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Mac Pro or iMac?

kudukudu said:
1. the starter of this thread said his choice was between an imac and mac pro, not mini, macbook, etc.
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Except he absolutely does not need a Mac Pro and can get away with a Mac Mini.

2. 8800gt may be outdated, but I highly doubt apple has anything faster on offer in the imac. desktop video cards require desktop form factors for cooling. If you don't like the 8800gt, get the ati card.
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But he doesn't need the power at all... The laptop cards in the iMacs would be fine.

if you want to have an apple with the opportunity to swap in newer video cards down the line then mac pro is the only choice.
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Provided they actually work.

4. again, if you want your desktop culttered with a ton of external drives imac is fine if you need lots of storage.
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What's the difference between a Mac Pro tower and screen sitting on your desk and an iMac with an 8-bay hard drive enclosure?

He's using it for making documents and surfing the Internet. He doesn't need more than a Mac Mini or iMac.
 
Horst said:
So, what apps are you using that require MP power ?
Judging by your postings, the Mini is right up your alley, too. ;)
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I'll be using AutoCAD (or Rhinoceros/Blender), CS4, XCode (not particularly intensive, but...), KICAD PCBNew, and Logic Studio (because I like to make music).

Among others. I might try out some other software or play a game or two.
 
I believe that computing power is never enough! If the OP has the money, he should get a Mac Pro. Everything else is just inferior in performance. I admit I haven't read all the posts because there are numerous threads like this one here in MacRumors, but nothing compares to the expandability and power of a Mac Pro. I use the 1st generation Mac Pro and it still beats all current iMacs...The Xeon processor is just much better than the Core 2 Duo.
 
Sir Loin Steak said:
Looking like it. That said, I like the idea of being able to swap out parts, but only because that's what I've done for years on PCs.

Yet in some ways I want to get away from being so hands on with a pc.

Ya can't win!
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if you like the idea of expandability then go with the mac pro. The initial investment is costlier but in the long run you'll be able to prolong its life 4 years from now by switching its graphics card or adding more ram all the way up to 32GB :p It's more ram than you'll ever need plus the 4 hard drive bays will let you expand your storage to your heart's content if and when needed.

This expandability is what led me to get a mac pro. I had an iMac before and it was a great all in one. Only problems: a few years later, it did not have enough ram and neither could i upgrade it to take more. Worst case scenario: the LCD display died out of warranty. I couldn't use it anymore unless i connected an external display to it. But really disappointing because the iMac was great as an all in one and with a dead lcd its pretty much pointless since I have to connect another display again.

my advice: if you plan on selling the imac and buying a new mac in 3 years then go with the imac. If you plan on keeping your mac for awhile 5-6 years then get the mac pro.

just my 2 cents ;)
 
Tallest Skil said:
I'll be using AutoCAD (or Rhinoceros/Blender), CS4, XCode (not particularly intensive, but...), KICAD PCBNew, and Logic Studio (because I like to make music).

Among others. I might try out some other software or play a game or two.
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That doesn't answer my question; what is your experience with the applications you have mentioned, how long have you been using them, and how do they run on your Mac tower ?
 
Tallest Skil said:
I'll be using AutoCAD (or Rhinoceros/Blender), CS4, XCode (not particularly intensive, but...), KICAD PCBNew, and Logic Studio (because I like to make music).

Among others. I might try out some other software or play a game or two.
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Do you really need a MacPro to run them? What is stopping the iMac from running them.
 
dukebound85 said:
if you have to ask, then you dont need a macpro
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Nuff said!

JasO said:
Do you really need a MacPro to run them? What is stopping the iMac from running them.
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Nothing is stopping the iMac from running them at all. It's just a matter of what the user wants and needs.

Tallest is doing a lot of work that will require graphics updates and scratch disks. He can get by with the iMac, but the Mac Pro will get him more use over time, and get his work done faster.

The OP needs a machine that has a screen, HDD, and USB ports for peripherals, the iMac or Mac Mini with monitor serve his/her needs very well. Over time, it will still be able to run what they need with no problem.

I used to cut footage on an iBook G4, worked just fine even with the AMAZING amount of dropped frames and long render times. When it came time for me to upgrade, I considered the iMac G5, but was told to splurge on a Power Mac G5 (late October at the time). The G5 tower is still with me four years later and is still holding it's own, while my mothers G5 iMac can't even run the new software, but is doing just fine running MS Office and Safari. I can also stick two 2TB disk inside as well as up to 16GB of RAM for under $600 (for all parts).

It's all based on use now and in the future, I can get a 3.06GHz iMac to replace my tower and it would be wicked faster, but I want to be able to keep my machine for years like I have done with the tower AND run the latest high end video/graphics software.
 
Tallest Skil said:
I'll be using AutoCAD (or Rhinoceros/Blender), CS4, XCode (not particularly intensive, but...), KICAD PCBNew, and Logic Studio (because I like to make music).

