Looking at options for a new Mac. iMac, MacBook Pro or new Mac Pro

Erik Naso

Erik Naso

Veteran
I have to get a new second system to replace my laptop. I'm looking at the new 15" MacBook pro retina or a iMac. Probably the 21". Looking for some advice here.
I like portability but i don't take my current laptop out very often at all and the added cost of the MacBook Pro might not justify the cost. I wish the 21" iMac had the options of the 27" models 2GB video memory and 32GM RAM. So what you think? This is a second system to my Mac Pro not a main one. I want the best bang for my buck!
 
I'd get the MBP or iMac, when i had my 27" iMac i sometimes put it in a box and brought it with me to my clients. No problem if you don't need to do that often... In the end i sold my iMac and bought a MBP retina 15" in addition to my (hack) mac pro. It didn't make sense for me to have two desktops at home, the iMac was shutdown most of the time anyway.

I think the MBP is a great product, and will find more use in addition to a mac pro than an iMac...
 
I'm leaning toward the MacBook Pro but the iMac 21 looks nice and is probably a better computer as well as cheaper.
 
If I had a decent desktop system, I'd lean towards the newer MBP as well just for flexibility.

I'm in the opposite situation, have an OK laptop but need a newer machine (on all fronts)... current frontrunner is the iMac 27" over the 21" for the screen real estate, larger and easier RAM upgradability, and better graphics card. In pro use, the ~$500 premium over the 21" version should pay for itself quickly enough.
 
the question is: what would you do on your second machine? editing? writing?

i wouldn't recommend editing on a 21" screen with 1920x1080 resolution - the retina display is a huge bonus when editing on a small screen IMO...

cheaper is indeed a plus for the iMac :)

what do you think makes the iMac a better computer? I ask because everybody defines "better" different...
 
mcbob said:
If I had a decent desktop system, I'd lean towards the newer MBP as well just for flexibility.

I'm in the opposite situation, have an OK laptop but need a newer machine (on all fronts)... current frontrunner is the iMac 27" over the 21" for the screen real estate, larger and easier RAM upgradability, and better graphics card. In pro use, the ~$500 premium over the 21" version should pay for itself quickly enough.
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27" iMac loaded for sure if it's a main system. I'm not sure if the new Mac Pro is cost effective. Price seems high and will climb fast with externals.

stefanhuberfilms said:
the question is: what would you do on your second machine? editing? writing?

i wouldn't recommend editing on a 21" screen with 1920x1080 resolution - the retina display is a huge bonus when editing on a small screen IMO...

cheaper is indeed a plus for the iMac :)

what do you think makes the iMac a better computer? I ask because everybody defines "better" different...
Click to expand...
This is a second editing machine for being more portable and not stuck in my upstairs office. I hate being apart from the family if I can edit in the living room. Heavey longer stuff goes upstairs. I want performance with CUDA that I don't get right now with my mid 2010 MacBook Pro. Still a great laptop but no CUDA support.

As for what makes the iMac a better computer is the purely hardware and cost. That small package with a laptop has a cost added to it but it's an amazingly powerful system.
 
thats a hard decision... the MBP definitely speaks for flexibility and portability, as mcbob said.

This is a second editing machine for being more portable and not stuck in my upstairs office. I hate being apart from the family if I can edit in the living room. Heavey longer stuff goes upstairs.
Click to expand...

We are in exactly the same situation! My wife and I are currently moving into a new house, where my office will also be located upstairs. I also want to spend more time with my wife, editing on the couch, and the MB will make that possible - as well as bringing it to clients without headaches. Yes you could do that with an iMac too - like i did for a while - but it is more cumbersome and the setup time is longer, plus you will need an extra table, chair and even more stuff for your iMac...

the hardware seems almost the same on both systems though...
 
Okay I'm pretty sure its a 15" Retina MBP for me. It also has the newest Thunderbolt 2.
Looking at the specs we don't get very many options, so the Retina with 16GB RAM and and 512 SSD is the one.

$500 more for 1TB SSD is a lot but maybe worth it for the extra space since it can never be upgraded.

Is it worth $200 more for the 2.6GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz?
 
I bought a refurbished one, 2,7 Ghz Quad i7, 16GB RAM, 256Gb SSD - i mostly work on external drives, a bigger SSD would be nice though if you want to work barebones with it...

I can't comment on the CPU, i got a great deal with mine and just went with the 2,7Ghz. In the end it's all about CUDA anyway :)

Honestly, when editing, i don't think you'll notice a difference - only in cost ;)
 
Definitely go Retina 15 over iMac 21 in my opinion. iMac 27 is a different story though I find myself oddly cutting on the maxed out retina over the maxed out 27" sometimes even when there is a choice, just to be comfy, or whatever.

I have last years model, am happy with the 512GB, SSD, not sure if the other was an option back then. Can't speak to the processor, but those are usually incremental 5-10% performance bumps from what I understand. I'm running a 2.7GHz i7 and this thing sings...
 
Done! 15" MacBook Pro with 16gigs RAM 512 SSD drive. Didn't go for the CPU upgrade and didn't go for the 1TB SSD. This should work out pretty darn well. Thanks for the input my friends!

Now I just need to sell my 17" mid 2010 MacBook pro.
 
Make sure you come back and tell us what difference you see. If you get the chance to run them side by side before the other one is sold some comparisons of render times etc would be great :)
 
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