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rMBP or new (possibly not this year) iMac 2012?

M

MagicThief83

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 12, 2012
478
0
NYC
Hello All,

I just recently picked up a 2012 MBA but I have been also waiting for the new iMac refresh since last February (hence why I picked up a MBA because I couldn't wait any longer). It seems that new iMacs are to be refreshed soon in October, however, I have been strongly considering picking up a rMBP and just waiting for an all new iMac redesign in 2013. Is retina worth all the hype? Based on your experiences with the rMBP, should I pick one up or just wait for the 2012 iMac. I do word processing, web browsing, email, iTunes, movies, and gaming. The rMBP seems to be the latest & greatest and features the latest technology while purported rumors state that the iMac refreshes will consist of only spec bumps sans retina or a significant redesign. I really do enjoy the MBA but the I wish it had a little more oomph!!! (gaming, gpu-wise). I have a bunch of steam games that I could be playing in Bootcamp, but the MBA isn't up to the task.
 
I went from a 2011 27" iMac to a rMBP and dont regret it at all. I was sick of waiting for the iMac refresh as well. Now I dont even care when it is refreshed, thats how happy I am.

I originally intended on just buying hte cMBP, but after playing with the rMBP in the Apple store for 20-30min, I went home and immediately ordered the rMBP. The display is amazing. Again, no regrets at all.
 
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Ditto above, although my imac was 3 years old.

Was going for a new 2012 specked out air to replace it but once i saw the rMBP it shouted at me to buy it and held me hostage! ;)

I still think apple are slowly killing off their desktop line, a good laptop and external monitor is the setup most people seem to go for these days.....
 
To be perfectly honest, I really don't see the sense in waiting for a 2012 iMac refresh if all it is a spec bump and no redesign (and most importantly no retina!). I'd rather get a rMBP now and use that as my main machine. What are your experiences with the rMBP for HD movie watching, gaming, etc.? I'd prob get the 2.6 GHz model with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD. I have a 4TB thunderbolt external so storage isn't a huge concern for me.
 
Orlandoech.com said:
I went from a 2011 27" iMac to a rMBP and dont regret it at all. I was sick of waiting for the iMac refresh as well. Now I dont even care when it is refreshed, thats how happy I am.

I originally intended on just buying hte cMBP, but after playing with the rMBP in the Apple store for 20-30min, I went home and immediately ordered the rMBP. The display is amazing. Again, no regrets at all.
Click to expand...

What are you doing with the rMBP? In your opinion, what is better about the rMBP versus the iMac? I think Apple will significantly redesign the iMac in 2013, but I'd rather get a rMBP to hold me over until then. From what I hear and see, retina is the way to go.
 
MagicThief83 said:
What are you doing with the rMBP? In your opinion, what is better about the rMBP versus the iMac? I think Apple will significantly redesign the iMac in 2013, but I'd rather get a rMBP to hold me over until then. From what I hear and see, retina is the way to go.
Click to expand...

I like the fact I can be mobile and not sit at one place mainly. I thought I would miss the 27" 1440p screen, but I dont considering that I can run so many resolutions on the rMBP. The HiDPI is just unreal, to my eyes it even makes the 27" screen looks like such lowDPI.

My rMBP is also significantly faster than my iMac. I had the 3.1GHz i5, 16GB 1333MHz Ram, Corsair Force GT 240GB SSD and my rMBP is still boat loads faster in every way (maybe not GPU) but I dont game.

Here are my geekbench benchmarks from my iMac and rMBP.

rMBP - 12003 - http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench2/964237
iMac - 8662 - http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench2/563015

Here is a screenshot of the resolutions I can run.
 

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So you have an Air but you want another laptop for basic stuff (minus gaming)? I'd keep the Air and either get a top of the line refubrished iMac or wait for the next iMac generation.

for gaming 27" > 15" and the 6970 is better than the 650m.
 
Drask said:
So you have an Air but you want another laptop for basic stuff (minus gaming)? I'd keep the Air and either get a top of the line refubrished iMac or wait for the next iMac generation.

for gaming 27" > 15" and the 6970 is better than the 650m.
Click to expand...

I was considering selling the Air and picking up the rMBP. I am aware the 6970m is better than the 650m, however, I would rather not pick up an outdated iMac, especially at this point as we draw nearer to the rumored refresh. My only issue is that the 2012 iMac will just be a spec bump with no real redesign or retina. If that's the case, I'd rather wait for the 2013 redesign and just get the rMBP now.
 
