iMac 27" 2012 vs rMBP 15"

[KenAdamsNSA]

Hey all,

Trying to decide between dropping the cash on a base model 27" iMac 2012, or investing in a refurb rMBP 15" (i7 2.3Ghz). I'm primarily concerned about best bang for my $1800, and which will last longer/be a better casual gaming machine. I play League of Legends on my current MBA 13" and it runs at a pretty steady 30 FPS with most settings on High/Medium, so I feel that either will probably be a pretty hefty upgrade, but still, I can't quite decide if the overheating and form factor (not a beautiful 27" display, just a beautiful 15" display ) are enough to sway me towards the iMac.

For the record, I do most of my gaming at home, and spend most of my "away from computer time" browsing the web on my iPad. I have my MBA hooked up to an external Samsung monitor, but that display maxes out at 1920 x 1080, so I'm guessing that hooking up the rMBP to the Samsung will degrade the Retina-ness of the laptop anyway.

Anyways, let me know what you guys think. Any and all help appreciated!

 

[Cory Bauer]

Desktop will always give you the most bang for the buck. You're sacrificing performance for portability with a laptop, so if you don't need the portability don't pay for it.

 

[KenAdamsNSA]

Desktop will always give you the most bang for the buck. You're sacrificing performance for portability with a laptop, so if you don't need the portability don't pay for it.

Is there a fundamental difference between the i5 of the iMac 27" base and the i7 of the rMBP? I know the rMBP uses a mobile i7, but according to notebookcheck, it actually outperforms the iMac's CPU.

Additionally, I've seen a few threads (on here, actually, I believe) that claim the rMBP's GPU is actually OC'ed to be faster than the GTX660m (the GPU in the 27" base iMac).

Only reason I point this out is because I hear the point you're making a lot, but unless I'm missing something, I don't see where portability (in this instance) sacrifices power...

 

[boy-better-know]

I have both a basline 2012 15"rmbp and a top of the line 27" iMac and can confirm that neither of them overheat at all.
They are two completely different machines. But I love my iMac. Its the best computer I have ever used. If you want to start gaming on a computer a bit more than I would say buy the iMac, upgrade the GPU if you stretch yourself or think about saving a bit more to get the fusion drive.

 

[KenAdamsNSA]

I have both a basline 2012 15"rmbp and a top of the line 27" iMac and can confirm that neither of them overheat at all.
They are two completely different machines. But I love my iMac. Its the best computer I have ever used. If you want to start gaming on a computer a bit more than I would say buy the iMac, upgrade the GPU if you stretch yourself or think about saving a bit more to get the fusion drive.

I played with the Fusion Drive-equipped model at the Apple Store and didn't notice too much of a difference between it and the 7200 RPM HDD-equipped iMac, at least for oft-used applications, which was pretty surprising. It was certainly faster, but not by the light years I was expecting it to be by. Might consider investing the base $1,999 unit for that added GPU performance....

 

[Adam22]

I played with the Fusion Drive-equipped model at the Apple Store and didn't notice too much of a difference between it and the 7200 RPM HDD-equipped iMac, at least for oft-used applications, which was pretty surprising. It was certainly faster, but not by the light years I was expecting it to be by. Might consider investing the base $1,999 unit for that added GPU performance....

More bang for your buck get an imac . But I am to wondering if I should get the base 27" with fusion or not with fusion ..... Is it really that much faster? If it is I want it but I've heard it's only in boot up where u save about 30 secs and apps open instantly ..... How long does it take to open an app with hdd only?

 

[B...]

More bang for your buck get an imac . But I am to wondering if I should get the base 27" with fusion or not with fusion ..... Is it really that much faster? If it is I want it but I've heard it's only in boot up where u save about 30 secs and apps open instantly ..... How long does it take to open an app with hdd only?

Depends on the app, but longer than with an SSD or Fusion. For example: Photoshop on an SSD opens in 5 seconds, without opens in 10+.

 

[FreemanW]

Photoshop takes between one and two seconds to open on my late 2012 iMac, i7 @ 3.4GHz, 3TB fusion, & 32GB. When opening an image from Bridge, Photoshop takes just a whisker over 5 seconds to have the image loaded and ready for editing. I would expect the reason for this is that the image in ensconced in my photo directory on the spinning platter of the fusion volume.

Yes, Photoshop is used frequently and is therefore likely to be housed on the SSD portion of the fusion volume.