My husband and I are making the big switch to Mac soon and I am having trouble decided which route I want to go. The computer is primarily for me (he is a teacher and has a desktop at school), and I am not sure which is the best route. I had decided on the iMac and was comfortable with the decision, however, now I am not sure. I have always used a laptop and I am afraid that I am going to miss the portablitly.

Eventually we will have both...but that is not in the bugdet for now...

So what are your thoughts. Pros and Cons on either...

Thanks!

I use a MacPro tower and it is fantastic for photography work. If you are a Pro (or doing a lot of photography work) I would definitely recommend going down the MacPro route as opposed to the normal iMac. I want to eventually get a Macbook Pro as well, but I have to wait until I have the funds to do so. If you're going to be using the computer to do photography every now and again, then you can probably get away with an iMac, but just remember that applications like Photoshop etc can really slow a computer down, esp if you have 10 or 20 images open! If you're a heavy user and you definitely want to be able to carry it around then I would go for the Macbook pro - but get the best spec you can afford. That way you can use it for portability but you can still plug it in and sit at a desk in the office! At some point in the future you could save up to get the nice 30" apple monitor to hook up to your macbook pro when in the office - it makes editing so much more fun!

I have an iMac and I LOVE it! Its huge 24" inch display was a big part of the sell for me! I use a MacBook Pro for work, and while I love it, I couldn't imagine doing all my editing on it. The screen is just not as large nor am I as quick with a laptop and its functions as I am a mouse and a desktop. Personal choice, however.

That said, you won't be sorry you went Mac!!

I've never used a MacPro, though I'd love to have one of course. I do have an Intel iMac, and think it's the cat's pajamas for what it is.

I usually work with Photoshop, Lightroom, Dreamweaver, Firefox, Cyberduck, and iTunes opened simultaneously and open about 20 images at a time in Photoshop with no problems. I have my ram maxed out of course.

If you could afford a Mac Pro, go for it, but I think if it's not in the budget and I had to pick between the macbook and the imac, the iMac won't disappoint. That's what I did at least. I really wanted the portability, and still do, but I also knew that the majority of editing I would do would be at my desk in my office, so it made sense to me to go with the iMac for now.

I have both and I guess it just depends on what you are using if for. I like having the big screen on my imac for day to day editing, etc. But the flexibility the macbook gives is definitely a huge bonus too.

I have both and love both, but my main machine is the MBP hooked to an apple 23 inch cinema display and its a great system!!

I have a 24" iMac as well and it rocks!!! I maxed out the ram after I bought it and it handles Photoshop, Lightroom, Firefox, Transit, iTunes, and whatever else I have open all at once beautifully! If you go iMac, you won't be disappointed. Just max out that ram!

But I am going to be purchasing a 15" MBP at the end of August. Because the portability is just too nice not to have.

My husband (who works for Apple) says you're basically getting the same machine (as long as you don't get the cheapest iMac), but one is portable and one is not.

If you are looking at a 20" iMac, make sure to get the $1499 one as it has a much better graphics card and will be much more smooth for you. Either 24" will be great.

It's really a matter of if the portability is worth the extra $$.

If a Mac Pro is in your price range, they're of course great, and mine has WAY more power than my Macbook Pro, and it will last far longer and end up being cheaper in the long run than getting an iMac and Macbook Pro.

Hey Cassidy,

I have an older imac G5 and a Macbook Pro at home. At work, I am on a MacPro. The MacPro is an amazing system if you can afford it. It really makes things easy. Its a great multitasker as it has four chips to the imac's one. If you are in a place where you can afford it and are wanting a desktop for the long haul- I would recommend it.

Lindsey is right on- the Imac and Macbook Pro are very similar- they use the same chip- typically you get more bang for your buck with the desktop. That being said, I bought my Macbook Pro because I really needed that portability- its nice to have such a capable machine on the go- I think you might miss the portability if you are used to having a laptop- I sure did- Either way- you will have an awesome machine that you wont regret buying. Good luck

Josh

The only internal difference between the iMac and MacBook Pro is the hard drive. The iMac uses a desktop harddrive where the MacBook Pro uses laptop drives. This limits the speed and size. Everything else inside is exactly the same...Same ram, same processor

If you are looking to eventually get both, you can get the MacBook Pro now with the 23" monitor. Then, if you ever want to move up to the Mac Pro, you can just get the tower, and you can move the 23" monitor over to the Mac Pro from the laptop.

