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Better for Blender/ Unity: iMac or MacBook Pro?

T

Twiggyw

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 21, 2014
8
0
I'm sorry if someone already asked a similar question but I want to buy an Apple computer (so sick of Windows) and I will use it primarily for: editing movies with iMovie, Blender 3D development and Unity, some programming like C++, Python and maybe other languages.

Would it be better going with an iMac 27''(the one for 1,799,99 on sale for 1,749,99) or a MacBook Pro (the one for 1,499,99 on sale for 1,399,99)? To me the MacBook would be great for portability but I'm not sure if it can handle rendering as an iMac would.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance! :)
 
R

RCAFBrat

macrumors 6502
Jul 10, 2013
270
79
Montreal, QC
The iMac will offer superior performance given the dedicated / more powerful GPU.

That being said, the base 27" iMac will not have stellar performance when it comes to rendering in Blender using cycles - the GT 755M only has 1GB RAM and a fraction of the CUDA cores of the higher end GTX 775M (384 vs 1344).

If you are seriously into Blender and need to render more than one image an hour (eg you want to do animation) then your choices are higher spec iMac or investing in a high end graphics card for your PC to use for rendering. You may want to even consider an i7 Mini for editing and using your existing PC, perhaps with a GPU upgrade, for rendering.

My son is in this situation right now: he loves his iMac for content creation, using FCPX and Blender, but I'm building him a low cost Linux based PC for rendering (the GTX 970 just released by Nvidia is looking great for this build).

Cheers
 
T

Twiggyw

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 21, 2014
8
0
RCAFBrat said:
The iMac will offer superior performance given the dedicated / more powerful GPU.

That being said, the base 27" iMac will not have stellar performance when it comes to rendering in Blender using cycles - the GT 755M only has 1GB RAM and a fraction of the CUDA cores of the higher end GTX 775M (384 vs 1344).

If you are seriously into Blender and need to render more than one image an hour (eg you want to do animation) then your choices are higher spec iMac or investing in a high end graphics card for your PC to use for rendering. You may want to even consider an i7 Mini for editing and using your existing PC, perhaps with a GPU upgrade, for rendering.

My son is in this situation right now: he loves his iMac for content creation, using FCPX and Blender, but I'm building him a low cost Linux based PC for rendering (the GTX 970 just released by Nvidia is looking great for this build).

Cheers
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for replying!
Yes, it's a very difficult situation because I'm also creating YouTube content and using iMovie on my iPhone and iPad which is limited and more difficult. I'm still learning these programs so not doing anything huge for now. I was doig blender on my hp laptop with and processor and it wasn't that bad for the piece of junk that laptop was (not even working anymore).

I love how the Mac OS works and it's apps!!!
 
R

RCAFBrat

macrumors 6502
Jul 10, 2013
270
79
Montreal, QC
Twiggyw said:
Thank you so much for replying!
Yes, it's a very difficult situation because I'm also creating YouTube content and using iMovie on my iPhone and iPad which is limited and more difficult. I'm still learning these programs so not doing anything huge for now. I was doig blender on my hp laptop with and processor and it wasn't that bad for the piece of junk that laptop was (not even working anymore).

I love how the Mac OS works and it's apps!!!
Click to expand...

My son says he will never go back to Windows!

If your old PC was a laptop the you will see huge difference editing on the iMac. If you can afford it / if being more productive earns you more cash, consider a higher spec iMac and do look at the refurbished store (available online). An alternative, depending on your local sales tax, is to order from B&H Photo - they sell configurations that are not typically found at other retailers and do not charge sales tax outside of New York state.

A quick check of refurbished store shows two great possibilites:

October 2012 i7 with GTX 680MX and Fusion (best choice, more expensive)

Or

September 2013 i5 with GTX 775M (better than the one you are looking at for a decent price)

Worry not about buying refurbished direct from Apple - it's a great way to get a deal and they are pretty much same or better than new. They have the same warranty and are also eligible for Applecare!
 
T

Twiggyw

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 21, 2014
8
0
RCAFBrat said:
My son says he will never go back to Windows!

If your old PC was a laptop the you will see huge difference editing on the iMac. If you can afford it / if being more productive earns you more cash, consider a higher spec iMac and do look at the refurbished store (available online). An alternative, depending on your local sales tax, is to order from B&H Photo - they sell configurations that are not typically found at other retailers and do not charge sales tax outside of New York state.

A quick check of refurbished store shows two great possibilites:

October 2012 i7 with GTX 680MX and Fusion (best choice, more expensive)

Or

September 2013 i5 with GTX 775M (better than the one you are looking at for a decent price)

Worry not about buying refurbished direct from Apple - it's a great way to get a deal and they are pretty much same or better than new. They have the same warranty and are also eligible for Applecare!
Click to expand...

Really? I didn't know that! Thank you so much for that info! I'm gonna check it out now! ;)

Oh, and yes, my PC was an HP laptop that lasted less than 18 months.
 
T

Twiggyw

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 21, 2014
8
0
old-wiz said:
have you considered a MacPro?
Click to expand...
Yes I have! I would rather having a MacPro for portability but I'm not sure if it would heat too much when I use Blender and Unity. I'm looking at the refurbs and I'm delighted there. :)
 
T

Twiggyw

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 21, 2014
8
0
yjchua95 said:
No, as in a cylindrical Mac Pro. The one with the option to BTO with a 6-core, 8-core or 12-core processor.
Click to expand...

Oh ok, I thought MacBook Pro. The cylindrical Mac Pro would be way out of my budget. :( One day, maybe that dream will come true. :)

For now I need something with a lower price but that I can learn more Blender and Unity, edit videos and do some programming.

This will be my first Mac, I'm really sick of windows.
 
T

Twiggyw

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 21, 2014
8
0
RCAFBrat said:
My son says he will never go back to Windows!

If your old PC was a laptop the you will see huge difference editing on the iMac. If you can afford it / if being more productive earns you more cash, consider a higher spec iMac and do look at the refurbished store (available online). An alternative, depending on your local sales tax, is to order from B&H Photo - they sell configurations that are not typically found at other retailers and do not charge sales tax outside of New York state.

A quick check of refurbished store shows two great possibilites:

October 2012 i7 with GTX 680MX and Fusion (best choice, more expensive)

Or

September 2013 i5 with GTX 775M (better than the one you are looking at for a decent price)

Worry not about buying refurbished direct from Apple - it's a great way to get a deal and they are pretty much same or better than new. They have the same warranty and are also eligible for Applecare!
Click to expand...




So, this is the one we ordered:

attachment.php


Even my husband is excited to play with my new toy!

Thank you so much for all the info, specially RCAFBrat who told me about the refurbs. :)
 
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