I have the 2017 3.1 ghz MacBook Pro. I”ve been debating on replacing my MacPro with a iMac Pro, but every time I figure out which one I want it ends up in the 7-8k range, and I really don’t need the display. My main LR library and images reside on a partition on the laptop and I use it in target disk mode on the desktop to back it up and then work on images, so I only work with a single copy of the library.
So, I have the new MacBook Pro with 2.9ghz 6 core, 560 graphics card and t2b SSD arriving on Friday. I believe it will rival the Mac Pro as a desktop (maybe even beat it in a few things) so I can sell the Mac Pro and only have to work with one machine. Hook up the OWC dock Andrew linked and I can continue to use my twin NEC 30” displays, 5 raid storage devices etc. and I”m up and running faster when I get to my main workstation because I don’t have to constantly reboot into target disk mode.
My only concern is whether 6 cores at 2.9ghz is as fast as 4 cores at 3.1ghz, although I’m assuming the core i9 tech vs the older core i7 has an impact.
Eventually I’ll move my hard drives in my 5 external raids from Thunderbolt 2 cabinets to the new Thunderbolt 3 cabinets, but for now I’ll use the TB3->TB2 adaptor.
Even though the new laptop was a little pricey, I think I can sell the current Laptop and current Mac Pro to cover some of the cost. Main advantage of the Mac Pro is 64gigs of ram, so it will be interesting to see if LR and PS run as efficiently.
Should be fun testing it all out over the weekend, I’ll see if talking myself into it actually works out.