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MacPro or iMac 24?

S

Spartynyc

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 10, 2007
3
0
Though I may wait until January (hopefully after new machines are available), I'm trying to decide between a MacPro and an iMac 24".

I'm a graphic designer and I do a lot of photoshop and web work. I have always used towers. My current G5 dual 2.0 just suffered a dead power supply and I've got the itch for a new machine.

I never considered an iMac for my work, but my tech guy suggested one.

Thoughts?
 
It's a personal choice, but for me the ease of expansion and upgradability make the Mac Pro a clear winner. I'm not really an all-in-one guy though.

I do audio stuff and the MP handels it with ease. I've only run out of power a few times when running tons of software instruments. Otherwise most tasks only take the cpu meter up about 1/4 of the way.

For use in Photoshop, the ability to add more than 4gigs of ram will really come in handy. The iMac is limited to 4 gigs I believe. Ram is cheap now too!
 
i think if you can justify the use of all the power that the macpro gives you than you deserve to get one of those. if you don't think that you will need all the power those beasts give you then you will be better off getting a imac.
 
I jumped on the iMac bandwagon for a few years. All it got me was regrets.

I found that I outgrew them quickly, and that the machines were so frequently in the shop that I got very little use out of them.

By the time six months had passed, I was longing for something more powerful and realized that I got very little use out of the machine due to it being in the shop so much.

Further, the resale value on them was poor. Given the refresh cycle, the price of newer machines (being cheaper when considering higher specifications), the resale value was between $500 and $1000 less than I paid after 6 months of age.

This last time, I went back to the tower models, and I've been happy ever since.

No more monitor issues putting the entire machine in the shop (yes, that's right, with an iMac if you have a video issue - which I had many - then the entire computer is in the shop for repair).

I say go for the tower.

When I purchased the Mac Pro, I was weighing it against the highest-end Aluminum iMac 24-inch. I found that I was only looking at a few hundred dollars more to go with the Mac Pro instead. So, I went with the Pro.

For me, the Pro offers:

1) No more video issues taking my whole computer away

2) The ability to easily clean the dust out monthly (a big deal for me).

3) More expandability than I could need (as opposed to the mess of external boxes I had all over my desk that were plugged into the iMacs).

4) Reliability (the first Apple product I've had in the last couple of years that hasn't needed repair).

Edit: Also forgot to mention the obvious. With a Mac Pro, you get two more processor cores. That's a nice bonus as well.

Go with the Mac Pro. You'll be much happier.

I look at it the same as with the Combo DVD / Televisions. If your DVD player fails, you have no T.V. to watch while you wait for the DVD to be repaired. It's that way with all All-in-One devices / computers.
 
The idea of an iMac...

...for professional graphics work wasn't something I had ever considered... so I was leaning toward the MacPro for the reasons you've mentioned. I just wanted some more opinions to be sure I wasn't being unnecessarily biased.

Thanks everyone (so far) for responding.
 
MacPro or iMac 24?

I have to agree with all of flyinmac's points. I, too, am not a fan of all-in-one computers. For the same reasons flyinmac lists.

I just got a Mac Pro. Some would no doubt tell me I got more power than I need. I would disagree. I got the power that I want (More! :D ) and the expandability and ease-of-expandability that I want too.

So... my recommendation would be go with a Mac Pro. I did, and don't regret it for a minute.

Good luck!

Lang
 
for business/pro use I'd say you should go for the mac pro. the imac is more of a consumer/amateur machine imo.
 
Go Pro!

Like some other posters, I've always had towers (and I've always been a PC guy, but I'm about to switch to Mac), and the Mac Pro's expandability has me sold.

The iMac doesn't *seem* like a bad deal - up to 4 gigs of RAM, nice big screen, decent processing power...but only *one* internal hard drive is what's really killing me. I routinely have 3+ hard disks in my computer with over 600 gigs of storage, and I don't want to deal with 2 or 3 external drives taking up all my desktop space.

