new 17 macbook pro or iMac?

hello all,

Just after christmas i had decided to buy an iMac 24 inch with all the best specs possible. In september, i will be going to college for film and the course requires a laptop.

I was originally going to buy the iMac and when college came around, i would buy a cheaper macbook through the school to serve those needs. I talked to others in the course and they said they used the laptops for the first year quite alot but only for sd footage but he said i would probably be using the schools computers more(mac pros).

So originally i wanted a computer that wouldnt be outdated in terms of specs, but then the **** macbook pro 17 inch came out with a fast cpu, and the ability to upgrade to 8 gbs (ddr3) of RAM plus the new nvidia chipset and so on. So is the iMac even more powerful then the new MBP? and can you upgrade your own memory on the new laptop($1200 for 8 gbs is expensive )

The only thing making me regret spending all my loot on a maxed out MBP is the fact i won't have a beautiful 24 inch screen (drool)

please help, lol.

You might want to wait a bit. The iMac is due for an update - probably sometime this Spring. But if you have a full wallet, the newly announced MBP 17" fully loaded will probably run around $3000 but has lots of power. Plus an eight hour non removable battery that supposedly will last 5 years.

Regards.

I would go with the Macbook Pro, I have one currently and it can handle anything I throw at it. Macbook Pros are known to be desktop replacements for people who want a "portable desktop" they are a huge power house, especially this new one with the new GPU and CPU. The new battery is a huge plus

Usually Crucial has the Mac RAM for much cheaper but it is not much less through them for the 8GB, give it some time and I'm sure third parties will begin to release it for cheap.

As for a monitor, you can always buy a bigger monitor later. I use my Sharp Aquos 46" HDTV

thanks for the feedback. I am seriously considering following TheInvsbleMan's advice on getting the new macbook pro. One more question though...

Should i spend the extra $300 for the faster cpu? I know rendering video is related to the cpu, but will .27ghz make a difference(considering HD footage in the future). Or will the 2.66 version be enough?

P.S. If I get this, i should buy the anti-glare screen right?

Anyone?

I'd just like to know if the extra ghz will impact HD editing

Do the math, although this calculation may be a little crude

A 1 hour task on a 2.87 cpu will take 1:10 on a 2.6 cpu, but I suspect in real life the difference will be less than 10 minutes

also, bear in mind that unless the app you are using is 64 bit, it will not be able to use more than 2 gig of ram for itself, so unless you are using 64 bit apps, all that extra RAM may be nice, but an expensive extra you might not be using

I wouldn't worry about the CPU it won't make TOO much of a difference. I have a 2.4Ghz MBP and I love it!

The Anti-Glare screen is the way to go, while glossy may be pretty it will get annoying in bright situations.

Also even though the apps can only use 2GB of RAM if you do a lot of multitasking you may want the RAM upgrade, always remember it can be upgraded later and RAM prices are dropping rapidly.

ok i admit, the new iMac is absolutely beutiful, but still ... as for me i got very used to having all my documents and work always with me whenever i need them (at college too) ... right now the only reason for me to get a desktop would be gaming and ma MBP can handle it so far

if ur planning on having the notebook for longer then say 2, 3 years, get the faster CPU

as for the RAM, if u got the extra dough, go for it, video editing will eat everything up real fast and from my understanding its 2Gb per application and the system itself uses some, and u`ll never run just a single app