Why an iMac or Mac Mini when you can buy a MacBook Pro and dock it?

[badlydrawnboy]

How do you all think a base-level iMac Pro from 2017 would compare with a MacBook Pro 14" 10-core in terms of performance, for activities like photo editing and day-to-day tasks? I inherited this iMac Pro from a family member that passed away, and it has served me well. But now that I've bought the 14" MBP, I'm thinking of selling the iMac Pro and consolidating and just using the MBP + an external monitor as a single computer.

 

[kawa636r]

That wasn't on my radar - but firmly is now, especially with £200 cashback!

i love that monitor.
I have got the standard version without the wireless options, paid 550 euros

 

[prospervic]

Hi,

So anyone gonna use the new released m1 pro or max macbook pro as their main desktop solution? I was hoping for the mini to be refreshed with these new chips, but am now thinking of using the notebook variant of the new chips as a one all solution.

I primarily use my computer for heavy photo editing in Lightroom and video editing in Premiere Pro.
Current PC:
Intel 6700k oc'd to 4.2ghz (4 core)
GTX 1080
32gb Ram
m.2 500gb HD

These new notebooks will tear apart my current system as it stands.

Any others in the same boat?

www.bpatelphotography.com

I was thinking of replacing my Intel 16” MacBook Pro with a new M1 Pro Mac mini plus a MacBook
Air. But since Apple didn’t announce it, and the M1 Pro MBP seems like everything I was looking for, I’ll just buy that and hook it up to my LG UltraFine 5k display (as I’m doing with my Intel MBP).

 

[SHNXX]

I was considering upgrading both the iMac and MacBook Pro this year when both new refreshes come out, but seriously considering whether it makes sense to just go with MacBook Pro alone now.

 

[jz0309]

Hi,

So anyone gonna use the new released m1 pro or max macbook pro as their main desktop solution? I was hoping for the mini to be refreshed with these new chips, but am now thinking of using the notebook variant of the new chips as a one all solution.

I primarily use my computer for heavy photo editing in Lightroom and video editing in Premiere Pro.
Current PC:
Intel 6700k oc'd to 4.2ghz (4 core)
GTX 1080
32gb Ram
m.2 500gb HD

These new notebooks will tear apart my current system as it stands.

Any others in the same boat?

www.bpatelphotography.com

yea, I do LR/PS, where I am till unclear is actual RAM requirements/usage, esp with PS. PS is a RAM hog and I am content currently with my 48GB, but since "M" RAM is unified, I'd probably go with 64GB, which means a Max that with a 4 TB drive costs $5000, then a monitor and keyboard/trackpad ... monitor would have to replace my 27 iMac.
So, no, I would not use a laptop as desktop replacement, I'm expecting to get ~ 2 more years out of my iMac so will be happy to wait what the updated mini or the 27 iMac has to offer.

 

[badlydrawnboy]

yea, I do LR/PS, where I am till unclear is actual RAM requirements/usage, esp with PS. PS is a RAM hog and I am content currently with my 48GB, but since "M" RAM is unified, I'd probably go with 64GB, which means a Max that with a 4 TB drive costs $5000, then a monitor and keyboard/trackpad ... monitor would have to replace my 27 iMac.
So, no, I would not use a laptop as desktop replacement, I'm expecting to get ~ 2 more years out of my iMac so will be happy to wait what the updated mini or the 27 iMac has to offer.

This is where I ended up. After watching the event, and seeing how powerful the M1 Pro/Max MBPs are, I initially thought I'd sell my iMac, not replace it, and just use my MBP for everything. After looking into the cost of an external monitor that would be on par with the iMac 5k retina display, the dock, etc., I've decided to just wait and replace my current iMac with an M1 Pro/Max iMac. The upside is that this new iMac will have all of the latest goodies (fantastic display with built-in 1080p camera, very good audio, etc.) and the latest generation processor.

 

[Roadster Lewis]

i love that monitor.
I have got the standard version without the wireless options, paid 550 euros

I am between the MateView and the Philips 279P1. The Philips is a standard aspect ratio, but has better connectivity (90W power delivery and Ethernet).

 

[jz0309]

This is where I ended up. After watching the event, and seeing how powerful the M1 Pro/Max MBPs are, I initially thought I'd sell my iMac, not replace it, and just use my MBP for everything. After looking into the cost of an external monitor that would be on par with the iMac 5k retina display, the dock, etc., I've decided to just wait and replace my current iMac with an M1 Pro/Max iMac. The upside is that this new iMac will have all of the latest goodies (fantastic display with built-in 1080p camera, very good audio, etc.) and the latest generation processor.

