is a good thread on other items you are going to want to bring to college down in the commenity forums that I started a while ago. I would recomend looking at it.
here it is https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/177762/

 

[ieani]

Picking up the 1.83 at Amazon today, going to max it out with 2GB RAM and perhaps, later if I need to, throw a 7200RPM drive in it.

For the price of the low end iMac and say an iBook for $999 (assuming waiting til April 1st that the new books will be that price), you can get a MBP with 2GB RAM, and perhaps an external hard drive.

Yeah im wondering if i should just get the 1.83 with maxed RAM over the 2Ghz.

 

[zerolight]

I currently am using a two computer setup, and am a senior in college. I have an iMac G5 @2.1 GHz and used to have a PowerBook G4 @ 1.0GHz. I sold the PowerBook to buy my new MacBook Pro, and the amount of time that lapsed between not having the PowerBook and getting the MacBook Pro really made me realize how awesome of a setup this is.

I really don't use my laptop much (well, I am right now, even though I am sitting at my desk with my iMac to the left of me), I just like having this computer to take to class with me, or to Starbucks to get some stuff done, or to just dick around on the computer while on the couch.

I can understand you finding it convenient to have a laptop, rather than not. But I don't understand what the iMac adds to the party. If you need a laptop, it works equally well on the move as at your desk. There's no reason to have a 2nd computer. Just makes no sense to own two things that essentially do the same thing, one slightly faster than the other.

To the guy that started the thread, if having a laptop is a necessity then get one, and use it as both a laptop and desktop. One day when college is over and you find that you never take the laptop anywhere, only using it at home on a desk, replace it with a desktop. There's no need for both. The MBPro will do everything an iMac can, and if your gonna have a laptop anyway, then you don't need the other.

This is called GAS. Gear Aquisition Syndrome. You want to buy a laptop. You want to buy a desktop. You don't need both. You want both. Your trying to justify it.

 

[m-dogg]

This is called GAS. Gear Aquisition Syndrome. You want to buy a laptop. You want to buy a desktop. You don't need both. You want both. Your trying to justify it.

yeah...I get gas sometimes...

 

[macOSX-tastic]

i have said it before, and i'll say it again.....

nobody really needs 2 computers for university (unless of course there are EXCEPTIONAL circumstances). get a high end portable at the most, an ibook successor will do just fine....then buy a "desktop replacement kit" aka mouse, keyboard, and iCurve. it's much more flexible, and you can upgrade at the beginning if you feel the need to have more power. it's deffo cheaper than a desktop and laptop combo. save the money, you WILL need it.

this is my Uni setup... sorry about the quality. just a quick demonstration of the above in action. it works, trust me!

S

 

[spencecb]

I can understand you finding it convenient to have a laptop, rather than not. But I don't understand what the iMac adds to the party. If you need a laptop, it works equally well on the move as at your desk. There's no reason to have a 2nd computer. Just makes no sense to own two things that essentially do the same thing, one slightly faster than the other.

To the guy that started the thread, if having a laptop is a necessity then get one, and use it as both a laptop and desktop. One day when college is over and you find that you never take the laptop anywhere, only using it at home on a desk, replace it with a desktop. There's no need for both. The MBPro will do everything an iMac can, and if your gonna have a laptop anyway, then you don't need the other.

This is called GAS. Gear Aquisition Syndrome. You want to buy a laptop. You want to buy a desktop. You don't need both. You want both. Your trying to justify it.

While I respect your opinion, you can not say for everyone that there is absolutely no need to have both. One of the biggest reasons it is nice to have both is screen real estate. My iMac has a 20" display on it...try carrying that around when you go to class. Another reason: hard drive space. Last I checked, I can't cram a 250 GB HDD into my MacBook Pro. Now, I know an argument for this would be to simply buy an external HDD to hold all of my content. Well, that kind of setup just does not work for me. I find it annoying to have to switch on an external HDD to access all of my content.

Maybe having two computers doesn't work for you, but that doesn't mean someone else (me) would find this setup ideal.

