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Imac or Macbook pro?

ginofresh

ginofresh

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 20, 2017
155
56
so i know that apple is going to be updating the imac at the end of this year but my questions is witch one would you think is better

the imac that i am looking at is
21.5-inch iMac with Retina 4K display
Add To Favorites
  • 3.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz
  • 16GB 1867MHz LPDDR3
  • 1TB Fusion Drive
  • Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200
  • Magic Mouse 2
  • Magic Keyboard (English) & User’s Guide
  • Accessory Kit


and the macbook pro

Customize your 15-inch MacBook Pro - Space Gray
Add To Favorites
  • Touch Bar and Touch ID
  • 2.9GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz
  • 16GB 2133MHz memory
  • 1TB PCIe-based SSD
  • Radeon Pro 460 with 4GB memory
  • Four Thunderbolt 3 ports
  • Backlit Keyboard (English) & User's Guide

now i do plan on playing some games on this so i wanted to know witch one would be more stronger for gaming? at the looks of it i think the Imac? i love laptop dont get me wrong but the problem is that i just dont take my laptop anywhere so there for i just dont see the need for a laptop anymore witch is why i am thinking about switching over to a desktop
 
If you plan on playing games, the 4k iMac will not be very good, it only comes with the Intel Iris Pro graphics, and that doesn't do much good for games.

As far is I can see, theres not many benchmarks for the Iris graphics, but for the Radeon 460, there is. https://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-Pro-460.181783.0.html

If you scroll down to the games benchmarks, you can get an idea of the performance of the graphics card, the benchmarks are completed on Windows, so games running on macOS will have a little lower frame rates.

If you consider a desktop Mac for games, you need to go for the 5k iMac. Which is actually still cheaper than the 15" MacBook Pro.

27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display
  • 4.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.2GHz
  • 16GB 1867MHz DDR3 SDRAM - two 8GB
  • 1TB Flash Storage
  • AMD Radeon R9 M390 with 2GB video memory
You can make things a little cheaper going with an Intel Core i5 (unless you need the i7 for something specific)
 
Lunder89 said:
If you plan on playing games, the 4k iMac will not be very good, it only comes with the Intel Iris Pro graphics, and that doesn't do much good for games.

As far is I can see, theres not many benchmarks for the Iris graphics, but for the Radeon 460, there is. https://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-Pro-460.181783.0.html

If you scroll down to the games benchmarks, you can get an idea of the performance of the graphics card, the benchmarks are completed on Windows, so games running on macOS will have a little lower frame rates.

If you consider a desktop Mac for games, you need to go for the 5k iMac. Which is actually still cheaper than the 15" MacBook Pro.

27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display
  • 4.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.2GHz
  • 16GB 1867MHz DDR3 SDRAM - two 8GB
  • 1TB Flash Storage
  • AMD Radeon R9 M390 with 2GB video memory
You can make things a little cheaper going with an Intel Core i5 (unless you need the i7 for something specific)
Click to expand...
I would love to get that one but a 27 inc would not fit on my desk
 
Luxury problem :D

I get it, I have a 27" myself, not easy to fit on a desk. I have been looking for new desk, and all the nice ones are too small ;)
 
Lunder89 said:
If you plan on playing games, the 4k iMac will not be very good, it only comes with the Intel Iris Pro graphics, and that doesn't do much good for games.
Click to expand...

However, if you add an e-GPU then you can make it good enough for decent gaming. With a proper desktop class GPU.

Goes for the macbook pro too, but i suspect the iMac has better cooling for the CPU, which can be desktop class in the iMac.
 
ginofresh said:
so i know that apple is going to be updating the imac at the end of this year but my questions is witch one would you think is better

the imac that i am looking at is
21.5-inch iMac with Retina 4K display
Add To Favorites
  • 3.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz
  • 16GB 1867MHz LPDDR3
  • 1TB Fusion Drive
  • Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200
  • Magic Mouse 2
  • Magic Keyboard (English) & User’s Guide
  • Accessory Kit


and the macbook pro

Customize your 15-inch MacBook Pro - Space Gray
Add To Favorites
  • Touch Bar and Touch ID
  • 2.9GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz
  • 16GB 2133MHz memory
  • 1TB PCIe-based SSD
  • Radeon Pro 460 with 4GB memory
  • Four Thunderbolt 3 ports
  • Backlit Keyboard (English) & User's Guide

now i do plan on playing some games on this so i wanted to know witch one would be more stronger for gaming? at the looks of it i think the Imac? i love laptop dont get me wrong but the problem is that i just dont take my laptop anywhere so there for i just dont see the need for a laptop anymore witch is why i am thinking about switching over to a desktop
Click to expand...
I never understand these comparisons; you either need portability or you don't...
 