I am considering a mini cause it gives you the luxury to replace your CPU/SSD etc at a much lower cost than an iMac, and a good monitor should last 6-8 years ... but still pondering that idea

 

[jefhai]

This is why I’m waiting for Apples AR glasses… if I can just have a pair of those, an iPhone for compute power, and a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard I’d be set. Assuming I can somewhat multitask on the Apple AR glasses…
I’m hoping Apple makes a new wireless protocol just for very fast video streaming. This way you can wirelessly stream your Mac Mini display and HDMI devices to Apples AR glasses when you are near by. Then leave your home with your iPhone for some light computing… Safari, Pages, Numbers, iPhone Video editing etc

 

[badlydrawnboy]

Well, this seals the deal for me (assuming it's true).

Apple Rumored to Launch 27-Inch Mini-LED iMac With ProMotion in Early 2022​

(It does say at the end of the article that a lower-cost Pro Display XDR may be forthcoming later in the year, for those that wish to stick with a MBP as their only CPU.)

 

[theluggage]

Well, this seals the deal for me (assuming it's true).

The exact date is anybody's guess, but it's hard to believe that Apple wouldn't replace the 5k iMac as part of the Apple Silicon transition.

 

[SHNXX]

If the iMac is coming out as early as feb-mar 2022, I think I may not need to go for m1 max with the MacBook Pro purchase.

 

[zoltm]

For what it's worth, a couple of years ago I lived through the position you are in right now. Our situations may not be exactly the same but if they are close, here are my thoughts:

All things being equal, buy the setup you want. Budget always impacts what we buy but if you can afford something a little more expensive I say go for it. I've spent too much money on some useless things in my life but I can't think of a time when I said "I shouldn't have bought that much memory, storage, portability, connectivity, screen, etc". In fact, most of the time, I've felt like I could have bought more computer performance than I settled on. Especially with Apple devices, they last a long time.

Timing matters. What you needed yesterday isn't what you will need tomorrow. Try to look forward as much as possible and buy what you will need for the next couple of years. Currently, I think that means portability. Most of us are a whole lot more remote than we used to be. If that is your situation, then prioritize portability.

I started with a 13" MBP and slowly grew into multiple external monitors. Over time I added eGPU, a dock, external hard drives and every couple of years I upgraded the MBP. Eventually I had a full blown workstation at home that I plugged-in to and unplugged the MBP from. After a while I got tired of the small annoyances that plugging/unplugging caused and instead of upgrading my MBP I bought a MacMini. So then I had a MacMini desktop setup like I was back in the 1990s (monitors, dock, lights, speakers, keyboard, etc) as well as an older MBP for portability. Then last year my MBP was getting a little too old and I replaced it with a middle-end 13" M1 MBA. Based on your response above I believe you are in a similar situation as I am in that we're one of the people for whom a iPad does not work. When I'm mobile, I need computer not a tablet.

So now I have a MacMini with all the peripherals like a traditional desktop setup and a M1 MBA for portability. Everything automatically syncs via iCloud, Adobe Connect, Microsoft One Drive, and Google Drive and it works pretty good 99% of the time. Every now and then, when I haven't looked at my MBA in a month, I have to open it up and let it update/sync before I grab it and go. This is hard to explain but the small but constant annoyances that happen when you unplug/replug a laptop from your desk setup every day (windows shifting all over the place, software glitches, occasional kernel panics, monitors not being recognized, bluetooth devices not connecting, drives not remounting, etc.) are about the same as the less frequent but slightly more problematic issues when you grab your separate laptop and go (a file or app isn't sync'd).

So what do I recommend? I'd say get the laptop and slowly build out a home setup (years) that you can unplug and replug from. Once you get tired of the issues that come with it, look into what's available and buy what you need then.

@WP31 Thanks a lot for a very eloquent write up sharing real life experience.

 

[zoltm]

i have a pc with dual Xeon X5650's (12 core) and 32gb of ram. a friend of mine has a base model M1 MBP. we ran cinebench on both for giggles, the MBP won.

The MB Air base model, 8GB 256G SSD, recently acquired runs circle around my vintage 2009 5,1 Intel based cMP. It has just one CPU, 4 core 5677, with 64G RAM, a RX570 AMD GPU as a daily driver. The things that bother me most though is finding the right docking station solution such that I can reuse some of the storage investment I have had on the cMP, e.g. couple NVME SSD from 512G to 2T, an external USB3 8T MyBook for Time Machine. Other than that, the extra Retina display, an Apple keyboard with Touch ID, an Apple Trackpad, is a good addition to my old work flow.

