New MacBook Pro faster than iMac?

[scottj38]

I currently have a 27" 2014 5k iMac and 13" 2015 MacBook Pro.

Late 2014 27" 5k iMac
4.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 4.4GHz)
24 GB RAM
1 TB SSD
AMD Radeon R9 M295X 4 GB

Early 2015 13" MacBook Pro
2.7 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 3.1 GHz)
8 GB RAM
256 GB SSD
Intel Iris Graphics 6100 1536 MB

As someone who works a regular 9-5 and needs more portability, I'm tempted to upgrade to the new 15" 2018 MacBook Pro. I love the iMac's screen but it just isn't the speed demon it once was.

Can I use my iMac's screen but a 2018 Macbook Pro as the main machine powering everything? If it's possible, is there a sacrifice in power to the MacBook Pro for doing this set up? Will the new MacBook Pro be significantly faster than my current iMac?

I will primarily be using this set up for editing photos in Lightroom and Photoshop as I'm a wedding photographer.

Thanks!

 

[MacGizmo]

You can use the iMac as a second screen for the MBP. See here for easy instructions (you may have to buy an adapter and a Thunderbolt cable).

The video card in the new MBP is better than the one in your iMac, and that will help quite a bit with Photoshop and Lightroom, but not "game-changingly" so. Overall, it would be faster, but I don't believe it will be a massive upgrade over your iMac like it would be over your MacBook Pro.

 

[maflynn]

My MBP is faster then my 2015 iMac both single core and multicore.
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You can use the iMac as a second screen for the MBP. See here for easy instructions (you may have to buy an adapter).

Sadly, I cannot, since I have a 2015 model

 

[MacGizmo]

My MBP is faster then my 2015 iMac both single core and multicore.
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Sadly, I cannot, since I have a 2015 model

Yeah, he just barely made it in under the cutoff. Sucks for you, though. It's a shame they didn't build in some sort of compatibility, as I would imagine it would be a very popular thing for people to do.

 

[maflynn]

Yeah, he just barely made it in under the cutoff. Sucks for you, though. It's a shame they didn't build in some sort of compatibility, as I would imagine it would be a very popular thing for people to do.

Yeah, I'm not worked up over, since I've the machine for three years and its been solid and stable (knocks on wood)

 

[MacGizmo]

Yeah, I'm not worked up over, since I've the machine for three years and its been solid and stable (knocks on wood)

I'm on a 2013 (pre 5K retina) 27" iMac. It's beginning to show its age, but like you I find it to be a pretty solid workhorse.

The only reason I'm upgrading to the new MBPro in the next few weeks is I'm tired of maintaining an iMac at home and an 2014 MacBook Pro for work on the road. It's nice to have a "backup" computer, but I just don't need 2 Macs anymore—and I like the idea of having one Mac for everything. I'm getting the 27" LG UltraFine to keep on the desk at home for the "big screen" experience. My wife will be happy to be "upgraded" with my 2013 iMac (she still has a spinning HD 2012 iMac with the base model video card). Happy wife, happy life!

 

[ncrypt]

You can use the iMac as a second screen for the MBP. See here for easy instructions (you may have to buy an adapter and a Thunderbolt cable).

Sadly this won't work since OP has a 5K iMac, which the support article says it doesn't support target display mode.

iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014) and later iMac models can't be used as Target Display Mode displays.