Is M1 iMac faster than MacBook Pro 15 2017 (base model)?

[ThisIs🐵]

I would really like to buy Apple Display (the cheaper one, currently in development according to Mark Gurman) and MacBook Pro 16 M1X.
But currently both are not yet released.
So I am considering (in the meantime) to buy M1 iMac to replace my 2017 15 inch MacBook Pro.
I am going to use it for FCP+Motion & Xcode. But is M1 iMac faster than MB Pro 15" 2017?
What's your experience with FCP+Motion & Xcode on M1 iMac?

 

[coso]

The new MacBooks will be presented late October. Do you absolutely need it now?

Anyway yeah even a M1 Air would be faster than your base 15” 2017

 

[ThisIs🐵]

The new MacBooks will be presented late October. Do you absolutely need it now?

Anyway yeah even a M1 Air would be faster than your base 15” 2017

I could wait to late October for MB Pro, but I really need the non-Pro Apple Display.
16 inch is really small for FCP+Motion & Xcode.
So that's why I'm considering an iMac (M1).

 

[casperes1996]

I could wait to late October for MB Pro, but I really need the non-Pro Apple Display.
16 inch is really small for FCP+Motion & Xcode.
So that's why I'm considering an iMac (M1).

Sure. But remember that Target Display Mode does not exist anymore. The iMac display cannot be driven by the M1X MBP when it comes. At least not as just a display. You can do AirPlay of course but that comes with all sorts of latency and image quality and performance degradations over just a display.

The LG UltraFIne 5K is the same panel Apple uses in the 5K iMac (not the M1)

 

[coso]

Some LG 4K IPS monitors are quite decent out of the box in terms of color accuracy and visual quality. I had one and now a Philips 4K which I use as external with my 2015 13”MacBook Pro. Will be receiving the M1 iMac shortly though, as you, I really need it now for work (design)

 

[Moonjumper]

Sure. But remember that Target Display Mode does not exist anymore. The iMac display cannot be driven by the M1X MBP when it comes. At least not as just a display. You can do AirPlay of course but that comes with all sorts of latency and image quality and performance degradations over just a display.

The LG UltraFIne 5K is the same panel Apple uses in the 5K iMac (not the M1)

I don't think the OP is considering Target Display Mode, it is about getting an M1 iMac now, then a 16" MBP (rumoured, but very likely) and an Apple Display (rumoured, but far from certain) later.

But as an option to to get the iMac and reuse with the MBP, AirPlay might be OK as it is of course changing with Monterey, and it shouldn't have lag if used wired according to Apple "AirPlay works both wirelessly and wired using USB. A wired connection is useful when you want to ensure that there’s no latency or you don’t have access to Wi-Fi." ( https://www.apple.com/macos/monterey-preview/features/ ). But there may be compression issues with image quality, which if true will likely not suit the OP as they are using video editing software.

 

[scottrngr]

You could also go with a M1 Mini and the LG Ultrafine 24" 4k display or the 27" 5k display. I haven't seen when they think a cheaper Apple display would be released. When the 16" M1X MacBook comes out, I'm trading in my M1 Mini for that.

 

[scottrngr]

Refurb M1 iMacs are now available. Save a couple hundred on one of those.

 

[coso]

Only in UK and US for now, and not available with education pricing, but yeah for those who can they're great, like new, just without the retail packaging

 

[ThisIs🐵]

Some LG 4K IPS monitors are quite decent out of the box in terms of color accuracy and visual quality. I had one and now a Philips 4K which I use as external with my 2015 13”MacBook Pro. Will be receiving the M1 iMac shortly though, as you, I really need it now for work (design)

You could also go with a M1 Mini and the LG Ultrafine 24" 4k display or the 27" 5k display. I haven't seen when they think a cheaper Apple display would be released. When the 16" M1X MacBook comes out, I'm trading in my M1 Mini for that.

Yeah, LG are the only non-Apple displays I was considering (LG UltraFine 24). But while it's P3 display panel is really good, I really feel like if you put LG UltraFine and iMac Display side by side, iMac's Display will look better .
Or is it Apple's Marketing? 😂
Anyway, If only M1 iMac won't be slower than my MacBook Pro 15 2017, I think I would use it until the non-Pro Apple Display is released. I just can't believe that consumer iMac can be faster than MacBook Pro.
I feel like M1X can be faster, but not M1. But if it really is, I would buy one.
Is there anyone who has both M1 iMac and MacBook Pro 15 2017 and can compare them, in real life (not the benchmarks) for FCP+Motion and/or Xcode?

 

[ThisIs🐵]

And because M1X MacBook Pro is rumored to have MagSafe, I think the non-Pro Apple Display may include some easy and nice docking solution, like Thunderbolt Display had in the past:

I'm really hoping it won't have white bezels, though. 🙃

 

[coso]

Here's a comparison

you can find countless on YouTube and websites. Basically M1 is faster than any intel cpus in MacBooks, except maybe just the i9 in particular cases. For sure it's faster than your 2017

 

[ThisIs🐵]

Here's a comparison

you can find countless on YouTube and websites. Basically M1 is faster than any intel cpus in MacBooks, except maybe just the i9 in particular cases. For sure it's faster than your 2017

I think M1 iMac is faster than M1 MacBook Air, because it has a fan inside.
So it won't have to throttle performance to cool off.

