Should I sell my new Mac Pro/Display for an iMac?

[jpsimon]

Hey guys, I'm in a weird situation. Recently I needed to buy a powerful desktop machine for work to handle some intensive after effects projects. I ended up getting:

Mac Pro:
dual quad-core 2.26ghz
10gb ram (6gb original + 4gb 3rd party)
640gb HD
Radeon HD 4870
AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi Card

and a...

24" Cinema Display

for a total of $4023 after the educational discount.

Since then I've seen the recent iMac benchmark tests and was very impressed. The past couple days I've been eyeing the 27" iMac... I'd get:

2.8ghz core i7
4gb ram (i'd up that an additional 10 or so after)
1tb HD
Radeon HD 4850

for a total of $2079 after education discount


Should I sell the new Mac Pro on ebay and pocket the difference (~$1000 best case scenario)?? I'd have a larger screen, some better performance in most tasks but slightly less performance in a couple things....

I'm really leaning towards getting the iMac... what do you guys think??

[No ice please]

You should be able to get at least $2000 for the mac pro keep the 4gb of ram for the imac. If you sell the ACD you can spend the money from that on imac accessories or a MBA or macbook.

[SnowLeopard2008]

Originally Posted by jpsimon

Hey guys, I'm in a weird situation. Recently I needed to buy a powerful desktop machine for work to handle some intensive after effects projects. I ended up getting:

Mac Pro:
dual quad-core 2.26ghz
10gb ram (6gb original + 4gb 3rd party)
640gb HD
Radeon HD 4870
AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi Card

and a...

24" Cinema Display

for a total of $4023 after the educational discount.

Since then I've seen the recent iMac benchmark tests and was very impressed. The past couple days I've been eyeing the 27" iMac... I'd get:

2.8ghz core i7
4gb ram (i'd up that an additional 10 or so after)
1tb HD
Radeon HD 4850

for a total of $2079 after education discount


Should I sell the new Mac Pro on ebay and pocket the difference (~$1000 best case scenario)?? I'd have a larger screen, some better performance in most tasks but slightly less performance in a couple things....

I'm really leaning towards getting the iMac... what do you guys think??

Do you need the upgradeability of the Mac Pro? It has DDR3 ECC fully buffered ram versus the consumer DDR3. Also, you're missing out on the octo-core Nehalem workstation class processor versus the quad core consumer desktop class Core i7. If you don't care/want/need the extra performance/expansion, then why not? If you do, then keep the Mac Pro.

[jpsimon]

well those recent benchmarks showed the quad core iMac outperforming my current 8-core setup in a bunch of tests. I'd end up maxing out the iMac memory most likely to get the most out of it.

I don't need the expandability of the Mac Pro... I feel like the iMac is just a better option for now. Plus I'd be getting a 3" larger screen...


* I already have a 17" macbook pro

[trip1ex]

What's the point?

You're just going to want the new Mac Pro when it comes out in 3 months.

[jpsimon]

because I'd recoup some money and have a bigger screen with mostly the same if not better performance overall. I wouldn't get the new mac pro in 3 months either way so that doesn't enter into it.

[DEE9299]

its comes down to what your needs are for now and in the future..... if the 27 imac will support your needs now and in the future then go for it but you will lose being able to take your macbook out with you...otherwise go for it

[J&JPolangin]

...make sure you can sell your MP for what "you want" out of it before you go spending on the iMac and losing a bunch of $$ over the new "want"...

[trip1ex]

Originally Posted by jpsimon

because I'd recoup some money and have a bigger screen with mostly the same if not better performance overall. I wouldn't get the new mac pro in 3 months either way so that doesn't enter into it.

The way I see it is (according to your numbers) you will end up paying over $3000 for a 27" iMac because you'll lose $1k on your Mac Pro setup and pay $2k for the iMac. And that's if you don't upgrade the RAM in your iMac.

I also wonder if this notion to get an iMac is made by the same mindset that bought the Mac Pro recently.


If you're every going to need more than a 1TB of disc space or want to add a BR drive later on or a better vid card the MP is the way to go. If USB3 comes out or the new optical bus then there's a chance you can add a card to the MP to support that.

Anyway don't know what you use your machine for and what you will use it for in the future so the only person that can really answer the question is yourself.

Also we don't know what you'll get for your Pro and monitor if you resell it.