 

[1dterbeest]

Think about your storage needs too
when you factor in cost. If you just
get a MBP, you can't as much storage
space as you could from an iMac,
let alone the extra you'd have by
having a second computer. If you
buy the MBP, you will have to buy
an external hard drive too, which is
another $150 or more. Those small
things are what would convince me
to just buy the two computers.

Using the student discount at apple online:

15" MBP 2ghz, 2GB, 120GB --$2,659
200GB fw/usb external HD-- $125
20" LCD display-- $375
Keyboard and mouse-- $40
Total = $3199

20" iMac 2ghz, 2gb, 250gb --$1,869
14" iBook 1.42ghz 1GB 80GB --$1334 (for price point estimation)
Total = $3203

The second solution is about the same price
even though you are getting two computers.
The hard drive space is about the same with
the two computers. The 20" iMac display is
going to be better than any 20" LCD you can
get for $350.

The second set just seems to be the better
solution when you look at the price of all the
things you'd have to buy to make the MBP
into as nice of a desktop setup as the iMac.

If you don't want all the power, you could
use a base model macbook pro, but if this
is going to be a desktop replacement system,
I think the stats work out in favor of the 2
computer system.

Also, college dorm rooms ARE small, but not
so small that you can't have a laptop and a
compact desktop like the iMac. I've been
running 2 desktops (one with a CRT!) for 2
years at college, and now a MBP with my
iMac G4, and space isn't a problem.

 

[Shadow]

i have said it before, and i'll say it again.....

nobody really needs 2 computers for university (unless of course there are EXCEPTIONAL circumstances). get a high end portable at the most, an ibook successor will do just fine....then buy a "desktop replacement kit" aka mouse, keyboard, and iCurve. it's much more flexible, and you can upgrade at the beginning if you feel the need to have more power. it's deffo cheaper than a desktop and laptop combo. save the money, you WILL need it.

this is my Uni setup... sorry about the quality. just a quick demonstration of the above in action. it works, trust me!

S

Thats is nice, I hope to do something like that. Anyway, I may not be old enough to go to collage, butI do hae experience in a very demanding school (private, Yarm School) and the work load is expectional. I currently have History (about an 1-2hours work, DT Electronics Coursework (should be about 1 hour), English Coursework (again, about 1 hour today/tomorrow, about 3 before its handed in), German (about 45 mins, mostly translation and Maths (only about 30 mins). Oh, and French (about 30 mins), and a lot of that is due in a few days.

Anyway, I do most of my work on the "Pee Cee", and it is slow. I know it looks like a good spec, but specs arnt everything, its mainly the software. I use Word 2002 for all my (or a lot of, about 95%) work, and the ammount of times that it has crashed randomly is unbeliveable. I'm getting a intelBook/MacBook when it comes out (Im going to London on 14th April, so hopefully I'll order it then).

Anyway if I was in your situation I would only get the maxed out MacBook Pro. Its portable, more powerful (?) than the iMac, legal (in the sense that all the software you buy only has 1 user license, and therefore installing it on both would be illegal), you can keep everything you need in 1 computer, if you have an iPod you can sync it freely without thinking "if I sync it on the iMac it will delete everything because all my songs are on the MBP", ect. Get the MBP. Hope that helps!

 

[macOSX-tastic]

legal (in the sense that all the software you buy only has 1 user license, and therefore installing it on both would be illegal)

unless of course he Buys the EXPENSIVE 5 licence family pack for himself...then he should be fine

(not reccommended by the way, just in jest)

S

 

[puckhead193]

Looking back, i wish i gotten a powermac G5 and a 12" ibook. The ibook would be for notes and stuff but the powermac would be the main source. I feel that my PB can't handle stuff. My hard drive is filling up and i hate the idea of external hard drive.

 

[ethernet76]

Hehhehhh...back when I was a kid, we went to college with just a word processor (i.e., a glorified typewriter for you youngsters), and we liked it. Nobody could afford this 'inter-net' access either. We'd go to the library if we had to go online.

What's scary is that was just in 1993!

Now people are debating between a sick laptop or a sick desktop/laptop combination. What happened to being a poor college kid?

Damn, I feel old.

Parents. College is like all the benefits of living at home, everything is basically free, with out the drawbacks, not being able to show up plastered.

College has become high school part two and it's sickening.