 

[Moonjumper]

And because M1X MacBook Pro is rumored to have MagSafe, I think the non-Pro Apple Display may include some easy and nice docking solution, like Thunderbolt Display had in the past:

I'm really hoping it won't have white bezels, though. 🙃

Hopefully there will still be USB-C charging available. I have an HP Z27k G3 as a second monitor alongside my 27" iMac. It has a USB-C connector that covers charging, display, 4 port USB-A, and ethernet, which makes it a good docking station.

The HP is only 4K against 5K on the iMac, but the difference there is smaller than I expected. The HP is not quite as good off-axis, but it is not an issue at all when sat at my desk. Contrast is also not as good, but like everything else, the differences are very small. On the other hand the semi-matte finish is better with reflections, and the gunmetal and black HP looks nicer, especially with the small bezels.

I am approaching the need to upgrade soon, and may go with a Mac Mini if they do a higher spec version, paired with two monitors. Another HP is likely, although the 3:2 ratio 28" Huawei MateView is looking great for the extra vertical pixels over normal 4K screens. The 8K Dell would be ideal, but too expensive. I certainly would look beyond LG.

 

[coso]

I think M1 iMac is faster than M1 MacBook Air, because it has a fan inside.
So it won't have to throttle performance to cool off.

Yes, under heavy load the Air might throttle and both the iMac and MacBook Pro 13" are capable of slightly faster performances (for example for a long task, like after several minutes while exporting a video). When "using" the machine normally there would be no difference. M1 yes is intended as a consumer level CPU, but it's still faster than most other CPUs. I suspect they'll keep it for at least another year. The iMac has just been out and it would make little sense to phase out the M1 in October. The M1X/M2 will be faster for sure. Not super faster I think though, they're already so ahead of the competition that they don't need to brag, and they can keep next CPUs on maybe a yearly cycle with minor speed increments, like they do on iPhones

 

[ThisIs🐵]

although the 3:2 ratio 28" Huawei MateView is looking great for the extra vertical pixels over normal 4K screens

This Huawei MateView is looking really good! But I am not sure how does it feel to work on 3:2 monitor...
I would definitely like to read your opinion if you'll decide to buy it!

 

[Moonjumper]

This Huawei MateView is looking really good! But I am not sure how does it feel to work on 3:2 monitor...
I would definitely like to read your opinion if you'll decide to buy it!

I expect it to be excellent. In a previous job I had a pair of monitors (much smaller displays than I use now), and the 5:4 screen always felt more usable than the 16:9 that had a larger diagonal. Vertical space is always what I am short of, especially coding, document writing, and web viewing. Even things that don't seem obvious would benefit. I use DaVinci Resolve for video editing, and more vertical space would help as the timeline is below the video window.

 

[ShiniestofShinies]

Hopefully there will still be USB-C charging available. I have an HP Z27k G3 as a second monitor alongside my 27" iMac. It has a USB-C connector that covers charging, display, 4 port USB-A, and ethernet, which makes it a good docking station.

The HP is only 4K against 5K on the iMac, but the difference there is smaller than I expected. The HP is not quite as good off-axis, but it is not an issue at all when sat at my desk. Contrast is also not as good, but like everything else, the differences are very small. On the other hand the semi-matte finish is better with reflections, and the gunmetal and black HP looks nicer, especially with the small bezels.

I am approaching the need to upgrade soon, and may go with a Mac Mini if they do a higher spec version, paired with two monitors. Another HP is likely, although the 3:2 ratio 28" Huawei MateView is looking great for the extra vertical pixels over normal 4K screens. The 8K Dell would be ideal, but too expensive. I certainly would look beyond LG.

I have this hp screen too but I'm struggling to get the ethernet recognised on my macbook any pointers?

 

[Moonjumper]

I have this hp screen too but I'm struggling to get the ethernet recognised on my macbook any pointers?

I'm currently using the monitor as a second screen connected to my 2015 27" iMac, so am already connected using the ethernet port on the iMac. Therefore I cannot help, but would be interested in finding out if you find a solution. I'm not sure what my next Mac will be (recently used an Intel Mac mini, and an AS mini is not longer the most likely option, likely to choose from MBP with Pro/Max chip or whatever large iMac appears), so would like to know if there are any issues with connecting a MacBook and making use of the ethernet port.

 

[ShiniestofShinies]

I'm currently using the monitor as a second screen connected to my 2015 27" iMac, so am already connected using the ethernet port on the iMac. Therefore I cannot help, but would be interested in finding out if you find a solution. I'm not sure what my next Mac will be (recently used an Intel Mac mini, and an AS mini is not longer the most likely option, likely to choose from MBP with Pro/Max chip or whatever large iMac appears), so would like to know if there are any issues with connecting a MacBook and making use of the ethernet port.

Actually yes I got it working after some Googling.
Unplug USB C.
Delete any unused wired configurations in the network pane of system settings. Apply settings.
Plug USB C in again. Then it works.

I tried restarts and just plugging unplugging but only the above steps worked.

This is on a MacBook Pro M1 pro 14inch.