In certain instances, the portable machine can be the faster of the two-- possible because it uses a full SSD instead of a fusion drive.
 
jerwin said:
In certain instances, the portable machine can be the faster of the two-- possible because it uses a full SSD instead of a fusion drive.
Click to expand...
But the capacity is usually significantly less, so if you're working with large files, where the speed differential would be most important, you're typically running external.

Unless of course, you can afford the absurd price bumps to get the 2Tb SSD...
 
Santabean2000 said:
I never understand these comparisons; you either need portability or you don't...
Click to expand...
i was comparing witch one is better for gaming. i dont want to buy am Imac is the spec are not as good as the macbook pro
[doublepost=1495324264][/doublepost]
Fishrrman said:
OP wrote:
"I would love to get that one but a 27 inc would not fit on my desk"

The solution is simple:
Get a BIGGER desk!
Click to expand...
if i could i would trust me i just cant fit it in my room
 
ginofresh said:
i was comparing witch one is better for gaming. i dont want to buy am Imac is the spec are not as good as the macbook pro
Click to expand...

Dollar for dollar the iMac is better, but for gaming the Iris Pro is best compared against the entry Radeon Pro 450. The Pro 460 beats the Iris Pro 6200, and the 1TB SSD is way better than the 1TB Fusion. If you ignore price and look only at the configurations you've selected then the MBP wins.
 
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http://barefeats.com/ has many answers. Some of them may be useful. Though you may end up with an awfully strange solution involving a mac book pro, a desktop video card and a thunderbolt 3 enclosure.
 
ginofresh said:
I would love to get that one but a 27 inc would not fit on my desk
Click to expand...

Are you sure? I first thought the iMac 27 would not fit on my wife's small desk, which is is 39" wide and 24" deep. It turns out it fit OK and the iMac's thin profile looks good. The only possible issue was an overhanging bookshelf. The iMac 27 is about 20" high from the desktop surface to top of the screen. It fit with about 1" to spare.

However if the iMac 27 won't fit, I'd get the 2016 MBP. It's a lot faster than the 21.5" iMac. I have both 2015 and 2016 MBP, and the 2016 is very good, once you get accustomed to the adapters needed for legacy USB-A devices. It is a lot quieter than the 2015 MBP and the fans don't spin up as much.
 
joema2 said:
Are you sure? I first thought the iMac 27 would not fit on my wife's small desk, which is is 39" wide and 24" deep. It turns out it fit OK and the iMac's thin profile looks good. The only possible issue was an overhanging bookshelf. The iMac 27 is about 20" high from the desktop surface to top of the screen. It fit with about 1" to spare.

However if the iMac 27 won't fit, I'd get the 2016 MBP. It's a lot faster than the 21.5" iMac. I have both 2015 and 2016 MBP, and the 2016 is very good, once you get accustomed to the adapters needed for legacy USB-A devices. It is a lot quieter than the 2015 MBP and the fans don't spin up as much.
Click to expand...
Yes I know it won't fit into my bookshelf/desk I think i am just going to get the MacBook because it is updated and Your right it is faster as it is updated
 
ginofresh said:
so i know that apple is going to be updating the imac at the end of this year but my questions is witch one would you think is better

the imac that i am looking at is
21.5-inch iMac with Retina 4K display
Add To Favorites
  • 3.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz
  • 16GB 1867MHz LPDDR3
  • 1TB Fusion Drive
  • Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200
  • Magic Mouse 2
  • Magic Keyboard (English) & User’s Guide
  • Accessory Kit


and the macbook pro

Customize your 15-inch MacBook Pro - Space Gray
Add To Favorites
  • Touch Bar and Touch ID
  • 2.9GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz
  • 16GB 2133MHz memory
  • 1TB PCIe-based SSD
  • Radeon Pro 460 with 4GB memory
  • Four Thunderbolt 3 ports
  • Backlit Keyboard (English) & User's Guide

now i do plan on playing some games on this so i wanted to know witch one would be more stronger for gaming? at the looks of it i think the Imac? i love laptop dont get me wrong but the problem is that i just dont take my laptop anywhere so there for i just dont see the need for a laptop anymore witch is why i am thinking about switching over to a desktop
Click to expand...
Of those two configurations I'd get the MBP for sure, of course it is much more expensive.
 
