iMac or Macbook Pro?

john40

I could purchase a 24" 3.06GHz 1TB iMac for £1,799 from Apple but my access to this system would of course be limited to being sat at my desk.



For virtually the same amount of money I could also buy a 13" 2.53GHz 320GB MBP together with a 24" Apple LED Cinema Display - giving me both a desktop system AND a lap top alternative.



The obvious trade-offs here (as far as I'm aware) are processor performance and Hard Drive size.



Internal Hard Drive size doesn't bother me too much as I can resort to an external/portable solution anyway, so I've got 3 questions on this.



a. how does the picture quality of Apples 24" LED Cinema Display compare with the display you get with an iMac?



b. are there any other significant trade-offs in my alternative solution that I should be considering as part of my decision making process?



c. just how significant is the difference in performance between the 2.53GHz processor in a MBP and the 3.06GHz chip in an iMac?



I ask this because I could go for a 3.06GHz 15" 320GB MBP but this would incur an additional expense of circa £700 and I really need convincing that the jump to a 3.06GHz processor is worth that amount of money!? (yes, I know I'd be getting a bigger Macbook screen too but a 13" MBP display is adequate for my mobile needs and so the extra spend would be based purely on processor performance enhancement)



I'd be using this system on a daily basis for the following tasks:



eMail ? Mac Mail / MobileMe

basic word processor tasks - Microsoft Office for Mac 2008

basic spreadsheet work - Microsoft Office for Mac 2008

1080i HD (home) video upload / editing - Final Cut Express 4

8MP (home) photography upload / editing - iLife 09

internet browsing (regularly accessing YouTube / BBC iPlayer / Facebook / Google Reader) - Google Chrome

music ? iTunes

iPhone syncing - iTunes

hardly any gaming, except maybe the likes of Championship Manager (so hardly graphics intensive!)



Any pointers, advice or thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

splinemodel

I would say the 13" + display is your best option. If you were to buy the 15" product but not a second display, this setup is only better for what one might call "multiple desk" usage models. For example, if you take your computer between a desk at work and a desk at home. The iMac is a one-desk option, but it's by far the best option if that is your use-case. The 13" is quite a bit more mobile than the 15". It fits easily in backpacks, luggage, and it's easy to use on the go. So having a 13" with the big display at home gives you almost the best of both worlds. It doesn't seem like you need the processing power, either.



The other bonus is that the 13" macbook is pretty cheap and has great resale value. So you can frequently refresh your setup (every 12 to 18 months, for example) for a reasonably low recurring cost.



Or if you want to splash, you could do the iMac + 13" macbook setup. This gives you the dual keyboard, dual workflow effect. I have this setup and I love it.

winter

I've been debating this for a while and when I finally pull the trigger, I'm going MBP. Perhaps you might want to go with the 15" though.

kingofsomewherehot

You're not gonna see much performance difference AT ALL between those two for most of those items.



The faster processor and better graphics (esp w/ SnowLeopard) will make a noticeable difference when encoding video... but that's the only task you listed where the iMac will outperform.



(And my personal observation... I can tell no difference between an iMac display and a Cinema Display.)

benroethig

Get the Macbook Pro plus a display if you can swing the extra cash. You're not going to loose much, but you're going to gain portability and its actually easier to upgrade.

rokcet scientist

The cheapest and most powerful of the sets you mentioned is clearly the iMac, John. But it ain't portable. In your situation I would seriously look at a combo of an MBP for portability – a very capable mobile workstation with fast CPU, and GPU, a large HD, and a full sized keyboard – and a 24" Cinema Display for at your desk, for a gorgeous large screen.



I have 2 17" MBPs for on the road, and 2 iMacs (20" and 24") for my home and work desks.



Of course you also need (at least) (an) external HD for backing up! Preferably two as RAID1 for data security.

Marvin

Quote:

Originally Posted by john40


a. how does the picture quality of Apples 24" LED Cinema Display compare with the display you get with an iMac?

It's LED backlit unlike the iMac so you should get more even backlighting with the Cinema Display. Both have IPS displays but with the iMac display being stuck to your machine, if it fails or the machine fails, you have very expensive repairs to get it working. The Macbook displays are fairly cheap to replace 3rd party.

Quote:

Originally Posted by john40


b. are there any other significant trade-offs in my alternative solution that I should be considering as part of my decision making process?

The laptop hard drive is slower but you can put a 7200 rpm drive in it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by john40


c. just how significant is the difference in performance between the 2.53GHz processor in a MBP and the 3.06GHz chip in an iMac?

Not enough to worry about and the faster ones get pretty hot.



If you get 4GB Ram and a 7200 rpm drive, the Macbook will be a very capable machine. You can also check out the refurb section at the Apple store for better deals but remember that the original Macbooks didn't have Firewire 800. You may be able to pick up a MBP for the same price as the Macbook though. They have the same warranty and arrive pretty much in new condition minus the original box.

splinemodel

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marvin


If you get 4GB Ram and a 7200 rpm drive, the Macbook will be a very capable machine. You can also check out the refurb section at the Apple store for better deals but remember that the original Macbooks didn't have Firewire 800. You may be able to pick up a MBP for the same price as the Macbook though. They have the same warranty and arrive pretty much in new condition minus the original box.

Yes, go for the MacBook Pro 13". The cost difference is probably less than the bonus you'll get in resale value. Plus, the 7 hour battery is a great thing.

mac voyer

My wife has an iMac while I have a MBP. The best of all worlds is to have both. If you can only afford one, there is nothing like a portable. A notebook can live on a desk forever; a desktop is never going to get up off that desk and go with you when you need it some place else. A notebook pays for itself the first time you take it out of the house.