13" + Gaming Desktop or fully loaded MBP 15" + 512 + 460

[NickPhamUK]

MBP 15" 512GB SSD Radeon Pro 460 = $2799
Windows 10 License = $100
= $2900 before student discount and taxes

13" = $1799 (or non-TB 13" = $1499) before student discount and taxes
With $1200 I could build a desktop with i7 Quad + GTX 1070 + 16GB RAM + cooling so that I don't have to worry about overheating/throttling
I already have a 22" screen, keyboard & mouse

Seems like I'm a bit inclined toward the 2nd option at the moment, not only it will give me versatility with portability on the road and power at home, but also, I don't feel like I put too much money into 1 basket (investment 101 ).

What would you folks personally prefer?

Edit 1: I understand that some use the Mac as the main working machine, and they don't like to sync their work/data between machines, so a single machine will be the better option

Edit 2: At first I was frustrated with the new Macs so I almost pulled the trigger on the 2015 version, that's why I created a thread here, but then I thought that, the future Macs won't have all the ports/MagSafe/glowing Apple Logo/traditional keyboard anyways, so why not adapt to changes now?

 

[shadow82x]

If it's gaming you're after it's a no brainer to go the gaming PC route. But you're comparing apples and oranges here, the purpose of the MBP is not to game.

 

[PaulWog]

As said above, it's Apples and Oranges.

This is like saying:
- Tesla Model 3 + Race car
or
- Tesla Model S

The 15" Macbook Pro with the 460 is pretty awesome. The gaming possibilities are so-so, but your mileage may vary depending on the games that you play. You could play Starcraft no problem, Overwatch, and I don't know what else... do note that in the gaming world, it would already be dated. And, you'd find yourself at 1920x1080 with not all settings maxed out on all games. My desktop uses a Radeon r9 380 4GB card (I paid about $200 for it & it's only a mid-range graphics card). To give you an idea, it performs about 2.5x better than the 460 graphics chip in the 2016 15-inch Macbook Pro.

You need to know what you want though. If you need a powerful 15 inch laptop, and you want OS X, then there's no way around it. If I manage to sell some of my hobby items (camera gear), I may well go for the 15-inch. Not to game, but because I prefer a 15 inch screen, and a bit more power (16GB of RAM, quad core processor, and better graphics). It's a fairly big price jump to go from 13 to 15 inch.

If you don't need a 15-inch screen, the decision is EXTREMELY easy: Get the 13-inch, and build a gaming desktop. You get better value this way for sure, IF you don't need a 15-inch screen on your laptop. Plus, if you're Craigslist savvy, it's easy to resell non-decked-out Macbook models to upgrade to a newer model 1-2 years after purchase (with the new price bumps though recouping all cost paid might be tough).

 

[leman]

I chose a single 15" MBP. I do play games a lot but the 460 Pro will be perfectly sufficient for my needs. However, given your description, I feel that the second option might be better for you.

 

[jonobin]

Just buy a console for gaming

 

[MrHopsing]

I'm planning on getting the 15" with Radeon Pro 450 and then the Aktitio TB3 eGPU enclosure when it gets released.

 

[fokmik]

if you play games like league of legends, hearthstone, world of warcraft, starcraft etc than go just for 1 machine and get rid of the mess of a laptop and cables and desktop base otherwise go for desktop

 

[friedkimchi]

13" Pro + an external GPU box/Gaming desktop would be my choice.

You can get Windows 10 Education for free at your school.

 

[hiker-]

Also voting for 13" and gaming PC.

Some reasons:
Games and Windows take up a lot of expensive SSD space. A cheaper/slower SSD is sufficient for games.
Also you might want to try VR at some point. The MacBook pro GPU will be too slow. In general GPU upgrades are possible with PCs.
Also you typically can go with a lower-res screen for gaming.
It remains to be seen how well external GPUs work.

Also I don's see how you would have to sync a lot of data. Hook up the laptop to a screen with two inputs that also switches mouse and keyboard.
The laptop should be fast enough for many tasks. Ideally you'd only use the PC for gaming.

 

[dapork]

I gave you my opinion on this in the other thread. Maybe you wanna do more hardcore gaming than I do? I'm a mid-level gamer occasionally. And the games that I've already seen run on the last generation MBP already seem amazing to me (I haven't gamed in years). That's why I think the MBP alone would satisfy my own needs. I don't know where I'll be in 6 months either so I don't wanna buy a desktop.

I also never had a top of the line Mac laptop. This new one is so light and as they say "future proof", cause of the USB-C.