Help deciding... Really lost. Please...

[youyou]

Hi Everyone,
So here's my situation...
I have an Imac g5 1.8 that I sold on ebay...
I was looking to upgrade to a Imac 24" C2D...
Now these computers will be going under the company so the budget is a litle flexible.
I have always been Awed by the 30" Cinema Display and have been dying to get one since it came out. The price was a little steep but now it is definitely in my price range.
So now here comes the issue. I don't really need the power of a Mac Pro but at this point that is the only thing I can hook up to the 30" Display.
Or I can get a 17" Macbook Pro as well. I currently have a Dell xps m1210 that i can sell as well i guess...
So I went to the local apple store and said i'll take a look at the Imac 24" maybe that will bring me closer to my dream "30 Cinema Display" I have always wanted... But No it didn't... Not even close. It looked tiny next to it.
So what to do what to do...
The Mac Pro doesn't come with Front Row which really sucks because that's mainly what i use my computer for. Music,Movies Pictures...
The MBP does but the I would be sacrificing 2 computers for one.
Where as I can keep my Dell xps m1210 and get a 24" Imac or i can get a MBP and connect it to my 30" Cinema Display...
Or lastly I can get the Mac Pro and a 30" Cinema Display and keep my Dell xps m1210...
So you see my dilemma... I don't really need the power of the Mac Pro but what am I to do???? I just love that 30" Display...
How big is the Mac Pro? Will it take up Lots of space?
You see i have had an incredible experience with my Imac g5 (my first mac by the way) and would love that form factor but that 30" just makes me drool...
So please people give me some suggestions and your opinions...
Is a Mac Pro dual 2.0 good or is the dual 2.66 that much better?
Any input and suggestions would be greatly appreciated...
Thank you for taking the time to read and answer...

 

[FFTT]

Your dilemma is being stuck between hi end pro-sumer and Pro.

I work with a 24" display all the time and it's delightfully large enough when you're sitting right there in front of it.

A well equipped 24 "iMac is a very nice machine, but it lacks the performance and
expandability of a true Pro workstation.

The 30" ACD is beautiful, but a 23" ACD is more than enough for most office
solutions.

Then again, how many hours a day will you be sitting there using your new system?

Does your position warrant having the best available tools?

The MacPro will certainly have a better TCO figure at the end of it's useful life.
And then you can retire it as a server to run your own company 😀

 

[briantology]

Wow, I'd have to say the Mac Pro isn't for you based on what you provided. You want to run a beautiful 30" ACD, so you decide you need a Mac Pro to go with it? I say get a MacBook Pro, which you can hook up to your so desired 30" display. But that's pushing quite a few dolla' bills. You would be better off going with the 24" iMac IMO, but to each his own.

 

[youyou]

Well I would be using this mostly at home...
I do spend many hours on my computer. I do not not care much about upgradability in the future because I get tired of things pretty quickly and usually just end up selling it and getting the latest and greatest...
I'm not the type of person that will actually take the time to swap cpu's and whatnot... Mind you it's still a great feature to know that i can...
I will mainly be using it for music,movies and pictures...
I have over 10000 songs. I do alot of divx encoding, i have all the jampacks and love to use garageband and logic express...
And unforunately did not have the chance to play with apeture yet because my imac g5video card want powerful enough... But with over 5000 pictures I would definitely be using it in my next machine...
I am alot in the internet and do alot of downloading as well...
I do think the Mac Pro is overkill but what am I to do ?? That 30" Cinema Display is just so tempting... And I do love a blazing fast machine... 🙂

 

[FFTT]

This is one of those situations like knowing darn well that you could get to work just fine in a Toyota, even a NICE Toyota, but you just can't stop looking at those BMW's

 

[youyou]

This is one of those situations like knowing darn well that you could get to work just fine in a Toyota, even a NICE Toyota, but you just can't stop looking at those BMW's

LOLOLOL.... Good analogy...

 

[danielbriggs]

I'd go for the MBP and the 30" ACD

My reasons why:

It is a powerful machine to do what you want.
You could take it with you when you travel etc. (if you wanted to) e.g. to the office
when you are at home hook it upto some nice speakers and your 30" ACD and watch DVD's etc.

I think that is your best option!

 

[2ndPath]

Buying the MacBook Pro plus a 30" Display might be the best solution. When you say that you would replace your Desktop and your Laptop with it, you don't seem to be so happy about that. Having only one computer has advantages and disadvantages to it. This is especially the case, if you have two differnt operating systems running on them. You have to know, which counts more for you.

The only advantage of the iMac is the lower price, for which you also get a smaller Display. You say the budget is not really an issue, so if you really want a 30" screen, the iMac is not an option for you. But take this comment with care, because I am not a fan of the iMac.

The Mac Pro is certainly the most powerfull and most expensive option. It is not known yet if and how front row will be available on it. There are rumors about it coming with Leopard, but this will only be in half a year. I think there have been reports about frontrow software beeing installed on Mac Pros, but then you are still missing the remote control. Also Apple might release a package with iSight and remote plus front row for the Mac Pros. But that's all just speculation. You also said you don't care so much about expadibility of a machine, which is one of the strong points of the Mac Pro. However, when you sell it, it might help to keep the value of the machine better. I would also take the 2.66 GHz machine over the one with 2.0 just because the price difference is not so big, while there is a significant performance difference. One more thing. Aperture, which you mentioned to use, is said to be quite resource hungry. Here the power of the Mac Pro would be helpfull.

From what you say, you are one of the candidates for the midrange headless mac requested by many people. But unfortunately this machine does not exist presently.