iMac i7 or Mac Pro Quad core

[dqpassat]

I currently run an older mac pro and am considering jumping down to an iMac or even a Mac Mini, but I find it constantly (many times per work day) annoying to have my disks attached externally. Perhaps someone understands how to solve this problem.

For disks that are internal to my mac pro, I get great performance, no annoyances.

For anything attached externally, USB or FireWire (400 or 800), the disks spin down after a very short idle time and then, anytime _ANY_ disk on my system needs 'new' access (every 5-20 minutes), the entire system more or less locks up waiting for the drive to spin up.

This isn't just for accessing the idle, stopped drive, this is any time Finder does a 'new' action across the system on any disk.

This problem was present on my previous PowerMac and I've been discussing the annoyances with iMac users who complained about this problem.

I don't actually need that much computer power in most of my work, but I need lots of disk. The main reason I am considering paying the extra zillion dollars for a Mac Pro is because I want the disks internal to avoid the annoyance of waiting for external disks to spin up.

So, assuming someone doesn't know the magic solution for that, that's something I'd consider if I were choosing between a MP and any other mac.

Is there any way to get rid of this "spin up" lag. I too have an imac and experience the same annoyance.

 

[toxic]

ok, yes, externals can be annoying. but aside from that, the OP gains next to nothing from an Mac Pro.

so what if he gets into video editing next month? how likely is that to happen? should everyone buy an STI instead of a normal Impreza because they just might get into racing?

throwing money at your computing solution solves nothing. if you're considering 12 cores, you obviously don't know what you're looking for, much less what you're doing.

get an iMac unless peripherals annoy you that much. it will cost you less in the long run – just get another in ~3 years, or if/when USB3 becomes widespread or whatever. and it's not like iMacs can't handle pro apps, if you actually get into that.

 

[disconap]

I just couldn't let this pass

A cheap SSD will likely perform no better (and possibly worse) than a good HDD in many cases. Your concern about reinstalling the OS on HDDs seems anecdotal at best. Plenty of people have reinstalled their OS on HDDs without a problem. You will do fine with an HDD, however ...

While I agree that for his needs an SSD is likely overkill, I have to strongly disagree with this. At CURRENT pricing, per/gb it certainly makes sense to go with a nice Seagate 1tb or larger, that'll suffice and have plenty of space; however, if you're looking to upgrade and keep your files externally, a good quality 40-60gb ssd at around the same price point, maybe $10-20 more, will run rings around a mid-range HDD. I have several makes and brands of HDDs and a few different SSDs and the weakest SSDs run rings around the most expensive SSDs. However, they're a tiny bit of a pain to keep updated/running their best, and of course much, much smaller...

 

[disconap]

ok, yes, externals can be annoying. but aside from that, the OP gains next to nothing from an Mac Pro.

so what if he gets into video editing next month? how likely is that to happen? should everyone buy an STI instead of a normal Impreza because they just might get into racing?

throwing money at your computing solution solves nothing. if you're considering 12 cores, you obviously don't know what you're looking for, much less what you're doing.

Agreed. Plus you're better off buying better video gear with your saved money than saving it on a tower.

I keep telling people that, in a pro environment, speed is the ONLY difference, especially for audio. We still use a Sawtooth in OS9 for audio tracking; tracking is the EXACT SAME on a G4 as it is on the latest Mac Pro, provided your software and hardware can handle a clean, min.n 24-bit signal.

Mixing and editing, on the other hand, yes, but at that point you can bring the files onto a mac mini and be aces...

 

[JoeG4]

Since the G5, I haven't considered the Pro towers reliable machines. I still (my desk nonwithstanding) see graphite G4s in operation and they're still reliably doing the job, but the G5 and Mac Pro machines seem notorious for 1. dead PSUs, 2. Failing logic boards, and 3. dead CPUs.

iMacs are also notorious for their GPUs screwing up after a few years, but given the number of machines out there it seems like I've heard way more complaints about MPs and PMG5s than anything else Apple has made except maybe white MacBooks.

However, Mac Pros make me drool and when I finally can afford to replace my desktop I will probably buy one.

 

[richardvesely]

You should go for the i7 Mac because it has the latest technology feature Intel Core i7 processor. You can also get bigger screen size of 21 to 27 inch screen, as you wanted a bigger screen size. You can use external HDD with the Mac, via USB connection, which is fast.