I too do lots of Photoshop and Lightroom, and waiting for the new Mac Pro in January seems to be the wisest course to me. Now if they say it'll be another several months at Macworld because of some delays, then I'm just gonna buy at that time...I can only wait so long ;)

Go Mac Pro, I'm sure you won't be sorry...I know I won't be :)

-Bryan
 
I have been using iMac for the last two years and I bought a Mac Pro because of its expandability, processing power and flexible design. The iMac is a really nice machine but its a pure consumer product. Every 6 months you get newer models and it loses value very quickly.
I got my Mac Pro on Monday and I won't look back again. Its clearly a better machine that I wont need to change for the next 3 years. If my needs grow I can always buy some RAM, or a Hard Drive or even a CPU and install it in my Mac Pro. This isnt the case with the iMac.
Did I mention the speed difference? This beast is 3 times faster than the iMac. Its a true 64bit machine and doesn't use the x64 architecture which isn't entirely 64bit...
 
I found this review on Amazon.......



26 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
Warning for color sensitive artists and pros, November 15, 2007
By Mark M. Stevens "Mark Stevens" (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews

I never thought there would be a day when I was anything but a Mac Evangelist and I'm sad to say that day has come. I've owned and praised macs since the 80's with my first little Mac Classic. This is the first time I would ever suggest not buying an Apple product.

If you are a photographer, illustrator, graphic designer or other visual professional you do NOT want this computer.

Why not? It's looks pretty, the screen is a great size for the value and it has apple's rock solid software - granted on all accounts. There is one FATAL flaw: the monitor can't be calibrated properly and Apple can't and won't help. You may have read that the monitor is super bright, well it's actually too bright. you can't get a neutral starting point and therefore you can't calibrate the monitor (using external hardware tools). I've got my brightness set all the way down and I get a reading of 187 with my Colorvision Spyder - I need 150. It's so far off that I can't get reliable color correction done and therefore I can't know that my monitor will produce accurate prints or accurate files for my clients. When your business is images you must be able to KNOW that the images you produce are correctly set.

Apple's solution for my problem was to purchase and use an external monitor that "is better suited to adjusting and calibration"...rendering the giant 24" monitor on the iMac Useless. not an economical or reasonable solution.

If you MUST have accurate color and you know what monitor profiling is all about, don't buy this computer. You simply can't do what you need. It's very sad to see Apple moving away from the group that has always been their biggest support/market, but designers, photographers and visual artists should find another solution.



I have a 24" iMac that is just used for movies/surfing and it is great.


Hope this is of use.
 
Spartynyc said:
Though I may wait until January (hopefully after new machines are available), I'm trying to decide between a MacPro and an iMac 24".

I'm a graphic designer and I do a lot of photoshop and web work. I have always used towers. My current G5 dual 2.0 just suffered a dead power supply and I've got the itch for a new machine.

I never considered an iMac for my work, but my tech guy suggested one.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Hey, I run a busy design studio and bought the 24" iMac the day it came out. I was all set to drop about 7500 on a pro system, but took a chance and went with the iMac instead. As far as calibration goes, mine is dead bang on (like my old apple studio display was). I used Spyder2Pro, and it worked great. I have not regretted it yet, don't believe the red herrings about "upgradability"... as I will be able to buy a new one in 2 years and still come out ahead. I am not crazy about the new glossy screens, but when they come out with a 30" iMac I will be first in line to buy that as well.

If you are working on video or something else hugely space or ram intensive, then go with a pro... but for design work or imaging editing it is more than fine. Mine was capped at 3gb of ram, but the new ones allow for 4gb... but honestly I run 5-6 large apps at the same time with no trouble at all. I work on large 1.5gb multi-layered pshop files with no problems at all, I am sure it would be faster on a pro, but it is not like I feel like I am losing productivity at all. I maintain a 35-40k library of highres images and work in Aperture and iPhoto with no problems. I have not regretted it 1 single moment, saved about 3500-4000.00, and my pup appreciates the extra space under my desk, lol. Your tech was right, you should consider the option as it may work out for you as well. I am able to produce large publications, billboards, ads, etc. all from my 24" iMac... IMO the machine edges easily into the "prosumer" class.

