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Mac Pro not much faster than imac

frocco

frocco

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 27, 2009
498
43
Hello,

I just purchased the base model (2499.00) and increased memory to 8 mb by adding OWC memory.

I really do not see that big a difference between this and the i7 imac.
Seeing as this was around 1300.00 more including the 27" cinema display.

I also noticed my remote does not work for frontrow.

Wondering if I should exchange it for the imac and take the 10% hit.
It was real easy to add memory through. Great design.
 
What did you expect?

The base Mac Pro has basically the same processor as the i7 iMac. So if you're doing CPU intensive work, it's not a miracle that the machines are equally fast.

And your remote doesn't work because the Pro doesn't have an IR receiver. There are third party receivers/software, though. Search for Mira and you'll find what you need.
 
I do home finance, some video encoding, web development and gaming.
I thought it would be better for video and adding more storage without having external drives on my desk.
 
For video editing, gaming and anything that uses the gpu the Mac Pro is easily the better choice. Both current Mac Pro desktop gpus (the ati 5770 and the 5870) outperform the iMacs mobile gpu.

Also the Mac Pro won't heat up so much when you play for some hours or leave the machine rendering during the night.

Keep your Mac Pro.
 
Good points.
I wanted the 8-code, but could not afford it.
 
For professional use, the Mac Pro is THE preferred option. I threw in 64 GB of RAM in mine, and so far I have surpassed 40 GB used (obviously no Page outs), so using an iMac would strangle me big time even with the RAM maxed out. And 5 internal hard drives is still a wet dream with the iMac, not to mention the upgradable graphics card.
 
Thanks, that is encouraging.
I guess this should last me for awhile.
 
chaosbunny said:
For video editing, gaming and anything that uses the gpu the Mac Pro is easily the better choice. Both current Mac Pro desktop gpus (the ati 5770 and the 5870) outperform the iMacs mobile gpu.

Also the Mac Pro won't heat up so much when you play for some hours or leave the machine rendering during the night.

Keep your Mac Pro.
Click to expand...

Garamond said:
For professional use, the Mac Pro is THE preferred option. I threw in 64 GB of RAM in mine, and so far I have surpassed 40 GB used (obviously no Page outs), so using an iMac would strangle me big time even with the RAM maxed out. And 5 internal hard drives is still a wet dream with the iMac, not to mention the upgradable graphics card.
Click to expand...

All good points but completely irrelevant when you read what the OP will actually be using his machine for! When he said 'video encoding' I took that to mean e.g. ripping a DVD rather than rendering 3d movie scenes.
Gaming is the only area I think the Mac Pro is going to make a difference for the OP and even that depends on what games he is playing.
And of course not having loads of external drives cluttering up his desk!!
 
Last edited:
Call of Duty - Black Ops
Metal of Honor

Just these two currently.

I did not want two computers, (no room) so I opted for the mac.
I was looking at an HP i7 for 1200.00 that had a nvidia 430 in it.
 
frocco said:
Call of Duty - Black Ops
Metal of Honor

Just these two currently.

I did not want two computers, (no room) so I opted for the mac.
I was looking at an HP i7 for 1200.00 that had a nvidia 430 in it.
Click to expand...

Fair enough, I would definitely prefer a Mac Pro if I could afford one!
 
imac is an insult due to lack of connectivity and lack of access to hdds. if you can afford a mac pro keep it. a mac pro can hold four 3tb hdds and a fifth ssd in the second optical bay. that is 12tb storage and osx. imac can't touch that. also see this link

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1065243/


you can add an 8 bay unit for 225 on sale to 400 so 2 pieces of gear and 36tb!
the best an imac can do with real speed is 6tb (maybe 9tb) and you need to void your warranty by adding the owc esata mod. ( by the way a non port multiplier) the esata jack will allow a 2 bay sans digital towerstor. so 36tb with ease vs 6tb with a hard to do mod.
 
Speed can be pretty much the same depending on what you are doing. However the Mac Pro is designed to run under full load at all times so if you give it big jobs to do then it will run much cooler than the iMac.

With what you describe you could easily switch to an iMac. Unless you have a use for the increased storage capacity then I don't think you will get as much value from it. Gaming is the only real plus I see.
 
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