 

[xparaparafreakx]

Is the TiBook/Macbook Pro combo dumb? I have a tibook and im getting a macbook pro for free, its from work (I have to matain an X server and its fallover one from school)

 

[ieani]

Thats is nice, I hope to do something like that. Anyway, I may not be old enough to go to collage, butI do hae experience in a very demanding school (private, Yarm School) and the work load is expectional. I currently have History (about an 1-2hours work, DT Electronics Coursework (should be about 1 hour), English Coursework (again, about 1 hour today/tomorrow, about 3 before its handed in), German (about 45 mins, mostly translation and Maths (only about 30 mins). Oh, and French (about 30 mins), and a lot of that is due in a few days.

Anyway, I do most of my work on the "Pee Cee", and it is slow. I know it looks like a good spec, but specs arnt everything, its mainly the software. I use Word 2002 for all my (or a lot of, about 95%) work, and the ammount of times that it has crashed randomly is unbeliveable. I'm getting a intelBook/MacBook when it comes out (Im going to London on 14th April, so hopefully I'll order it then).

Anyway if I was in your situation I would only get the maxed out MacBook Pro. Its portable, more powerful (?) than the iMac, legal (in the sense that all the software you buy only has 1 user license, and therefore installing it on both would be illegal), you can keep everything you need in 1 computer, if you have an iPod you can sync it freely without thinking "if I sync it on the iMac it will delete everything because all my songs are on the MBP", ect. Get the MBP. Hope that helps!

New Ibooks if announced will not be shipping until then I would think. Also a laptop while it may seem like its a necessity for a trip isnt needed at all. Just more to carry. Another thing to potentially damage, lose, have stolen. I went to Europe for over two weeks and was fine without any computer beyond the ones at cafes.

 

[Timepass]

see I go with a max out power book. For the first 2 years you should not run into any classes that are going to push you laptops limits at all. After that you may need some more power and that when you go for the desktop.
Yes I currently have a laptop and a desktop computer but I followed what I did above.
I orginanlly had a high end laptop as my only computer. I needed some more power for some stuff so I got a desktop. My main computer is my desktop but I use my laptop for portiblility stuff but they are out of step in age. I do not think any one should buy both a laptop and a desktop at the same time. The only time I could understand getting both is if you need to get a Power mac (aka the tower) then I could understand buying that and the laptop. Because it is the true power of a desktop. But a high end Macbook pro is in most cases just as powerful as the imacs.
You are basicly looking at buying a Power wise a Macbook pro that doesnt move and an ibook. Or buying just the macbook Pro. I with just buying one computer. and then get the display stuff to add to it. Heck you get even more screen space since it Mac book pro can do spanning. You can have lets say a web page on the macbook screen and then the power you are working on the external page.

 

[ieani]

Parents. College is like all the benefits of living at home, everything is basically free, with out the drawbacks, not being able to show up plastered.

College has become high school part two and it's sickening.

Not for everyone. My parents paid for me to go to private school for 14 years and refuse to pay a .$01 of my college tuition.

 

[ieani]

While I respect your opinion, you can not say for everyone that there is absolutely no need to have both. One of the biggest reasons it is nice to have both is screen real estate. My iMac has a 20" display on it...try carrying that around when you go to class. Another reason: hard drive space. Last I checked, I can't cram a 250 GB HDD into my MacBook Pro. Now, I know an argument for this would be to simply buy an external HDD to hold all of my content. Well, that kind of setup just does not work for me. I find it annoying to have to switch on an external HDD to access all of my content.

Maybe having two computers doesn't work for you, but that doesn't mean someone else (me) would find this setup ideal.

Turning on an external HDD is more annoying then trying to maintain and sync two computers?

 

[devilot]

Turning on an external HDD is more annoying then trying to maintain and sync two computers?

But depending on the user, s/he may not need to or even want to synch the two.

I have an iBook and an iMac. I don't care to sync anything other than documents (which I usually just email, and only one way iBook -> iMac).

Personally, I love using a desktop. Period. But I appreciate the benefits of having a laptop-- portability, short trips, studying/working wherever is convenient, etc. It was within budget to have the iBook/iMac combo and so I opted for it.

