macbook pro and imac, overkill?

[tim2006]

I recently got an imac and now need a macbook pro. The questions, should I keep both computers or unload the imac. Power is not a concern, my daily computing does not require much power. I thought about the macbook but don't want a 13 in screen. I am just thinking that having both is a duplication. Is a notebook reliable enough to be the only computer that I have?

[macleod]

Yes, just having a notebook would be fine...unless you don't want to always use a notebook. But even then you could do what I am doing right now and use your notebook with a keyboard and mouse and either put it on an iCurve or get an external monitor to make it more useable as a desktop replacement.

[psmith2.0]

I think so. Especially these days, with these Intel Core Duo processors in all the Apple notebooks!

Which MacBook Pro do you have? The 15" or 17"?

If it were me, I'd just have the MacBook Pro, a single computer, and instead of buying an equally-spec'd whole other (desktop) computer, I'd put the money into a nice, large monitor to use with the MacBook Pro while at home. A 20" or larger display, from a manufacturer of your choice, of course.

:)

Best of both worlds: portability when you need it, AND a large display (and get an external keyboard and mouse) while working at home...so it feels more like a comfortable, traditional desktop set-up when you want it to.

I've had two Macs at once several years ago (iMac and iBook). I found myself not using either to their fullest, and it was a pain in the butt keeping everything synced (pre iSync days, you see) and it was just a lot of hassle, frankly.

I don't think I'll ever do it again (even with iSync and file transfers easier now than ever). That's two things to keep up with, worry about, maintain, update, etc. I barely like doing all that with one...

Laptops now are really holding their own in performance with what you'd get in a $1,299-1,699 iMac so I don't think you'll be giving up anything noticeable in that area (and you yourself say your needs aren't that demanding or pushing the limits).

[seek3r]

Also, think about whether you leave your iMac on a lot when you go out. At school I keep 2 computers, my desktop (currently an amd64 machine) and my lappy (PB 15"). It's useful 'cause I leave the desktop on all the time for a combination of file serving/code compiling/IM/etc.

If you need something like that, having both the iMac and the MBP is a good idea, if you don't... iMacs are nice machines, but more desktop space is good, right? :-P