Redundant to have 5k iMac and a 15" rMBP?

[Larrabee213]

I have been on a mid-2014 2.5ghz i7/750m 15" rMBP and love it. Great and powerful machine.

I just recently bought a 5k 27" iMac with the 4.0ghz i7, 16GB Ram, 2TB Fusion, m395.

The iMac is a great machine. Love having the huge monitor, 2TB HD, fastest i7 CPU, etc.

But after a few days, I think it may be a bit redundant to have spend $2300 on it while I have the rMBP 15 which is about 75-80% as fast.

I do a bunch of podcasts and video editing in Final Cut, which is why I bought the 5k. Tons of horsepower and the real estate too.

I guess I am looking for suggestions. Should I return the 5k iMac and just wait for the revision of the rMPB with Skylake i7s and pair that with a 4k monitor? Or justify having both?

 

[MadDane]

Where do you use the MBP? Do you need the portability or does it work as a desktop? Also, is there something that your MBP doesn't do that you need the Skylake version for?

 

[von franklin]

having the MBP keeps you mobile when you need to be. what if you go on a trip? or what to work from bed?

 

[Samuelsan2001]

If you can afford it without missing out and have a use case for both machines (it sounds like you do) then why not have what you want and keep both.

 

[maflynn]

It seems that you're having some buyers remorse and want to go back to the laptop.
I'd say there's probably a lot of overlap on what each computer can do, but its up to you which one can effectively handle your needs.

I'm not really giving an answer because you are the only one who will be making that decision. If you have mobility needs, then the laptop is a better choice. If those needs are no longer present then the iMac is a better option. Also to help cushion the blow of the cost, have you thought about selling the MBP?

 

[Larrabee213]

The 5k iMac would be a luxury. I do a lot of work outside of the house and travel at least 1x/month, so the laptop is necessary.

Rationally, a 15" rMBP and a monitor makes the most sense. Ordered the Dell 27" 4k monitor P2715Q. That will allow me to also hook up a big hard drive and still keep things mobile.

Still hoping for new 15" rMBPs at WWDC. Always up for more performance/portability/battery.

 

[Butchie-T]

Naa, best of both worlds IMHO. Sounds like in your situation you'll find out they will both fit well for you.

Enjoy!

 

[BigJohno]

I have been on a mid-2014 2.5ghz i7/750m 15" rMBP and love it. Great and powerful machine.

I just recently bought a 5k 27" iMac with the 4.0ghz i7, 16GB Ram, 2TB Fusion, m395.

The iMac is a great machine. Love having the huge monitor, 2TB HD, fastest i7 CPU, etc.

But after a few days, I think it may be a bit redundant to have spend $2300 on it while I have the rMBP 15 which is about 75-80% as fast.

I do a bunch of podcasts and video editing in Final Cut, which is why I bought the 5k. Tons of horsepower and the real estate too.

I guess I am looking for suggestions. Should I return the 5k iMac and just wait for the revision of the rMPB with Skylake i7s and pair that with a 4k monitor? Or justify having both?

It's interesting you brought this up. I sold my 6 core 5.1 macpro a few years ago when I bought my 2013 rmbp same gen as you pretty much just 2.3ghz. I liked the modern IO and portability and I didn't find it that much slower than the MP. After 3 years I needed something as a desktop replacement. I had it connected to a 4K monitor which was a huge improvement over the apple Cinema Display. (I do Industrial design as well as photography and edit large Timelapse collections)

On Wednesday this week I took delivery of a 5k bto i7 512 ssd and 3rd party ram to 32gb and to be honest I'm not that impressed with it. The screen is very nice but I'm a little disappointed in the performance. The fan kicks up when every I push it slightly. I'm just not seeing the improvements I thought I would seeing as it uses a desktop cpu. There is stutter when switching Windows and browsing the web while pushing the cpu hard. My MP never had this issue and it geek benched about 1k less than this.

Anyway I'm pretty mobile like you so I'm not sure I have an answer. Kind of in the same boat as you. i would like to get another Mac Pro but they are so damn expensive for 2012 tech....