Mac Pro Vs Imac QuadCore

[Bshafer93]

Hi, im looking to buy I high performance Mac. I am currently a senior in high school. I am the president of my film department. I do ALOT of 3d graphics, Final cut, and various programs. I plan on going to film school. I do photography on the side for some extra cash.

As of now I have a 24" Imac Nvidia 8800 , 2gb ram. Right now its very slow on the things I demand it to do. I was looking at the imac quad core i7 (which is consumer level and even though it's cheaper than the Mac Pro its not upgradable.( I also know the mac pro has a professional level xenon processor) So I was wondering if I should take the plunge to get the Mac Pro so then I'd have a computer for the next like 10 years, or Imac which i I'd have up until a year or 2 after college graduation.

Thank you for the input,
Brent s

 

[Hellhammer]

Base Mac Pro and i7 iMac are about as fast so the real question is upgradeability. Do you need the upgradeability (HD bays and PCIe slots)?

I think you would be fine with an iMac. You're not a professional yet so iMac should be sufficient. Also, it provides a nice package. With Mac Pro, you would have to spend hundreds on display(s).

When you have graduated and are starting your business or something, then the Mac Pro should be worth it as faster computer = more productivity = more money. Besides, most schools have computer labs with powerful computers (e.g. Mac Pros) so you can do your stuff there as well.

 

[jonnymo5]

Unless you need the hard drive space I would go with the iMac. Plan on getting something new when you are out of college. You will have a much better grasp on what you will actually need for work then anyway.

iMac is harder to spill beer on as well.....

 

[degl]

If is for extended use and professional work, go for the Mac Pro, HD editing is really Memory and hard drive demanding applications the Imac form factor is not the ideal, the Imacs work at high temps, i already lose two of them for fry video card.

Good luck

 

[SmilesLots]

Also OWC has some nice options for the iMac: like an esata and SSD. I'm looking seriously at the refurb 27in i7 iMac going to OWC for upgrading.

 

[Transporteur]

So I was wondering if I should take the plunge to get the Mac Pro so then I'd have a computer for the next like 10 years, or Imac which i I'd have up until a year or 2 after college graduation.

No computer will last 10 years if you really want to work with it, especially not if you're doing movie and 3D stuff.


BTW: The processors are called XEON, xenon is a noble gas.

 

[rtrt]

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[And1ss]

Do you have a good decent size screen if you went with a mac pro? If not, maybe the iMac would be a better solution for you, unless of course, you want to upgrade hardware in the future.