iMac vs. Mac Pro

[zorg]

I was looking at the new iMacs, and I wondered, is it even worth it for people to buy the Mac Pro over the iMac that are looking for a college computer? Many won't ever need the power of the Mac Pro, and the iMac is much cheaper. Mostly I am talking about standard work on them, which both can handle.

The only thing is if you were to play games, you would need a good graphics card. But, is the graphics card of the iMac (best one) good enough? Its the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS with 512MB memory. Also, what is the difference between that and the one the Mac Pro has, NVIDIA GeForce 8800 with 512MB memory and two dual link DVI. So my question is, what is two dual link DVI?

 

[digitalnicotine]

The dual link DVI cards are necessary when using more than one 30" ACD, as the resolution is 2560 x 1600. The 24" iMac is 1900 x 1200. Here's a more detailed explanation.

The MP would be necessary/useful for certain things, such as heavy 3d rendering, HD editing, and other intensive work. Obviously, not all college students will be doing such, and therefore, many won't need a MP, and can easily fulfill all their needs with an iMac (especially the new refresh).

As far as gaming, not much has changed in that respect with the new iMac refresh. It will still play most games, but the ones with intensive graphics will have to be compromised. But this isn't shocking, as the machines that can handle these games are built specifically to do so, and can easily cost twice as much as the high end iMac (at least). If gaming is a major concern, you're better off either using consoles like Xbox 360 and PS3, or getting a gaming PC.

If you're a casual gamer, or play games that don't have graphics that are more realistic than well... reality, you should be fine with an iMac.

 

[crazycat]

The iMac are good enough for what you want to do, if you want to play anything except crisis and games that are similar to it. The MP will be much faster but will cost more.