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Film Prof · Aug 11, 2008, 01:46 AM

After spilling red wine all over my MacBook Pro the other night, I'm in the market for a new Mac.

I have a nice 20" iMac at work, which I like quite a bit. I'm looking at the 24" for home, the top-end one with the 512MB of VRAM.

However, rumor has it that the MacBooks and the MacBook Pros will soon be updating, and perhaps they will allow for RAM upgrades above 4GB.

Will this upgrade also effect the iMac?

And how much will I miss the portability of my laptop? I'm hoping that having the computer sit in one place will curb mindless internet surfing. Maybe.

But mainly I'm worried about whether or not this is the right time to buy.

Thanks!

calverson · Aug 11, 2008, 02:13 AM

As always, it depends.

Realize that buying an iMac will completely remove all portability, and if you ever travelled and were glad that you had your mac with you, this ability will vanish. What do you use your mac for?

Regarding the right time to buy; your $1 will get you what it gets you today, if you buy today, and your $1 will get what it gets you in a few months. Apple is famous at keeping their new releases a secret, and rumors have been known to be wrong.

It is never the "right time to buy", or the "wrong time to buy". I honestly would wait until after September (the supposed month the new mac will be announced, but that is a supposition) before buying.

Also, watch the wine...

vmarks · Aug 11, 2008, 08:07 AM

iMac (08)
Release date: April 28, 2008 (3 months, 2 weeks ago)

Look for the portable machines to be updated sooner than iMacs.

And, what are you doing with the macbook pro now that it's got wine in it?

calverson · Aug 11, 2008, 08:32 AM

You don't need WINE on the newer Macs, just use bootcamp.

(sorry, couldn't resist)

solofx7 · Aug 11, 2008, 09:12 AM

I have the iMac that you are thinking about getting.
I love it. I also do not think that the iMac will be updating when the laptops will.
I went from a macbook pro to an iMac, I do miss the portability and think about that all of the time.
The power that I have gained is quite amazing in the gaming sense.
Also get the ram, www.crucial.com
I know that noone is going to believe me, but the iMac was at a crawl without the ram, well worth the money.

calverson · Aug 11, 2008, 09:17 AM

Originally Posted by solofx7

I know that noone is going to believe me, but the iMac was at a crawl without the ram, well worth the money.

What did it ship with?

vmarks · Aug 11, 2008, 09:32 AM

They ship with 1gb or 2gb currently.

I don't think 1gb is a 'crawl', but that depends on how much ram safari decides to eat.

Film Prof · Aug 11, 2008, 12:49 PM

Well, the MacBook Pro still works, sort of. I had to removed the Function key, because it was stuck and was locking the keyboard into the Num Lock function. The backlighting seems to be mainly out--only a few keys actually light up.

The sound is gone--both with internal and external speakers--and it no longer recognizes Airport--says the hardware isn't there.

There's also a strange "stain" on the screen that actually makes the screen brighter where the wine was, but that seems to be gradually disappearing.

I assume that the sound and wireless problems are something that will require the motherboard to be repaired. And the keyboard will likely need to be either cleaned or completely replaced. I broke a couple of keys trying to clean what I could.

I enjoy the laptop, but I also like the speed and the size of the iMac.

And I feel safer buying the iMac now, because all the rumors seem to point to a major MacBook Pro upgrade coming soon.

But I can wait, so long as the MacBook functions well enough as a desktop.

calverson · Aug 11, 2008, 01:21 PM

Originally Posted by Film Prof

But I can wait, so long as the MacBook functions well enough as a desktop.

MacBook or MacBook Pro?

Film Prof · Aug 11, 2008, 01:29 PM

Originally Posted by calverson

MacBook or MacBook Pro?

Sorry. It's a MacBook Pro. Bought in back in October of 2006, after the Core 2 Duo came out.

calverson · Aug 11, 2008, 01:40 PM

If you can live without the portability, the iMac is BY FAR the better option, in terms of use/ergonomics.

The MacBook Pro has comparable specs, but it does have a smaller screen, and it does come with a bigger price tag.

The advantage about getting an iMac is you could (safely) get one now, whereas getting a MacBook Pro now might not be the best choice.

Anyway, post what you get, when you get it, and why, will you?

cheers.

mduell · Aug 11, 2008, 01:59 PM

Originally Posted by Film Prof

AHowever, rumor has it that the MacBooks and the MacBook Pros will soon be updating, and perhaps they will allow for RAM upgrades above 4GB.

Will this upgrade also effect the iMac?

Yes, the upcoming upgrades to the Mac laptops should support 8GB DDR3 RAM and are also relevant to the iMac since the iMac uses a mobile CPU/chipset combination. However I'd expect the iMacs to be upgrded after the laptops since the iMacs were refreshed 3.5 months ago and will see a smaller performance gain since they're currently running at higher clockspeeds (some would say overclocked, but I don't want to get into that debate).

Originally Posted by calverson

You don't need WINE on the newer Macs, just use bootcamp.

A reasonable effort, but it kind of fell flat since any Mac that can't run BootCamp can't run Wine either.