Do I want a Mac Pro or a High iMac?

[Greenhoe]

Hi,
I've been debating on for the past few days which I should purchase. a Mac Pro or the 3.06 iMac?

What I do is I use photoshop to design websites and dreamweaver to code them, I don't do any video editing or any rendering, and I feel I've always wanted a Mac Pro just because its a Mac Pro.

The only thing I question is when Snow Leopard comes out will the Quad Core really help benefit me with Photoshop or the 3.06 Core2duo be fine.

If price wasn't a factor I would get a Mac Pro with out question, but adding in the cost of a monitor and a Mac Pro I just really wonder for what I do is it worth the extra money right now. I will always want a Mac Pro I'm just debating on if I should wait till its time when I actually need one.

 

[motox25]

I would get a Mac Pro personally, my PowerMac G5 is about 5 years old and it still works fine for me. Mac Pro desktops are more upgradeable so you can upgrade your ram and graphics card as needed. Plus you can add more internal storage when needed. Sure you can add external HDDs to an imac but thats personal preference.

 

[illegalprelude]

im with the previous user. Will a high end iMac do what you want? It will and then some but I think about longevity. If you are the type who will upgrade every 2 years, iMac. If you want to hold onto it for a long period and have lots of internal upgrade options, Mac Pro.

 

[upsguy27]

I was in the exact same situation as you are, except I own a Mac Pro already. I decided to go with the iMac because it can do everything I need in a thin and all-in-one design.

 

[SpaceJello]

i know the lure of the mac pro, but i don't really think you would gain much performance from using a mac pro for photoshopping images for websites and dreamweaver.

I honestly think an imac will do only cause I have done the exact same things as you with only a macbook pro and thats a few generations back.... photoshopping 72dpi images for web is great, and dreamweaver works fine... sometimes i get into serious photoshopping with over 100 of layers and as mbp does the job...

 

[MacAgent84]

The Mac Pro is definitely better utilized in video editing and music production. You aren't going to notice much of a difference in only editing photos in Photoshop. I think you would definitely benefit from buying an iMac at a lower price, and having a great looking display included in the purchase.

 

[Igantius]

i know the lure of the mac pro, but i don't really think you would gain much performance from using a mac pro for photoshopping images for websites and dreamweaver....

I think that's wise advice - especially as the additional money is a factor.

 

[motox25]

Well more than anything it depends on how "up to date" you keep your software. If you run out and grab the latest version of a program every time it comes out chances are you will eventually need a hardware upgrade. With the imac this is somewhat limited. Plus I personally like the ability to replace a dead HDD when it goes dead, not an easy task on an imac

 

[mathcolo]

Hi,
I've been debating on for the past few days which I should purchase. a Mac Pro or the 3.06 iMac?

What I do is I use photoshop to design websites and dreamweaver to code them, I don't do any video editing or any rendering, and I feel I've always wanted a Mac Pro just because its a Mac Pro.

The only thing I question is when Snow Leopard comes out will the Quad Core really help benefit me with Photoshop or the 3.06 Core2duo be fine.

If price wasn't a factor I would get a Mac Pro with out question, but adding in the cost of a monitor and a Mac Pro I just really wonder for what I do is it worth the extra money right now. I will always want a Mac Pro I'm just debating on if I should wait till its time when I actually need one.

I would completely base this decision on money. Sure, if you've got the money to afford a Mac Pro, then have at it! If you want to conserve funds then just go with an iMac and you probably won't even notice a difference.

And if you'd like to conserve energy, go with a laptop

 

[stix666]

I will always want a Mac Pro I'm just debating on if I should wait till its time when I actually need one.

Then you should definitely get the Mac Pro. (Doesn't really matter if you don't actually need it - it's worth getting just to stop those unfulfilled desires, daydreams and debates)

 

[BenRoethig]

Hi,
I've been debating on for the past few days which I should purchase. a Mac Pro or the 3.06 iMac?

What I do is I use photoshop to design websites and dreamweaver to code them, I don't do any video editing or any rendering, and I feel I've always wanted a Mac Pro just because its a Mac Pro.

