I currently own the last generation iMac G5 and it is a slow one! So I decided it was time to upgrade my Mac to a more powerful one. I use my Mac for all my media creation (video, podcasting, photography….using Final Cut Studio 2 and Adobe Lightroom). I still do all of my web development on the PC (because I use ColdFusion and IIS…so please…no emails that say “you know you can do web development on the Mac right?”….yes I know….)

I was going to purchase the MacBook Pro (17″), the one they just released a couple of months ago, however, I knew that the new iMac was coming out soon, I decided to wait. And I waited…and read rumors….and waited some more…and read some more rumors…and then it finally came out.

I saw it and it was love at first sight (don’t tell my wife I’m cheating on her with a Mac). The 24″ iMac is awesome. It’s got a huge screen with a screen resolution of 1920 x 1200…which is perfect for using Final Cut Pro, Color and my most favorite app of all, Adobe Lightroom.

I started thinking…do I need mobility or power? What’s more important to me. Power was on the top of my list, while mobility was probably 2nd or 3rd.

After reviewing Apple site and pricing both machines, I came to the conclusion that when it came to price/options, the iMac has it over the MacBook Pro for my needs.

Here is what I priced:

MacBook Pro 17″ - $3749.00 + Tax

• 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 4GB RAM
• 160 GB Hard Drive - This was a major disadvantage. FCS 2 uses at least 70 GB…that leaves only 90 GB for everything else. They offer a 250 GB HD, but, it’s only 4200 RPM…not good for video, you need 7200 RPM minimum.
• Display was the 17-inch High Resolution Widescreen because I need (and yes…want) the 1920×1200 resolution.

iMac Extreme - $3149.00 + Tax

• 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme
• 4 GB RAM
• 750 GB Hard Drive - This was a major thing for me because I will be purchasing Parallels 3.0 to run all of my PC application so I can stop using my work laptop.
• 24″ Inches baby of display! This is great!
• 1920 x 1200 resolution (ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro with 256MB)

So as you can see from above, the iMac is $600 less, with a faster processor, more hard drive space (much more) and 24″ vs 17″. They both have the same expandability capabilities (limited to none), so that was not a deciding factor for me.

So I took the plunge and purchase it. It’s already on its way home, so as soon as I get it, I’ll go through the install and report back on how happy I am!

Until the next blog entry!

Cheers!

- Marcelo Lewin

The Digital Media Dude

http://www.thedigitalmediadude.com/