Best use of my cash

[sourceninja]

I'm looking to buy a mac, it will probably be used mostly as a desktop, music player, gaming machine for games like WoW/quake4 and other new mac games/etc

I know for sure I either want a 24inch imac, or a notebook with a 24 inch monitor. I'm just not sure what is going to give me the most performance for my money.

I've broken it down into really 3 options give or take a few things.

$2114.00 -
2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
500GB Serial ATA Drive
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Apple Mighty Mouse
Apple Keyboard (English) + Mac OS X
iWork '08 preinstalled
AppleCare Protection Plan for iMac - Auto-enroll
ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB memory
24-inch glossy widescreen LCD
AirPort Extreme
Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR


$2339.00 -
2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme
2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
500GB Serial ATA Drive
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Apple Mighty Mouse
Apple Keyboard (English) + Mac OS X
iWork '08 preinstalled
AppleCare Protection Plan for iMac - Auto-enroll
ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB memory
24-inch glossy widescreen LCD
AirPort Extreme
Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR


$2744.00 -
2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
160GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
MacBook Pro 15-inch Widescreen Display
iWork '08 preinstalled
AppleCare Protection Plan for MacBook Pro (w/or w/o Display) - Auto-enroll

*Update* I was also told there is not much difference between 2.2 and 2.4, so that leaves me with a new option

$2311.00 -
2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
160GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
MacBook Pro 15-inch Glossy Widescreen Display
iWork '08 preinstalled
AppleCare Protection Plan for MacBook Pro (w/or w/o Display) - Auto-enroll


So that leaves me 3 questions.

1) Is it worth it to get the Intel Extreme. If it is not worth it, then everything else is equal and I'm down to two choices.

2) Will the notebook preform better then the imac. I care more about performance (gaming, programing, media are what I use my computer for) then anything else. I will probably have a bootcamp partition for games that wont run on mac, so this is a concideration.

3) Is the protection plan worth it? Apples warranty seems weak, and with both notebooks and integrated computers like imacs, I'm not going to be able to fix them myself. But the warranty is also pricey. So I'm not 100% sold on it.

I'm hoping to buy at the end of the month after the new OS is out. I'm a linux convert more then a windows one, so I think things will go smoothly. Any advice on what to get would be great.

 

[TheStu]

1) I can't speak to that... I mean, it is called Extreme, it must be good!
2) You do not need the 2.4GHz model, you can use the 2.2GHz and suffer almost no discernible loss in terms of gaming or anything else. Unless you are planning on hooking up to a 30" WS monitor of course, then you are better to get the 2.4GHz. Honestly, save yourself some money, get the 2.2GHz, and a large external for when you are at home and connected to your 24" monitor. From what I have seen the 8600m beats the HD2600
3) Get the AppleCare.

 

[sourceninja]

I didn't even think about the 2.2

Hmm now I've got another option to consider...grrr

Seriously though, thanks for the input

 

[TheStu]

No problem, check this out here http://barefeats.com/rosa03.html for some comparisons between the 2.2GHz MBP and the 2.4GHz MBP, it is pretty minor, and seems to be basically isolated to the processor difference. If 7-10% increase is worth $400+ to you, then by all means.. but that $400 can be put toward better things IMO.

 

[Viper0329]

The biggest difference between the MBP's is the video RAM: 128mb vs. 256mb

Applecare is a must in my book, at least for a notebook. Chances are, something will happen to some part of a MBP and need replacing within 3 years, wherein the protection will pay for itself in money saved.

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: Viper0329
The biggest difference between the MBP's is the video RAM: 128mb vs. 256mb

Applecare is a must in my book, at least for a notebook. Chances are, something will happen to some part of a MBP and need replacing within 3 years, wherein the protection will pay for itself in money saved.

Right, but that is basically a useless difference unless he is going to be doing a lot of Final Cut or Aperture work, or hooking up to a 30" WS monitor since that can saturate 128MB of RAM all by its lonesome (or so I have heard, I do not have one)

For most things though, including most games that the MBP can run, he won't notice any significant difference between the two, definitely not double the performance, or $400+ worth of difference in my book.

 

[umrigar]

For $1500, you can get this great 24" iMac, previous generation, and qualify for the $10 Leopard upgrade.
http://www.smalldog.com/product/41261

I've bought from Smalldog several times, always treated right.
Intel iMac, MacBook Pro, used iPods, etc.
Shipping usually ends up being less than tax when buying from Apple, too.

AppleCare is worth it - buy on eBay or from LA Computer, much less expensive than from Apple Inc.

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: umrigar
For $1500, you can get this great 24" iMac, previous generation, and qualify for the $10 Leopard upgrade.
http://www.smalldog.com/product/41261

I've bought from Smalldog several times, always treated right.
Intel iMac, MacBook Pro, used iPods, etc.
Shipping usually ends up being less than tax when buying from Apple, too.

AppleCare is worth it - buy on eBay or from LA Computer, much less expensive than from Apple Inc.

heh, I didn't know you could buy apple care off ebay...

but I'll second smalldog as a good company in general.

As far as notebook vs imac... I personally would save the money and go w/ an imac. I love me a giant display. But with that said, the MBP's have 8600GT's in them don't they? far better than the ATI variant in the imacs I think.

and yes, apple care is worth it IMO for laptop/all in ones. Peace of mind because you can really replace much yourself. i had an ibook screen die on me. it was a demo model, so I was glad I bought the apple care.