iMac or mac pro for new project

[comptr]

I am looking at getting a fully loaded 27 inch iMac but for the same money I can get a Mac pro which one is a better choice. I am using the computer for a picture scanning business. I am getting a epson v750-m scanner that uses FireWire. The software I am going to use is aperture , final cut x , and photoshop. I want to have a fast enough meashean for my needs. I have a budget around $3500.00 We are going to be scanning a lot of pictures like over 10,000 pictures

Thanks in advance

 

[yusukeaoki]

If you truly want the Mac Pro, wait a little longer.
The update should come up soon for them.

But if you need it now, go with the full 27in iMac!

 

[comptr]

If you truly want the Mac Pro, wait a little longer.
The update should come up soon for them.

But if you need it now, go with the full 27in iMac!

Well I was hoping to use my student discount so I ould get the gift card as the last day is the 20th. I looked at the Mac pro as they are similar in price

 

[wrinkster22]

really up to you but keep in mind that if you go the Mac Pro you will need to buy a nice monitor, The monitor on the iMac is worth like 1000 dollars

 

[yusukeaoki]

really up to you but keep in mind that if you go the Mac Pro you will need to buy a nice monitor, The monitor on the iMac is worth like 1000 dollars

True.
The 27in Apple Cinema Display is $999...

 

[comptr]

really up to you but keep in mind that if you go the Mac Pro you will need to buy a nice monitor, The monitor on the iMac is worth like 1000 dollars

True but if I plan on keeping the computer for a while would one be better then the other. Would one computer be faster then the other. I have a lot of pictures to scan so speed is key also with final cut x I want to cut down render times so that I can edit video quicker. For some of these tasks I have been using my 15inch MacBook pro but I need something more powerful and has more storage as I keep running out

 

[Aldaris]

To the best of my knowledge the iMac rivals the macro at this point. At least the ultimate model, maxed with a 2GB Graphics card. The other consideration is thunderbolt, is it something you'll want (I would think for sake of future proofing it would be), go with the iMac unless the Mac pro gets updated in the next week. The other thing is the 27" could act as a monitor later on in q few years if you decide down the road you want a Mac pro.

But really it's completely up to you. There's no answer as both will suit your needs just fine.

 

[danpass]

the iMac leaves you with a relatively static unit for the future.

With the Mac Pro you have some flexibility.

Would be nice to hear some news about the Pro.

Is the student discount a percentage or a fixed amount? It may be inconsequential in the grand scheme of a $3500 purchase.

 

[Aldaris]

Is the student discount a percentage or a fixed amount? It may be inconsequential in the grand scheme of a $3500 purchase.

Roughly $50 on low end items (Mac mini and some entry level items), $100 on mid level (Upper end airs and mid MacBook pro's mid iMac's) $200 on high end MacBook pro and mac Pro and high end iMac I think.

Ballpark 10% although not that strict.

And keep in mind a 27" iMac could double as a future display if needed, like stated before it's got the same display as the $999 thunderbolt led model.

 

[comptr]

Roughly $50 on low end items (Mac mini and some entry level items), $100 on mid level (Upper end airs and mid MacBook pro's mid iMac's) $200 on high end MacBook pro and mac Pro and high end iMac I think.

Ballpark 10% although not that strict.

And keep in mind a 27" iMac could double as a future display if needed, like stated before it's got the same display as the $999 thunderbolt led model.

But what am worried about is that the computer will be slower so I thought the mac pro would be a better choice but the IMac may be a better choice. Also what about upgrading the ram in the iMac to 32gigs worth it or not ??

 

[THX1139]

You don't need a fast computer for scanning. The bottleneck is in the scanner. The iMac will do the job just as well as the MacPro, so you need to be thinking of what other things you'll be doing besides scanning and editing photos because both will do the job just fine.

The bottom line: the current iMacs are relatively faster than the MacPro's. But the MacPro's will be getting a speed bump within the next 6 months, and they are more expandable overall (if you have a need for that).

 

[InuNacho]

If you need tons of storage get a Mac Pro.

 

[comptr]

You don't need a fast computer for scanning. The bottleneck is in the scanner. The iMac will do the job just as well as the MacPro, so you need to be thinking of what other things you'll be doing besides scanning and editing photos because both will do the job just fine.

The bottom line: the current iMacs are relatively faster than the MacPro's. But the MacPro's will be getting a speed bump within the next 6 months, and they are more expandable overall (if you have a need for that).

but also I want to move my video editing to the new computer as it will be faster then my laptop. Also with the iMac I will have to get some sort of external hd setup as I burn threw a ton of data and with the scanning I can assume I will go thew it even faster. As I first plan on doing all my family pictures first and we have a lot. I am not only going to use this computer for the scanning project but also use it as my editing computer and aperture computer as I am just running of room on my laptop HD and it allows me to have a backup on another computer.

----------

If you need tons of storage get a Mac Pro.

well I will fix my nas so I will have 4 tb of data free but once i reload it I will have only half free plus for my scanning I will need a whole 2tb external and at least another 2tb for moving some of my large video files that I have not edited yet. but if I get the iMac I can buy a bunch of external hd that are firewire based.

