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So. An iMac or Mac Pro - it's too hard to choose.

M

MacAndy74

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Here is my dilemma.

I can't decide! 😱 My decision has been made even more difficult now that I read the initial problems with the 2009 iMac w/4850 graphics is as good as fixed.

My first 'gut feeling' choice was iMac (24", 3.06, Ati 4850 ...) I wouldn't surely need more power than a Dual Core system with 4GB RAM to use iLife and iWork tools.. 😕 I do plan on purchasing a decent HD Camera and want to edit my home movies at a decent rate, with iMovie. I also think I may want to purchase Sims 3 - I'm fond of the game and my wife loves it too.

So with those rather scant descriptions of requirements. And not looking at the money side of things. Which :apple: would I be better off with?

Thanks 😱
 
i would get a mac pro personally if $$ wasn't a factor🙁. a mac pro will last longer and you can upgrade the unit as time goes by etc, but you wont need that extra power for what your doing an imac does all those thing beautifully. But if you have all the BYOKDM stuff for a mac pro you will be satisfied longer with i think.
 
techfreak85 said:
i would get a mac pro personally if $$ wasn't a factor🙁. a mac pro will last longer and you can upgrade the unit as time goes by etc, but you wont need that extra power for what your doing an imac does all those thing beautifully. But if you have all the BYOKDM stuff for a mac pro you will be satisfied longer with i think.
Click to expand...

Hmm. Well, in my case - I can 'find' the extra $1400 AUD to go to the Mac Pro, if it means being happier for longer with my purchase.

This is the sort of configuration I'm looking for, in a Mac Pro:
 

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It sounds like an iMac will do what you're looking for, but everyone's different. For me, I couldn't justify the extra cost, especially including a new monitor with the Mac Pro.
 
MacAndy74 said:
Hmm. Well, in my case - I can 'find' the extra $1400 AUD to go to the Mac Pro, if it means being happier for longer with my purchase.

This is the sort of configuration I'm looking for, in a Mac Pro:
Click to expand...

wow thats a nice chunk of change. but nice config i guess. are AUD and american $$ the same after exchange?
 
Questions to help you decide:

1) What's your budget?
2) Do you have a decent monitor that you could hook up to the Pro?
3) How long should this computer last?

If your answers are something like this:
1: AUD$5100(with 4870, wireless, iWork)
2: Yes
3: until it flat out dies
then you should get the Pro, but if you answered like this:
1: AUD$3900(with 3.06, 4850, iWork)
2: No
3: 3-5 years
then you should get the iMac. You'll be happier with the Pros preformance though, and won't have to deal with the 4850 lockups(although they may have been fixed today, making it a sweeter, or less bitter, deal). Good luck!
SG :apple:
 
techfreak85 said:
wow thats a nice chunk of change. but nice config i guess. are AUD and american $$ the same after exchange?
Click to expand...

It is. No denying it. But if it means I'm happier for longer ... I'm willing to 'invest'.

$1 AUD is worth about $0.73 USD fyi 😉
 
Tomorrow said:
It sounds like an iMac will do what you're looking for, but everyone's different. For me, I couldn't justify the extra cost, especially including a new monitor with the Mac Pro.
Click to expand...

Yes. I've taken that into account also.

For now, I have a good Samsung SyncMaster 226BW - and for Christmas... The bearded guy might just bring me a 24" Cinema Display. I guess I better be good! 😀
 
I went through the same process. I could afford the Mac Pro, but did I really need it if the iMac did what I needed?

I ended up going with an iMac with a 4850 card. I paid under $1900 USD for it shipped.

A Mac Pro with a Radeon 4870 card and the ACD would have cost me $3300.

The way I look at it I can use the iMac for a year or two until there are substantial upgrades to the line with the addition of things like Blu-Ray burners and quad core chips.

The typical depreciation on an iMac is very very low.

So, maybe I will be out around $500 or so in depreciation when a much better iMac comes out in a year or two.

Versus spending $1400 right now and still not getting some of the things I would want (blu ray burner, super fast GPU, etc).
 
