Advice Needed: iMac vs. Studio Display for My Setup

[padg91]

Hi everyone,

I’m currently rethinking my tech setup and would love to hear your thoughts.

Here’s my situation: I work as a teacher and use both an iPad Pro and a MacBook for school-related tasks. Until two weeks ago, I had a MacBook Air M2 (8GB, 256GB), but I recently upgraded to a MacBook Pro M4 (16GB, 512GB) because of a great deal.

At home, I prepare lessons using an iMac M1 (base model). However, since my iPad and MacBook Pro both run on the M4 chip, my iMac M1 feels noticeably slower in comparison.

Now I’m considering selling my iMac and replacing it with a monitor for my MacBook Pro. I’ve been looking at the Apple Studio Display, but I’m torn—it’s already a few years old, and I’m wondering if it’s worth the price. For roughly the same cost, I could also get a new iMac M4.

What do you think? Is the Studio Display still a good investment? Or would I be better off with an iMac M4 for home use?

Looking forward to your advice!


Thanks in advance! 😊

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Personally, I prefer to have a Desktop computer at home. I use a Mac mini but iMac would be fine too.

The reason: Backups. My MBP data is synced via iCloud to my Mac mini, which is set to "Download and Keep" everything (iCloud Drive, Photos, etc). Then the Mac mini is backed up, both to Time Machine and to a 3rd party cloud service.

The problem with backing up a portable, is that (a) you have to remember to do it, and (b) the backup can't be stuffed into your laptop bag, along with your (lost) laptop. There are other solutions - network backup to NAS, cloud backup, etc - but my preference is a desktop computer because (a) it's easier to set up, (b) you can still Optimize things like iCloud Photos and not have to store them on the laptop for backup purposes, and (c) it's redundant in case of issues with your laptop.

So: if you don't have another desktop computer already that you didn't mention - and you don't already have a reliable, safe backup solution set up for your MBP - my vote would be iMac.

If backup IS sorted elsewhere, Studio Display all the way. The 27" display literally provides a full 25%+ more area.

Or you could do both - Studio Display + Mac mini. But obviously that would cost more.

 

[theluggage]

What do you think? Is the Studio Display still a good investment? Or would I be better off with an iMac M4 for home use?

The Studio Display is probably going to give you the best experience with a MBP - it has a few deal-breakers for me (no secondary display input, expensive adjustable stand option, too expensive for a dual-display setup) but those aren't issues for everybody. There are very few cheaper 5k options - mainly the Samsung Viewfinity S9 - which you can probably find discussed in other threads.

There's also the real possibility of using a 4k 27" display - much cheaper and works a lot better than some people would have you think and, in "1440p scaled mode" (misleadingly named - it's 5k downscaled to 4k) would give you the same screen area as a Studio Display at the expense of a lightly "softer" look than a true 5k (YMMV - my opinion is that it's barely noticeable unless you go looking) - of course, you've been spoiled by the 220ppi screen on the iMac.

As for laptop + screen vs. laptop + iMac - the MacBook Pro is going to perform pretty much the same as an M4 iMac and A MacBook + 27" Display is going to give you significantly more usable screen area, and a Studio Display will act as a nice dock & charge station for a MBP. You might want to consider getting a separate keyboard and mouse/trackpad, the think whether you want to keep the MBP in "clamshell" mode while using the large display, or get an "elevator" stand which lifts the MBP screen up so you can use it as a second display alongside the Studio Display.

Ultimately, it comes down to your preferred workflow - does anybody else use the iMac when you're off with the MacBook? Do you have any reason for wanting to keep your home machine and work machine separate (do you have any personal files that you don't want to carry round at school? I'm not talking "iffy" - but, e.g. personal/finance stuff and your attempts at hip-hop in GarageBand might best be left at home ) or do you rely on a computer to the extent that it helps to have a spare if, e.g. the laptop gets lost or broken?

 

[padg91]

The Studio Display is probably going to give you the best experience with a MBP - it has a few deal-breakers for me (no secondary display input, expensive adjustable stand option, too expensive for a dual-display setup) but those aren't issues for everybody. There are very few cheaper 5k options - mainly the Samsung Viewfinity S9 - which you can probably find discussed in other threads.

There's also the real possibility of using a 4k 27" display - much cheaper and works a lot better than some people would have you think and, in "1440p scaled mode" (misleadingly named - it's 5k downscaled to 4k) would give you the same screen area as a Studio Display at the expense of a lightly "softer" look than a true 5k (YMMV - my opinion is that it's barely noticeable unless you go looking) - of course, you've been spoiled by the 220ppi screen on the iMac.

As for laptop + screen vs. laptop + iMac - the MacBook Pro is going to perform pretty much the same as an M4 iMac and A MacBook + 27" Display is going to give you significantly more usable screen area, and a Studio Display will act as a nice dock & charge station for a MBP. You might want to consider getting a separate keyboard and mouse/trackpad, the think whether you want to keep the MBP in "clamshell" mode while using the large display, or get an "elevator" stand which lifts the MBP screen up so you can use it as a second display alongside the Studio Display.

Ultimately, it comes down to your preferred workflow - does anybody else use the iMac when you're off with the MacBook? Do you have any reason for wanting to keep your home machine and work machine separate (do you have any personal files that you don't want to carry round at school? I'm not talking "iffy" - but, e.g. personal/finance stuff and your attempts at hip-hop in GarageBand might best be left at home ) or do you rely on a computer to the extent that it helps to have a spare if, e.g. the laptop gets lost or broken?

Thanks for the detailed response! You’ve brought up some excellent points that I hadn’t fully considered yet.

I agree, the Studio Display paired with the MacBook Pro would probably be the most seamless experience, especially as a dock and charging solution. I wasn’t aware of the Samsung Viewfinity S9—I’ll definitely look into that as a potential alternative. The 4K display suggestion is also tempting, especially considering the cost difference. I guess I need to decide how much the sharper text and overall fidelity of 5K matters to me in day-to-day use.

As for the iMac vs. MacBook + screen setup, your point about the MacBook Pro performing on par with an M4 iMac really makes me lean toward selling the iMac. It’s true that having a single machine would simplify my workflow, especially since no one else uses the iMac at home. I do keep personal files on my computer, but everything is already synced securely, so there’s no real need for separation.

I’ll also take your advice on accessories—I’ve been considering clamshell mode but wasn’t sure about how practical it would be for extended use. Maybe an “elevator” stand is the way to go so I can keep the MacBook Pro’s screen as a secondary display.