2017 imac vs 2017 mpb? set up question.

[mbvmbmb]

hello macforums.

I am a graphic design student that is required to own a laptop for their coursework.
I have gone back and forth for a while trying to figure out what the best setup is for me.

I currently own a mid tier 2017 27" imac. I have the stock 3.5ghz i5 with 24gb ram and 575 4gb card.
for school I have the 2017 13 inch ntb macbook pro with stock 2.3 ghz , 8gb , 256 gb storage.

while this is a lot of money (and time ) spent on computers, I am trying to figure out what the best setup for the money could be.

I will be graduating soon-ish and I want this to last me going into my professional career.


my question is .. is it worth it to keep the two computers ? or should i return both and buy the best macbook pro I can get with the money?

my train of thought is that when i want to do intense work like work on my portfolio i will want a big screen. i think even the 15 inch is too small for me to work on. this is why i picked a cheaper 13 inch computer for smaller schoolwork.

I do see myself needing something portable to work in school.

furthermore, I will not always have access to the imac so having something portable is very important to me .

would it be better to own just the 15 inch computer?

 

[alien3dx]

hello macforums.

I am a graphic design student that is required to own a laptop for their coursework.
I have gone back and forth for a while trying to figure out what the best setup is for me.

I currently own a mid tier 2017 27" imac. I have the stock 3.5ghz i5 with 24gb ram and 575 4gb card.
for school I have the 2017 13 inch ntb macbook pro with stock 2.3 ghz , 8gb , 256 gb storage.

while this is a lot of money (and time ) spent on computers, I am trying to figure out what the best setup for the money could be.

I will be graduating soon-ish and I want this to last me going into my professional career.


my question is .. is it worth it to keep the two computers ? or should i return both and buy the best macbook pro I can get with the money?

my train of thought is that when i want to do intense work like work on my portfolio i will want a big screen. i think even the 15 inch is too small for me to work on. this is why i picked a cheaper 13 inch computer for smaller schoolwork.

I do see myself needing something portable to work in school.

furthermore, I will not always have access to the imac so having something portable is very important to me .

would it be better to own just the 15 inch computer?

for work .. I used base line 2017 mac and windows laptop .. I'm not sure why you need both anyway..If you work you will used company equipment instead of yourself..

 

[Samuelsan2001]

hello macforums.

I am a graphic design student that is required to own a laptop for their coursework.
I have gone back and forth for a while trying to figure out what the best setup is for me.

I currently own a mid tier 2017 27" imac. I have the stock 3.5ghz i5 with 24gb ram and 575 4gb card.
for school I have the 2017 13 inch ntb macbook pro with stock 2.3 ghz , 8gb , 256 gb storage.

while this is a lot of money (and time ) spent on computers, I am trying to figure out what the best setup for the money could be.

I will be graduating soon-ish and I want this to last me going into my professional career.


my question is .. is it worth it to keep the two computers ? or should i return both and buy the best macbook pro I can get with the money?

my train of thought is that when i want to do intense work like work on my portfolio i will want a big screen. i think even the 15 inch is too small for me to work on. this is why i picked a cheaper 13 inch computer for smaller schoolwork.

I do see myself needing something portable to work in school.

furthermore, I will not always have access to the imac so having something portable is very important to me .

would it be better to own just the 15 inch computer?

I would stick with what you’ve got seems like a pretty fine set up to me.

 

[Persian-apple]

Go with the imac if you dont need the protablity the radeon pro 580 is 5.5 teraflops 8gigs but tte high end rmbp is Only 1.9teraflops (radeon pro 560) which doesnt make sense considering it only has usb c and is only 15inch so It really depends but as an owner of the new 2017 5k imac (4.2ghz i7 16gb ram pro580 3tb fusion) my recommendation would be to go with the imac i have the 2014 rmbp too and as of 2017 its configuration seems like a joke the gt750m in my rmbp is a really bad joke the rmbp is only 2-3years old and Well You can clearly see how is it gonna look after only 1-3years but imac is much more of a future proof machine
Its your choice anyways Portablity is important too but if your going with mroe power sell them both and Get a high end imac with a 13inch macbook pro baseline or sth even cheaper if you need mac for portablitiy for things like watching movies or browsing

 

[Fishrrman]

Stop complainin'.
You have a very nice desktop for home and a nice MacBook Pro for toting around.

