iMac do MacBook Pro?

[MrHoobs]

Hi, thinking of changing my iMac and buying an iMac Pro 14 Inch entry model.



Don’t know a huge amount about apple products. Can anyone tell me if the MacBook will be better than my current iMac? Also how much the iMac might be worth? I’m in the uk.



current iMac spec:



IMAC 27"/CTO

PROCESSOR 4.0GHz QC i7, TB up to 4.2GHz

MEMORY 16GB 1867MHz DDR3L (2x8GB)

HARD DRIVE 2TB Fusion Drive

GRAPHIC AMD Radeon R9 M395X w/4GB



I know I’ll lose the hard drive space but I have iCloud so not an issue.



MacBook spec



8-Core CPU

14-Core GPU

16GB Unified Memory

512GB SSD Storage¹

• 16-core Neural Engine
• 14-inch Liquid Retina XDR display

Thanks!

 

[wilberforce]

Looks like a fairly high spec 2015 iMac - is that right? The biggest negative is the Fusion drive, however this can be greatly improved by using an external SSD.

2015 27" iMacs are notorious for developing a pink discoloration at the edges of the display, and image retention at the edges, suggest check yours.

I used to have a 2014 27" iMac, and now have a 2020 27" iMac and the base 14" MBP M1 Pro that you are contemplating.

Yes, the 14" MBP will be better, in the sense that it will be faster - but do you need faster? Is there something that you are dissatisfied with your iMac? There is not much point in having a faster machine if it means no real benefit for your usage.
The biggest (and obvious) negative of the 14" MBP is the small screen compared to the 27" 5K screen. Although it has a higher quality screen (HDR and miniLED), 14" is a big step down from a 27" 5k screen. (Plugging in a 4k monitor is not the same.)

However, perhaps you want a smaller screen and portability, and just want to be sure the 14" MBP will perform better than what you have right now. In which case I can answer: definitely yes.

 

[MrHoobs]

Thanks for the quick reply! It’s a 2016 model, it’s a 2016 5k model if that makes a difference.

I’m getting into hobbiest video editing and now we have 4K on phones I do see the iMac slowing down.

It’s perfectly fine for everything else; I don’t really NEED a new machine, but it’s a bit of a hassle carrying the mac between rooms, say if my kids are using it for zoom calls. A laptop would be much easier and I’m guessing I could attach an external monitor tv / screen if I ever needed, not too concerned if I lose a bit of resolution as I don’t use it for gaming or anything.

 

[Fishrrman]

A 14" MBP will be a BIG JUMP ahead in terms of speeds -- particularly drive speeds.
Even the base model.

BE AWARE that revised 14" and 16" models are rumored to be coming in the next 2-3 months.
If you don't mind waiting a little longer.

 

[wilberforce]

A 14" MBP will be a BIG JUMP ahead in terms of speeds -- particularly drive speeds.
Even the base model.

BE AWARE that revised 14" and 16" models are rumored to be coming in the next 2-3 months.
If you don't mind waiting a little longer.

Possibly without the current good deals on the base models, like the base 14” for $1600 if in US

 

[wilberforce]

Thanks for the quick reply! It’s a 2016 model, it’s a 2016 5k model if that makes a difference.

Btw, minor point: There is no 2016 iMac model. You may have bought it in 2016, but it is a 2015 model, at least according to this:

Identify your iMac model - Apple Support

Use this information to find out which iMac you have, and where it fits in the history of iMac.

support.apple.com

 

[MrHoobs]

Possibly without the current good deals on the base models, like the base 14” for $1600 if in US

Thanks both. Yes I’d seen the upcoming m2 pro rumours, but bearing in mind the iPad price hike, I’m guessing the Mac Pro will get a hike too, we can get the base model for about £1700 here so I might stick with the M1 and save myself a few hundred pounds - especially if I’ll already see an improvement!

Rumours are the new one will be £400ish more over here because of component availability etc.

I always like the latest ‘tech’, but with 2 kids since I bought the iMac I can’t afford to spec to the max like last time 😬

Any idea how much my current iMac might be worth? On paper it’s good.. quad core i7, 2gb drive, 16gb ram… etc. was a beast when I bought it!

Thanks!

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Thanks both. Yes I’d seen the upcoming m2 pro rumours, but bearing in mind the iPad price hike, I’m guessing the Mac Pro will get a hike too, we can get the base model for about £1700 here so I might stick with the M1 and save myself a few hundred pounds - especially if I’ll already see an improvement!

Rumours are the new one will be £400ish more over here because of component availability etc.

I always like the latest ‘tech’, but with 2 kids since I bought the iMac I can’t afford to spec to the max like last time 😬

Any idea how much my current iMac might be worth? On paper it’s good.. quad core i7, 2gb drive, 16gb ram… etc. was a beast when I bought it!

Thanks!

If the pink edges have yet to come, then it can be sold for 600~700$ where I live.

 

[MrHoobs]

If the pink edges have yet to come, then it can be sold for 600~700$ where I live.

Yep no pink edges at all, it’s in great condition to be fair! Thanks for the advice 👍🏼