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Buy a maxed out i7 iMac or wait on the Mac Pro?

J

JWSandi

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 19, 2008
120
0
Trashville, TN.
Looking to replace my aging yet still functioning 2008/09 iMac. Its been a real trooper, all I've done it upgrade the ram over the years.

She runs pretty good considering her age.

But the time has come to start shopping for her replacement.

I'm looking at two options.

First maxing out a 27 inch iMac with a...

3.4GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz

16GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM (maybe 32 GB, not sure yet...)

3TB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680MX 2GB GDDR5

And an Apple USB SuperDrive
Click to expand...

Or should I wait and see what the newly announced Mac Pro will bring and at what price?

I'm not into graphics/video/photoshop... just game alot via windows bootcamp. So I'm not sure if the Mac Pro would be of use to me, outside the idea of running the powerhouse on a nice 30 inch Dell Ultra Sharp Monitor for gaming...

Which would you do?
 
If I were you and could wait a month or so, I'd probably wait and order the iMac after it's updated with the Haswell processor and other options. Otherwise, buy now.
 
Also can I run a 30 inch display for gaming in boot camp from the aforementioned iMac?

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Bear said:
If I were you and could wait a month or so, I'd probably wait and order the iMac after it's updated with the Haswell processor and other options. Otherwise, buy now.
Click to expand...

Also an option, plus the video cards could be updated too... :)
 
A Pro would be a very different set of numbers. Let's say an updated Tbolt monitor OR a Dell 27/30, plus the base machine. I'd guess the bill would start around 5k if you can get it that low.

It's possible they might configure some type of base model to meet 4k, but it didn't look like it in the preview.
 
JWSandi said:
I'm not into graphics/video/photoshop... just game alot via windows bootcamp. So I'm not sure if the Mac Pro would be of use to me, outside the idea of running the powerhouse on a nice 30 inch Dell Ultra Sharp Monitor for gaming...

Which would you do?
Click to expand...

Get the iMac.

While I expect the Mac Pro to offer lower level GPUs then the two bad-dogs they showed in the demo, it looks like this machine is being aimed primarily at video production houses so I really don't expect to see a general "gaming" GPU option. The Mac Pro also only uses SSDs for internal storage. Taken together, it is going to be probably double (or more) in price compared to the iMac configuration.
 
I hate to be that guy. But if you are going to spend all of your time in bootcamp gaming why do you not just buy a gaming desktop or build one yourself? Even if a Mac Pro does come out with a gaming graphics card it is unlikely that it will be very price competitive against a custom built gaming desktop. Apple computers are good for many things but gaming still isn't one of them. Even the iMac uses a mobile graphics card which pales in comparison to a desktop version.
 
I went thru this scenario myself recently with the only difference being I'm a photographer and not a gamer. I've been using my 2010 17" mbp for the better half of 3 years and needed something with more horsepower as lightroom and photoshop were really wearing it out. I considered going big and purchasing a Mac Pro as a couple of hexacore procs does sound very tantalizing - however - I decided to be a little more realistic and go the more 'prosumer' route by getting an almost-maxed out iMac instead. I've probably put about 20-30 hours of use into it over the course of the last 72 hours since it was delivered and let me say this machine is downright amazing. Tasks such as importing RAW files from an SD card, zooming in and out when viewing the images, using brushes to make adjustments to the images, and exporting them in high resolution formats have all been sped up significantly. However even with all the power I am still maxing out my 8gb of RAM as Activity Monitor currently shows 3.92gb of page outs!! :eek: That's ok though as I can upgrade this new iMac up to a whopping 32gb of RAM, something my mbp could only dream of! I had maxxed out my mbp at 8gb and even installed an SSD but it was still laggy when trying to work in lightroom and photoshop.

Get the iMac. You are not going to regret it.
 
As an owner of the current 27" with all the upgrades, I'd say hold out for the next round of updates to the iMac and price of the new Mac Pro. Then make up your mind.

My bet is the base model Mac Pro will still cost more than the top iMac with updates once you add a decent 27" or bigger LCD to match the iMac's.
 
JWSandi said:
Also can I run a 30 inch display for gaming in boot camp from the aforementioned iMac?

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Also an option, plus the video cards could be updated too... :)
Click to expand...

video cards will be updated too for sure, probably with the 780M the fastest mobile GPU so a little bit faster (not much) than the 680MX. If Nvidia will do again for the iMac again the top end mobile GPU faster i mean 780MX...this will kill some desktop PC gaming machines..
 
JWSandi said:
Or should I wait and see what the newly announced Mac Pro will bring and at what price?
...
Which would you do?
Click to expand...

Considering they have not announced a pro yet I would wait for them to do so if you want to go that route. Oh, do you mean the mini deluxe?
 
I think in the next upgrade the high end 27" imac will by default with i7 quad core cpu at the same price
 
JWSandi said:
just game alot via windows bootcamp.
Click to expand...

Then why pay the 'apple tax' for a new Mac? Build/buy a Windows gaming PC and save a bundle. Even buying one of those nice Dell 27" monitors and building a pretty good gaming PC will save you at least $1000 compared to a max'd out 27" iMac. I'm guessing your current iMac is good enough for everything except gaming. If that's the case, then keep it as well. A $10 USB switch makes it easy to use both on the same desktop.

That's what I do. I have a Windows gaming PC for games and a 13" MBP for everything else.
 
mslide said:
Then why pay the 'apple tax' for a new Mac? Build/buy a Windows gaming PC and save a bundle. Even buying one of those nice Dell 27" monitors and building a pretty good gaming PC will save you at least $1000 compared to a max'd out 27" iMac. I'm guessing your current iMac is good enough for everything except gaming. If that's the case, then keep it as well. A $10 USB switch makes it easy to use both on the same desktop.

That's what I do. I have a Windows gaming PC for games and a 13" MBP for everything else.
Click to expand...
Whereas I have an iMac that covers all my needs. Why should I pay extra for a custom built PC for gaming when those games I play work fine on an iMac.
 
I don't see how you can consider a "maxed out" iMac to include a regular HDD? Albeit a 3TB one.

Get the top end SSD or Fusion drive at least.

Oh and get the iMac and if you want hardcore gaming buy a PC.
 
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