Which one is more powerful?

[Drask]

Hey there,

I can get a retina macbook pro (entry level) with 8gb of ram. I currently have a 2011 entry 27" iMac. Far as I know, the Iris Pro 5200 is better than the 512MB 6770M, but not sure in the procesor since the retina is a dual core.

Totally talking in techinical details, which one performs better, the new retina 13" entry with 8gb ram or the 2011 27" iMac)

 

[elithrar]

Hey there,

I can get a retina macbook pro (entry level) with 8gb of ram. I currently have a 2011 entry 27" iMac. Far as I know, the Iris Pro 5200 is better than the 512MB 6770M, but not sure in the procesor since the retina is a dual core.

Totally talking in techinical details, which one performs better, the new retina 13" entry with 8gb ram or the 2011 27" iMac)

The entry level iMac is quad core, and a desktop CPU. It's likely going to be faster on CPU-bound tasks, but those are few and far between for most users.

(you are unlikely to notice the difference: it will be the presence/lack of an SSD that makes things noticeable)

 

[roland.g]

If it is a base 27" 2011 iMac with a traditional hard drive, vs. a SSD based MBPr with the new PCIe SSDs, the SSD will make a significant impact on boot time, application launch, data read and write compared to the iMac. I would think that with other laptop optimizations, the MBPr will outperform the iMac even though the iMac has a quad-core CPU. Remember too that while the iMac has a dedicated graphics card, the new Iris graphics in the Retina is new tech and that you won't typically utilize all 4 cores, so there won't be that many situations in which the CPU would have the chance to be a factor, and if it did, the traditional hard drive would be more of a disadvantage.

However, all that said, do you need a laptop or a desktop. There is something to be said for all that screen real estate. I suppose you are getting a deal and as such replacing the iMac with a new model is not an option? Of course I would highly recommend a Fusion drive or SSD. I wouldn't recommend anyone buy a new Mac with only a traditional hard drive for the OS and apps.

 

[Drask]

If it is a base 27" 2011 iMac with a traditional hard drive, vs. a SSD based MBPr with the new PCIe SSDs, the SSD will make a significant impact on boot time, application launch, data read and write compared to the iMac. I would think that with other laptop optimizations, the MBPr will outperform the iMac even though the iMac has a quad-core CPU. Remember too that while the iMac has a dedicated graphics card, the new Iris graphics in the Retina is new tech and that you won't typically utilize all 4 cores, so there won't be that many situations in which the CPU would have the chance to be a factor, and if it did, the traditional hard drive would be more of a disadvantage.

However, all that said, do you need a laptop or a desktop. There is something to be said for all that screen real estate. I suppose you are getting a deal and as such replacing the iMac with a new model is not an option? Of course I would highly recommend a Fusion drive or SSD. I wouldn't recommend anyone buy a new Mac with only a traditional hard drive for the OS and apps.

Yes it is the one with the hard drive, that's the main reason I want to change it. I can sell this one and pay about $500 (cash that I already have in a gift card) for the 13rMBP. So basically I would be trading one for another.