MagicThief83 said:
I was considering selling the Air and picking up the rMBP. I am aware the 6970m is better than the 650m, however, I would rather not pick up an outdated iMac, especially at this point as we draw nearer to the rumored refresh. My only issue is that the 2012 iMac will just be a spec bump with no real redesign or retina. If that's the case, I'd rather wait for the 2013 redesign and just get the rMBP now.
Click to expand...

Then I guess it depends on personal preferences, I own an iMac 2011 and a rMBP and even though my rMBP is 5 times faster because of the SSD, when I'm at home I rather be with the 27" real state.

If portability is important to you then there's no way around it, laptop it is.

Remember than even though an iMac may be around the corner, no one really knows when it's coming out, I remember when I got it back in January people used to tell me 'Wait, there will be a new one in March" I'm glad I didn't wait.

Plus you can save 15-25% off a refurbished one.
 
Drask said:
Then I guess it depends on personal preferences, I own an iMac 2011 and a rMBP and even though my rMBP is 5 times faster because of the SSD, when I'm at home I rather be with the 27" real state.

If portability is important to you then there's no way around it, laptop it is.

Remember than even though an iMac may be around the corner, no one really knows when it's coming out, I remember when I got it back in January people used to tell me 'Wait, there will be a new one in March" I'm glad I didn't wait.

Plus you can save 15-25% off a refurbished one.
Click to expand...

It just seems like with the rMBP, you get the best of both worlds not to mention, the rMBP comes with an HDMI port so if I wanted greater screen real estate, I could pick up an external monitor. But then hooking up an external display to the rMBP kind of defeats the purpose of using the built-in retina display. Would you say there are huge variations in screen quality between the rMBP versus the iMac? I also believe the GT 650m can handle my gaming needs, as I'm not a hardcore gamer.
 
Drask said:
Then I guess it depends on personal preferences, I own an iMac 2011 and a rMBP and even though my rMBP is 5 times faster because of the SSD, when I'm at home I rather be with the 27" real state.

If portability is important to you then there's no way around it, laptop it is.

Remember than even though an iMac may be around the corner, no one really knows when it's coming out, I remember when I got it back in January people used to tell me 'Wait, there will be a new one in March" I'm glad I didn't wait.

Plus you can save 15-25% off a refurbished one.
Click to expand...

my 2011 3.1GHZ Quad-i5 iMac had an SSD, I installed a 240GB Corsair Force GT SSD (SATAIII) and my rMBP still runs circles around my iMac.

----------
MagicThief83 said:
It just seems like with the rMBP, you get the best of both worlds not to mention, the rMBP comes with an HDMI port so if I wanted greater screen real estate, I could pick up an external monitor. But then hooking up an external display to the rMBP kind of defeats the purpose of using the built-in retina display. Would you say there are huge variations in screen quality between the rMBP versus the iMac? I also believe the GT 650m can handle my gaming needs, as I'm not a hardcore gamer.
Click to expand...

You could get an external monitor if you really needed more real estate, but the rMBP can do lots of resolutions. I recommend picking one up, trying it, if you dont like it return it within the 14 dat return period.
 
I dont really need portability but laptops seem easier to sell and maintain, as well as fix if a repair issue were ever to arise. New battery needed or dead hard drive? no problem, just take it to your local Apple store, and a quick swap is made. It's much easier to carry a rMBP to a local Apple store for repairs than lug around an iMac. Also, I don't have a big room and desktop space is limited, so even if I did go the iMac route, I would have to get the 21.5".
 
MagicThief83 said:
I dont really need portability but laptops seem easier to sell and maintain, as well as fix if a repair issue were ever to arise. New battery needed or dead hard drive? no problem, just take it to your local Apple store, and a quick swap is made. It's much easier to carry a rMBP to a local Apple store for repairs than lug around an iMac. Also, I don't have a big room and desktop space is limited, so even if I did go the iMac route, I would have to get the 21.5".
Click to expand...

Ugh, 21.5 :\ get the rMBP then dude.
 
Orlandoech.com said:
Ugh, 21.5 :\ get the rMBP then dude.
Click to expand...

I have to agree with this one, if you're not going with the 27" just go rMBP, you can always get a bigger external once you make a little room.


MagicThief83 said:
Would you say there are huge variations in screen quality between the rMBP versus the iMac?
Click to expand...

Difference? Yes. Difference like 'OMG WHAT IS THIS I DONT EVEN...'. No.

