iMac or MBP what do you think?

Hi all,

It's getting time to replace my primary Mac and I'm in a bit of state trying to decide which would work best. I'm kind of using this as a way to lay out my thoughts but also welcome any input that might help me with this decision..


First: What I do with my system:
General surfing/word processing/etc
App development (iOS main target)
Video editing (FCS3 and FCPX)
Gaming (mostly in bootcamp)

I know some people would suggest getting a Mac and a dedicated gaming system - not gonna happen. I don't really want to deal with that and I don't want to dedicate the space for it. I deal with enough various systems in my day job (network administrator).

Systems I'm debating between:

2011 iMac 27" i7, 2TB, 6970M 2Gig. Base RAM to be upgraded after market
2012 Mackbook Pro Non-Retina, i7 HR display, 750GB, GT650m 1Gig, Base RAM to be upgraded after market

iMac +: Faster max CPU upgrade (3.4GHz i7), stronger GPU (6970 is a higher level class 1 mobile GPU), won't require extra monitor, larger max internal HD, 2TB ports

MBP +: Ivybridge technology, portability, USB 3.0, would allow me to get rid of my MBA as well as my current Mac desktop. Easy to get into for upgrading RAM and HD (remember, this isn't the Retina version), lower power draw even with external monitor (~185W w/ 28" display I already have, 250W if using the TB display)

iMac -: Very hard to get into to replace the HD, I've heard of some people with color consistency issues on the 27" models (may have been 2010 and not 2011, not sure), required to keep MBA for portability, USB 2.0, larger power draw (~365W).

MBP -: weaker GPU compared to what's in the iMac, lower CPU max speed, 2 usb ports (although they are USB 3) lower max capacity hard drives, slightly higher risk to take with me on trips being my primary system, 1 TB port

Both systems have benefits and drawbacks. I keep bouncing between the two of them. I don't plan on getting a Retina display so that doesn't even play into the decision. Getting the laptop would allow me to liquidate two systems.... Both seem to play the games I like at reasonable rates (per notebook check for the gpus), the 6970m does seem to rank a bit higher tho for overall frame rates.

Any input or thoughts welcome.

According to your profile & signature...you already have a lot of Apple computers (desktops & laptops)...so it's kind of hard to recommend getting either of the two computers you mentioned (iMac or MBP).

You got a 2008 Mac Pro, a 2010 MBA, and a 2011 MBA (in addition to various G4 Mac's).

You mentioned replacing your primary Mac...which one is this...the Mac Pro?

I recently sold my 8-core 2009 Mac Pro (just wasn't using it to it's full potential). My two "main" computers before the sale were the Mac Pro and a 17" MBP. Now I just have the MBP...but I'm looking to upgrade the MBP or get a desktop (in addition to the MBP).

I want to say (in your case)...since you already have two MBA's...get the iMac. The 27" display is awesome...and the better video card may be better for your computing tasks (video editing & gaming)...and I agree...the hard drive issue with newer iMac's is irritating!!!

BUT...what I would suggest (since you certainly aren't hurting for computers)!...wait until new iMac models are released...see what they offer...then decide on which iMac to buy (current generation or next gen.).

HTH,

- Nick

Haha, when I last updated my sig I had just gotten my 2011 MBA and hadn't sold my 2010 yet - I completely forgot to update my sig again. Currently I have my Mac Pro (main Mac) and my MBA. The G4 systems were acting as servers, and although I still have them they aren't currently in use.

The Mac Pro is the primary system I'm planning on replacing (partially for power reasons, it gets expensive to run in its current config, partially because although it works well, it is meeting my needs less and less and RAM for it is outrageously priced (I'm down to 6 gig in it, 2 gig failed about 2 or 3 weeks ago) compared to even a current Mac Pro.

