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08 mac pro & unibody macbook or imac i7 and macbook? which would u choose

dudeofblokes

dudeofblokes

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 3, 2007
238
15
carrickfergus, northern ireland, united kingdom
hi guys i tell you what it is i currently have:
2008 mac pro 8 core, 6gb, 2,320 gb & the default ati graphics supplied and nvidia 8800 with a 30" dell monitor plus a unbody macbook.

my question is would selling this for the new 27" i7 imac and the white macbook be advised by anyone, is the i7 much better than the 8 cores in the mac pro seeing as little software uses them all? another factor is i live alone in a flat and with travel to work etc i need to save money the imac is complete all in one plugged item where as with the mac pro i have it and all the harddrives running, the monitor and the speakers thats 3 units drawing power surely there must be a difference in the power drawn.

i can easily get a 2tb harddrive in the imac so im not losing space, the ram i have a spare 2gb so there is the imac at 6gb ddr3 compared to the 6gb ddr2 in the pro.

i would be interested in substituting the macbook for maybe the 15" pro to supplement it.

what is your thoughts on this and would you do it?
 
dudeofblokes said:
the other problem is the mac pro is two years old and out of warranty also its a tad overkill for my needs thats why im after suggestions here
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But it's still a lot faster than iMac... More RAM, HDs, GPUs... EVERYTHING! If I had MP, I would NEVER trade it for iMac. Sure it's up to you but I'd keep what you have, it's very nice
 
I'd go with the iMac. For your needs, it sounds like it will be more than enough powerful. The Mac Pro has little added benefit. The MBP is an absolute beast of a notebook and I think the portability is crucial (for me).

I enjoy having a desktop setup and a notebook setup. I once had the iMac + PowerBook but traded up to 17" MBP and external Apple display. Now I have the best of both worlds.
 
I would buy the i7 15" and a Apple Display.

The future of technology is about being mobile and efficient. Plus with 500GB of HD or SSD you can't go wrong with storage.

The current notebooks beat out the iMacs except for the 27" i5 & i7.
 
see i currently have the 30" dell and i love the screen size the drop to the 27" shouldnt be that much , i love the look of the imac but i love the look of my pro but think its best suited for someone who can enjoy its features to the full.

im not sure what to do i love the power of a desktop.
 
dudeofblokes said:
see i currently have the 30" dell and ... im not sure what to do i love the power of a desktop.
Click to expand...

Do you love having the power, or do you love having enough power? You never mentioned what you need the power for. I say this since the first concern should be having enough power with a little to spare. What the computer looks like is secondary and apple designers make that hard to ignore - and that is no accident.

Anyway, I suggest two options:

1) Sell the MP, get a 15" i7 MBP and hook up to the 30" Dell as needed.

2) Keep what you have and just get a regular 13" MB for travel. The MB is not as nice to look at, especially when it sits next to a MBP, but alone it gets the job done.
 
I would say go for the iMac if you want to save money, and even the i5 would be plenty for your needs it sounds like. I think you could probably sell the Pro with the display and make money switching to the iMac. I don't know that it would really save you a whole lot of money on power, but it might. But like you said, there really isn't much reason to have as much power as an 8-core pro with what you need it for, so I would definitely go for the iMac.
 
i'd say keep what you have
signature_BlueFaceGlasses-98213.jpg
but if you are wanting to save some money, go with the iMac, it will be able to cope definately
 
you start of asking if the i7 imac would be faster than the mac pro, and when people suggest that you keep the mac pro you say that the macpro is over kill for you anyway? somewhat contradictory.

it seems to me like you just want the newer product! which is not a bad thing i must say. like you, i like having the latest.

if you really want the new imac and macbook i say go for it. they are great machines, and if they're powerful enough for your needs, you'll be very happy!
 
dipm06 said:
you start of asking if the i7 imac would be faster than the mac pro, and when people suggest that you keep the mac pro you say that the macpro is over kill for you anyway? somewhat contradictory.
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there is a difference between speed and the overall power lol speed difference would give it a longer life yes but the actual 8 cores of the pro are over kill for my needs, yes new kit would be great but when factoring in power costs 1 plug vs the three on the pro, monitor and speakers must be different
 
Sell everything, get a MacBook Pro and 24" ACD. There you go, portability, speed, screen, speakers, webcam, mic and everything runs from one power cord.
 
jnc said:
Sell everything, get a MacBook Pro and 24" ACD. There you go, portability, speed, screen, speakers, webcam, mic and everything runs from one power cord.
Click to expand...

but wait until WWDC 2010 to see if new ACDs are released, as there may be 27" and/or 30" ACDs for you to choose from :D
 
Hellhammer said:
But it's still a lot faster than iMac... More RAM, HDs, GPUs... EVERYTHING! If I had MP, I would NEVER trade it for iMac. Sure it's up to you but I'd keep what you have, it's very nice
Click to expand...

I would love to own a Mac Pro, while the initial cost is extreme, it is very "future-proof" due to the expandability :) while yes it may potentially be overkill at the minute... the i7 will probably be overkill for you as well, plus i am doubting very much if you have the ACD with your Mac Pro that it would consume much more electricity? As for your travelling, i would suggest the next MacBook Air release as it would be fast enough for your travels, unless you do heavy Graphics work on the go, Regards, skate71290
 
This is a really tough situation lol

Option 1) Go for an iMac and a 13" baseline MBP

Option 2) As previously stated get a nice high end MBP and grab dat 24" IPS display.

In my book option 2 is the way to go judging from your needs.
 
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