Which options out of these 3 secondhand items should I go for? Help me decide?

[TheOutlier]

Looking for some guidance from any savvy Apple geeks who can read these specs (& relative to price) and intuitively tell me which is the best option.

I'm considering one of three options and buying second-hand.

Mainly need it for 3D & motion design work. I am upgrading from a MacBook Pro Early 2013 15-inch. Not looking for hold these for long-term as I'll be upgrading to an M1 Max (or M2 if it comes out) later in the year. Just need something IMMEDIATE that's more powerful than my current Early 2013 for some heavy work.

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MacBook Pro 2019 16-inch

* i7 2.6GHz (6-core)

* 16GB 2666MHz DDR4 RAM

* 512GB SSD

* Radeon Pro 5300M 4GB DDR6

* Price: $1150 USD (used)

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MacBook Pro 2018 15-inch

* i7 2.6GHz (6-core)

* 32GB 2400MHz DDR RAM

* 1TB SSD

* Radeon Pro 560X 4GB DDR5

* Price: $1150 USD (used)

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iMac 2017 Retina 5K

* i5 3.5GHz (quad-core)

* 32GB 2400MHz DDR4 RAM

* 1TB Fusion

* Radeon Pro 575 4GB DDR5

* Price: $770 USD (used)

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First off - are any of these genuinely good deals or not really at all?

As you can see, each has variances in the CPU, RAM, and graphics cards.

I'm wondering if the extra ram (32GB instead of 16GB) will make a huge difference between the 2019 and 2018 model and 2017 iMac.

The GPU cards - as far as I'm aware, but correct me if I'm wrong - are similar in performance.

...Out of these 3 options, which would be the best value buy?

 

[TechRunner]

If I was choosing between them, it would be the 2019 MBP. I would avoid the 2018 MBP based on keyboard issues, and the fusion drive in the 2017 iMac would steer me clear of it. That's just my opinion, though, based on my personal use case/biases. Others may differ.

 

[TheOutlier]

If I was choosing between them, it would be the 2019 MBP. I would avoid the 2018 MBP based on keyboard issues, and the fusion drive in the 2017 iMac would steer me clear of it. That's just my opinion, though, based on my personal use case/biases. Others may differ.

Thanks for replying! I would likely want to use my external Samsung T5 2TB SSD as the primary boot drive for whatever option I go with, since the 512GB SSD on the 2019 is limiting, and the 2017 has the Fusion drive.

 

[TechRunner]

Thanks for replying! I would likely want to use my external Samsung T5 2TB SSD as the primary boot drive for whatever option I go with, since the 512GB SSD on the 2019 is limiting, and the 2017 has the Fusion drive.

If using a T5 as a boot drive, that 5K screen on the iMac would be tempting...

 

[Fishrrman]

Is the iMac 27"?

If so, that would be a decent choice, UNLESS you have to have portability.

As mentioned above, although the fusion drive isn't the drive I'd choose if buying new, you have an external SSD that will make a decent external boot drive.

You can add more RAM via the door on the back.
If you're in the USA, I'd suggest:

iMac Memory Upgrades

DMS Certified Memory for all iMacs, including Intel Core i3, i5, i7 models. 100% Apple Compatible & backed by a Lifetime Warranty. Free shipping available.

www.datamemorysystems.com

One consideration about an external boot SSD:
You could nearly double your external SSD speeds by doing this:
- Get an nvme "blade" SSD (I like Crucial)
- Get a USB3.1 gen2 enclosure
- Put the drive into the enclosure (easy), then connect it to one of the USBc ports.
- Set THAT up to be the boot drive.

With a USB3 drive like the t5, you can expect read speeds around 430MBps.
With a USB3.1 gen2 drive, you can expect read speeds around 800MBps, or even a little better...

 

[Basic75]

You really should have some idea of whether 16GB of RAM is enough for your "3d and motion design" work in order to make an informed decision.

 

[MacCheetah3]

I think, the iMac is the top choice due to price, screen size, included RAM capacity, and RAM upgradeability. The 2019 MBP does have a higher performance CPU and GPU, but half the RAM and storage capacities plus costs ~50% more.

https://everymac.com/ultimate-mac-c...Pro071&prod2=iMacIntel074&prod3=MacBookPro128

Best Workstation Computer for 3D Modeling and Rendering

Best Computers & Workstations in different Tier Builds for 3D Modeling and Rendering, CPU Rendering & GPU Rendering

www.cgdirector.com

are any of these genuinely good deals or not really at all?

They are good deals — at least if you compare them to Apple refurbished.

https://www.apple.com/shop/refurbished/mac/2019-21-5-inch-27-inch

https://www.apple.com/shop/refurbished/mac/2019-macbook-pro-16gb