I was thinking on the waiting thing as well in the hopes that Apple might introduce a new iMac around the time ML is released but considering their release dates and the iMac I do believe is now over due for a refresh I don't know how long until a release (I was hoping for a release announcement at WWDC).

the other thing that kind of leans me to an iMac is the Target Display Mode which sounds pretty cool if I need to use my Air and want a larger screen (assuming I purchase the $50 thunderbolt cable)....

Nethfel said:

...the other thing that kind of leans me to an iMac is the Target Display Mode which sounds pretty cool if I need to use my Air and want a larger screen (assuming I purchase the $50 thunderbolt cable)....

Click to expand...

Ahh I see...the signature info is out of date!

If you have a 2011 MBA...do you really need another laptop? Sure a new MBP will be more powerful...but then would it make sense to keep the MBA? I guess it depends on your $$$ situation.

Looking at a lot of the latest benchmarks...from a cpu perspective...the 2012 MBP's (with a quad-core) out-score even the fastest currently available iMac.

The big question may be the graphics scores. The iMac's Radeon 6970 with 1gig vram vs. the MBP's GeForce GT 650M with 1gig vram.

What I'm thinking of doing is consolidating...just having one system...and getting one of the latest "super" MBP's...which by the way outscore (cpu) the:

- current quad-core iMac's
- 2008 8-core Mac Pro's
- some of the 2009 8-core Mac Pro's
- at least the 2010 quad-core Mac Pro
- probably the 2012 quad-core Mac Pro

But again...need video scores as well. Basically with one of the new MBP's...you get the cpu power of some older Mac Pro's...while getting the portability of laptop.

In your case...you sold your Mac Pro, sold your 2010 MBA...and you could sell your 2011 MBA...and consolidate by getting just a new MBP.

I agree...the 27" iMac's video in would be great to expand the screen real estate of your MBA.

I'm sort of in the same boat. Keep my current MBP...and get a 27" iMac. Or sell my current MBP...and just get a new MBP...and stick with just one computer.

If you can decide against the iMac & run everything from just one computer...then you could sell your MBA...just get a 2012 MBP...and wouldn't have to worry about what Apple has in store for the next iMac.

These decisions are NEVER easy...which is just the way Apple likes it!!

- Nick

Yeah. I mean I still have my Mac Pro right now, but plans to sell (****, it's scary that FCPX w/ H.264 video seems to work better on my air then on my Mac Pro).

consolidating to one system would be nice except I don't know if I could deal with the stress of if I take the system some where and someone steals it or if something happens to it not having a secondary system to fall back on... I'd also really have to figure out how to split my data to make sure my high privacy based data stays at home no matter what and lower security data is available for mobile...

I'd believe it that the new MBP CPU performs better then the rest (although I wonder do the numbers you were looking at include the iMac w/ 3.4GHz i7?). The GPU in the MBP is ranked lower then the 6970m that is in the iMac - although not by much but the real world frame rates between the two do seem to have significant differences according to notebook check.

650M: NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

6970m: AMD Radeon HD 6970M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

Of course, leaning toward the nvidia chipset - I have experienced issues with my radeon based card on OSX in my Mac Pro if the Mac goes to sleep it doesn't have the same performance as it does just after a reboot or if I don't ever let it sleep (it's a problem several have had with certain radeon models in certain systems including if I recall correctly the 6970m that is in the iMac) - and when I say issues I mean it, i.e.: Novabench after a sleep cycle, graphics : 112 (~300fps), Novabench after a reboot or even after running a while as long as no sleep: 426 (~1180fps) - I hadn't heard of similar problems with nvidia chipsets with Lion (at least as of .3, I hadn't tested it on .4 to see if the problem had been resolved)

Ugh, just a hard decision. I think if the iMac had USB3 right now It'd probably be a no-brainer and I'd just get that and keep my Air (since most I usually play while on the road run fine on the air at lower settings) I would like to see some graphics comparisons tho with an actual MBP gt650m vs the iMac just to see if what notebook check relates is similar to what these two models can do.