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Mac Pro or Imac 24"

M

Mr. lax

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 6, 2007
489
0
Canada
I'm looking to buy a new computer primarily for gaming but i would still like to use mac because, well quite frankly Microsoft pisses me off.

Which one of these computers would be better suited to run games?

Mac Pro
* Two 2.66GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon
* 4GB (4 x 1GB)
* 500GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
* ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512MB (2 x dual-link DVI)
* Apple Cinema HD Display (23" flat panel)
* One 16x SuperDrive
* Both Bluetooth 2.0+EDR and AirPort Extreme
* Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse - U.S. English
* Mac OS X - U.S. English

Total: $4,839.00


Or...

# 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
# 2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
# 750GB Serial ATA Drive
# NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT 256MB SDRAM
# SuperDrive 8X (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
# Apple Keyboard & Mighty Mouse + Mac OS X (US English)
# 24-inch widescreen LCD
# AirPort Extreme
# Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR

Total: $3,031.00



For both of these Macs i would wait till the next revolution and i will purchase it through EDU discount.

I would also like to run games like Crysis, Fable 2 (throught vista), WoW and Starcraft 2.

Opinions?

Thanks in advance.
 
Always get the best. For gaming if you can afford it get the Mac Pro.
 
Lovesong said:
Ummm... you're comparing a machine with a faster CPU, much, much better GPU, more RAM, faster HD, and faster optical drive, with a higher-res monitor to another. Which do you think is better. If you can afford the extra $2000, then get the MacPro. Simple. :)
Click to expand...

More like comparing a notebook to a workstation, since Apple doesn't sell a machine with a desktop chipset yet. :(

If you can afford it, get a refurbished Mac Pro.

Don't get the Apple memory upgrade or their display, go third party on both and save some money.
 
is this a serious question? do i get a machine that has little/no ability to be updated, or do i buy a machine that has more room to grow than the average user would need for years........ hmm.........

mac pro. period.
 
Mr. lax said:
I'm looking to buy a new computer primarily for gaming but i would still like to use mac because, well quite frankly Microsoft pisses me off.

Which one of these computers would be better suited to run games?

Mac Pro
* Two 2.66GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon
* 4GB (4 x 1GB)
* 500GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
* ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512MB (2 x dual-link DVI)
* Apple Cinema HD Display (23" flat panel)
* One 16x SuperDrive
* Both Bluetooth 2.0+EDR and AirPort Extreme
* Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse - U.S. English
* Mac OS X - U.S. English

Total: $4,839.00


Or...

# 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
# 2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
# 750GB Serial ATA Drive
# NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT 256MB SDRAM
# SuperDrive 8X (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
# Apple Keyboard & Mighty Mouse + Mac OS X (US English)
# 24-inch widescreen LCD
# AirPort Extreme
# Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR

Total: $3,031.00



For both of these Macs i would wait till the next revolution and i will purchase it through EDU discount.

I would also like to run games like Crysis, Fable 2 (throught vista), WoW and Starcraft 2.

Opinions?

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

As others have said, you can't really compare the two machines on price the way you've configured them because you're getting a lot more with the Mac Pro. So let's configure the Mac Pro as closely as possible to the iMac:


#Two 2.66GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon
#1GB (2 x 512MB)
#250GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
#NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256MB (single-link DVI/dual-link DVI)
#One 16x SuperDrive
#Both Bluetooth 2.0+EDR and AirPort Extreme
#Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse - U.S. English

Apple Subtotal: $2578

#1GB (2x512MB) Apple OEM RAM from OWC - $139
#500GB Western Digital SATA drive from Newegg - $129
#Dell 24" LCD Monitor - $309

Third Party Subtotal: $877

Grand Total: $3455


So the difference is only about $400, and you get a faster, more expandable computer, that will retain its value a lot more than the iMac. And last but not least, you'll get to keep your monitor.

I rest my case.
 
The Mac Pro will pee all over the iMac, and then go back for seconds. This is like comparing a toyota corolla with a ferrari. :)
 
akadmon said:
As others have said, you can't really compare the two machines on price the way you've configured them because you're getting a lot more with the Mac Pro. So let's configure the Mac Pro as closely as possible to the iMac:


#Two 2.66GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon
#1GB (2 x 512MB)
#250GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
#NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256MB (single-link DVI/dual-link DVI)
#One 16x SuperDrive
#Both Bluetooth 2.0+EDR and AirPort Extreme
#Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse - U.S. English

Apple Subtotal: $2578

#1GB (2x512MB) Apple OEM RAM from OWC - $139
#500GB Western Digital SATA drive from Newegg - $129
#Dell 24" LCD Monitor - $309

Third Party Subtotal: $877

Grand Total: $3455


So the difference is only about $400, and you get a faster, more expandable computer, that will retain its value a lot more than the iMac. And last but not least, you'll get to keep your monitor.

I rest my case.
Click to expand...

This is all the OP should need to read!! ;-)
 
Kahhhumm!

I have an imac.
and at work I use Mac Tower with Dual G5 processor. Now I know the new Macs have intel processors as does my imac but I dont really notice the difference in speed and performance.

