I don’t know if this is the right place to discuss this topic, but I confused about which one should I get?
The 15" Macbook Pro or the iMac 5K
both of them are great, but which one is better? for everyday use and a little bit of programming?
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imac would end up being more powerful than most macbooks, even the high end ones. poorly cooled desktop CPU’s > poorly cooled laptop CPU’s. Also its got some upgradability. One big thing to do is to skip any imacs with the hard drives or fusion drives. GO directly for the cheapest SSD model. hard drives and fusion dries are garbage.
why specifically these? is anything outside Macs not an option? youll get MUCH more for your money if you avoid new apple products.
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I do love windows 10 system but i’m used to the mac os, I use it for programming and everyday use, lately I was thinking of trying to program on a windows 10 system with a 4k monitor, but I’m not sure about the experience whether I would like it or not.
IMO Linux and MacOS is best for dev work, but macs themselves arent worth the money. if you can get one second hand for a good price then absolutely but otherwise you might even want to look into hackitosh.
The 5K imac is ridiculously overpriced for what you get and apart from the screen and the looks it doesnt have much else going for it. the 13" MBP is a complete waste of cash because their performance isnt as good as you think. 15" pros are much more powerful but heavily overpriced.
get a macbook air, get a dock, get a monitor and off you go
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hmm maybe I can buy a used Macbook Pro 15 with a 4k monitor
Compared to the new MacBook pro offerings, I think the stuff with 4th gen Haswell CPUs look very good. The thermal design of the 2012 to mid 2016 Pro’s is far better than the current generation. You get what many would argue as better IO with the 2012-2016 models, and the performance of the hardware is still very, very competitive with the newer stuff. Definitely worth looking into.
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On the other hand, I find portability to be high value, but yeah, these computers can run hot because of how thin they are…
thats not a bad idea. Dont go older than 2013 retina MBP though. Also get the specs you want right away because you cant upgrade it after. Also stay away from non-retina pros. the upgradability sounds nice, but Their logic board and other parts fail often
SMC Fan Control + replace thermal paste and most peoples problems are solved.
ALso look into used 2015/2016 12" macbooks ifyou dont mind the single USB-C port. used ones go for a good price IMO. 13" rMBP is also a great option as long as you avoid the 2017 ones because the new ones are a waste of cash. Used airs are a great choice if you dont mind the low res screen.
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Mac? Are you serious? Do you even watch Level1 content? Can’t you sense Wendell’s ambivalence toward Mac? Can’t you sense Ryan’s seething hate under a veneer of mere disdain?
It’s [THE CURRENT YEAR]!!! There is no reason to get a Mac.
I’d highly recommend going for a MacBook Pro 15 with an external 4k display, as it offers you another degree of flexibility in where and how you work. That is if you don’t need the additional performance of the GPU/CPU the iMac offers.
Mac OS with a 4k display offers so much better scaling than Windows, it basically just works. I run my 32" 4k display at a scaled resolution of 3008x1692 and it is perfect - much sharper than my old 30" 2560x1600 display.
I would also highly recommend picking up a good condition used 2015 rMBP thats as fully loaded as possible. They are solid workhorses and the ThunderBolt 2 ports allow DP out for 4k 60Hz to 2 monitors or alternatively connection to an external GPU in an enclosure if required.
If money isn’t so much an issue the new MBP 15 has a much better GPU and TB3 means adding on an eGPU (now supported in MacOS) will give greater throughput than the TB2 ports of the older model. Although, I’m not sure how much GPU power you will be needing for your workload.
From someone who’s main workstation is an iMac 5K from 2015 – my advice, don’t do it.
Sure, my iMac, has served me well, but that’s because for the past decade or so I went on a pure Mac-only stint. Since then, I’ve been gradually wetting my feet back in linux-land and I’m still in the process of evaluating Fedora 26 as a workstation OS for my development work; that or Ubuntu Desktop.
Whilst I still have a couple esoteric Mac related apps, largely my work-load may be shifted to Fedora, and the apps that I cannot, would need to shift to Windows 10 - such as Adobe Premiere, Photoshop, Illustrator etc.
That said, it’s certainly nice being able to run all those things on my Mac. That said, having built a Threadripper box, with all the power that platform offers, I would have a very hard time justifying the kind of money that Apple plans to ask for their upcoming ‘modular’ Mac.
Instead, I would much rather go the route of a Hackintosh, and that’s most likely where I’m headed. All the best in making your decision.
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Apple currently doesn’t make a desktop that is worth buying, not even by their standards.
For MacBook Pros: I agree with @TheCaveman. Get the 2015 model! The screen is great, the keyboard is fine, the touchpad doesn’t get in the way and you don’t have to deal with that stupid emoji bar. The performance differences between Haswell and Sky-/Kabylake are marginal, the difference in connectivity between the two is night and day.
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I know I am a bit late, but realistically how much are you actually programming?
I program for a living, and I use both mac and linux.
I prefer to stay in linux. I use gnome, and I have tweaked it to resemble OSX, but it is a million times easier to use. Window snapping, drop down terminals, and task overview work a heck of a lot better in linux than mac.
The only advantage mac actually has is that I can run MS office and Adobe products on it. And thats about it.
The big factor is screen resolution. The higher ppi you can get the better. Anything that is going to make the text more clear and easier to read is going to save your eyes.
In my opinion I would totally do the macbook just because OSX is prime for mobile use. Any laptop I can put OSX on I love it forever.
I agree. As much as I like linux and try to move there with as much stuff as possible, it is hard to get it there usability wise. And one of the main things is still the apple touchpad.
Agreed. Older macbooks are still 14nm and have better thermal design and IO. Same as what you said.
Definitely dual/multi boot w linux
I haven’t really had problems with the GNOME or even Unity interface tbh and I am use to Windows still.
It’s not just the software. Did you ever have a macbook in use for a period of time?