Another "which mac to buy" thread...

[odedia]

OKay.... so I'm pretty much set on getting a brand new mac, replacing the flawed MBP that I returned (see my sig).

I checked out B&H Photo Video (bhphoto.com), cause they are kind enough to do shipping to Israel where I live, and sadly with all taxes and shipping costs, they are STILL cheaper than the quoted prices on the Apple representative here in Israel (Yeda Computers).

So I'm considering 2 options:

Option 1:

Apple Customized 24" iMac with 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, 2GB (2x1GB) RAM, 500GB SATA Hard Drive, Dual-Layer SuperDrive, nVIDIA GeForce 7600GT Graphics, 24" Widescreen Display, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, Airport Extreme, Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger

Price: $ 2,748.50 Shipping: 209$ (Israel Taxes: 15.5% on Price+Shipping)

Option 2:

Apple Customized Mac Pro Desktop Computer Workstation 2.66GHz Dual Intel Dual-Core Xeon 5100 Series CPU, 1GB (2x512MB) RAM, 500GB SATA Hard Drive, 16x Dual-Layer SuperDrive, ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512MB Graphics, Airport Extreme, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger

Price: 2999$, Shipping: 299$ (Israeli taxes: add 15.5%)

Now, the obvious big plus of the iMac is that excellent 24" display. I don't have an LCD monitor at the moment, only a crappy old 17" CRT monitor. I MIGHT consider living with it for the time being until I can get a good deal on an LCD monitor.

My big plus for the Map Pro, aside from the better specs, is the ability to replace the processors in the future to get 8 cores of power, plus ofcourse changing anything I can possible think of.

Regarding the usual "what do you do with it" question, the answer is pretty much everything: Programming (In Java + Eclipse), video editing from time to time for fun, surfing, gaming here and there... I really enjoy the computing world to its limit.

Would appriciate some feedback, especially if you happen to own any of these systems, or both.

Thanks!

 

[odedia]

I guess everyone's a little tired of these types of posts, hey?

 

[Allotriophagy]

I guess everyone's a little tired of these types of posts, hey?

Get the Mac Pro. Get a good monitor later.

NEXT!

 

[amin]

I agree - would get the Mac Pro, for the reasons you mentioned. A good 20" monitor can be had for not much, or you can wait and get a 24 incher. If you get the iMac, I'd get it with the specs you mentioned. If you get the Mac Pro, consider configuring with 4 x 512MB RAM (Apple's RAM isn't all that much more $$ than the competition in this case) and saving money by getting a smaller hard drive (Apple charges too much here - better to buy separately).

 

[generik]

Mac Pro. More longevity.

 

[miles01110]

Mac Pro.

 

[odedia]

I accept the remarks on the hard drives offered by Apple to be too expensive.

Can anyone recommend other dealers besides B&H that offer customized setups? Unfourtonutly, they only offer a setup of 1900XT along with a 500GB drive at the moment. (I'm not getting one from apple cause I want to save on taxes - otherwise I'll have to pay taxes twice. once in the US and once in Israel.)

 

[pianoman]

Mac Pro. No question.

 

[miles01110]

I accept the remarks on the hard drives offered by Apple to be too expensive.

Can anyone recommend other dealers besides B&H that offer customized setups? Unfourtonutly, they only offer a setup of 1900XT along with a 500GB drive at the moment. (I'm not getting one from apple cause I want to save on taxes - otherwise I'll have to pay taxes twice. once in the US and once in Israel.)

SmallDog might ship internationally, not sure though. Otherwise I think Macmall does custom units.