If getting both is a real possibility, something to keep in mind is the fact that the laptop is likely going to get outdated faster than the Mac Pro will. Meaning if you get the Mac Pro now it will last you a long time, and by the time you are ready for the laptop it probably would have gone through a number of itterations.

But, the laptop with monitor does give you a great amount of flexability and if portability is important, thats probably the way to go. The laptop will last a very long time too, especially if you later get the Mac Pro for the heavy work and only need the laptop for portability.

+1

+1000

Just got a MacPro and I would NEVER go back to my iMac...but I work on it a lot... Eventually I'm going to get a Macbook Pro as well for work on the go...

I just ordered my 24" iMAC yesterday. Cant wait to get it. Of course its maxed out with RAM and I took the 750Gb disk as well. Didnt upgrade the video card tho. I currently have a G4 15" powerbook which is still going, although I need to change the logic board again. Truth be told, I never used it on a shoot so hence the reason I went for the iMac. I cant afford the MacPro Towers but Im sure that will be great to work with as well.

The 17" MBP with the 1920x1200 screen is amazing. You can't have mine. ;-)

I think this is the way to go.

I have an iMac and the MBP 15" and because of my family's lifestyle (constantly on the go) the MBP gets most of the use, in fact my post processing is all done on that... if I didn't have a laptop I'd never get any work done. I think if you are used to the portability you will definitely miss it.

Thanks to everyone for all the info! We purchased the imac today and are excited to get it. I loved the idea of getting the macbook pro with the display, but the laptop alone was pushing the budget (and the tower wasn't in it

Can't wait to get it and finally be a mac girl! Thanks again, you all are great!

i sure hope you got a 24" imac!

24 inch imac is very nice, but i need more ram...

http://www.transintl.com give them a call and they'll hook you up. Trans International holds a lifetime warranty on all RAM - they're my go-to for all of my macs and all of my clients' macs as well.

+1, i use this setup with 2 external monitors. love it.

Nate is a Creative at the apple store here and he wanted me to say....


"Both have a 256mb graphics card, there are benfits to each machine.

First, the 24in imac has a larger screen and larger hard drive, along with faster RAM and a faster front side bus but it is significantly lower screen quality. The screen is covered with a thin plastic that gives it a glossy appearance and it is a consumer level LCD.

The macbook pro gives you the optional 512mg graphics card (also available on the imac as an upgrade but only on the highest model), a choice between glossy or matte screen on professional quality LCD with near perfect color accuracy.

The pro also has an express 34 slot for expansion.

Another deciding factor is that the 24in imac has a 500 gig hard drive whereas the pro comes with 200 or 250. The pro only has a 5400 rpm hard drive whereas the imac has a 7200 rpm sata drive.

One more thing, the pro now has the multi-touch track pad for zooming in and out, changing text size, and rotating images (like the iphone). "

Hope that helps. I guess it really depends what you main needs are. And then your budget of course.

(Yeah, he's kind of a nerd but I keep him around )

Might look into the Matrox GXM

Quick question for all you iMAC users out there... for those using their iMAC for heavy-duty Lightroom and Photoshop use, are you happy with the ATI 2600PRO graphics card (256MB)? Or are you using an iMAC with the newer nVidia 8800GS w/512MB?

I'm on the fence between the 2.8GHz/320GB/ATI model and the newest 3.06GHz/500MB/nVidia model. Either way, I plan to get 4GB memory. And since I'm also planning to daisy-chain a few LaCie external drives off the iMAC... I could use the $$$-savings of the 2.8GHz model to fund the LaCie disk farm!

Thanks for any ideas/thoughts you might care to share!

David

Allison,

I just had this same debate with myself and went for the 24 inch imac.