iMac or MBP

[Ben Jennings]

Hi everyone,

I am trying to decide what to get computer wise after a long awaited opportunity to upgrade.

I have been looking at:

New iMac 27" i5 2.9Ghz quad core, 8GB RAM, NVidia Gefore GT 660M, 1TB HD

or

June 2012 macbook Pro 15.4" Retina, i7 2.3Ghz quad core, 8GB RAM, Nvidia Geforce 650M, 256GB SD

Does anyone have any advice as to which would be a better purchase?

My thoughts are

iMac - Big screen, not as mobile, big hd
MBP - Mobile, average size screen, small hd


Any one had experience with both?

 

[Pete Askew]

I've not used the MBP with a Retina screen but use a 15" MBP every day. When I'm in Germany I work on a Mac Pro during the day with 3 x 20" screens. I have a 27" iMac at home in the UK and, to be honest, I find the screen a bit too large! In the UK office we are mostly Windows based but for image editing we have a Mac Mini with a 24" Eizo Coloredge monitor - that size is much more comfortable to use as a single monitor. It works well with PS and LR.

I also have a 17" MBP but find it too large to travel with and so stay with my elderly 15". I have also never missed having the enhanced resolution of the Retina display for editing but then I'be not used one.

Another option might be to get a 15" MBP (maybe even S/H) and a Mac Mini with a decent screen.

I guess the deciding factor might be how much you want to travel with your laptop. Will you do most of your editing at home?

 

[Ben Jennings]

Cheers for the quick reply Pete.

Most of my editing will be done at home, but will be done all over the house, escaping noise/distraction. You have echoed one of my concerns that 27" might be too big. I am swaying toward the MBP because I can always use it to drive another monitor like an Eizo if I feel I need it. I was pondering a mac mini with an Eizo it doesnt work out that much cheaper the having a notebook which has the mobility advantage.

My only real concern is the inability to upgrade the MBP as RAM is onboard and SSD is a custom part. Where as if I go non retina then I save about 100 quid and can upgrade. But I'm wondering if the retina is worth this compromise.

 

[Chris Dodkin]

I use a non retina 17" MBP - swmbo has the retina 15" MBP

You can't go wrong with either MBP IMHO.

I upgraded my 17" with a 3rd party SSD and maxed the RAM - we ordered swmbo's with SSD and 8GB RAM

Both handle Photoshop/NIK etc with no issues.

I like the 17" screen - I also like the retina screen which is like a 17" resolution on a 15" screen

In all probability the 15" Retina will never be pushed for RAM or processor speed, so I'm not worried about future upgradability.

I think the years of rapid increases in speed and RAM requirements are behind us now.

SSD is worth the money in my opinion, it's faster in daily use, and of course has no moving parts to fail - it's also more power efficient and gets you better battery life.

Just make sure you budget for a screen calibration tool down the line - like a Spyder Pro or something similar - then you'll be all set up.

 

[Pete Askew]

The machine I use the most is an 'ancient', pre-Unibody MBP with a matt screen. It has a 2.4GHz processor and 6GB RAM (in theory the maximum is 4GB but you can fit a 4 and a 2GB module). The disc is easy to change and I have spare batteries. It runs LR4 and PS CS6 plus the Nik filters fine. I have never needed higher resolution while editing. I'm sure Hamish can give some feedback on the Retina display as that is what he uses.

- - - Updated - - -

I agree that the 17" is a nice machine to work on and I have one in the UK. But for travel I use my trusty (and rather battered) 15" MBP.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

I love my iMac. Best computer ever

 

[Ben Jennings]

Well, I just went ahead and ordered the retina 15". I have a 17" at work I use which is great but not exactly portable. So I'm sure the 15" will be a good option.

Cheers for letting me know how the software runs ok on it. I shall also check out the Spyder Pro.

Thanks for your help guys, I really appreciate it.

 

[Davie Hudson]

i'm actually going down on friday to get a mac mini quad core and hooking it up to a 28" tv ( i like my photos BIG ) my old iMac is quite slow when in comes to panoramas and big photo file sizes

 

[Hamish Gill]

I have a Retina mbp ... I love it! That's all I have to say really!

 

[Ben Jennings]

As do. Arrived yesterday. Awesome piece of kit.

 

[Roger Byrne]

i have Both a 27in 2.6Ghz iMAC & a 15in 2.6Ghz MBP with Retina. Both fantastic machines but the MBP is faster and the retina is gorgeous when editing. I love both and which ever you go for you will love it !!