...always get the least expensive machine that will meet your needs...in the future the specs will be better and less expensive than today's costs, future proofing a machine is pointless.
 
jmpage2 said:
I went through the same process. I could afford the Mac Pro, but did I really need it if the iMac did what I needed?
Click to expand...

Thanks for your thoughts!

Some of the reasons you list about choosing the iMac right now is why I'm leaning heavily towards a Mac Pro - I can upgrade the Video card and install a Blu-Ray Drive once it's supported and I can have the Nehalem now! 😉
 
J&JPolangin said:
...always get the least expensive machine that will meet your needs...in the future the specs will be better and less expensive than today's costs, future proofing a machine is pointless.
Click to expand...

I understand, but due to tax purposes I can only buy a new and powerful computer once in every 3 years - and I don't want to do the yearly purchase cycle.
 
MacAndy74 said:
I understand, but due to tax purposes I can only buy a new and powerful computer once in every 3 years - and I don't want to do the yearly purchase cycle.
Click to expand...

Three years is about right for an upgrade cycle anyway.

What you're planning on doing is home use. Higher end home use, but home nonetheless. A Mac Pro is a waste of money. You'll see better performance and faster render times, but unless you're making money off those projects, there's no real point in going with the higher end machine.

Unless money is not an object, the iMac makes way more sense.

Also, FWIW: I see the Pro you configured has 6GB of RAM and a 1TB HDD. Buy those things aftermarket, not from Apple, and you'll save money.
 
jmpage2 said:
I ended up going with an iMac with a 4850 card. I paid under $1900 USD for it shipped.
Click to expand...
Where did you get it for that price?

And about the Pro. Personally I would only go for a complete Pro to keep things in balance. So 2 CPUs, an SSD system drive, raid controller w/ a couple of fast HDs, ATI 4870, Cinema Display and so on. That's what the Pro is designed for. If you need anything less, go for the stylish 4850 iMac and add some extra stuff like a Time Capsule, external HD for your movies etc.
 
Demosthenes X said:
Three years is about right for an upgrade cycle anyway.

What you're planning on doing is home use. Higher end home use, but home nonetheless. A Mac Pro is a waste of money. You'll see better performance and faster render times, but unless you're making money off those projects, there's no real point in going with the higher end machine.

Unless money is not an object, the iMac makes way more sense.

Also, FWIW: I see the Pro you configured has 6GB of RAM and a 1TB HDD. Buy those things aftermarket, not from Apple, and you'll save money.
Click to expand...

Hmm. Very interesting. 😱 I think I'm back again at half for iMac and half for Mac Pro...
How about Snow Leopard? I want to be able to run it really well too.
Actually, if I go for the iMac 24" / 3.06 / 4GB RAM - I'll be able to buy an iPod Touch, which I've been craving for a long time too. 😱
 
mstam said:
Where did you get it for that price?

And about the Pro. Personally I would only go for a complete Pro to keep things in balance. So 2 CPUs, an SSD system drive, raid controller w/ a couple of fast HDs, ATI 4870, Cinema Display and so on. That's what the Pro is designed for. If you need anything less, go for the stylish 4850 iMac and add some extra stuff like a Time Capsule, external HD for your movies etc.
Click to expand...

We get a corporate discount from Apple. Price came to about $1850 with free shipping.
 
mstam said:
And about the Pro. Personally I would only go for a complete Pro to keep things in balance. So 2 CPUs, an SSD system drive, raid controller w/ a couple of fast HDs, ATI 4870, Cinema Display and so on. That's what the Pro is designed for. If you need anything less, go for the stylish 4850 iMac and add some extra stuff like a Time Capsule, external HD for your movies etc.
Click to expand...

Good points too.

Wow I really appreciate the objective assistance I'm receiving here. Thanks! 😱

I do love the style / design and compactness of the iMac - a lot :apple:🙄
 
MacAndy74 said:
Hmm. Very interesting. 😱 I think I'm back again at half for iMac and half for Mac Pro...
How about Snow Leopard? I want to be able to run it really well too.
Actually, if I go for the iMac 24" / 3.06 / 4GB RAM - I'll be able to buy an iPod Touch, which I've been craving for a long time too. 😱
Click to expand...

