Windows RG Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 so sometime soon im buying my first mac. now my problem is that im stuck between a maxed out 15 inch MBP or a maxed imac. basically i will be mostly using garageband and photoshop and i will be taking toa friends house ocassionally to record our bands material. i used to drag my custom pc full atx tower to his house so i still consider the imac semi portable. i will also play some occasional games such as WoW or Halo. if it was your choice what would you get and why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverZero Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 if it was your choice what would you get and why? Even if you've got money to burn (which you're suggesting you do), the iMac is the better choice for you. Here's why: -If you don't care much about carting it around, portability is not an issue. This is the only advantage the MBP has in your case. -If you're interested in performance, you can spend less on a maxed iMac and get better components (higher CPU speed, more and more expandable storage space, etc). -Here's the kicker: If you're wanting to do any serious photo or audio work, you're not just going to want performance. You're going to want SCREEN SPACE!!! A 15" notebook will never even compare to a 24" iMac. Even the 17" MBP would be a waste of money. Trust me, when you're ready to move up from GarageBand to Ableton Live, you're going to want some acreage to get that "big picture." Especially when you start adding those VST instrument windows. Expose and Spaces will only get you so far toward managing that stuff. Don't even think about it. Max out a 24" iMac ($2600 for 4gb RAM and 1TB hard drive off the shelf) and spend the rest of those (hundreds) of dollars you would have dropped on the MBP on a new guitar, keyboard, or Firewire mixer/interface. Or even a second 24" display. Screen size is KING if you're trying to get some serious work done. (That goes for gaming, too.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windows RG Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share Posted February 10, 2009 Even if you've got money to burn (which you're suggesting you do), the iMac is the better choice for you. Here's why: -If you don't care much about carting it around, portability is not an issue. This is the only advantage the MBP has in your case. -If you're interested in performance, you can spend less on a maxed iMac and get better components (higher CPU speed, more and more expandable storage space, etc). -Here's the kicker: If you're wanting to do any serious photo or audio work, you're not just going to want performance. You're going to want SCREEN SPACE!!! A 15" notebook will never even compare to a 24" iMac. Even the 17" MBP would be a waste of money. Trust me, when you're ready to move up from GarageBand to Ableton Live, you're going to want some acreage to get that "big picture." Especially when you start adding those VST instrument windows. Expose and Spaces will only get you so far toward managing that stuff. Don't even think about it. Max out a 24" iMac ($2600 for 4gb RAM and 1TB hard drive off the shelf) and spend the rest of those (hundreds) of dollars you would have dropped on the MBP on a new guitar, keyboard, or Firewire mixer/interface. Or even a second 24" display. Screen size is KING if you're trying to get some serious work done. (That goes for gaming, too.) that makes the imac appeal much more to me. do they make cases for the imac? last computer i owned got very beat up because it was too big for a case Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverZero Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 that makes the imac appeal much more to me. do they make cases for the imac? last computer i owned got very beat up because it was too big for a case http://www.ilugger.com/ This was just the first result when I typed "imac case" into Google. There may be other options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andsteele Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 I would recommend the Macbook Pro. It is a very powerful machine and capable of doing everything you listed. Plus you have the added bonus of the portability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverZero Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 I would recommend the Macbook Pro. It is a very powerful machine and capable of doing everything you listed. Plus you have the added bonus of the portability. I gotta disagree. It's more expensive, less powerful, and has a dramatically reduced screen size: 15" MBP: 13" wide x 7" tall = 91 square inches 24" iMac: 21" wide x 12" tall = 252 square inches The iMac also has higher max resolution (1920 x 1200 for the iMac vs. 1440 x 900 for the 15" MBP). Even though the 17" could match that resolution, it's still a smaller screen by a large margin. Unless portability and battery power outweigh EVERY OTHER CATEGORY COMBINED, the iMac wins hands-down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stellarola Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 A good friend of mine recently switched from a Hackintosh to a Mac. He went into the Apple Store with the intention of buying a Macbook Pro but ended up walking out with the top end iMac and an extra $1000 or so dollars in his pocket. I too would consider the iMac semi-portable. It's like lugging around a monitor. -Stell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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