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iMac or Mac Pro - Which one should I buy?

T

The Zakster

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 14, 2010
7
0
I currently have a 13" MacBookPro but am looking to upgrade to a higher spec mac.

I play games on my computer and need a more powerful computer to support certain games.

I also use video editing software to edit gameplay I record from my xbox 360.

I will also probably be using boot camp to install windows to run windows only games and programs

Basically I want to know whether or not to get a iMac or Mac Pro .. and which specs would be best to get on them?

Also I have been looking at USB 3.0 and wondering if I bought either of these will I have to get a whole new computer to support it or just a PCI card upgrade.... same with lightpeak.

Sorry if theres any stupid mistakes/things in there as I know a bit about computers but not enough.
 
If you have an external monitor, get a Mac Pro. They are easier to upgrade and you can get USB 3 PCIE cards for it. If you don't have an external monitor, get an iMac because a good monitor is a little pricy. The only bad thing is you can't upgrade to USB 3. If you get an iMac, get a refurb i7 27 inch, that would be the best for your needs and would be the best bang for your buck.
 
I am not able to offer any advice, just wanted to say I am also trying to decide which would be best. I was looking earlier and the $1,499.00 iMac is the only one you can get a 2 TB hard drive. I think I would want to go that route to give me some longevity, since I wouldn't want think about trying to upgrade the hard drive myself on the iMac. I figured the $2,499.00 Mac Pro would be way more than I would ever use, but it would allow me to add hard drive space and such should I ever need to. The iMac with i3 and 2 TB with 4 GB of ram would be around $1,850.00 with tax. The Mac Pro with 3 GB of Ram with 1 TB would be about $2,800.00 with tax. So it's a good bit more. I too have a 13" MPB, but I want to add a Mac desktop to my Apple collection.
 
Well I can get a monitor... so which Mac Pro should I get? (What core/GHz?)

Which would be the best for my purpose and is it possible to upgrade the amount of cores or the processor in the future?
 
I'm now leaning towards the Mac Pro... as, when USB 3.0 support comes available, I want to install a PCI card and get a BlackMagicDesign Intensity Shuttle. Would this definitely work? :confused:
 
It all depends on your budget, if you want to stick to a lower price of the Mac Pro chose the four core, if you have some more money buy the 8 core, If you have 5 grand to spend buy the 12 core. My recommendation is to get the base model Mac Pro with 8GB RAM and the dual video card.
 
The Zakster said:
I'm now leaning towards the Mac Pro... as, when USB 3.0 support comes available, I want to install a PCI card and get a BlackMagicDesign Intensity Shuttle. Would this definitely work? :confused:
Click to expand...

I think the 6 core would work for what you need. And installing a USB 3.0 card would work just fine.
 
The Zakster said:
I currently have a 13" MacBookPro but am looking to upgrade to a higher spec mac.

I play games on my computer and need a more powerful computer to support certain games.

I also use video editing software to edit gameplay I record from my xbox 360.

I will also probably be using boot camp to install windows to run windows only games and programs

Basically I want to know whether or not to get a iMac or Mac Pro .. and which specs would be best to get on them?

Also I have been looking at USB 3.0 and wondering if I bought either of these will I have to get a whole new computer to support it or just a PCI card upgrade.... same with lightpeak.

Sorry if theres any stupid mistakes/things in there as I know a bit about computers but not enough.
Click to expand...

...why don't you just continue to game on your xbox 360?

For USB3 and lightpeak its sort of too early to tell what the best "upgrade" path will be for aftermarket cards but plain PCI has fairly limited bandwidth compared to PCIe...
 
J&JPolangin said:
...why don't you just continue to game on your xbox 360?
Click to expand...

Either way I still need a more powerful computer to handle video editing software.

And with boot camp once you've made the partitions can you edit them later say if I install another HDD at a later date?
 
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