Opinion Needed on Macbook (college student)

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Level 1

12 points

Opinion Needed on Macbook (college student)

I'm currently the proud owner of an iMac but since I transferred to a university, I've realized the convenience of having a notebook computer. It's portable, I can bring it on campus and work, etc. It's just more convenient to have compared to a desktop. My iMac is a 20 inch from late 2008, with a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2 GB RAM, and a 250 GB HDD. I was looking at the Macbook and figured I could probably sell my iMac and get one. I got a buyer who'll give me $800 for the iMac and I can get an open-boxed Macbook at Best Buy from a buddy of mine for about $700-800. I feel so left out sometimes because every Mac owner I know has a Macbook and I'm the only one with a desktop so I feel left out of the Mac culture. I just don't know if it's worth it. I'd go from a 20 inch screen to a 13 inch screen. I do a lot of guitar recording/music editing and DVD burning/creation and some iMovie stuff. So I want to know from you: should I do it? Is it worth it? Any input is appreciated. Thanks.

Message was edited by: Warheart1188

20-inch iMac (2.4 GHz), 250 GB HDD, 2GB DDR RAM, Mac OS X (10.6.2)

Posted on Jan 26, 2010 6:42 PM

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Answer 1

Mac-Medic

Level 6

17,301 points

Jan 26, 2010 10:16 PM in response to Warheart1188

The MacBook will work for what you do, but not as good or fast as that iMac.

Dave M.
MacOSG Founder/Ambassador  An Apple User Group  iTunes: MacOSG

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Answer 2

JasonFear

Level 5

4,965 points

Jan 27, 2010 12:15 AM in response to Warheart1188

Hi warheart1188,

What's the specs on that MacBook? One thing to consider, when comparing desktops vs. portables, is convenience. You'll going to pay the additional premium for portable convenience and in many cases will get a less powerful machine (for the same price as a desktop). While the 'gap' has been closed and there are some pretty powerful options in the Apple portable lineup, that $1,999.99 MacBook Pro is the same price as a 27.5" Quad Core iMac!

I personally went the portable route through college and grad school as I was more than willing to sacrifice the extra "umph" for 24/7 portable convenience. Not to mention, most universities will have labs on campus with nice desktops for situations where you need the extra power.

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Answer 3

Warheart1188 Author

Level 1

12 points

Jan 27, 2010 6:57 AM in response to Warheart1188

I was referring to the white Macbook. It has a 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, a 250 GB HDD, and 2GB RAM. Same as my iMac but with a slightly slower processor (on paper). My graphics card is an ATI Radeon HD 2400 and the Macbook has a Nvidia GeFore 9400M graphics card. Both have an 8x dual layer SuperDrive. So spec-wise, there's not a whole lot different (although I'm not too aware on which has a better graphics card, the newer iMacs don't have mine anymore and I think the Nividia is better).

Message was edited by: Warheart1188

Message was edited by: Warheart1188

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Answer 4

varjak paw

Level 10

170,200 points

Jan 27, 2010 7:06 AM in response to Warheart1188

Unless you really need portability, I'd suggest you stay with the iMac. The MacBook's nVidia 9400 graphics processor shares the memory with the main system RAM, so in performance it's probably pretty equivalent to your iMac. So you wouldn't be getting much if any benefit from moving to the MacBook other than the ability to carry it around (which for a college student may be a significant benefit).

Note that you can attach an external screen to a MacBook, so if you do think portability would be of significant benefit to you, you could use a larger screen in your apartment/room and use the MacBook's screen when you need to carry it around.

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