The only thing I question is when Snow Leopard comes out will the Quad Core really help benefit me with Photoshop or the 3.06 Core2duo be fine.

If price wasn't a factor I would get a Mac Pro with out question, but adding in the cost of a monitor and a Mac Pro I just really wonder for what I do is it worth the extra money right now. I will always want a Mac Pro I'm just debating on if I should wait till its time when I actually need one.

In your case, I might actually get the iMac, but make sure to get the 1TB hard drive as upgrading it is less than practical. The only issue I might see is a memory bottleneck. An 8GB DDR3 SO-DIMM kit is going to cost you $700, so if you need any more than 4GB of memory you might be out of luck in the near future. Also, you may find the loading optical drive to be slow and all to easy to jam (mine's in the shop for that now) if you use them a lot. If not, its a non-issue.

 

[justit]

The only thing I question is when Snow Leopard comes out will the Quad Core really help benefit me with Photoshop or the 3.06 Core2duo be fine.

Yes it's a gamble, I made the gamble with a refurb Quad 2.8, virtually brand new. Would an iMac have been good enough for me, yes. But after 20 years of buying apple, I'm tired of the lock-in that illegalprelude describes.

It's a safe bet to think Apple must go up and take the Quad/Octo multi-thread route this year with Snow Lep, otherwise Win7 will leapfrog.

iMac: Uncle Apple knows what's best for you
MP: Nice start, but *I* know what's best for me

 

[Dr.Pants]

Then you should definitely get the Mac Pro. (Doesn't really matter if you don't actually need it - it's worth getting just to stop those unfulfilled desires, daydreams and debates)

+1
Video editing and 3D work was my excuse. Unfortunatly, I'm using the college's MacPro..... For now *insert manical laughter*

 

[steveca]

I have both pro and consumer apple products. I tend to find the pro products as more 'hard core' and they give you more punch if you know what i mean... I guess it is more than safe to say that a mac pro will outlive the imac. However the imac is better if you have space problems or dont want to spend too much. When the imac is too 'old' you can buy another imac and will still be spending less than the mac pro...

 

[Greenhoe]

I ended up going with the Octo 2.93 Mac Pro. I know I do not need this power although If i went with the 2.26 I would keep wondering if I should of got the 2.93 octo.

I am able to afford the 6k but, its not like I have money to just toss around. I what made me decide to go with the 2.93 is that paying the extra 3 grand will just make me work harder to make more money and I like knowing I have the best machine... until next year.

 

[Mintin8]

Then you should definitely get the Mac Pro. (Doesn't really matter if you don't actually need it - it's worth getting just to stop those unfulfilled desires, daydreams and debates)

For some reason...I lol'd at this! Very true.

 

[stix666]

I ended up going with the Octo 2.93 Mac Pro. I know I do not need this power although If i went with the 2.26 I would keep wondering if I should of got the 2.93 octo.

I am able to afford the 6k but, its not like I have money to just toss around. I what made me decide to go with the 2.93 is that paying the extra 3 grand will just make me work harder to make more money and I like knowing I have the best machine... until next year.

Fantastic!
There was some guy called plasmaphonic (I think) who got buyer's remorse getting last year's top model that kicked in after this year's models came out. Very funny thread. Hope you don't get that

I want to upgrade from my iSight G5, and have been all over the shop thinking about hackintoshes/ e-fixes through mac mini/ laptop + led display combos through to mac pro. I'm underwhelmed by the new iMacs.

I think I may end up film editing at a prosumer level and would be loath to get something now that isn't up to that job (even though I'm not doing any editing at the moment). But I want to get something now. And I have cash now but our currency (the pound) could well end up even more worthless than it already is, driving up prices even higher.

The 2.66quad with LED display is around £2300. The 2.26 octad with display is £3000. The top of the range iMac is £1700. eBay prev generation 2.8 octads now going for about £1.8k (without display).

So the iMac looks bad value IMO. And the 2.66 quad doesn't look too bad. But I might stretch to the 2.26 octad just because of the scope for more RAM. Can't go to 2.66 octad (£4k with monitor). If I do go for the 2.26 octad, it will be twice as much as I spent on my car (merc 190E).