So its time to upgrade my 2011 iMac with a 2.7ghz i5 and 32gb of ram. When I first bought it I was only shooting part time photography and editing small amounts of files. Well 3 years later I now am in need of a much faster processor for my RAW image processing. Ive considered simply selling my mint iMac and using the cash towards a new loaded i7 iMac or simply keeping it and using it as a monitor for the new Mac Pro base model. I would do the ram upgrades myself to save money. Basically I need processing power and multitasking power, plus the ability to upgrade down the road in the future. I feel as though I have finally out grown my iMac with the 2.7 i5. Processing 500-1000 36mp images takes forever in Lightroom.
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Mac Pro vs iMac - Sell 2011 iMac i5 and get new one or keep and use as a monitor?
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If you're never going to boot that iMac up again, and just intend to use the display, you'll almost certainly get more value out of it by selling it and using the money to buy a monitor. Either a nice 4K monitor, or something equal to the current iMac screen, and the rest of the cash can go towards your Mac Pro purchase.
To give you an idea: Gazelle will take your iMac for around $400. Though you can probably get $100-$200 more for it if you sell it yourself on eBay.
To give you an idea: Gazelle will take your iMac for around $400. Though you can probably get $100-$200 more for it if you sell it yourself on eBay.
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600.00 isnt enough to cover an apple cinema display which what my 27" will turn into along with thunderbolt ports etc for charging. At least this is how I figured it out. I really have no need for a 4k screen yet and will wait till apple releases their own 4k cinema display. Im not a fan of the matte Dell Ultra sharps etc.
A TOTL iMac is faster than a 4-core Mac Pro.
The Mac Pro has dual GPUs and can accept more and better memory. You can also later upgrade the SSD drive and also the CPU within limits. The Mac Pro runs cooler with less chance of a trip to the shop and a monitor issue is much easier to deal with. Using the iMac as the display also gives you a back up Mac in a pinch.
So is the additional cost of the Mac Pro vs the iMac worth it for you?
The Mac Pro has dual GPUs and can accept more and better memory. You can also later upgrade the SSD drive and also the CPU within limits. The Mac Pro runs cooler with less chance of a trip to the shop and a monitor issue is much easier to deal with. Using the iMac as the display also gives you a back up Mac in a pinch.
So is the additional cost of the Mac Pro vs the iMac worth it for you?
It seems as though its only a few hundred more than a similarly based iMac 27". And yea I totally agree with the back up computer.
I faced a similar dilemma about 18 mos or more ago. But I was going hackintosh since the Mac Pro was still iffy (and boy, glad I didn't wait).
I was probably gonna get around the same amount, although my hackintosh would cost way less than a nMP. But having a second computer has always been my primary backup, because it's one thing to have your data, but it's another to be able to keep using it.
As things turned out, never needed the backup. And it does use more power as a monitor than a dedicated monitor. But right now I'm using it for the Yosemite beta, for a virtual PC, and some other stuff. And I use it to serve media, run older systems, and occasionally other stuff. Glad I kept it. I too use Lightroom and RAWs a lot, and it's nice to have two identical IPD 2560x1440 monitors as well (I have a Monoprice one).
If you do wanna lose it, I'd suggest seeing if you could maybe be better value by trading for a MBP or something else to use to complement your desktop; perhaps you'd get a better deal that way.
I was probably gonna get around the same amount, although my hackintosh would cost way less than a nMP. But having a second computer has always been my primary backup, because it's one thing to have your data, but it's another to be able to keep using it.
As things turned out, never needed the backup. And it does use more power as a monitor than a dedicated monitor. But right now I'm using it for the Yosemite beta, for a virtual PC, and some other stuff. And I use it to serve media, run older systems, and occasionally other stuff. Glad I kept it. I too use Lightroom and RAWs a lot, and it's nice to have two identical IPD 2560x1440 monitors as well (I have a Monoprice one).
If you do wanna lose it, I'd suggest seeing if you could maybe be better value by trading for a MBP or something else to use to complement your desktop; perhaps you'd get a better deal that way.
Possibly. I've seen listings for that much on eBay, no actual bids on those listings.