So I'm a Mac noob and......................

I showed the missus some Mac hardware the other day in ....wait for it ..... PC World. She was pretty impressed to be honest (she's very non-technical, just liked the shiny bits i guess) and suggested I might get one.

I already have a PC for gaming, photo editing, iTunes, burning stuff, all the usual. So if I did get one, with the understanding I'd move the iTunes/iPod over along with the graphics tablet and photo editing stuff, should I go for a Macbook Pro or iMac?

Either way I'd keep the PC upstairs for gaming and the Mac in the lounge on a little workstation for everything else. I'm getting a little 'bonus' soon but wouldnt want to spend any more than £1200.

I suppose the benefits over the PC (after all I could just move it!) are having a nice looking and quiet machine in the lounge. I'm not sure I'd take a laptop out of the house tbh so I just dont know which would suit me better / last me longest / be the best value ???

Oh, she gets NHS discount too. I have to check but I'm sure it was at least 10% when I got my Touch.

If it is just going to sit on a desk, then I'd get the iMac, you get more for your money... Faster processor, bigger screen, faster HD etc.

I'm looking at either a 24" iMac or a 17" MBP... I have the same dilemma, but I have a company notebook now (Toshiba with Vista, soon to be Windows 7), so probably don't really need another portable...

Yeah I think Dave's right - depends on whether you want something on show in a dedicated sort of space, or just something to pop on the coffee table to surf from the sofa with.

Veato, like you I have a PC for gaming, but wanted a mac of some sort. I went for the macbook pro for convenience more than anything - you get a perfectly serviceable PC for £900 that you can connect to your existing monitor and keyboard with a KVM switch if you want it on a desktop, but the laptop is great for browsing the net whilst half-heartedly watching TV - like I'm doing now.

I also use iphoto and imovie quite a lot - rendering an mp4 on a dual-core is a bit painful but it works eventually. The hard drive and RAM can be upgraded easily enough and when you are finished with it you can slide it under the sofa or stick it in a bag.

The MBPs can also be plugged into a special monitor which turns it into a desktop machine. The iMac is really a portable as far as components go, so you might as well get a lap top - you get the advantage of being able to easily carry it places.

Personally with the £1200 budget I would go for an iMac. As mentioned before better value for money. Go for a refurb if you need to stretch that budget further, but don't forget software.

I think the iMac is looking like the better option tbh. Looking at the spec and prices (its 6% discount I found out) and what I want it for the 20/24" screen will be more useful than a 17" laptop one.