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iMac or Mac Pro...for work

N

nimbuscloud

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 9, 2007
158
0
Yes, the age-old question.

I come to you today to ask for your advice. There is a chance that my IT boss will let me get a Mac, but I know that we are on a budget. I wanted to know if an iMac would facilitate my needs, or will I have to get a Mac Pro? Below is what I currently do, and what I will be doing.

-webmaster duties for college
-some graphic design work for large format printing
-a little video editing for the website
-some use of AutoCAD through Parallels or VMWare Fusion (though I have to learn AutoCAD :( )
-minor grunt work

I have to come up with prices for a DV camcorder soon, and I don't want that to eat too much into my "Mac budget"...if I can get one. So, do you think an iMac can handle those tasks, or is that too much for it?

All advice is very much appreciated. Thanks for your time and patience.

:apple:
 
You have 3 choices.

iMac, Kick up the ram, it should perform very well, but go for a good vid card

Mac Pro, Way more power, Way more price, and possible overkill, but more future-proof, so you wouldnt have to buy a new comp as fast when the iMac is starting to show it's age.

WAIT, new iMacs are just around the corner, you never know, they could come out with a quad-core or something and it'd really be worth the wait, IMO.

Hope this helped :)
 
Dustman said:
You have 3 choices.

iMac, Kick up the ram, it should perform very well, but go for a good vid card

Mac Pro, Way more power, Way more price, and possible overkill, but more future-proof, so you wouldnt have to buy a new comp as fast when the iMac is starting to show it's age.

WAIT, new iMacs are just around the corner, you never know, they could come out with a quad-core or something and it'd really be worth the wait, IMO.

Hope this helped :)
Click to expand...
get a rough budget, start looking at DV cams, and by that time hopefully new iMacs will be out (aug 7th maybe)

if your employer is anything like mine, it takes at least a month to get "permission to buy" anything...when can i be my own boss?!?!
 
L3X said:
get a rough budget, start looking at DV cams, and by that time hopefully new iMacs will be out (aug 7th maybe)

if your employer is anything like mine, it takes at least a month to get "permission to buy" anything...when can i be my own boss?!?!
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was looking at the Sony DCR-HC96 MiniDV HandyCam Camcorder, since it's a pretty good camera and it's only $500. Initially, I was looking at the Canon GL2, but it's about $1,700...

I may have to turn in some quotes next week. I would LOVE to get a Mac Pro, but it'll be +$3k. A +$2k iMac is an easier pill to swallow...since I have to add a DV camcorder to that, but the Mac Pro has a longer lifespan. I'd like the iMac to last at least a good solid 5-6 years, but I don't know if it will. I have a G5 PowerMac, the low end version, since it's launch...and it's still working pretty well...and I only have 1GB of RAM.

I really hope the new iMacs allow up to 4GB of RAM. If so, perhaps that will do fine.

:apple:
 
IMO the iMac will do the job. But at the end of the day the iMac is just a laptop in a nice box with a screen. I think you should look to the future and choose accordingly.
 
If you are using a currenty display or getting a cheaper Dell panel, the Mac Pro may be just as cost effective, whether you get the Quad 2.0 or 2.66, you can another 2GB RAM for $200, add a 2nd HDD for $100 or less, and assuming you don't go for things like Bluetooth, Airport, and BT keyboard or mouse, and also assuming that you get a Higher Ed discount (you mentioned a college), then I think the Mac Pro is fairly affordable.

A H.E. Mac Pro 2.0 starts at $2,030 and $2,299 for the 2.66. Add $300 for a 2nd HDD and a total of 3GB RAM is not bad.

A H.E. 24" iMac with 2GB RAM and the 256MB Video option is $2,170 before you add an external HDD or up it to the 500GB option, not to mention if you want the 2.33 CPU.
 
Trust me, for your job, don't get the iMac. It is almost as expensive as the MacPro, so get the low-end Mac Pro. 2.0ghz / 1gb / 250gb will do you fine. Also buy 3 1gb sticks for about 50 dollars each. For the screen buy the Viewsonic 22in for 300 dollars. It is one of the best low-budget screens on the market today. It will all come to about 2600 dollars and the computer will last 4 years easily. Tell your boss that. Add 300 dollars for the 2.66ghz, which will add another year or two of usage.

That's all.
 
it depends on what quality of camera you want too...prices for them can range from $300-$1,500
 
kikobarbada said:
Trust me, for your job, don't get the iMac. It is almost as expensive as the MacPro, so get the low-end Mac Pro. 2.0ghz / 1gb / 250gb will do you fine. Also buy 3 1gb sticks for about 50 dollars each. For the screen buy the Viewsonic 22in for 300 dollars. It is one of the best low-budget screens on the market today. It will all come to about 2600 dollars and the computer will last 4 years easily. Tell your boss that. Add 300 dollars for the 2.66ghz, which will add another year or two of usage.

That's all.
Click to expand...

Are you sure about the Mac Pro 2.0 GHZ version? Is there not much of a performance difference between the 2.0 and the 2.66 GHZ version?

Also, where have you seen 1GB RAM for $50? I'd like to get 4GB at that price.
Thanks for you time.

:apple:
 
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