dwfaust said:
Avoid the 1TB Fusion drive at all costs... the SSD portion of the drive is only 24GB... so it's not significantly faster than a 5400 RPM spinning drive.
Click to expand...

Despite that it is still unsurprisingly significantly faster than the 5400rpm drive. In fact there is night and day difference .

However, not an optimal choice. I agree. 2/3TB Fusion or SSD is noticeably better.
 
If only Apple sold decent Mac mini systems, one of those plus an eGPU would be a good solution here if portability is not important but being able to play games on a Mac with a small footprint is. Sadly, the current Mac mini I would not recommend due to Apple's neglect.

In terms of the built-in GPUs, Apple's offerings have never been gamer-focused. You're either looking at an integrated GPU or a lower-power dedicated one meant to balance performance with battery life and limited cooling in laptops. The 27" iMac is better than and comparatively priced to the 15" Touch Bar MacBook Pro; in addition you get the 5K display, desktop-class CPU, and RAM which can be upgraded.
ginofresh said:
if i could i would trust me i just cant fit it in my room
Click to expand...
The solution is simple:
Get a BIGGER room!

(I really can't imagine a room so small you can't fit a 27" iMac setup inside!)
 
The performance difference between the CPU leans toward the iMac (i7-5775R) however in real world use it would be nearly impossible to distinguish against the MBP (i7-6920HQ). However the integrated graphics leans heavily toward the iMac (Iris Pro 6200) compared to the MBP (HD 530). Both are still on the very low end of graphic performance though.....

That said games that run well on integrated graphics tend not to be too picky. Neither of which will do well in modern AAA titles. I wouldn't consider either for gaming unless you are talking old school games that have been thrown back up on steam and such. And for those it won't matter which you pick. For example, recently I've been playing a game from my childhood, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis and it plays fine on my system with Intels HD 3000 graphics lol.

If I had to buy now and those were my only two options I would consider the MBP and I would also get a monitor (that is more suited for gaming because the iMacs isnt) that utilizes TB3 to dock it. And in the future hopefully some good eGPU options become available to give you the ability to make it into a better gaming machine.

EDIT: Sorry disregard most of this. For some reason I missed the inclusion of Radeon Pro graphics on the MBP.
 
Last edited:
cynics said:
The performance difference between the CPU leans toward the iMac (i7-5775R) however in real world use it would be nearly impossible to distinguish against the MBP (i7-6920HQ). However the integrated graphics leans heavily toward the iMac (Iris Pro 6200) compared to the MBP (HD 530). Both are still on the very low end of graphic performance though.....
Click to expand...

I don't understand this. The two systems being discussed are an iMac 21.5 with i7-5775R, 1TB Fusion Drive and integrated graphics vs a top-spec 2016 MBP with i7-6920HQ, 1TB SSD and 4GB Radeon Pro 460 GPU. Overall the MBP will likely be faster due to GPU and vastly faster SSD.

See OP post, plus it was re-posted again in #16.
 
I go back and forth regarding desktop and laptop. I love my iMac but sometimes having a portable machine is very useful. With that said, I think what the iMac offers is just too much to pass up. I'd get that, if you can have your mobile needs met.
 
joema2 said:
I don't understand this. The two systems being discussed are an iMac 21.5 with i7-5775R, 1TB Fusion Drive and integrated graphics vs a top-spec 2016 MBP with i7-6920HQ, 1TB SSD and 4GB Radeon Pro 460 GPU. Overall the MBP will likely be faster due to GPU and vastly faster SSD.

See OP post, plus it was re-posted again in #16.
Click to expand...

Sorry my eyes skimmed over the AMD Radeon.

Well in that case definitely go with the MBP.
 
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