You should remember that in single threaded tasks, the clock speed of the cpu will matter more than how many cores the CPU has. So, the 3.06ghz iMac would actually be quite a bit quicker than the entry level Nahalem Pro that would run you $2500.

If you upgraded the CPU on the 4-core Mac Pro to the clock speed of the iMac and upgraded the RAM, and added the 24" ACD to have a comparable display to what the iMac comes with you'd be looking at around a $2,000 difference in price from the iMac.

So, I'd say you could afford an iPod Touch pretty easily at that point.
 
Same kind of dilemma also

MacAndy74 said:
Here is my dilemma.

I can't decide! 😱 My decision has been made even more difficult now that I read the initial problems with the 2009 iMac w/4850 graphics is as good as fixed.

My first 'gut feeling' choice was iMac (24", 3.06, Ati 4850 ...) I wouldn't surely need more power than a Dual Core system with 4GB RAM to use iLife and iWork tools.. 😕 I do plan on purchasing a decent HD Camera and want to edit my home movies at a decent rate, with iMovie. I also think I may want to purchase Sims 3 - I'm fond of the game and my wife loves it too.

So with those rather scant descriptions of requirements. And not looking at the money side of things. Which :apple: would I be better off with?

Thanks 😱
Click to expand...

I have the same kind of dilemma. I was thinking of an iMac 2.93 (base graphics only), then moved on to thinking about an Efix Hackintosh to get more power for the price, and now I have ruled that out (it was just a phase in researching all my options) I think and am weighing up between the 2.93 iMac and the quad core Pro.

My use will be for music with Logic Studio, which does take advantage of all the cores. My last machine has lasted me a ridiculously long time, but I really need to upgrade, so while on one hand the iMac would be a massive step up in it's own right, the Pro would probably keep me going for even longer.
I can buy with UK HE discount, which makes the Pro £1,595.

If I get the iMac I would have to get a couple of external drives for recording & backup, so would save a bit of money by being able to use internal drives on the Pro.
I would have to go cheap on the monitor, but Music will be the sole purpose of the machine, I guess it really comes down to do I really need that lovely iMac display, or would the extra power and longevity of the Pro outweigh the disadvantage of having a budget monitor? I am tending towards the latter at the moment.

While I don't make any money from my music right now, I have made decent money from it in the past and I hope that upgrading my system will help me to get back into that position again, so I guess it's an investment.
This potential purchase represents an awful lot of money to me, so I am spending a lot of time trying to make the right decision.

BTW, I'm really sorry for the thread hijack, maybe I should have posted my own thread, but it seemed my dilemma was not dis-similar.
 
dryjoy said:
I have the same kind of dilemma. I was thinking of an iMac 2.93 (base graphics only)

(...)


BTW, I'm really sorry for the thread hijack, maybe I should have posted my own thread, but it seemed my dilemma was not dis-similar.
Click to expand...

No trouble. Good read. If anything I've really decided that even though I am really attracted to the elegant simplicity and compactness of the iMac - the Mac Pro (in the long run) will make me happier - I also want to add about 4GB of storage and it's easier if they're internal not external drives.

So thanks MacRumors members for all your help - I greatly appreciate your informative posts - decision has been finalized. .. ... Mac Pro it is. :apple:😉
 
MacAndy74 said:
No trouble. Good read. If anything I've really decided that even though I am really attracted to the elegant simplicity and compactness of the iMac - the Mac Pro (in the long run) will make me happier - I also want to add about 4GB of storage and it's easier if they're internal not external drives.

So thanks MacRumors members for all your help - I greatly appreciate your informative posts - decision has been finalized. .. ... Mac Pro it is. :apple:😉
Click to expand...

Congrats! And, just curious, where would you find a 4GB 3.5" HDD? Did you mean 4TB by any chance?😛
SG :apple:
 
The Mac Pro will have the nVidia GTX 285 graphics card this June, which obviously runs circles around any current Macintosh GPU anywhere.
 
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