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iMac i7 or Mac Pro?

R

Ricko101

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 5, 2009
74
0
Hi there.
I'm hoping some of you Apple veterans can help me decide on this conundrum.
I'm relatively new to Mac. I got a MBP last year and love it. I'm now convinced to upgrade my desktop unit with Apple as well.
With a budget of about $3k, I've done research on the Mac Pro as well as on the new iMac, and quite frankly I love that 27"(as long as it's free from defects), compare to the 22" SyncMaster I currently use, not to mention the comparison benchmarks with current Mac Pro units.
However, I've always liked the possibility to later upgrade or add components on my desktop, which extends its lifespan for a while. I don't do heavy video editing. I use FCP for some minor projects in HD, play an occasional game or two, and so on, but I'm thinking an 8 core would last me at least 4-5 years or so, if not longer I hope.
I know the Mac Pro is due for an upgrade very soon, but I would invest on a used 2009 model if I were to choose it.
What are you thoughts. Anyone in the same boat ?

Many thanks.
 
Ricko101 said:
Hi there.
I'm hoping some of you Apple veterans can help me decide on this conundrum.
I'm relatively new to Mac. I got a MBP last year and love it. I'm now convinced to upgrade my desktop unit with Apple as well.
With a budget of about $3k, I've done research on the Mac Pro as well as on the new iMac, and quite frankly I love that 27"(as long as it's free from defects), compare to the 22" SyncMaster I currently use, not to mention the comparison benchmarks with current Mac Pro units.
However, I've always liked the possibility to later upgrade or add components on my desktop, which extends its lifespan for a while. I don't do heavy video editing. I use FCP for some minor projects in HD, play an occasional game or two, and so on, but I'm thinking an 8 core would last me at least 4-5 years or so, if not longer I hope.
I know the Mac Pro is due for an upgrade very soon, but I would invest on a used 2009 model if I were to choose it.
What are you thoughts. Anyone in the same boat ?

Many thanks.
Click to expand...

I would get a refurbished Mac Pro. Although the i7 iMac is extremely powerful, you don't really need the extra power, as the Mac Pro is amazing already. If you want later upgrades to be added, definitely stay away from the iMacs. I got a Mac mini refurbed about a week ago, and it pulls most apps up in one bounce from the dock (about 1 or 2 seconds). So take that and multiply it by like 20 and there's the Mac Pro :D>. (Math is inaccurate, but you get my point :D)
 
For the same money, the iMac is faster, comes with a larger hard drive and has a 27 inch screen.

If you only do some light FCP editing, I wouldn't bother with the mac pro at this point. The quad core Mac Pro line is ridiculously overpriced. The dual quad (8 core) Mac Pro is expensive, but certainly the fastest thing out there- but only if you have software that really takes advantage of it. Are you rendering in Maya or Cinema 4d? If not, save your $$$ and skip the 8 core.

Rather than spend $3000 on a computer and add to it over 4-5 years, why not spend $2000 on the high end iMac, and put the extra $1000 towards your next purchase in 3 years rather than 4-5?

Things will just get faster. Plus, you know Macs have good resell value. Sell your iMac 27" in 3 years, and get another $1000 towards that new purchase.
 
The Mac Pro is more upgradable though. I would go for the MP over the iMac. While these new iMacs are very nice, the MP will have the advantage of swappable HDs, multiple HDs even, more RAM (?), upgradable video cards, etc. I had a MP for a while and loved it. The only thing I really have not missed about it is the noise. They aren't noisy machines, but compared to the iMac they are. The MP will last you, I'm sure.
 
iMac i7. You'll have to either own a display or you'll have to buy a separate display for the Mac Pro, which will incur more costs. The new refreshed iMacs are not bad, just hold out for a while due to the current 27" iMac issues.
 
Thanks guys...

I found an interesting debate about this topic at Macworld
http://www.macworld.com/article/143998/2009/11/corei7vsmacpro.html

I suppose it boils down to the extra $$ for the MP being justified when they are upgraded soon, and perhaps a 2009 model taking a 20-30% value decrease as a result of it (being optimistic :rolleyes: )

I like the idea of changing unit after 2-3 years, keeping up with the latest, so I may go for the iMac. Just get that screen fixed, Apple! I've read many horror stories on these forums, and I sure don't want to be one of them...
 
PeterQVenkman said:
For the same money, the iMac is faster, comes with a larger hard drive and has a 27 inch screen.

Rather than spend $3000 on a computer and add to it over 4-5 years, why not spend $2000 on the high end iMac, and put the extra $1000 towards your next purchase in 3 years rather than 4-5?

Things will just get faster. Plus, you know Macs have good resell value. Sell your iMac 27" in 3 years, and get another $1000 towards that new purchase.
Click to expand...

Thats my philosophy.

Everyone in my studio needed new Macs -- our G5 towers were just showing their age.

But 3 new MP towers + upgraded monitors + ridiculous amounts for MP ram back then, made that a $10,000 expenditure.

But a 3 24" AL iMacs cost half that and were a gigantic speed up -- and have performed great for the last several years.

This August they will be 3 years old and still worth close to $1000.

27" iMacs will be due for an update, and the processors will just shift. The i5 becomes faster or the i7 becomes the same price as the i5 is now.

Sell my 3 iMacs for $3000 + $3000 cash and I have all new faster than a Macpro iMacs. Yea.

If I would have spent the $10,000+ on those MPs, today they would be slower than the new iMacs. And 2 ghz MPs are getting $1200 used. =(
 
Wait until the Mac Pros are updated and then decided. They should be updated within the next month or so. You don't want to get an iMac now and see a month later you would have preferred the updated Mac Pro.
 
The iMac comes with all the peripherals and is a beaut... The only thing the Mac pro has is the upgradability
signature_BasicSmile.jpg
I say get the iMac, or wait for new Mac pros and then make your decision
 
nutritious said:
Wait until the Mac Pros are updated and then decided. They should be updated within the next month or so. You don't want to get an iMac now and see a month later you would have preferred the updated Mac Pro.
Click to expand...

This really is a good point. I'm still hoping that Apple comes out with a fast, affordable tower to compete with their own iMac.

OTOH- I can't really say I've upgraded anything besides my ram in my Mac Pro tower at the office. You can do that on the iMac.

Really though- the iMac has a terabyte hard drive. That's a lot of room.
 
student_trap said:
its a shame, but this simply wont happen. It has been talked about on here for years, but its not something that apple seems to be the remotest bit interested in.
Click to expand...

I think you might be right. :(

The next update might be the kicker for me. If this continues, I might just continue to use my MacBook Pro as a work machine, and get a cheap PC as a render slave. I don't even need a dedicated video card in it! :)
 
I'm finding Mac Pro great deals on eBay: very tempting!! More so now than in the past week. Do resellers know something we don't as for when the new MP comes out? I thought Apple keeps that information quite secret...
 
Ricko101 said:
I'm finding Mac Pro great deals on eBay: very tempting!! More so now than in the past week. Do resellers know something we don't as for when the new MP comes out? I thought Apple keeps that information quite secret...
Click to expand...

the only way they could guess is in reality the same way as us, if their supply began running a little dry, or indeed that demand for that product was running dry (as we all wait for new models!)
 
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