It may be that I'm in love with the real state of the 27" screen and the quality of the display, though.
 
I am *DONE* with the iMac wait. At this point I would not mind urinating on one even.

I ordered a rMBP earlier,
• 2.6GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz
• 16GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
• 512GB Flash Storage

With Rain Design mStand, Apple num pad keyboard, and some other accessories. About $3.2k, even with the student store (hey, my sister is still in college!). I'll use the $100 card to buy Pages and some other ****.

Despite having around $1900 saved and using the Barclaycard deal this really set me back, but I know I can pay it off, and I'm looking forward to it!! My only concern is the 15" screen size but I've never heard anyone complain about it, and I'm sure I'll get used to it.

I'm happy to join the MBP forum finally and leave the Great Depression over at the iMac forum. I'll be replacing my Mac Pro 1,1 from May 2007!
 
Atisha said:
I am *DONE* with the iMac wait. At this point I would not mind urinating on one even.
Click to expand...

Lol, yeah it's pretty ridiculous. I'm seriously thinking about selling my MBA and just getting the same exact rMBP build you got. However, I also feel like you, that the 15" screen might bug me.
 
well, the role of the laptop has changed.

please watch this video by anandtech. he says it well; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94OenZ71ADY



tl;dr - notebooks are so powerful now that we can carry them around all day without much effort and just hook them up. to monitors. to projectors. to our tvs. it doesnt matter. even with a apple tv doing mirroring, your hdtv becomes a secondary screen. for you to watch films. or to play games on and so on..
 
So basically the general consensus is just to get the rMBP over the 2012 iMac. Something I thought about is that the 21.5" iMac has only a max resolution of 1900x1200 while the rMBP is much higher. This is a tough decision to make. Anyone here games on their rMBP?
 
MagicThief83 said:
So basically the general consensus is just to get the rMBP over the 2012 iMac. Something I thought about is that the 21.5" iMac has only a max resolution of 1900x1200 while the rMBP is much higher. This is a tough decision to make. Anyone here games on their rMBP?
Click to expand...
There's a 2012 iMac?
 
I would like a Retina 27" thunderbolt display with USB 3 hub. Then we can use the rMBP's Retina display on the road and the large Retina display at home. :)

It will be interesting to see if Apple does Retina iMac first, or Retina thunderbolt display first, or.....both at the same time. :eek:
 
MagicThief83 said:
Hello All,

I just recently picked up a 2012 MBA but I have been also waiting for the new iMac refresh since last February (hence why I picked up a MBA because I couldn't wait any longer). It seems that new iMacs are to be refreshed soon in October, however, I have been strongly considering picking up a rMBP and just waiting for an all new iMac redesign in 2013. Is retina worth all the hype? Based on your experiences with the rMBP, should I pick one up or just wait for the 2012 iMac. I do word processing, web browsing, email, iTunes, movies, and gaming. The rMBP seems to be the latest & greatest and features the latest technology while purported rumors state that the iMac refreshes will consist of only spec bumps sans retina or a significant redesign. I really do enjoy the MBA but the I wish it had a little more oomph!!! (gaming, gpu-wise). I have a bunch of steam games that I could be playing in Bootcamp, but the MBA isn't up to the task.
Click to expand...

The iMac is extremely mature and stable and will last you the longest and will never really be outdated as it can, 10 years later, do double duty as a secondary monitor even if the computer components are made obsolete.

The Retina Macbook Pro is a first generation beta-ish product that has many issues at this point, the screen quality uniformity being a huge one.

I would wait for 2nd generation Retina MBP.
 
mzjin said:
The iMac is extremely mature and stable and will last you the longest and will never really be outdated as it can, 10 years later, do double duty as a secondary monitor even if the computer components are made obsolete.

The Retina Macbook Pro is a first generation beta-ish product that has many issues at this point, the screen quality uniformity being a huge one.

I would wait for 2nd generation Retina MBP.
Click to expand...

Excellent response, issue is that I would like a decent computing/gaming machine now with the latest technology and the rMBP seems to offer all of the above. Which would you choose? Sure, I guess I could wait for the 2nd gen rMBP but I really would like a great machine (especially to order soon before the back to school promo ends #). The current rMBP is way more powerful than the current high end 21.5" iMac and that is just incredible. I really do regret picking up the MBA and should've just ordered the rMBP from the get go. All these rumors an waiting are driving me nuts!
 
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