iMac or Mac Pro [Archive] - MacRumors Forums

MacClaus

Oct 21, 2009, 12:26 AM

I would like to buy a new Mac, replacing my oldie (G5 Quad).

What you think is the best choice for Photoshop/InDesign CS4, Lightroom, Nikon Capture NX

iMac 27" (2,8 GHz) with 12 GB RAM

or

Mac Pro Quad (2,93 GHz), maybe 6-core in spring... with 12 GB RAM.

I also must replace my display.... I don't know how much better is the iMac 27" display against the 24".

Thanks for an advice.

Dr.Pants

Oct 21, 2009, 12:41 AM

Well, nobody's done a review of the iMac screen, so if you go that route, I would recommend keeping your old display and buying an adapter if you're an early adopter, just for safety's sake. What is your old display, might I ask? Aluminum Cinema Display?

thegoldenmackid

Oct 21, 2009, 12:58 AM

Mac Pro.

Sun Baked

Oct 21, 2009, 01:10 AM

Wait for comments on people about the new screen, generally the iMacs have been geared towards consumers so the screen have not always been the best platform for professionals.

Always look fantastic, but there are always complaints ... wait, see what is said.

However, if good enough is the standard, instead of absolutely critical it be exact, they should be fine.

---

Though how you used the drive bays and expansion of the current machine should be the tell, if you are still plugging away with the original HD and don't hammer the optical the iMac may be a good choice ...

MacClaus

Oct 21, 2009, 01:19 AM

What is your old display, might I ask? Aluminum Cinema Display?

Well, I'm still using the 23" Cinema display.

I need the Mac for private use, but the new Mac should last 4-5 years. I don't need the Mac (iMac or Mac Pro) for gaming.

macfrik

Oct 21, 2009, 01:34 AM

pukifloyd

Oct 21, 2009, 01:44 AM

I would wait until more reviews of the new iMac are out or if the mac pro is also updated with i7...you can check out the 27inch iMac at apple store and check it out yourself if you like the screen...

remember imac will be a lot cheaper than mac pro...if you really need that much power then only i'll suggest you buy mac pro...

good luck

parakiet

Oct 21, 2009, 04:40 AM

I opted for the Mac Pro. You said that the Mac should last 4-5 years, when new graphic card is released, you can easily upgrade it. In iMac, the graphic card is not upgradeable. You can also opt up to 16GB of memory in Mac Pro.

the new imac has extra ramslots

macclaus, why should you buy a mac pro 'now'?
if you have good reasons.. you should buy one.

upgrade possibility:
imac: all external except ram
mac pro (now): internal and external with a big side mark

the mac pro costs more for less so you will be paying for the upgrade possibility and the upgrade itself

i'm using the same programs as you and that imac realy looks nice.. although i'll prolly wait for the new line mac pro and make a decision then

Bartman01

Oct 21, 2009, 09:18 AM

If you can wait till the 2010 Mac Pros are out, do so and make your decision then.

For right now, the iMac is better value for the $$ - BUT:
iMac has an unknown screen for color matched work - wait for reviews.
iMac can only drive 2 total monitors - one internal and one external. If you want 3 monitors you can't do it.
If you want to edit video down the road and add an NTSC (or PAL) monitor in addition to your 2 monitors then you can't.
If you want 2 IDENTICAL monitors then you are SOL with the iMac for now.
No matte screen option for the iMac.
With the iMac, any single component failure (graphics, monitor, HD, etc) means you lose the whole machine while apple works on it.
RAM for the iMac will be more expensive if you need 12-16GB.

For the 'normal' user, the iMac is a fine choice. For the 'pro' user, it depends on what your needs are. If the limitations of the iMac are acceptable, then go for it.

jeenyusboy5

Oct 21, 2009, 10:26 AM

If you can wait till the 2010 Mac Pros are out, do so and make your decision then.

iMac can only drive 2 total monitors - one internal and one external. If you want 3 monitors you can't do it.

It would be possible to run three monitors with one of these:

http://nexus404.com/Blog/2009/04/29/owc-usb-to-dvi-hdmi-vga-display-adapter-for-mac-pc-setups/

parakiet

Oct 21, 2009, 10:29 AM

RAM for the iMac will be more expensive if you need 12-16GB.

ain't it the same as the qaud mac pro?

iZac

Oct 21, 2009, 11:43 AM

There should be a sticky thread that dynamically updates with the pros and cons of the current generation iMac / Mac Pro. Spec lists, xbench results, price points and some objective comments on what models are best value for money and what tasks each machine would be best suited toward.

It would seriously help a lot of people.

At current specs / price i would lean toward the iMac, since mostly your work seems to be DTP and Photoshop. (plus you can use your current display as a secondary monitor) But if you want to blast the RAM on it at a later date naturally the Pro will be more accommodating for you.

But yeah, monitor quality is an unknown at this point.

Edit: scratch that, 4-5 years? Mac Pro.

Bartman01

Oct 21, 2009, 01:20 PM

It would be possible to run three monitors with one of these:

http://nexus404.com/Blog/2009/04/29/owc-usb-to-dvi-hdmi-vga-display-adapter-for-mac-pc-setups/

Have you actually researched these? Can't drive even a 24" monitor, and no video acceleration/overlay. Pretty much useless for anything beyond basic application (word processing, etc) use on a smaller monitor.

BeerdedOne

Oct 21, 2009, 01:30 PM

RAM for the iMac will be more expensive if you need 12-16GB.

Do you say this because there are only 4 RAM slots, and you must use 4GB modules to get to 16GB? The same argument can be made for the Quad Mac Pro. But isn't non-ECC memory going to be cheaper in general than the ECC memory for the Mac Pro?

RebootD

Oct 21, 2009, 01:46 PM

Bartman01

Oct 21, 2009, 01:51 PM

ain't it the same as the qaud mac pro?

I thought the iMac used laptop memory, which is usually more expensive per GB than desktop memory.

Umbongo

Oct 21, 2009, 02:23 PM

I thought the iMac used laptop memory, which is usually more expensive per GB than desktop memory.

It does. You are looking at $150 per 4GB DIMM for the Mac Pro and $300 per SO-DIMM for the iMac currently.

BeerdedOne

Oct 21, 2009, 02:38 PM

Ah, so they moved to Desktop CPUs for the Quads but retain the SO-DIMM mobile RAM.. currently 4GB sticks going for $247 at OWC versus $164 for MacPro ECC..

DaSal

Oct 21, 2009, 03:34 PM

Out of interest, does anybody know if the new iMacs with the Quad Core 2,8ghz (the hyper-threaded one, so 8 virtual cores or something?) will outperform, or have similar performance, to my older Mac Pro with the 8-core 2,8hz Intel Xeon processor?

Bartman01

Oct 21, 2009, 03:51 PM

As a graphic designer I moved from an iMac to the Quad MP and even though I know I got taken price wise I don't regret it.

Mac Pro:
+ Stuff it with 4 HDDs or SSDs
+ RAID options
+ Buy separate Matte LCD w/ hardware calibration (Lacie, NEC or Eizo)
+ 2x FW800, 2X Ethernet, More USB
+ ECC Ram (Plus Octo has 8 RAM slots)
+ GFX options (even at a serious premium)

Don't forget that once you get your color workflow down, changing computers doesn't also mean changing monitor(s) and resetting your color workflow back to square one.