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New MacBook or old iMac? (speed)

Sverkel

Sverkel

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 3, 2007
139
3
Denmark
Hi

I currently own a 27 "iMac from late 2009, the first model with that design. I have looked much on a MacBook Air and would wait to buy one until it got Retina screen but now the new MacBook got there first so I wanted to hear what will be the fastest, my old iMac or new MacBook. I typically use my iMac to surf the web, check email, watch YouTube video, convert movies in HandBrake so no heavy things.

My iMac has the following specifications:

iMac (27 ", ultimo 2009)
Screen: 27" 2560 x 1440
Hard Drive: 1TB SATA
Processor: 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory: 4GB 1067 MHz DDR3
Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 4670 256MB

Against MacBook with the following specifications:

MacBook 12" 2015
Screen: 12" 2304 x 1440
Hard Drive: 256GB PCIe-based onboard flash storage
Processor: 1.1GHz dual-core Intel Core M processor Turbo Boost up to 2.4GHz
Memory: 8GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 5300

Which will be faster for the things I have described? I do not know if the new MacBook will be able to do the things I do or if I should wait a year or two to see how the development of the other products go?
 
Apart from handbrake....

Sverkel said:
Hi

I currently own a 27 "iMac from late 2009, the first model with that design. I have looked much on a MacBook Air and would wait to buy one until it got Retina screen but now the new MacBook got there first so I wanted to hear what will be the fastest, my old iMac or new MacBook. I typically use my iMac to surf the web, check email, watch YouTube video, convert movies in HandBrake so no heavy things.

My iMac has the following specifications:

iMac (27 ", ultimo 2009)
Screen: 27" 2560 x 1440
Hard Drive: 1TB SATA
Processor: 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory: 4GB 1067 MHz DDR3
Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 4670 256MB

Against MacBook with the following specifications:

MacBook 12" 2015
Screen: 12" 2304 x 1440
Hard Drive: 256GB PCIe-based onboard flash storage
Processor: 1.1GHz dual-core Intel Core M processor Turbo Boost up to 2.4GHz
Memory: 8GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 5300

Which will be faster for the things I have described? I do not know if the new MacBook will be able to do the things I do or if I should wait a year or two to see how the development of the other products go?
Click to expand...

......I think the macbook will be similar for most processes.

It will feel a hell of a lot faster though booting up opening apps etc will be a few seconds or instant because of the v. fast ram and super speedy flash storage. You should be able to dock it with your mac as the target screen, and use your imac screen with the macbook.

To be honest though your best bet is to go into a store and play around with one when they come out.

And don't forget the rMBP they are the best little laptop about at the moment, for price, specs, size, battery life, compromise they really are the all round laptop.
 
Samuelsan2001 said:
......I think the macbook will be similar for most processes.

It will feel a hell of a lot faster though booting up opening apps etc will be a few seconds or instant because of the v. fast ram and super speedy flash storage. You should be able to dock it with your mac as the target screen, and use your imac screen with the macbook.

To be honest though your best bet is to go into a store and play around with one when they come out.

And don't forget the rMBP they are the best little laptop about at the moment, for price, specs, size, battery life, compromise they really are the all round laptop.
Click to expand...

What he said. It will feel SOOOO much faster. I just went through all of this myself. Had a 2009 iMac, bought a 2014 iMac as a replacement, and felt like I was using the same machine. Noticed no difference in speed, and it was really frustrating. I returned it and got a 13" rmbp and couldn't be happier. This thing zips along. Got the Thunderbolt Display to go along with it, and it's the best.
 
You know

erickj said:
What he said. It will feel SOOOO much faster. I just went through all of this myself. Had a 2009 iMac, bought a 2014 iMac as a replacement, and felt like I was using the same machine. Noticed no difference in speed, and it was really frustrating. I returned it and got a 13" rmbp and couldn't be happier. This thing zips along. Got the Thunderbolt Display to go along with it, and it's the best.
Click to expand...

You could have just put a fusion drive in the imac and got the same result???
 
Thats just not true

keysofanxiety said:
Nope, Fusion is nowhere near the speed and reliability of pure SSD.
Click to expand...

Sequential speeds a bit slower, but for booting, app opening etc etc it's just as good, there is a 128gb ssd in there after all. It is no more likely to die than any other HDD and most people get about 6-7 years out of an HDD.

All reports have shown them to be fast and reliable for the last four years since they came out. They don't look as good on bechmarks but in use they are pretty awesome compromise between speed and size.

You can always have a full 256gb SSD for the same price as a fusion on an imac as well and as it's stationary as much external storage for files and media as you need can just be attached by USB 3 or Thunderbolt both v. fast connections for media drives...
 
Sverkel said:
Hi

I currently own a 27 "iMac from late 2009, the first model with that design. I have looked much on a MacBook Air and would wait to buy one until it got Retina screen but now the new MacBook got there first so I wanted to hear what will be the fastest, my old iMac or new MacBook. I typically use my iMac to surf the web, check email, watch YouTube video, convert movies in HandBrake so no heavy things.

My iMac has the following specifications:

iMac (27 ", ultimo 2009)
Screen: 27" 2560 x 1440
Hard Drive: 1TB SATA
Processor: 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory: 4GB 1067 MHz DDR3
Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 4670 256MB

Against MacBook with the following specifications:

MacBook 12" 2015
Screen: 12" 2304 x 1440
Hard Drive: 256GB PCIe-based onboard flash storage
Processor: 1.1GHz dual-core Intel Core M processor Turbo Boost up to 2.4GHz
Memory: 8GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 5300

Which will be faster for the things I have described? I do not know if the new MacBook will be able to do the things I do or if I should wait a year or two to see how the development of the other products go?
Click to expand...

Your 27 iMac is not Core 2 Duo. It's an i5 or i7.

I'd say the processor is better than that of the new MacBook, but SSD is faster in other things.
 
Sensamic said:
Your 27 iMac is not Core 2 Duo. It's an i5 or i7.

I'd say the processor is better than that of the new MacBook, but SSD is faster in other things.
Click to expand...

Sorry but my iMac is running the Core 2 Duo ;)
2z3tn4p.jpg
 
I have the exact same question!

I'm currently using a late 2009 21.5 in iMac 3.06 C2D, 12GB RAM. I have been feeling it slow down in the past couple of years. I would really like a laptop this time as I could move around a bit.

I am torn between all of the different machines available. The rMB looks amazing and would love to have it but I am concerned with the processing speed. I do a moderate amount of work using LR (just upgraded to 6!). I feel as if the 15" RMBP would be a better fit for me.

I can't decide between a super ultra portable machine and a slightly clunkier and bigger powerhouse. If the rMB is close in terms of performance to my current machine I may just go with that...
 
Last edited:
The problem here is that the processor in the new MacBook is specifically designed for low power. I don't even think it has a fan. I would be skeptical that in Handbrake it would be much faster than that older desktop processor.

So for the Handbrake workload, the old computer may be faster. For everything else, the new computer will probably be faster.
 
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