Macbook vs Imac and Video/pic editing

I am thinking of taking the plunge and buying my first Mac. I would mainly use the computer for homevideo editing and dvd creating and for playing with pictures.


With this in mind is there much difference between a macbookpro and an Imac?


If going the Imac route would upgrading from 3.06 Ghz to 3.20 Ghz and 4GB to 8GB memory make a very big/noticeable difference? (besides to the price)


Thank you for any help you can offer.

Specs being equal, you always pay a premium for portability. So if you don't need to have a laptop, you can save money by buying the iMac. On the other hand, iMacs have bigger screens, and the screen is probably the most expensive component.


Performance wise, I believe iMacs run faster hard drives than MacBooks, so that might make a difference. However Mac OS is pretty good at mitigating effects of slow hard drive access.


You probably won't notice the difference by increasing CPU speed from 3.06 to 3.20. On the other hand, going from 4 to 8 gigs can make a huge difference depending on usage. If you edit big videos especially, having more memory is typically a good idea.


In my opinion, unless you absolutely need it to be portable, go for the iMac. Bigger screen is nice if nothing else.