rMBP vs iMac- Which setup would be better?

[AquaMar1ne]

I’m trying to make a decision on buying an iMac vs MacBook Pro. It will be used for web development with multiple monitors. Basically- tons of browser windows, basic editor/dB/dev environment stuff, plus the ability to play one or two videos at the same time as everything else with no slowdowns at all. I don’t really game but if it could play Rainbow Six Siege that would be a nice bonus but not a requirement.

I already have a late 2013 MacBook Pro. It slows down when driving a single 4K screen. I don’t know why- if it’s due to battery issues it has or if I’m taxing it too much. Either way, I’m planning on fixing it and pairing it with a new machine.

Which would be better? I work from home. I travel around 4 weeks out of the year. Reliability is critical.

Option 1:

• 27” 2017 iMac 3.8ghz/16gb/512gb/580-8GB GPU
• 1x Dell 27” 4K LCD
• 15” Late 2013 rMBP 16gb/512gb w/ dGPU (would use when traveling)

Option 2:

• 15” 2018 rMBP 2.2ghz/16gb/512gb/560X-4GB GPU
• 2x Dell 27” 4K LCD
• 15” Late 2013 rMBP 16gb/512gb w/ dGPU (would be for emergency only)

Thoughts appreciated

 

[fyun89]

I like to have single source of work. So I like to have high spec'd laptop that I can always have with me.

I am a full stack developer as well and I think we could benefit from 32gb and higher spec i7 or i9 processor as we use deployment tool like Docker that could consume a lot of computing power.
If you need the graphics power, you can always add eGPU in the future with the MBP and it will probably help in rendering post 4k res display in the future as well.

I'd go with the option 2 And bump the spec with the money you could get from selling your current machine

 

[AquaMar1ne]

I like to have single source of work. So I like to have high spec'd laptop that I can always have with me.

I am a full stack developer as well and I think we could benefit from 32gb and higher spec i7 or i9 processor as we use deployment tool like Docker that could consume a lot of computing power.
If you need the graphics power, you can always add eGPU in the future with the MBP and it will probably help in rendering post 4k res display in the future as well.

I'd go with the option 2 And bump the spec with the money you could get from selling your current machine

Thanks. I forgot to mention that I work from home. Would you still go option 2?

 

[fyun89]

Thanks. I forgot to mention that I work from home. Would you still go option 2?

if you dont need portability at all, then I'd lean more towards the first option. But you never know what might happen in the future right?

There will definitely be less throttling in the larger device. But also consider that you'd be able to get more money out of your current machine when you sell it now than later. Just an opinion though.

 

[fokmik]

hmmm...lets not forget that new imacs can come soon..in 2-3 months at max...the boost from quad to six core will count , probably, and hopefully Vega GPu, BT 5.0 etc