iMac or Macbook Pro

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Hello everyone,
I posted this in the wrong section earlier and have not received many replies so I figured I might post it here and see what feedback I got.
I currently own a late 2007 Macbook (White) that I have upgraded to 4GB Ram. I have had no issues with this machine other than minor cracks in plastic that will be fixed.
Right now I am working on receiving my degree in Graphic Arts and Imaging Technology and would like to purchase a new Mac. I can only pick one and can not decide between the 15-in 2.66 GHz Macbook Pro or the 27-in i5 iMac (only $50 more than the Macbook Pro with my student discount).
Which of these is the better choice?

F-X-
 

chscag

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Right now I am working on receiving my degree in Graphic Arts and Imaging Technology and would like to purchase a new Mac. I can only pick one and can not decide between the 15-in 2.66 GHz Macbook Pro or the 27-in i5 iMac (only $50 more than the Macbook Pro with my student discount).
Which of these is the better choice?

Graphic Arts and Imaging Technology requires a lot of screen real estate and high resolution. The obvious choice (for me anyway) would be the 27" iMac.

The down side of course is that a 27" iMac can not be put in your backpack and carried off to Starbucks for a Latte and talk session. ;D

Regards.
 
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Graphic Arts and Imaging Technology requires a lot of screen real estate and high resolution. The obvious choice (for me anyway) would be the 27" iMac.

The down side of course is that a 27" iMac can not be put in your backpack and carried off to Starbucks for a Latte and talk session. ;D

Regards.

Then I am in luck because, believe it or not, there is no Starbucks in the town that my college is in :Grimmace:
 
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The iMac has the Nvidia 64400, and the MBP has the Nvdia 6400 MT. So the iMac has better graphics. 3.6 GHZ on the iMac, only 2 GHZ on the MBP. iMac starts with a 21.5" screen aswell, I say go iMac.
 
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I currently own a late 2007 Macbook (White) that I have upgraded to 4GB Ram. I have had no issues with this machine other than minor cracks in plastic that will be fixed.
Since you already have a laptop and a fairly recently too then you should get the iMac. One of the biggest reasons to get a laptop is if you need portability. If you already have a laptop and you don't need the faster speed then you will get better performance for roughly the same price if you get an iMac (desktop).

On the other hand if you always need portability and your new computer will be your main computer then getting a replacement laptop for your current one would be the way to go.
 
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I'll say the iMac. Nicer screen, a full keyboard, more power, more expandability. I think you can go to 16GB of RAM on the iMac, while the MacBook Pro can have what? 4? I don't know :p

Another option would be to buy the nicest, biggest screen that your MacBook can drive, a big external hard disk, RAM upgrades, a fancy keyboard and art tablet, a docking station of some sort, and all the goodies to trick out your MacBook so that it can be a pseudo-desktop!

Contrary to the idea that anything that isn't the currently-on-sale model will be somehow unfit to get things done, the MacBook honestly does have all the juice needed to do what you'll want to do. Remember that people did all the same things with 350MHz G3s running Photoshop 5.5 on OS 8.6 a decade ago. The MacBook far exceeds that. Anything more really is luxury.

Now that I consider it... I think that latter idea is actually a pretty good one! :D
 
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Since you already have a laptop and a fairly recently too then you should get the iMac. One of the biggest reasons to get a laptop is if you need portability. If you already have a laptop and you don't need the faster speed then you will get better performance for roughly the same price if you get an iMac (desktop).

On the other hand if you always need portability and your new computer will be your main computer then getting a replacement laptop for your current one would be the way to go.

Well my Macbook is my main computer right now, but only due to that being the only computer I own. I mainly use it for surfing the net and taking notes in class. If I am in my apartment it is normally on my desk hooked up to speakers with an Apple Wireless Keyboard and Magic Mouse. And to be honest, it is hard to do things on a 13-in screen.
 
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I would go with the iMac.
 
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27" imac for sure. esp. since you have a macbook already. have you seen the 27"....its a work of art!....I want one myself.
 
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27" imac for sure. esp. since you have a macbook already. have you seen the 27"....its a work of art!....I want one myself.

I have seen it, but only from a distance. I work with an iMac every other day in my Graphic Communications class, but it is not the 27" one, and not the current model. I actually might take a trip to my local Apple store this weekend during spring break and check it out.
 
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Well my Macbook is my main computer right now, but only due to that being the only computer I own. I mainly use it for surfing the net and taking notes in class. If I am in my apartment it is normally on my desk hooked up to speakers with an Apple Wireless Keyboard and Magic Mouse. And to be honest, it is hard to do things on a 13-in screen.
If it's fast enough for you as a portable computer then you don't really need another laptop. The reason I why said what I said was because I like laptops better for the portability so my only option would be to upgrade to a new laptop instead of making the choice you have to make. I didn't like the syncing that I needed to do with both a desktop and laptop. I'm more of a one main computer at time kind of person so my situation might be different than yours.

If your problem with your current laptop is that the screen is too small then you can also hook it up to a large external screen. It sounds like you pretty much have all the other externals hooked up to it. If I didn't want the portability then I would only buy desktops. If you are indifferent to the issue then get an iMac so you can have both since you MacBook is still recent.
 
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I am still torn on the subject at this point. The iMac has all the power I need and is definitely much clearer with it's massive screen, but I lose portability. The Macbook Pro is not the top of the line, and is portable with more computing power than my Macbook, but I already have a portable computer.

I do plan on upgrading my laptop in the next year or so, so I guess my question would be better phrased as which I should upgrade to first, the iMac or the Macbook Pro?

My main reasoning behind not just upgrading to the new cinema display is that I do not believe it is compatible with my macbook since the display uses Mini-Display and I have Mini-DVI on my Macbook.
 
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I do plan on upgrading my laptop in the next year or so, so I guess my question would be better phrased as which I should upgrade to first, the iMac or the Macbook Pro?
If you are getting a new laptop that soon then get an iMac first. Since your MacBook is still recent you can use that in the mean time. This way you will also find out if you really need a powerful laptop. You might find that you like the iMac to be your main computer and the MacBook as a secondary computer for the portability.

If you are mainly surfing the internet and taking notes in class then you really don't need a powerful laptop. Also by the time you are ready to get a new laptop the new ones will be out and it will be closer to the current iMacs performance. Laptops usually lag behind desktops in performance which is why for the same price you can get a faster desktop.

My main reasoning behind not just upgrading to the new cinema display is that I do not believe it is compatible with my macbook since the display uses Mini-Display and I have Mini-DVI on my Macbook.
You don't have to buy an Apple external monitor. There are many other brands you can choose from. As for the compatibility I think you just need an adapter but it might not be the highest quality with that type of connection. The other brands might have the connection you want.
 

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