iMac or Macbook Pro

[damosapiens]

Hello All,

I'm sure this has been asked before but I would like your thoughts on my dilemma.

Unfortunately I'm in this situation as my Ex-fiance has run off with the Late 2015 iMac 5K

Anyway, I was using the iMac for light gaming and the odd flight simulator session (xplane11).

I work at sea so away and travelling for half of the year and currently own a MacBook Pro late 2013 (i7, 16gig, 512gig & 2gig 750m) which is still going strong but hopeless for plane 11 etc.I don't play xplane whilst I'm at sea, just the odd game here and there.
I've also start getting into video editing as well.
Not too fussed on HD space due to cost and most files are on my NAS. The previous iMac was a fusion drive and was very disappointed with its performance...so lesson learnt!

So looking into getting another iMac or possibly upgrade the MacBook Pro to a 2017 model.

Here is the different two set ups and costs that I was thinking:

SETUP 1)

iMac:

• 4.2GHz quad-core 7th-generation Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 4.5GHz
• 16GB 2400MHz DDR4
• 512GB SSD
• Radeon Pro 580 with 8GB video memory
• Magic Trackpad 2
• Magic Keyboard - British

€3,479.00

And keep the MacBook Pro as it still suits my needs when at sea.


SET UP 2)

MacBook Pro 15"

• Touch Bar and Touch ID
• 2.9GHz quad-core 7th-generation Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz
• 16GB 2133MHz LPDDR3 memory
• 512GB SSD storage
• Radeon Pro 560 with 4GB memory
• Four Thunderbolt 3 ports
• Backlit Keyboard - British

€3,479.00

Magic keyboard

€149.00

Lg ultrafine display

€1,399.00

Apple external GPU dev kit (as I don't think the 560 isn't meaty enough for xplane)

€600 (approx)

Total: €5,627.00

Approx sale value of my current MacBook: - €1,500.00

TOTAL: €4,127.00

Thoughts on a post card!

 

[Weaselboy]

If you can swing the extra money, I would go for option #2. I previously had an iMac and MacBook Pro both and it was a pain keeping everything updated and backed up on two machines. A few years ago I switched to a MacBook with the then Thunderbolt display and things were much simpler.

I'm now using the new 13" TouchBar with the LG monitor you mentioned and I'm very happy with this setup.

The monitor was a little buggy at first, but there was a recent firmware update and some macOS updates seem to have ironed things out pretty well.

tl;dr Managing one computer is much easier than managing two.

 

[damosapiens]

If you can swing the extra money, I would go for option #2. I previously had an iMac and MacBook Pro both and it was a pain keeping everything updated and backed up on two machines. A few years ago I switched to a MacBook with the then Thunderbolt display and things were much simpler.

I'm now using the new 13" TouchBar with the LG monitor you mentioned and I'm very happy with this setup.

The monitor was a little buggy at first, but there was a recent firmware update and some macOS updates seem to have ironed things out pretty well.

tl;dr Managing one computer is much easier than managing two.

Many thanks for your thoughts and very true about computer management as realistically I spend more time with my laptop.

So yeah, even-though its the more expensive route, I more swinging for option two too as I get to upgrade my primary machine. I did see the the LG display in store and it wasn't as bright as the iMac I had, could be the settings...can you confirm this?

 

[Weaselboy]

I did see the the LG display in store and it wasn't as bright as the iMac I had, could be the settings...can you confirm this?

Mine is plenty bright. I think I even read somewhere it is the same LG panel as used in the iMacs. The problem with the LG in the Apple Stores is they are hooked up to a Mac Mini (at least the ones I saw), so they are only running at 4K and not 5K, so they do not look as sharp as yours will at 5K with the new MacBook. I run mine with the brightness at about 2/3 up and it is very bright.

 

[damosapiens]

Mine is plenty bright. I think I even read somewhere it is the same LG panel as used in the iMacs. The problem with the LG in the Apple Stores is they are hooked up to a Mac Mini (at least the ones I saw), so they are only running at 4K and not 5K, so they do not look as sharp as yours will at 5K with the new MacBook. I run mine with the brightness at about 2/3 up and it is very bright.

That's good to know, it was actually hooked up to a Mac Pro in store but I didn't check what resolution it was running. I'm still a month off till I decide what to do anyway. Thanks for the information.