 

[jz0309]

The MB Air base model, 8GB 256G SSD, recently acquired runs circle around my vintage 2009 5,1 Intel based cMP. It has just one CPU, 4 core 5677, with 64G RAM, a RX570 AMD GPU as a daily driver. The things that bother me most though is finding the right docking station solution such that I can reuse some of the storage investment I have had on the cMP, e.g. couple NVME SSD from 512G to 2T, an external USB3 8T MyBook for Time Machine. Other than that, the extra Retina display, an Apple keyboard with Touch ID, an Apple Trackpad, is a good addition to my old work flow.

I’ve seen multiple threads on dock solutions for the MBA but unfortunately spread between the Apple silicon, Mac accessories and MBA threads, maybe do a search in those… personally I just use an Anker dongle when I need to do can’t make any recommendations

 

[zoltm]

Ok, for those ones that don't know, I'm the author of the post.
I'm just writing an update to all the followers of this topic.

I have bought the following things:

1. A Mac Mini m1, 256, 8gb
2. An Huawei Mateview display
3. A MacBook Pro 13 m1, 256, 8gb (which I was already having got)

I have tried first the Mac mini with the monitor, everything ok except some trackpad lag/issues - interferences.
Then I have tried to connect the MacBook Pro, docking it.

So, the MacBook Pro experience is same or better than Mac mini.
I just prepared the Mac mini to return to apple, cause MacBook flexibility is better than mini.
Also, the performance is the same to the Mac mini, so, why buying an Mac mini? For 400 euros MacBook has got keyboard, trackpad, battery (good for energy backup), flexibility to move on, a fantastic display.....

About the cables and the "clean desktop", my MacBook Pro is vertically docked behind my monitor, so the desktop is still clean.

Now I will wait m1x to understand if take a 16gb MacBook Pro or wait to m1x versions.

@kawa636r Thanks a lot for starting this tread, I follow it with great interest, as I am in a similar situation. I was previously mainly a very value conscious macOS user, a vintage 2009 5,1 single CPU classic MacPro (cMP) was my daily driver. The thing recently die on me and then I have to go out and look for a replacement. I guess good timing as the M1 has been out for almost a year now, I am a very conservative guy, value stability over modern performance. Put a long story short, I was torn between the base model Mac mini and MB Air.

In the end, I go with the MB Air, have had the MB A for almost 10 days now. I have to say, for my daily workflow, the MB A runs circles around my cMP. I am now using the MB A with a vintage Apple Cinema Display 30" in native 2K resolution, I like it quite a bit. The Huawei Mateview you mentioned is my top choice now if the ACD decided to fail on me. The most nagging thing I experienced so far now is the choice of a good docking station is NOT as easy as I think, especially for a value conscious guy like me. I know I know there are some $400+ Caldigit or OWC docking solution but I could not really justify when one pay $650 for the M1 Mac Mini could end up paying another $400+ just for the expansion ports!

The expandability of the cMP with all things neatly put in one large handsome casing, is what sorely missed. I have to look for some high speed external enclosures that would allow me to reuse some of my NVME SSD investment in the cMP. For those who have good experience with external NVME enclosures, do share your experiences.

If there is any readers in this thread have good recommendation for docking in sub-$200 category, good for M1, do share the choice with me. Thus far, the Anker 5-in-1 Mini TB4 Dock is in the shortlist.

The another nagging thing about the MB Air is the inability to run dual external display. This was one key thing that torn me between the Mac Mini and MB Air choices. I used to run my cMP setup with dual display, 1 2K ACD 30" + a FHD 1080P Samsung 27" 16:9. Getting the MBA to support dual external display, opens another can of worms with that Displaylink thing as Apple intentionally crippled the entry level M1 to support just single external display.

I think I would stop my rants here and look forward to some more great thoughts from the forum.

Thanks and good luck with your search!

 

[zoltm]

I’ve seen multiple threads on dock solutions for the MBA but unfortunately spread between the Apple silicon, Mac accessories and MBA threads, maybe do a search in those… personally I just use an Anker dongle when I need to do can’t make any recommendations

@jz0309 Thanks for reply. The Anker TB4 5-in-1 mini dock is indeed on the top of my watchlist.

 

[jz0309]

@jz0309 Thanks for reply. The Anker TB4 5-in-1 mini dock is indeed on the top of my watchlist.

here are a couple threads on this topic for your reading pleasure

M1 MacBook Air best USB-C dock for dual displays?

Best Thunderbolt 4 USB-C Docking Station Solution?

 

[zoltm]

here are a couple threads on this topic for your reading pleasure

M1 MacBook Air best USB-C dock for dual displays?

Best Thunderbolt 4 USB-C Docking Station Solution?

@jz0309 Thanks a lot for your kind hearted suggestion. All these TB3 + TB4 + USB4 + USB3.2 + USB 3.1 things are really making people crazy! The most nagging thing is many of those docking supplier do not provide the chip set information. For instance those using Intel chipset should be much preferred and more expensive.