Buying a new mac

[SPdavid87]

(imaginative title i know)

Now i work with macs all the time, I support an apple xsan, but I don't actually own one myself (my previous work supplied me with a laptop to work from home with but my new role doesn't supply one)

However I do want to buy a mac to work with at home, and replace my ageing windows desktop that is a gaming machine.

However I'm in a bit of a pickle. Basically apples complete lack of any decent graphics cards, anywhere in the lineup.

THe only thing that comes close to what i want is a mac pro, I was thinking of getting the 6 core as it seems the most capable/affordable, but may go to an 8 core 2.4 as pc world (/spit) have some available for £2k.

Now I've read that osx 10.8 supports the 5xx series cards quiet well.
Would i be better off buying the mac pro with a ati5770, and swapping in a nvidea 560, or should i splurge for a 5870?

I've looked at getting a macbook and a separate gaming pc, but that ends up costing more.

 

[freshe]

Go to scan.co.uk and check their pre built 3xs systems, especially one called nanu gamer. You could then build it yourself altering some of the parts but keeping that fab silverstone case. It will cost you around 1600 pounds with some cash left from your budget to get better screen perhaps. All of that running gtx670 - perfect for gaming. I had similar problem as you but since i play less and less and i love the design and os i stuck with imac. But if gaming was more important i would go with that mini itx rig. Size of a shoebox. Well worth considering. But again its just windows. Everything has a price in this world...

 

[SPdavid87]

Go to scan.co.uk and check their pre built 3xs systems, especially one called nanu gamer. You could then build it yourself altering some of the parts but keeping that fab silverstone case. It will cost you around 1600 pounds with some cash left from your budget to get better screen perhaps. All of that running gtx670 - perfect for gaming. I had similar problem as you but since i play less and less and i love the design and os i stuck with imac. But if gaming was more important i would go with that mini itx rig. Size of a shoebox. Well worth considering. But again its just windows. Everything has a price in this world...

I have plenty good screens as it is.

Its partly for work, and i'll be buying it through my employers, so it has to be OSX, and can't be hackintosh.

Frustrating given i could build a windows pc with my eyes closed.

 

[SPdavid87]

I suppose what it boils down to is:

What macs will have a better graphics card than my current ati 5850 1gig.

Bah curse the mobile graphics cards in the Imacs

 

[freshe]

True. I have i5 3.1GHz with 6970M 1GB and it's good enough for wow. I might some day play CoD on it if I manage to find a way to run windows on it. But that's as far as my gaming goes. Single player in war shooters and wow from time to time. But I was considering getting that itx rig.

 

[SPdavid87]

True. I have i5 3.1GHz with 6970M 1GB and it's good enough for wow. I might some day play CoD on it if I manage to find a way to run windows on it. But that's as far as my gaming goes. Single player in war shooters and wow from time to time. But I was considering getting that itx rig.

What apple has a 6970m?

That'd probably be powerful enough for what I need

 

[freshe]

What apple has a 6970m?

That'd probably be powerful enough for what I need

You can buy new imac or refurbished for that matter, that come with HD 6970M 1GB or 2GB. But you can get it new now anyway and with i7. But it will be 27".

 

[SPdavid87]

You can buy new imac or refurbished for that matter, that come with HD 6970M 1GB or 2GB. But you can get it new now anyway and with i7. But it will be 27".

Swish, just what i need.

May as well wait till the imacs get their update.

How easy is it to swap out a imac gfx card (if at all possible) or hard drive?

 

[freshe]

In iMac it is difficult if you're not a tech person (I am not) you need to take the screen off, and some other parts it order to take the HDD out of it. Go to ifixit.com, they have all the guides you need. I don't think you can replace GPU without some serious engineering.

 

[SPdavid87]

In iMac it is difficult if you're not a tech person (I am not) you need to take the screen off, and some other parts it order to take the HDD out of it. Go to ifixit.com, they have all the guides you need. I don't think you can replace GPU without some serious engineering.

narks.

Not keen on the idea of buying something i can't tinker around with.

looks like a hackintosh may be the way to go after all, kinda hoping to avoid that.

 

[LeandrodaFL]

Based on personal experience. You want to have 2 computers. Your Mac for you life and PC for gaming. If you try do combine both in one Mac you gonna get a $$$$$$$$$$ combination.

For your LIFE, the cheapest current Mac will already be an awesome machine. And invest the rest of the money in a gaming PC.

This also has the advantage of not taking precious SSD space on your Mac with useless GB data of games.

Moreover, the magic mouse, which is a must for the Mac experience, sucks for gaming. You want a mouse with a scroll wheel anyway.

The Mac graphics is gonna do great for light gaming, or some oldies, but a current game will demand you a FULL graphics card, not the mobile versions that MACs do have.

 

[SPdavid87]

Based on personal experience. You want to have 2 computers. Your Mac for you life and PC for gaming. If you try do combine both in one Mac you gonna get a $$$$$$$$$$ combination.

For your LIFE, the cheapest current Mac will already be an awesome machine. And invest the rest of the money in a gaming PC.

This also has the advantage of not taking precious SSD space on your Mac with useless GB data of games.

Moreover, the magic mouse, which is a must for the Mac experience, sucks for gaming. You want a mouse with a scroll wheel anyway.

The Mac graphics is gonna do great for light gaming, or some oldies, but a current game will demand you a FULL graphics card, not the mobile versions that MACs do have.

tbh I don't see how a bottom end mac would be any use to me at all, and when you combine the total cost of a gaming rig (£1k) with the cost of a cheep mac air (£800) I'm damn near in mac pro territory either way.

If i could have full blown office, + remote desktop on an ipad, and run an external monitor off that with a keyboard and mouse, that'd just about do it, but i figure by the time i factor all that ini'm back up to macbook air territory, as i don't own or have access too iOS versions of the software.

I also don't use the magic mouse on any macs. even at work. I hate the things with a passion.