The best of both worlds.

 

[Persian-apple]

Stop complainin'.
You have a very nice desktop for home and a nice MacBook Pro for toting around.

The best of both worlds.

The 575 might not do it for everybody
Seriously You know better than me that The gal between the 2 is huge and Definitly 575 isnt something future proof if someone Does Gaming or Serious video editing
GPUs are apples weakspot i can say that for sure and if someone wants to future proof a product then Going with the top-end gou is the way to go unless Your needs wont change through the years or you wouldnt mind the GPU getting outdated for what ever reason

 

[mbvmbmb]

bump

 

[DeltaMac]

If you prefer to not have one of the computers, you could get rid of the iMac, and keep the MBPro.
When you use that at home, you could plug in to a larger display, as large as you need, as the MBPro can support a fairly large screen, maybe 27-inch, or even one of ultra-wide displays. You COULD have a really nice setup at home, but unplug to go portable very easily.

 

[mbvmbmb]

If you prefer to not have one of the computers, you could get rid of the iMac, and keep the MBPro.
When you use that at home, you could plug in to a larger display, as large as you need, as the MBPro can support a fairly large screen, maybe 27-inch, or even one of ultra-wide displays. You COULD have a really nice setup at home, but unplug to go portable very easily.

do you think the macbook pro that i own is good enough to handle graphic design projects?

 

[Chancha]

do you think the macbook pro that i own is good enough to handle graphic design projects?

Both your machines are more than fine.

I can dig out my 600MHz G3 iBook, running OS9 and Photoshop 7 and still pumping out the same work I do on my iMac 2017. The difference is just efficiency. Also 2D graphic design is not the most demanding task nowadays, unless you deal with very high resolution images, or extremely high volume book full of content.

Of course if your work involve video editing, color grading, 3D modelling, and app development then those are different ballparks.

 

[mbvmbmb]

bump , still not sure

 

[DeltaMac]

The only time in my life that I have been completely sure, was when I married the love of my life.
I don't think a computer purchase qualifies (or even needs) that level of confidence.

just my opinion - sell both computers and get married (!) ... No, cancel that thought - sell the computers, and get one or two that you like. Or, keep the Macs you have now. Either will do what you describe. Or, sell one. If you want to stay portable, sell the iMac. The main issue that I would see with graphic design projects would be the 13-inch screen. The iMac will do better, in that case.

There will be advantages (and disadvantages) no matter which choice you make.
Make a chart of plusses and minuses for the various choices that you have - balance the positives against the negatives to help make your decision. Not much more to say, when all the choices actually are good, IMHO, just not necessarily equal.

 

[ncrypt]

I've forever been in the same dilemma as you, however I think I finally have got my head around it:

• Needing something portable is unavoidable = definitely need the MacBook Pro
• If you're working on the laptop screen, away from your home desk quite frequently; 13" is quite limiting for screen space = as a main workhorse you want 15" for power and space (in my opinion)
  • If you're finding that you're occasionally at your own desk and want more space, perhaps an external monitor is the way to go. An iMac may be overkill for occasional use, and it sounds like a MBP meets your performance needs anyway - especially the 15"
• If you're mostly at your main desk, so rarely using the laptop screen = iMac as a primary machine and a 13" as a good compromise for infrequent use away from desk, you'll save some money, appreciate the portability.

Being at school, portability, in my experience has been essential, I would consider waiting until you're in work before (if) you pick up an iMac, just because your working habits may mean you still need portability and in the evenings may not want to be / have time to be tethered to an iMac on your desk at home.