PS: as far as the screen being too bright, that is just silly. Turn the brightness all the way down, and then run your calibration hardware. It worked for me on the first try.

cheers
 
I'd go with the iMac. You get excellent performance at a much cheaper price, and you can upgrade to a brand new machine in a year or two, and will *still* have spent less cash than you dropped two or three years ago on the overpriced Pro.
 
je1ani said:
MacPro's are better in all aspects.. wonder I wanna get one :D
Click to expand...

Better if you have memory or HD hogging Apps, or tend to require a color accurate display.

If you do not need color accuracy, more than 4GB of memory, or a TB of storage on RAID storage.

Then the iMac isn't a bad machine.
 
heatmiser said:
I'd go with the iMac. You get excellent performance at a much cheaper price, and you can upgrade to a brand new machine in a year or two, and will *still* have spent less cash than you dropped two or three years ago on the overpriced Pro.
Click to expand...

yeah and just keep changing iMacs every year. Everyone that buys a Mac Pro doesn't look back. The iMac is a consumer machine. A very nice one but not so good as the Mac Pro
 
petvas said:
yeah and just keep changing iMacs every year. Everyone that buys a Mac Pro doesn't look back. The iMac is a consumer machine. A very nice one but not so good as the Mac Pro
Click to expand...

Dude, this is your opinion. You like the MP more than the iMac. That's cool. But plenty of people (both "consumers" and "professionals") use iMacs to do Real Work, and are perfectly satisfied with them. You don't have to upgrade them yearly; I suggested that as an option. I'm not sure why this has to be some sort of pissing contest; use the MP all you want. I'm recommending the iMac.
 
The new iMacs out bench the g5 you are currently using,.. heck even the new MacBooks out bench the g5 power macs. So either way you will see performance increases. I am making the same decision currently.. mac pro or imac for a desktop.

The 4 core Mac Pro really is not much faster than a high end iMac, but with the mac pro you have the option to expand which is really nice. Of course the iMac will do the job and it is more energy efficient and near silent. For the price of a mac pro and an acd, you could purchase a new iMac (max the ram out), sell it in a year, and have plenty of money to buy a new top end iMac with some change left over.

The main thing holding me back from the iMac is the new screen. Im not totally sold on them just yet. Its not just the glass overlay, but the screen itself. The cinema display renders color much more accurately in my opinion.
 
Upgrading????

I would have to say that the iMac gives a bigger bang for the buck. Would you be upgrading the mac pro or iMac at all or keeping them base? The more powerful choice is the mac pro w/ upgrades but it will be way more money and then you will need an ACD of course ;)
 
eric55lv said:
Mac Pro because it has 3TB of hard drive
Click to expand...

Actually it can have up to 4TB! Just buy the new 1TB Hard Drives (I recommend the Samsung Spinpoint) and install them! They work great

Apple says in its website that the Mac Pro can have up to 3TB because they sell 750GB disks only...
 
djejrejk said:
The new iMacs out bench the g5 you are currently using,.. heck even the new MacBooks out bench the g5 power macs. So either way you will see performance increases. I am making the same decision currently.. mac pro or imac for a desktop.

The 4 core Mac Pro really is not much faster than a high end iMac, but with the mac pro you have the option to expand which is really nice. Of course the iMac will do the job and it is more energy efficient and near silent. For the price of a mac pro and an acd, you could purchase a new iMac (max the ram out), sell it in a year, and have plenty of money to buy a new top end iMac with some change left over.

The main thing holding me back from the iMac is the new screen. Im not totally sold on them just yet. Its not just the glass overlay, but the screen itself. The cinema display renders color much more accurately in my opinion.
Click to expand...

Actually the 4 core Mac Pro is really faster than the 2.8 iMac. Its about 80 - 100% faster, depending on task. Please also have in mind that if you multitask a lot, you will benefit from the 4 cores .The machine doesn't pause or slow down. Try doing two or three major tasks with the iMac at the same time. The system will slow down up to a point where you will say, "ok lets have a break till this thing is ready"
 
The 24 inch iMac is something I'm buying my mom when I can afford it.

I prefer the Mac Pro however, for the simple fact that I can throw three more hard drives in it whenever I feel like.
 
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