iMac 27 vs Mac Pro issue

[camperboy]

Hi all. Within a month, I plan to buy a new computer. I am a professional graphic designer and I need good work station.

I am thinking of buying iMac 27" 2.93GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 with 16GB RAM or Mac Pro with One 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon and 16GB RAM as well.

My primary work tool is Adobe Photoshop CS 5. Generally I work with files 5K+ px and size 2GB. Sometimes I run Adobe After Effects and render in very high resolution.

Like I said I need work station to hard work. I can not afford on overheat or other issues.

Can you advise me what will be a better choice?

 

[legreve]

I would hands down choose the MAC pro... it simply works harder. One thing though, new iMac under way and prolly a new MAC pro a bit later. I wouldn't buy the imac right now and I would hesitate twice before getting the pro...

 

[ChrisA]

Hi all. Within a month, I plan to buy a new computer. I am a professional graphic designer and I need good work station.

I am thinking of buying iMac 27" 2.93GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 with 16GB RAM or Mac Pro with One 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon and 16GB RAM as well.

My primary work tool is Adobe Photoshop CS 5. Generally I work with files 5K+ px and size 2GB. Sometimes I run Adobe After Effects and render in very high resolution.

Like I said I need work station to hard work. I can not afford on overheat or other issues.

Can you advise me what will be a better choice?

The iMac could work for you if you loaded it up with 16MB of RAM but do you really want to work on a glossy screen that has not anti-reflective coating? If you get the Mac Pro than you can buy a better quality screen from Dell

That is the major drawback of the iMac for professional use, Apple is saving a buck by no longer treating the screen with anti-glare coatings

 

[hoosker]

If it is your profession then go Pro.

Just some basic reasons I made the choice in your profession.

Extra internal drives for backup are cheap. Don't risk loosing your clients work. An internal clone of your main system will guarantee you are back to work if there is a HD failure. All this in one nice clean box. There are lots of other reasons but those are some compelling ones.

Also consider the 3.2GHz Quad-Core which I think is worth the extra $400.00. As a Pro owner I have never ever thought "Gee I wish I had bought an iMac". I kinda think the pros are built to last longer than an iMac. They are definitely designed for better cooling. If you ever want to branch out into video you will be set.

It is worth the extra investment. If I were a client and saw the "pro" graphic designer I just hired was working on a consumer iMac just like mine I might question just how "pro" they really were.

If you use or burn disks much you will appreciate a tray loader over the potential problems with a slot loader and the ability to add a second BR drive in the future.

good luck.

 

[Zeiss]

MacPro, MacPro, MacPro..... that way you don't have to use the crappy iMac screen. If you are working photographically in Photoshop, a good Dell, NEC, Eizo screen will really make a difference - you can actually see detail in the shadows and highlights.

Plus the MacPro is faster, and can get more RAM. Now is a fine time to buy a MacPro, the last one came out last August, and it was nearly 2 years between upgrades before that.