I guess it all comes down to the individual games system requirements?

I use Adobe CS2 and Macromedia programs and have no problem running multiple programs at once.

Even games on my imac (I downloaded Prey Demo) runs fine.

Im a proffesional and didnt feel it neccessary to spend a nother £1000 or $2000 on a tower. Well not to mention I couldnt afford it.

I have since upgraded my imac to the maximum amount of Ram = 2Gb it was very cheap only £85 from crucial thats about $170

Do people really upgrade there Macs other than Ram and maybe Hardrive which can be external?, isnt it kinda like treating it like a PC?

Never forget that the machine does not last forever and will need to be replaced in say 4-5 years.

I am pefectly happy with my imac and feel this maybe the wise choice.

You could then spend the other $2000 on a Bike, Holiday, towards car or digital camera. Anything to get you out of the house from time to time.

Hope this is useful.

Madina
 
Mr. lax said:
I'm looking to buy a new computer primarily for gaming but i would still like to use mac because, well quite frankly Microsoft pisses me off.

Which one of these computers would be better suited to run games?

Mac Pro
* Two 2.66GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon
* 4GB (4 x 1GB)
* 500GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
* ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512MB (2 x dual-link DVI)
* Apple Cinema HD Display (23" flat panel)
* One 16x SuperDrive
* Both Bluetooth 2.0+EDR and AirPort Extreme
* Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse - U.S. English
* Mac OS X - U.S. English

Total: $4,839.00


Or...

# 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
# 2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
# 750GB Serial ATA Drive
# NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT 256MB SDRAM
# SuperDrive 8X (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
# Apple Keyboard & Mighty Mouse + Mac OS X (US English)
# 24-inch widescreen LCD
# AirPort Extreme
# Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR

Total: $3,031.00



For both of these Macs i would wait till the next revolution and i will purchase it through EDU discount.

I would also like to run games like Crysis, Fable 2 (throught vista), WoW and Starcraft 2.

Opinions?

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Lol?

Mac Pro is not worth it for gaming. You're paying 2000 extra just to get a faster GPU and CPU. Basically, you're wasting money on a second CPU (no game uses more than 2 cores) and other workstation goodies that are completely useless for games. True, a Mac Pro with that config is faster than top iMac at games, not enought to justify 1.6x the cost.

BTW, why do you opt for 4 gigs of RAM for the MP? 2 is more than enough.

So, if you have spare money, sure, get a MP - its a awesome great looking machine and has an external aluminium display :cool:
 
madina said:
I have an imac.
and at work I use Mac Tower with Dual G5 processor. Now I know the new Macs have intel processors as does my imac but I dont really notice the difference in speed and performance.

I guess it all comes down to the individual games system requirements?

I use Adobe CS2 and Macromedia programs and have no problem running multiple programs at once.

Even games on my imac (I downloaded Prey Demo) runs fine.

Im a proffesional and didnt feel it neccessary to spend a nother £1000 or $2000 on a tower. Well not to mention I couldnt afford it.

I have since upgraded my imac to the maximum amount of Ram = 2Gb it was very cheap only £85 from crucial thats about $170

Do people really upgrade there Macs other than Ram and maybe Hardrive which can be external?, isnt it kinda like treating it like a PC?

Never forget that the machine does not last forever and will need to be replaced in say 4-5 years.

I am pefectly happy with my imac and feel this maybe the wise choice.

You could then spend the other $2000 on a Bike, Holiday, towards car or digital camera. Anything to get you out of the house from time to time.

Hope this is useful.

Madina
Click to expand...

eXan said:
Lol?

Mac Pro is not worth it for gaming. You're paying 2000 extra just to get a faster GPU and CPU. Basically, you're wasting money on a second CPU (no game uses more than 2 cores) and other workstation goodies that are completely useless for games. True, a Mac Pro with that config is faster than top iMac at games, not enought to justify 1.6x the cost.

BTW, why do you opt for 4 gigs of RAM for the MP? 2 is more than enough.

So, if you have spare money, sure, get a MP - its a awesome great looking machine and has an external aluminium display :cool:
Click to expand...

I am in a similar situation. Though not for gaming I have been trying to decide between a 2.66 Mac Pro + 23" ACD and a 24" iMac 2.33 7600GT. I don't game but do like to make the occassional iMovie and hope to get Final Cut Express with it. I feel that the Mac Pro is overkill for my every day needs and I will only notice the speed difference during rendering and other video editing tasks. I like the space saving of the iMac and more clutter free nature. Not to mention the Mac Pro is so big. I had a G4 Sawtooth for 7 years that was actually smaller. But I really like the look of the 23" ACD over the iMac. And I bought a Mini in Oct as a holdover till the next updates, but I don't want to go with that permanently, just not enough power and I don't like having a notebook hard drive. I just feel that the Mac Pro won't get utilized to its potential and it would be a waste to have all that machine for daily mail, websurfing, and such and a little video and photo editing.
 