 

[InuNacho]

well I will fix my nas so I will have 4 tb of data free but once i reload it I will have only half free plus for my scanning I will need a whole 2tb external and at least another 2tb for moving some of my large video files that I have not edited yet. but if I get the iMac I can buy a bunch of external hd that are firewire based.

There is only one firewire port on the iMac so you'd have to dasiychain them. Maybe things have changed a bit with newer hardware, but when I move stuff between my daisychained FW400 drives it's slow as molasses.
Thats why I recommended the Pro, there is 4 FW800 ports so each device has it's own port, you can add an esata card for external drives, and the three (or more if you use the optical slots) internal drives which can be switched for bigger drives later on.

 

[comptr]

There is only one firewire port on the iMac so you'd have to dasiychain them. Maybe things have changed a bit with newer hardware, but when I move stuff between my daisychained FW400 drives it's slow as molasses.
Thats why I recommended the Pro, there is 4 FW800 ports so each device has it's own port, you can add an esata card for external drives, and the three (or more if you use the optical slots) internal drives which can be switched for bigger drives later on.

What about a 4 bay external from owc as its like 4 hd on one FireWire 800 cable Like this one: http://bit.ly/nipDvR

Would I see slowness with something like this one.

 

[comptr]

Or this one: http://amzn.to/nknRT3

 

[hfg]

What about a 4 bay external from owc as its like 4 hd on one FireWire 800 cable Like this one: http://bit.ly/nipDvR

Would I see slowness with something like this one.

I use that OWC Mercury Elite Pro Qx2 running as RAID-5 as my time machine backup drive for my Mac Pro. When I purchased it, I also bought the dual-eSATA PCI card for $50 which gives me 2 eSATA ports on the back of the computer. I use one to connect to the RAID-5 and it is blistering fast. The other port connects to a disk dock for drive testing, configuring, or bare disk backup storage. It too is extremely fast using eSATA.

Any external solution using FireWire 800 is going to be slower than eSATA connected external drives.

Don't forget that you can add INTERNAL drives to the Mac Pro as well for additional storage if needed.


-howard

 

[comptr]

I use that OWC Mercury Elite Pro Qx2 running as RAID-5 as my time machine backup drive for my Mac Pro. When I purchased it, I also bought the dual-eSATA PCI card for $50 which gives me 2 eSATA ports on the back of the computer. I use one to connect to the RAID-5 and it is blistering fast. The other port connects to a disk dock for drive testing, configuring, or bare disk backup storage. It too is extremely fast using eSATA.

Any external solution using FireWire 800 is going to be slower than eSATA connected external drives.

Don't forget that you can add INTERNAL drives to the Mac Pro as well for additional storage if needed.


-howard

well if I got the external I would get the iMac but if I go with the iMac I would go with the ssd and the 2 tb internal HD. If I get the mac pro I can add in more drives inside the tower so I would hold off on the external hd till a little latter.

 

[hfg]

well if I got the external I would get the iMac but if I go with the iMac I would go with the ssd and the 2 tb internal HD. If I get the mac pro I can add in more drives inside the tower so I would hold off on the external hd till a little latter.

If you are handy with DIY (or have the OWC folks do it) you can bring the extra SATA port out of the iMac to have an external eSATA port. But that is a lot of work and requires modifying the memory cover plate. That also prevents haveing 3 internal drives (HD, SSD, Optical). If the 2TB drive is adequate for your project, you are good to go with either iMac or Mac Pro.

Of course, if you get a new iMac with Thunderbolt, the external high speed drive will eventually be solved (only one high priced drive that I have seen so far).

 

[InuNacho]

Of course, if you get a new iMac with Thunderbolt, the external high speed drive will eventually be solved (only one high priced drive that I have seen so far).

On the frontpage a little while ago there was a Thunderbolt bus with 5 or so USB ports and FW800 Port on it so that definitely makes the iMac a viable option.
Even with Thunderbolt I'd still lean more towards the Mac Pro. When the 2011s hit the market you should be able to find cheaper 2010s (I plan on doing this).

 

[comptr]

On the frontpage a little while ago there was a Thunderbolt bus with 5 or so USB ports and FW800 Port on it so that definitely makes the iMac a viable option.
Even with Thunderbolt I'd still lean more towards the Mac Pro. When the 2011s hit the market you should be able to find cheaper 2010s (I plan on doing this).

So would you say the iMac is a no go. When I went to the apple store I was told the iMac is the better choice

 

[driftless]

Boy, I would suggest the iMac is the best option available today for your needs. The Mac Pro is looking very long in the tooth. We shall see if or what the new Mac Pro is like. I would also allocate extra funds for a very good and reliable external back-up for your customer's pics.

 

[comptr]

Boy, I would suggest the iMac is the best option available today for your needs. The Mac Pro is looking very long in the tooth. We shall see if or what the new Mac Pro is like. I would also allocate extra funds for a very good and reliable external back-up for your customer's pics.

Well I was leaning toward the iMac and for external storage I want to get this one: http://bit.ly/pZDPv0

 

[driftless]

I am not personally familiar with that product but it looks similar to the one that I would suggest.

 

[comptr]

I am not personally familiar with that product but it looks similar to the one that I would suggest.

well I have not found any other external hd that will do the trick other then the one I linked too if you know of any please add a link so I can look at it.