MacBook Pro vs iMac? (A Thunderbolt dilema)

[djmattyt]

Hello!
Pending my tax return, I'm going to put some money towards a new Mac. I have a Early 2008 MBP right now that I just upgraded with a 500 GB SSD which has made leaps in performance.

I am considering getting an iMac with an external monitor, but it sort of bothers me they don't come with Thunderbolt 2 yet. I would really like to have the most up to date hardware. So I guess my questions are: Should I spend the extra $$ for the MBP? Performance wise, is the iMac generally going to be better? If I decided to go with an 4K monitor, does the iMac support that?

Thanks in advance!

 

[anon(4698833)]

Honestly, the only thing you really need to concern yourself with between the two is whether you want to have a portable notebook or a stationary desktop.

As far as I know, none of the iMac's are 4K (since the iMac is the system built into the screen itself)...and because of this, I doubt they have 4K compatibility either (since the screen itself would probably BE 4K if it was). Mac Pro's are 4K compatible, but that's a whole other league of system.

Performance wise, the iMac's have negligibly better specs than the MBP's for the same price. You won't see a difference really though in any real world usage aspect.

And as far as thunderbolt 2 goes, it really just comes down to what you intend to use it for. Considering there aren't really many accessories that actually use the technology aside from some lacie hard drives and a small handful of others...I wouldn't hold out too much over that.

 

[djmattyt]

Thanks for the input Sean!

I was leaning towards the iMac, the SSD in the 2008 MBP makes it usable enough for when I do need a portable. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't overlooking some obvious benefit to having a new MBP. Thanks again!

 

[anon(4698833)]

Portability would be the major deciding point/benefit in my opinion.