roland.g said:
I am in a similar situation. Though not for gaming I have been trying to decide between a 2.66 Mac Pro + 23" ACD and a 24" iMac 2.33 7600GT. I don't game but do like to make the occassional iMovie and hope to get Final Cut Express with it. I feel that the Mac Pro is overkill for my every day needs and I will only notice the speed difference during rendering and other video editing tasks. I like the space saving of the iMac and more clutter free nature. Not to mention the Mac Pro is so big. I had a G4 Sawtooth for 7 years that was actually smaller. But I really like the look of the 23" ACD over the iMac. And I bought a Mini in Oct as a holdover till the next updates, but I don't want to go with that permanently, just not enough power and I don't like having a notebook hard drive. I just feel that the Mac Pro won't get utilized to its potential and it would be a waste to have all that machine for daily mail, websurfing, and such and a little video and photo editing.
Click to expand...

I think for your needs, an iMac will be enough. Just get the extras installed so that you will get a longer life out of it.

However, if you want a computer than you can keep for longer than an iMac by upgrading it.. get the Mac Pro.
 
the mac pro is clearly the better choice for absolute performance, but for price/performance ratio, when all you're talking about is games, I'd go for the imac. It's very capable, and with the mac pro, you're paying for a lot of things that aren't going to be important from a gaming standpoint.
 
c.joe.go said:
is this a serious question? do i get a machine that has little/no ability to be updated, or do i buy a machine that has more room to grow than the average user would need for years........ hmm.........

mac pro. period.
Click to expand...

When you say updated what do you mean?
More Ram? as you can with iMac
More Hardrive Space? as you can with iMac

Failing these you could upgrade to the what by then maybe a 64 core iMac!

Bring it on!

Lets deal with the Now rather than the future, besides you'll only have to pay again to upgrade the Mac Pro.

iMac iMac iMac
 
Upgradable vs. Expandable

The reality is no computer is truly that upgradable. Most machines can't upgrade the CPU or chipset and so the speed and bus speed are limited. Not to mention RAM can be added, but usually not faster RAM. 95%+ users out there wouldn't upgrade a CPU even when they can be because it is not easy or really that cost efficient. So a Mac Pro isn't more upgradable than an iMac, just more expandable.
 
I'm in the exact same position as the OP. I'm looking to ditch my crumbling PC for a MP to primarily game. Of course there will work stuff to do as well, but nothing too taxing.

I'm waiting on upgrades to the GPU and on the arrival of SS etc., hopefully all of which will arrive in June. Surely the GeForce 8800 GTX will be available by then.

To the OP, Gamespot has a great article up comparing the 7600, x1900 and the 8800 cards and it appears the 7600 and x1900 are not even worth wasting your time on (gaming wise), so I figure it's best to wait until newer cards arrive. This is the main reason why I think a gamer needs to go with a MP, because of the GPUs. Am I wrong?

Here's the link to that article: http://www.gamespot.com/features/6168650/index.html?tag=topslot;title;3
 
Mac + PC

Why dont you buy a less beefy mac, and use the rest of the monney for a PC? PC's are cheap these days, and the macs havent been updated for ages, so you would get much more PC for your monney. I can see why you want to buy a mac. I am a mac user myself, but im not a gamer. I dont think that the mac is made for gamers at all. Most of the mac-haters out there nag about its lack of gaming abillities, and they are probably right.
And if you dont like PC's there are also consolles like the new playstation or the Wii.

Cheers
 
barryd said:
it appears the 7600 and x1900 are not even worth wasting your time on (gaming wise)...
Click to expand...

that's a very subjective statement. The 7600 and x1900 would both absolutely kick the butt of any of the games that I play, and more generally, do very well with a large number of currently popular games across gaming genres. Clearly neither is the equal of the 8800 GTX, but both, especially the x1900, are very capable performers for many, many current games. It's really only those who want maxed settings on demanding games that would find the x1900 inadequate, at least for now.
 
King Kuk said:
Why dont you buy a less beefy mac, and use the rest of the monney for a PC? PC's are cheap these days, and the macs havent been updated for ages, so you would get much more PC for your monney. I can see why you want to buy a mac. I am a mac user myself, but im not a gamer. I dont think that the mac is made for gamers at all. Most of the mac-haters out there nag about its lack of gaming abillities, and they are probably right.
And if you dont like PC's there are also consolles like the new playstation or the Wii.

Cheers
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if this was in response to my post, but I have a G4 Mini now and an out-of-date gaming PC and I love the thought of having my cake and eat it too with a MP or an iMac with XP via Boot Camp. I didn't want to bother with two machines when one can do it all.

Also, my main gaming focus is mmorpgs, so the Wii/PS3/X360 route isn't an option.

Yes, my earlier statement about the 7600 and x1900 is subjective by after reading the benchmarks, I just don't see any reason to settle for GPUs that are "aight" when I'm going to throw down $4k on a machine.

I'm just beat down from playing the waiting game. I will get a new Mac this June come hell or high water.
 
what the world need is
a headless imac

something bigger than mac mini
but with 3.5 inch harddisk
and standard RAM
 
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