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What's the benefit of an iMac over a MacBook?

D

davidg4781

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Oct 28, 2006
2,886
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Alice, TX
I hope this doesn't sound trolling. I'm kind of thinking of purchasing a new(er) Mac when the refresh comes. I used a desktop PC since 1990 until 2006, when I purchased my first Mac, a MacBook. In 2015 I moved to a mini when I gave my MBP to my mom. It was inexpensive to switch to it, even considering a display to purchase.

While it's alright, I've started to play some games and it struggles with the graphics. These aren't recent first class games either.

While I like the portability of the MacBook, my question is basically, why should I consider an iMac instead? Assuming they release a new 5k TBD, that should keep the visuals similar.

Again, don't mean to sound trolling. Just need help in deciding what I may get.
 
If you're starting to play games then an iMac will definitely benefit you over a MacBook or Mac Mini. That's definitely one noteable advantage of an iMac. I use mine for gaming myself and am very happy about it. I run games like Battlefront at 1440p at ultra settings and it's pretty decent.
 
davidg4781 said:
I hope this doesn't sound trolling. I'm kind of thinking of purchasing a new(er) Mac when the refresh comes. I used a desktop PC since 1990 until 2006, when I purchased my first Mac, a MacBook. In 2015 I moved to a mini when I gave my MBP to my mom. It was inexpensive to switch to it, even considering a display to purchase.
Click to expand...

The laptop will fire up the noisy fan any time you put the cpu under sustained pressure. It is very loud. The iMac doesn't have that issue. So if you are gonna do CPU intensive work then a laptop isn't usually ideal.
 
dogslobber said:
The laptop will fire up the noisy fan any time you put the cpu under sustained pressure. It is very loud. The iMac doesn't have that issue. So if you are gonna do CPU intensive work then a laptop isn't usually ideal.
Click to expand...

There's a fan in the iMac, and it will spin up during games. It's audible.

What would be nice is a controlled experiment showing the difference between a macbook pro's fan at load, and the imac's fans at load.
 
Yeah, I had an '09 iMac and if someone asked, I couldn't tell them it had a fan or not. I never heard it in years of use. I just got an Oct '15, 21.5" i7 and while re-encoding some video, it made noise like I've never heard before - I suspect it was a fan though. I have to say though, the time it took to re-encode more than made up for that noise !!
 
The mac mini is really just their lowest end computer. iMac is more of a mid range and the Pro is high end and really, really expensive.

MBP vs iMac:
Think of the MBP as an iMac made portable. The specs are usually dropped a little, i.e. max GPU is a M370X vs M395x, CPU is a 2.8 quad vs a 4.0 quad.

If apple drops either the 470 or 480 into the next iMac, temps should not be a problem with graphics. CPUs haven't changed recently, but if you don't do any encoding or compression, you shouldn't have issues with that.
 
I don't do really anything with video production, just consumption (games, YouTube).

I do have a project I need to work on but I think I'm going to do it on a PowerMac G5 since it's dealing with older VHS tapes.

I do like the portability of the MBP, and I think that has kept me from doing some work in the past few months. Where I'd maybe sit on the couch and do some stuff, now I have to either go to my room or not do it. Just messes up my workflow.

That's what makes it hard to decide. I've had a few times lately that having a MBP would've helped with family and work matters, but I'm not lugging my mini and ACD all over town.
 
To each his own, but for me, the iMac has a larger display, faster processor and more ports, all of which I use. I also like the 2TB of storage.

YMMV, but for many people the iMac is a great computer
 
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Big display
Ports
Power (both CPU and GPU)
No battery to charge
Use a real keyboard if you like
 
maflynn said:
To each his own, but for me, the iMac has a larger display, faster processor and more ports, all of which I use. I also like the 2TB of storage.

YMMV, but for many people the iMac is a great computer
Click to expand...
Yeah that's true, I have desktops that "server" me well, and I know I couldn't do without them. If it wasn't for my sit downs I wouldn't be able to use my laptop like I do.
 
maflynn said:
To each his own, but for me, the iMac has a larger display, faster processor and more ports, all of which I use. I also like the 2TB of storage.

YMMV, but for many people the iMac is a great computer
Click to expand...

See, this sounds nice. I have a 24" display and it's wonderful to use, but I think my desk is too small. My bedroom is small right now so I don't know if I can even get a larger desk. I have a few weeks until they hopefully have an event, and even then before I'd even buy one. I'm not looking to be a launch day buyer. I'll have to sort out where I'd want to put it if I do get an iMac.
 
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