OS X What would you pick

[langl3y]

I am looking into getting a mac and unable to pick which to get. My general uses would be normal mail, surfing net and things like that. I will be doing a bit of gaming.

The machines i have looked at are:

27" imac mid - top spec
15" rMBP - Top spec

I have recently looked into the mac pro (Although id need to buy a screen) would that be any good of gaming?

Appriciate the comments and any other feedback and suggestions people would think

Lloyd

 

[Wardenski]

I vote for iMac. Big screen, decent resolution and decent GPU on the top spec.

Mac Pro isn't worth considering in this context, far too expensive for what it is.

 

[Cougarcat]

If you don't need the portability, get the iMac. Wait til the 16th, obviously.

If you can afford it, get the Mac Pro. Yes, it is expensive for what it is and what you will be using it for, but it will last forever, and play anything without a sweat.

The thing about the iMac is that it has a mobile GPU. It's a decent mobile GPU (unlike some previous years' ) but then you are pairing it with a huge 27" display, which is not a good pairing for long-term performance. It can run pretty much anything fine right now, but that probably won't be the case in a few years, especially since we are at the start of a new console generation.

Ideally, Apple would make a Mac Pro lite (the long-desired xMac), but I don't see that ever happening.

 

[VI™]

I am looking into getting a mac and unable to pick which to get. My general uses would be normal mail, surfing net and things like that. I will be doing a bit of gaming.

The machines i have looked at are:

27" imac mid - top spec
15" rMBP - Top spec

I have recently looked into the mac pro (Although id need to buy a screen) would that be any good of gaming?

Appriciate the comments and any other feedback and suggestions people would think

Lloyd

I have the newest rMBP with dedicated GPU, it just doesn't have a 1TB drive in it. It's just OK for gaming. I'm finding I have to run most games at around 1900 max resolution and around medium or just slightly higher graphics to get a decent frame rate and the fans run the entire time you have pretty much any game at all up. A gaming machine it is not. The iMac should naturally run cooler, but I couldn't tell you what the performance is like on one.

 

[Solomani]

"gaming" and "laptop" should not be used in the same sentence. they (generally) do not go together.

just like "drinking" and "driving"…. two things that don't do well together.

I know this viewpoint is extreme… and I understand that some very uber-high-end (expensive!!!) Macbook Pros have the hardware to allow them to run some games just fine. But that's the exception rather than the rule.

 

[VI™]

"gaming" and "laptop" should not be used in the same sentence. they (generally) do not go together.

just like "drinking" and "driving"…. two things that don't do well together.

I know this viewpoint is extreme… and I understand that some very uber-high-end (expensive!!!) Macbook Pros have the hardware to allow them to run some games just fine. But that's the exception rather than the rule.

Gaming and Apple laptops don't go together. There are more powerful Windows laptops like Alienware and Razer that will game. Even some mid level laptops with a good GPU will do well because they're larger and being plastic instead of metal will not physically burn you when putting any type of strain on the graphics card.