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iMac vs Mac Pro???

If you have the other stuff LCD, mouse, drives, etc. think toward the Mac Pro -- especially if you are going to use a lot of the Pro apps.

The biggest thing besides expandability the Mac Pro has -- is a 32GB RAM limit.

And that is a whole lot more than 3GB on the iMac...

You WILL run into a RAM limit rather quick with the iMac, basically you are bumping against it now.

So if you must get are iMac for pro apps, wait until the new chipset arrives and you get a slight RAM bump.

Either 4 or 8GB, depending on what the 965GM mobile chipset arrives with.
 
I'm in the same boat as you OP. I posted the question a few weeks ago, and I am still up in the air. Either machine has more than enough power for me.

The 20" iMac, with upgraded video memory, and 2GB of RAM. With that though, I would need to buy/build external enclosures for extra drives for backup and storage (at least 2). Thats gonna be anywhere from $100 - $150 each for 300GB or bigger. I love the looks of the machine, and it's well designed. But with its all-in-one design, if the screen goes bad, you're out of a machine until it gets fixed or replaced. Plus you can't upgrade much else on it.

So, the total would be..
$1749 - 20" iMac with 2GB of RAM, 256MB of Video RAM.
$300 - External drives (rough estimate)
$169 - Apple Care (With the iMac, I think it would be best to purchace it since it's an all in one unit.)
$2218 - Total...

With the MacPro you can buy any SATA-II hard drives and just plug them in. No external enclosures needed to add storage. But the RAM is damn expensive, and you can't get by with 1GB for too long. So an additional $250 at least to get you up to 2GB (unless RAM prices drop int he next couple of months).

$2124 - MacPro downgraded to 2.0GHz, and downgraded HD to 160GB.
$200 - For 2 SATA-II 300GB hard drives (from another source).
$300 - For 19" - 20" monitor (from another source).
$300 - 1GB RAM
$2874 - Total

$2924 - $2218 = $706 difference. Is the $700 difference worth the upgradability, not dealing with external enclosures, and more power? I'm still not sure...

What we need is that mid level Mac. Something with similiar specs to the iMac using the Core 2 Duo destop processor, without the built in screen, 1 or 2 PCIe slots for upgradability, and 2 hard drive bays. The Mac-XPC. Price it a little under the 20" iMac and we'd be set.

Also, at MacMall or ClubMac you can find the prices for each machine cheaper than the Apple site. You can also find RAM prices cheaper if you're willing to do the work yourself.
 
Another thing to take into account is the display. Do you need to work with accurate colours or not?

The iMac display is good but is not a professional display...
In that respect the MacPro might be a good idea.
Or with the money you save buy an extra display and connect it to the iMac
 
I'd vote for iMac if you don't have a decent display and also value quiet operation, as well as the extra embellishments like the iSight and front row.

I did buy a 24", but I ran into one of the problems with the iMac - the total inability to get to any of the components. All the main components were fine, even the screen was perfect, but a bloody little fan made a faint but irritating scraping noise that I just couldn't ignore. The result: DOA.

David
 
I'm kind of in the same boat, but one step behind since I still have a G5 and thinking of going Intel.

The iMac is a beautiful machine (24"), but the lack of upgrades can be a huge downside if you like to mess with your computers.

Example: I started with a Dual 2.0 G5 with 512Mb of Ram, 160 GB HD, and a R9600 64mb. Through finding deals switched the machine, upgraded video cards a couple of times, added RAM, bought HD's and ended up with the machine in my sig. I believe I can do this with the Mac Pro again. Slowly upgrade as the prices fall and I can save money.

I'm thinking of keeping my 2 300GB drives and setting them up in RAID in a MacPro and then adding a 3rd drive for daily backups of the RAID. This is not even a possibility on an iMac. Also the video card thing... the iMac now has an removable video card, but it's hard to get in there and surely the choices will be very limited, or non-existant. (it's hard enought to get ATI and nVidia(Apple) to make mac cards, much less specialty MXM cards.)

This all shows how much Apple meeds a middle of the road, headless machine. Spec'd like the 24" imac, but with 2 PCIe slots, 4 ram slots, and 2 HD bays. At around $1400-1700 it would sell great and not really dig into either of the two other products.
 
Reviving an old Thread

I am a switcher with a Intel macbook 1.83 with 2GB RAM about 2 yrs old. Thinking of upgrading and giving wife macbook :D I love my MB and the only real complaints I have is that iPhoto is a bit slugish sometimes. I have about 50 albums over last 18 months with about 500-1000 photos. Scrolling is a sometimes jerky. Nothing really horrible. iMovie can be quite slow but I do not use it much (partly because slow)

So, my question. Assuming same 4GB RAM, How much do you think Quad Core (x2) pro would help over 2.4GHz iMac ? With most of built in apps? Is it worth the extra $1000 (I already have a 24" Display I use with my macbook)
TIA, Hotoru
 
hotoru said:
I am a switcher with a Intel macbook 1.83 with 2GB RAM about 2 yrs old. Thinking of upgrading and giving wife macbook :D I love my MB and the only real complaints I have is that iPhoto is a bit slugish sometimes. I have about 50 albums over last 18 months with about 500-1000 photos. Scrolling is a sometimes jerky. Nothing really horrible. iMovie can be quite slow but I do not use it much (partly because slow)

So, my question. Assuming same 4GB RAM, How much do you think Quad Core (x2) pro would help over 2.4GHz iMac ? With most of built in apps? Is it worth the extra $1000 (I already have a 24" Display I use with my macbook)
TIA, Hotoru
Click to expand...

I started an iMac vs Mac Pro thread about a week ago so I'm kinda in the same position as you, however I have different needs/desires.

For using mostly built in apps such as iPhoto and iMovie, I think an iMac would be more than enough for you. I think the main reason your MB is sluggish with iPhoto is because back in those days, the Integrated Graphics were pants. However, now, the MB graphics are actually very good.

I'm not sure how dependent these apps are on the graphics card but the graphics card in the iMac in ok, however it might be worth waiting until after MWSF to get an even better graphics card :)
 
iMac vs Pro

Hi I'm a graphic designer and looking to exit the PC world for good and get into a refurbished mac from apple...

Is the iMac or the pro my best buy?
What about video/graphics cards?

Thanks a lot! :)
 
If you have to ask, you should get an imac. The full imac 27 is more than enough for most anything....and can be replaced in 2-3 years for the price of the mac pro you buy today.

If you dont "know" whether you need multiple drive bays for RAID or 32 gigs of RAM, you likely don't need them.

The pros are nice, but the lower ends are a waste of money. Unless you have very specific needs or need the biggest mac pro (ie 8+ cores) theres no need to enter the macpro world.

Also, go try looking at the macpro forums. If you feel comfy there go for it.

Dont get me wrong, my friend bought one and loves it. I wish I had one. But why spend 4 grand for something as fast as $2.5K imac, or 5-6 grand when you can get an imac now and another in 3 years for the same price unless you absolutely need it?
 
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