Bang for the Buck: $2899 for a Loaded iMac 5K with Gorgeous Display, or $5K for an Apple MacBook Pro M1X?
Related: 2019 iMac 5K, 2019 Mac Pro, 4K and 5K display, Apple, Apple MacBook Pro M1, Apple Silicon, computer display, iMac, iMac 5K, laptop, Mac Pro, MacBook, MacBook Pro
Consult with Lloyd for any kind of computer purchase, RAID setup, backup strategy, Photoshop optimization, etc.
re: Apple 16" M1X MacBook Pro: Can it Beat the 2019 iMac 5K and the 2019 Mac Pro 28-Core for Most Tasks?
I expect the new Apple MacBook Pro M1 Max to outperform my 2019 iMac 5K significantly, and to outperform my 28-core 2019 Mac Pro when ~10 or fewer CPU cores are used for the task. I could be wrong of course, but that’s my prediction. We shall see when the MBP arrives for testing.
Get Apple MacBook Pro M1 Max/M1 Pro at B&H Photo and SAVE the sales tax.
But unless money doesn’t matter much, you’ll pay double or triple for a MacBook Pro system by the time you add a usable external display for photo editing.
Perhaps the about $3999 LG UltraFine 32EP950-B 31.5" 16:9 4K HDR OLED, which is a lot less useful area than a 5K display.
OTOH, for just $2869 you can get a maxed-out 2019 iMac 5K and that’s far better for anyone who works at a desk most of the time. And it comes with that gorgeous 5K screen with twice the pixels and much larger screen area than the MacBook Pro.
NOTE: the OWC refurbished iMac 5K do not come with keyboard and mouse, though I never use the wireless ones myself anyway, preferring the older and far superior wired ones, available used on Amazon.
This 2019 iMac 5K is the one I use for all my work when traveling. It is my favorite Mac of all time, and aside from very long or intensive tasks, it performs to my total satisfaction, just as well as the 28-core 2019 Mac Pro. And you can run macOS Mojave on it instead of buggy abominations like macOS Big Sur/macOS Monterey.
