FWIW, I read the forums a good bit, as well as other sites like DaringFireball, Tomshardware, Anandtech, CultofMac, etc.
Current setup: 2013 13" MBPro (512Gb SSD, 8b RAM), LG 4k 32", Dell 24 1080p monitors, iPad Pro 10.5
Usage model: 9 months out of the year, I work from home, but then I travel 3-4 months of the year. This is not daily or weekly trips, but like I'm away from home, May-August or something. My work is mostly writing and reading, including non-English scripts, so I'd like to add a second 4k 32" monitor. (The bigger screen and higher DPI minimizes my eyestrain.) I also do some light video recording and editing for youtube series, typically 1080p, <1 hr long each, and that's going to increase. I also have a bunch of movies I'd like to rip, and have been waiting to upgrade.
I have about $2500 USD to work with, and an upcoming sale 8% below Edu discount, so it's time to seize the day and upgrade. But I'm torn between three options.
Proposals:
A 27" imac has all the power I need, and I can add RAM for cheap, and it gets me a third screen, super high quality. But it leaves the other 3-4 months a year on my old MBP, which can't utilize my iPad well as a second screen.
A Mac mini would be nice, cheaper, add RAM myself, but the forums report that the mini obviously struggles to drive 2 scaled 4k monitors... which is how I intend to work 80% of the time. And I don't know how well it will work for encoding movies and editing my video for youtube, although it does have the T2 chip for hardware H264 encoding, and the iMac doesn't. I own a Microsoft Sculpt keyboard and Magic Trackpad 2, so the mini doesn't have me pay for hardware I don't use.
The new 16" MBP has all the power I need (except RAM, not paying $400 to bump up to 32GB), but from reading the forums, sounds like it may be overkill for my portable needs... but it means I can take all my power with me. And people are reporting high fan speeds when plugging in external monitors, which is how I intend to work 80% of the time. I'd have to buy a TB3 docking station and a third monitor, which adds to the price, and I feel like it wouldn't last me as long as an iMac. (I had a 2010 that I just sold a year ago.) I'm not interested in any other Mac laptops right now, because of the keyboard issues, so it's 16" MBP or a non-laptop option.
So... thoughts?
Current setup: 2013 13" MBPro (512Gb SSD, 8b RAM), LG 4k 32", Dell 24 1080p monitors, iPad Pro 10.5
Usage model: 9 months out of the year, I work from home, but then I travel 3-4 months of the year. This is not daily or weekly trips, but like I'm away from home, May-August or something. My work is mostly writing and reading, including non-English scripts, so I'd like to add a second 4k 32" monitor. (The bigger screen and higher DPI minimizes my eyestrain.) I also do some light video recording and editing for youtube series, typically 1080p, <1 hr long each, and that's going to increase. I also have a bunch of movies I'd like to rip, and have been waiting to upgrade.
I have about $2500 USD to work with, and an upcoming sale 8% below Edu discount, so it's time to seize the day and upgrade. But I'm torn between three options.
Proposals:
A 27" imac has all the power I need, and I can add RAM for cheap, and it gets me a third screen, super high quality. But it leaves the other 3-4 months a year on my old MBP, which can't utilize my iPad well as a second screen.
A Mac mini would be nice, cheaper, add RAM myself, but the forums report that the mini obviously struggles to drive 2 scaled 4k monitors... which is how I intend to work 80% of the time. And I don't know how well it will work for encoding movies and editing my video for youtube, although it does have the T2 chip for hardware H264 encoding, and the iMac doesn't. I own a Microsoft Sculpt keyboard and Magic Trackpad 2, so the mini doesn't have me pay for hardware I don't use.
The new 16" MBP has all the power I need (except RAM, not paying $400 to bump up to 32GB), but from reading the forums, sounds like it may be overkill for my portable needs... but it means I can take all my power with me. And people are reporting high fan speeds when plugging in external monitors, which is how I intend to work 80% of the time. I'd have to buy a TB3 docking station and a third monitor, which adds to the price, and I feel like it wouldn't last me as long as an iMac. (I had a 2010 that I just sold a year ago.) I'm not interested in any other Mac laptops right now, because of the keyboard issues, so it's 16" MBP or a non-laptop option.
So... thoughts?