MacBook Pro Comparable to iMac?

[Timmy2time]

Ideally, I want a Macbook Pro and a new iMac... My 2008 iMac has held up okay, except for the motherboard (thank god for apple car). It's starting to show its age and I find myself constantly bored, annoyed and frustrated with the delays in even simple tasks. I want a fully specced out comp so I can spend more time actually using my computer instead of staring at a stupid beach ball.

My question is would it be comparable to get a MacBook Pro 2.6GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz instead of an iMac 3.5GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz... I was thinking just run a cross over cable to my 24 inch 2008 iMac so I still get the bigger screen while at home.... How noticeable would the performance hit be??? My Fear is the fall iMac release won't feature Broadwell (AGAINNN) or ddr4 ram. Each system fully spec'd out costs about 3k, and i'm sorry if you expect someone to spend 3k it should feature the latest technology available so it truly lasts. Even though its a substantial leap compared to the 2008 model, I just can't justify in my mind that big of an expense for a device with a dated processor and RAM. Would that make me a Maniac if I just use the cross over cable until Skylake or ddr4? Then with a 6 year useful life I would position myself for a new system every 3 years, food for though I guess. Any perspective would be greatly appreciated!!! Spending 7k a year on Apple devices is worse than a bad drug habit I think lol =)

 

[Barney63]

Here is the bar charts of some of the specs for the 2 processors from cpu-world.com

Barney

 

[yjchua95]

Here is the bar charts of some of the specs for the 2 processors from cpu-world.com
Image

Barney

I think a more accurate comparison is to use Geekbench 3:

http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/compare/526202?baseline=476302

This is between the 3.5GHz i7-4771 in the 27" iMac and the 2.6GHz i7-4960HQ in the 15" rMBP.

The performance is very similar. However, keep in mind that the iMac will take a far longer time before reaching throttling point because the iMac does a far better job in cooling the system (it runs silently even under heavy loads). The rMBP will reach throttling point much faster compared to the iMac.

Besides, the iMac has a more powerful GPU compared to the rMBP.

 

[Hieveryone]

I have used the 2.6 GHz 15 inch, and I can tell you that it will most likely be perfect for you. IMO it's always nice to use it as a desktop by hooking it up to an external monitor AND as a laptop on the go.

I'd get the 2.6 15inch with an external display

My 2 cents