Among others. I might try out some other software or play a game or two.
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For the electronics side, you need to be looking for an EDA package.
Something like National Instruments MultiSIM, and LabView. There's others, but the NI stuff offers a Student Edition of MultiSIM that's very affordable. MultiSIM includes Ultiboard, which is the PCB Trace program, and it works well. There's also some free stuff available, such as Eagle. The various packages (full versions, far fewer limits), are not cheap, but are a good value when compared to the competition. LabView is 64 bit, and they make a version that runs under OS X, but I don't know if this version is available to you at a discount. :confused:

There's others, some even run under OS X. :)
 
nanofrog said:
For the electronics side, you need to be looking for an EDA package.
Something like National Instruments MultiSIM, and LabView. There's others, but the NI stuff offers a Student Edition of MultiSIM that's very affordable. MultiSIM includes Ultiboard, which is the PCB Trace program, and it works well. There's also some free stuff available, such as Eagle. The various packages (full versions, far fewer limits), are not cheap, but are a good value when compared to the competition. LabView is 64 bit, and they make a version that runs under OS X, but I don't know if this version is available to you at a discount. :confused:

There's others, some even run under OS X. :)
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I'll remember that; thank you! :cool:
 
Wow!, this has really covered a load of stuff I never even considered.

Despite what some have said, I think I am drawn to the machine that has expandability, even if I wouldn't use the capacity 100% of the time.

The other thing is that if I found a new app I wanted use/get into, then the MacPro would seem to be able to handle it. Like video editing/music. Who knows what the kids, when they grow a little, get into themsleves - could be that I regret not going for gold.
 
For whatever this may be worth...

A couple of weeks back I sold my 2.0ghz Mini that I'd been using for just over a year. Although it did most everything I needed without any major issues (surfing the web, iTunes, some video encoding, dvd burning, office apps, etc.) it just didn't feel as fast as I'd like. My two year old MBP was outperforming it. I had the Mini as well as a decent quad core PC just for games that I hardly ever used.

I decided to sell my Windows gaming rig and Mini with the intent to get a new 24" iMac of some variety. I liked the screen and knew that with the high-end model I'd get some serious performance out of it for my needs. But all of that being said, I ended up going with an Apple refurb 2.8ghz 8-core Mac Pro. I ultimately ended up deciding on the Mac Pro because I already had a monitor I was using for my Mini/PC and a 10k RPM hard drive I could pop into the Pro to use as a Bootcamp drive. I also liked the expandability options and the fact that the system I got would last me for a very long time for just a couple hundred bucks more than a top-end iMac would cost me. Is it overkill for what I need now? Yes, but it gives me options and for the money it cost me I'm happier with this purchase.
 
For what you're gonna be using it for an imac would be perfectly fine, theres no need to get a mac pro unless your doing hard core work on it, industry stuff really.
 
Sir Loin Steak said:
Wow!, this has really covered a load of stuff I never even considered.

Despite what some have said, I think I am drawn to the machine that has expandability, even if I wouldn't use the capacity 100% of the time.

The other thing is that if I found a new app I wanted use/get into, then the MacPro would seem to be able to handle it. Like video editing/music. Who knows what the kids, when they grow a little, get into themsleves - could be that I regret not going for gold.
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Or you can get what you need now, save the money you didn't spend for going for gold later, when you need it, and when the Gold is better than the gold of yore.

Trust me, go for the iMac, even the highest end iMac will be overkill for you three years from now. Getting a Mac Pro to use MS Office is a d0ucheb@g thing to do when you DON'T need it. Don't let other convince you to spend your money on things that you may or may not be doing in the not to distant future.

Cuz when you do want to edit videos, and that 16 core Mac Pro calls your name, you may just spend the money AGAIN to get another tower.
 
Mac Pro for Final Cut Pro

What is a good Mac Pro setup (~$5,000-$7,000) to run Final Cut Pro well? By setup, I mean, everything. What are all the specs I want to get?

2.8 vs 3.0?
8 gigs of memory?
what video card?

I couldn't find a thread that specifically listed what was needed for Final Cut Pro. If this isn't the right place to ask this question, then I apologize. Any link to the correct place would be appreciated.
 
needhelpguy said:
What is a good Mac Pro setup (~$5,000-$7,000) to run Final Cut Pro well? By setup, I mean, everything. What are all the specs I want to get?

2.8 vs 3.0?
8 gigs of memory?
what video card?

I couldn't find a thread that specifically listed what was needed for Final Cut Pro. If this isn't the right place to ask this question, then I apologize. Any link to the correct place would be appreciated.
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Anything really. Final Cut runs just fine on a Macbook.

Now when it comes to running everything, including Color and Motion, then you need to get at least a MBP or iMac. The Mac Pro just gets the job done faster and smoother.

I wouldn't want to derail the thread, so searching in this forum will help you get more answers.
 
or you could do What im doing and convince yourself that the mac pro is the only machine that can do what you want it to do because im sure you want the mac pro you just want someone to back you up and tell you its a good idea or else you wouldn't have posted this thread
 
bumzo1 said:
or you could do What im doing and convince yourself that the mac pro is the only machine that can do what you want it to do because im sure you want the mac pro you just want someone to back you up and tell you its a good idea or else you wouldn't have posted this thread
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Lol. A little reassurance couldn't hurt :D
 
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