MBP i7 vs iMac i5

[MikeArtworks]

Hey,

Short question. Was wondering, which one would be better for gaming, design & coding. The 2,9‑GHz quad‑core Intel Core i7‑processor from the 15 inch MacBook Pro, or the 3,8-GHz quad-core Intel Core i5-processor from the 27 inch iMac?

So pure maximum power?

Thanks!

Mike

 

[rjsounds]

Hey,

Short question. Was wondering, which one would be better for gaming, design & coding. The 2,9‑GHz quad‑core Intel Core i7‑processor from the 15 inch MacBook Pro, or the 3,8-GHz quad-core Intel Core i5-processor from the 27 inch iMac?

So pure maximum power?

Thanks!

Mike

Do you need to be portable? If not, go with iMac. Bigger, better screen which is so nice for gaming. Quieter. Better bang for buck imo.

 

[MikeArtworks]

@rjsounds I currently have a 13 inch MacBook Pro (2016) i7 version. However, I'll be going to uni next year. Thinking about selling the 13 inch and going to a 15 inch size. Would that be a good idea?

 

[errin]

Just stay with your current MBP and buy a nice Monitor and if you want to play games maybe looking for eGPU.

 

[Luxtrau]

I don't think that the MBP i7 is a lot faster than iMacs i5, because it's a mobile CPU. You should check some benchmarks.

 

[iska]

The iMac's i5 is quite a bit faster than the MBP's i7. Additionally you will be getting significantly better graphics performance with the radeon 57x/580 cards in the iMac. The near silent working experience you get with the iMac is nice too. If you don't value the portability, it's a no brainer, get the iMac.

 

[EugW]

The iMac's i5 is quite a bit faster than the MBP's i7.

Actually the i7 7920HQ in the 15" MBP competes quite well against the desktop i5 chips. Why? Because the i7 laptop part has HyperThreading. It's 4-core 8-thread.

In Geekbench, the i7-7920HQ beats my i5-7600 iMac, and in Cinebench R15, it totally smokes it.

Additionally you will be getting significantly better graphics performance with the radeon 57x/580 cards in the iMac. The near silent working experience you get with the iMac is nice too. If you don't value the portability, it's a no brainer, get the iMac.

I agree on both counts here. Much faster GPU and near silent operation in the iMac.

 

[Danno86]

For college, I would totally stick with the 13 inch MacBook Pro, as most desks have very little space. I used a 15 inch in my undergraduate and 13 inch during graduate school and the 13 inch was so much better.

I would keep the 13 inch and get the iMac if you're going to have the two. Good combo.

 

[MikeArtworks]

@Danno86 I just bought the MacBook Pro 15" which will arrive tomorrow. Really thinking about cancelling it, refunding it and instead getting the iMac..

 

[jlseattle]

@Danno86 I just bought the MacBook Pro 15" which will arrive tomorrow. Really thinking about cancelling it, refunding it and instead getting the iMac..

I ordered the iMac 3.8 ghz (if it ever gets here). One thing to keep in mind is get the SSD drive in your iMac. It will slow down your computer substantially with a fusion drive (esp the 1gb fusion). I'm keeping my 13" macbook pro (was my primary computer) just to have a portable computer just in case I need it. I don't really travel much where I need my laptop but it does come up randomly.

For my needs having the desktop is much more functional than a laptop and I'm looking forward to the faster processor, beautiful display and the longevity that I'll have on the iMac. I feel like my laptops don't last as long from a power perspective (I end up upgrading laptops more frequently).

 

[burgman]

Hey,

Short question. Was wondering, which one would be better for gaming, design & coding. The 2,9‑GHz quad‑core Intel Core i7‑processor from the 15 inch MacBook Pro, or the 3,8-GHz quad-core Intel Core i5-processor from the 27 inch iMac?

So pure maximum power?

Thanks!

Mike

Ahh, neither?

 

[MikeArtworks]

I ordered the iMac 3.8 ghz (if it ever gets here). One thing to keep in mind is get the SSD drive in your iMac. It will slow down your computer substantially with a fusion drive (esp the 1gb fusion). I'm keeping my 13" macbook pro (was my primary computer) just to have a portable computer just in case I need it. I don't really travel much where I need my laptop but it does come up randomly.

For my needs having the desktop is much more functional than a laptop and I'm looking forward to the faster processor, beautiful display and the longevity that I'll have on the iMac. I feel like my laptops don't last as long from a power perspective (I end up upgrading laptops more frequently).

Just got the 15 inch one. I'll be returning it. It's a weird match. It's not as easy to 'throw' everywhere you want (Table, desk, couch, bed etc.), and it's not as powerful as the iMac.

I think that my 13 inch + iMac would be a better combo.

 

[lowkey]

I've got a late 2013 MBP 2.3GHz i7 and a 2015 iMac 3.5Ghz i5.

In Cubase, running as many VST plugins I could the MBP beat the iMac by a small margin. So if you are using software that is optimized for multi-core CPUs I'd say the current MBP 2.9 i7 is going to be faster than a 3.8 i5.

In the Logic Pro benchmark thread over at Gearslutz the MBP is reported hitting 100 tracks while the iMac is 73 tracks. So the MBP is well ahead.

 

[MikeArtworks]

For college, I would totally stick with the 13 inch MacBook Pro, as most desks have very little space. I used a 15 inch in my undergraduate and 13 inch during graduate school and the 13 inch was so much better.

I would keep the 13 inch and get the iMac if you're going to have the two. Good combo.

I've decided to keep the 13 inch and get the iMac. 15 inch seems awkward. It's not big enough to replace a 27 inch monitor, nor is it portable enough to go everywhere. Train did not work.

I feel like selling my monitor, returning the 15 inch and buying the iMac is better. iMac has the better P3 screen anyway (which my current LG 4k does not have).