I think it really boils down to budget and user preference.

I knew I always preferred desktops, but liked the convenience of also having a dependable portable. I also knew it would be within budget. And I also knew that I wouldn't really have any issues w/ keeping two machines in sync. So this combo works for me.

 

[Shadow]

New Ibooks if announced will not be shipping until then I would think. Also a laptop while it may seem like its a necessity for a trip isnt needed at all. Just more to carry. Another thing to potentially damage, lose, have stolen. I went to Europe for over two weeks and was fine without any computer beyond the ones at cafes.

I see your point, but we are in completley different situations (unless we are both teenages, but I dont think so ). I dont need a laptop, but it is preferable. A lot of people (including the old man) need a laptop for work, but I don't. I only want a laptop cos then I can take it to school (if needed), to "work" (I do have 2 jobs, although voluntary, but they're just summat to do really) and to freinds houses. My freind recently got a cheapo Dell for that very reason (he has the same jobs as me lol). I hardly every go anywhere (I mean places like London, ect), so I dont really need the portability.

 

[Timepass]

Parents. College is like all the benefits of living at home, everything is basically free, with out the drawbacks, not being able to show up plastered.

College has become high school part two and it's sickening.

money wise for a lot of kids in college this is true. (me include in many ways) But I come from a more upper class side of the world.
But out side of money college is very different from home or HS. A huge part of it being is I am on my own for handling almost all of my problems. I cannt go to my parents for help like I could in HS. I had to learn a better bed time and other time management.
I had to find self motivation to get stuff done. I dont have my parents pushing me in any ways.

 

[hechacker1]

i have a desktop/laptop combination for college (2nd year now).

originally i built myself a killer pc gaming rig and used that for my first year of college. It worked great, and the ability to edit video/game came in handy for my many assignments that required video making, in fact, dvd authoring, so make sure you get a dvd burner. And programming in JAVA using a huge IDE really was enjoyable since I had the RAM and power to back it up.

however, for my second year i bought a Dell 700m laptop for $820 shipped and loaded using one of Dell great coupons. It doesn't have much video power, but it works great for note-taking and i can take it around my large campus 5 hours at a time.. Laptop on the beach? YUP I even managed to get Linux working on it so I can program anytime i want.

However... the only reason i went with the above combination is that at the time there were no portable, yet desktop replacement laptops around for cheap.. I mean I built my gaming pc with $1300 and it kicks ass in terms of performance vs. price.

I recommend you get a high end macbook pro since it is a nice combination of power and size. Then save some money for a nice screen to use in your dorm (if you have one) and maybe a keyboard/mouse. That way you get the real-estate of a larger screen, but without the whole computer to take up your limited desk space.

 

[1dterbeest]

15" MBP 2ghz, 2GB, 120GB --$2,659
200GB fw/usb external HD-- $125
20" LCD display-- $375
Keyboard and mouse-- $40
Total = $3199

20" iMac 2ghz, 2gb, 250gb --$1,869
14" iBook 1.42ghz 1GB 80GB --$1334 (for price point estimation)
Total = $3203

If you are going to get a
high end MBP and a monitor
and keyboard and mouse,
you might as well just do 2.

 

[mlrproducts]

Also, from experience, in very few classes a laptop gets used for notes (may very from U to U, but from my experience and those of my friends at other schools). A laptop in college is a lot about taking it to the library to study, perhaps write a paper on the quad, and to be able to sit at your desk, on your bed, or in your recliner in your dorm room.

Go for the 1.83, buy 2GB RAM afterwards (you might trade to the 7200RPM if needbe when buying), get an external HDD or two, and buy a ewwww.... Dell 20" LCD for external stuff.

 

[technicolor]

That's insane to have two computers.

Why?

I am a student with an iMac/MBP combo.
Although I am little older than freshman...hahaha.

 

[Eevee]

, and buy a ewwww.... Dell 20" LCD for external stuff.

You said the D word!

 

[Kaiser Phoenix]

I personally think you should go with a MBP + Monitor combo. It seems that you wont be doing so much processor intensive apps and on the move ull have a powerful machine and when ur in ur room, u have a nice Disply to match movies and all and work ofcourse.

just my 2c