[BoingoBongo]

Hi all, I'm looking for some input/advice:

I love my computing setup, but I feel that it's inefficient and making things more difficult than they should be. I have a 20 inch Core Duo iMac with everything maxed out (except the hard drive, I kept it at 250) and a Core 2 Duo MacBook.

Between the two I have everything I need, but the problem is that it's split between two computers. I don't do any gaming or anything really intensive, but I do do some video editing and graphics stuff. I've decided I prefer laptops to desktops. I love the MacBook, but the screen is a little small to use exclusively and it's not as powerful as I'd like. What I would ultimately like to have is a laptop that suites all of my needs and a cinema display to use when working at home. I was thinking of selling my iMac and getting a display, but the MacBook doesn't have a DVD burner (I don't use this much, but I do want to have it), and the iMac has a better video card and is more powerful overall, so I don't know that only having the MacBook is the right choice.

So really, I don't know what to do. I guess I could sell them both and try to get a MacBook Pro, or a top of the line MacBook and a display, but I don't know. I'm just looking for any ideas. I've been trying to figure this out for a while and I think some fresh perspective would help me out a ton.

Thanks in advance!

P.S.- I think I posted this in the right place since my ultimate goal is a laptop-only setup. I'm sorry if there's a better place to have posted.

[JustinHorne]

I'd sell them both, and get a maxed out MB and nice external. Fo me (search for reasons) the MBP is a great machine, but if you don't NEED that video card or a large on the go screen, it's not worth it at all to get the MBP.

[BoingoBongo]

That's pretty much the plan I was leaning towards. It would be very awesome to have the power of the MBP, but I'm sure a maxed out MacBook is more than enough for me. Plus I do like the form factor and overall design of the MacBooks more. Plus then I could get a display for very little money out of pocket.

Do you have any idea what I should try and sell these two for if that's the route I go? I've looked on eBay, but that's kind of hard to judge by. If I choose to sell, I definitely want to get what they're worth.

The iMac has 2gb RAM, 250gb hard drive, 2.0ghz Core Duo processor, and the RadeonX1600 with 256mb vRam. It's in perfect shape except for this minor screen problem that I posted about here.

The MacBook is from February of this year with a 1.83ghz Core 2 Duo processor, 1gb or RAM and a 60gb hard drive.

They both have leopard installed too. Thanks for your help!

[JustinHorne]

Originally Posted by BoingoBongo 

That's pretty much the plan I was leaning towards. It would be very awesome to have the power of the MBP, but I'm sure a maxed out MacBook is more than enough for me. Plus I do like the form factor and overall design of the MacBooks more. Plus then I could get a display for very little money out of pocket.

Do you have any idea what I should try and sell these two for if that's the route I go? I've looked on eBay, but that's kind of hard to judge by. If I choose to sell, I definitely want to get what they're worth.

The iMac has 2gb RAM, 250gb hard drive, 2.0ghz Core Duo processor, and the RadeonX1600 with 256mb vRam. It's in perfect shape except for this minor screen problem that I posted about here.

The MacBook is from February of this year with a 1.83ghz Core 2 Duo processor, 1gb or RAM and a 60gb hard drive.

They both have leopard installed too. Thanks for your help!

Well, when I was buying, I wanted a MBP, and could have gotten one, if I had waited longer. Then I got to thinking about it (specs from when I purchased, a little out of date)
The MB was goin t obe 2.0, and the mbp 2.4. Not huge, but notable
The MB had integrated graphics, which are pretty sucky. HOWEVER, while I do some pretty heavy PS work, which is 2d, I do no gaming/3d rendering, so it doesn't affect me almost at all.
The MBP is bigger, but I'm on the go a lot, and personally, I WANTED a small screen
The MBP is a better looking compy, I think.
The MBP has an expresscard slot... That may hurt me in the future, but no need now...

On the whole, for me, it was pretty much impossible to justify the extra thousand. I think MBs have a reputation as kid's macs, whereas the MBPs are what you buy if you're past college. Really though, the MB is VERY close to the MBP on just about all regards.

I dunno about the iMac, maybe.. 700-850 ish on the MB?

When you get a MB, gt a nice processor, but definently upgrade the ram. I have 2 gb, and it's awesome. Way better than one (2.0 c2d, 2.0 gb, 120 hd.)

[BoingoBongo]

That's my plan. Ram is definitely something I don't want to skimp on (although I will pass on buying it from Apple). Thanks for your input. It seriously has helped me out a lot. It's time to do some selling!

[Altair]

Also I'd suggest maybe getting a wireless keyboard and mouse. I just bought the apple wireless keyboard for my setup (now a 2.2 Ghz MBP) and I find it really nice to only have to plug in power and the monitor when I want to have a bigger display. Also you might want to consider an iCurve (I think that's the name).

[BoingoBongo]

Thanks for that idea. That would be a really sweet setup. Plus it eliminates clutter, which is a big plus in my book.