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Need advice on what to buy - MacPro or iMac?

D

dunkindonuts

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 27, 2009
3
0
Hi i am new to these forums...you people rock:D

Let me introduce myself. I edit lots of videos and make music and also play in a band. I have a pc right now but I want to upgrade because i have saved up lots of money and I am fed up of my pc. I was thinking of these options:

1) Mac Pro with 2 Displays and macbook pro 15inch

2) 27inch iMac and one extra display and macbook pro 15inch

I was wondering what to buy. My main usage is I edit and render lots of videos and also make music. I am also into photography (just a hobby) so I also edit lots of photos. I was thinking of buying the macpro but when iMac came i got confused (the new iMacs are just brilliant...checked one out at the store). I am confused between the top of the line iMac and the octo-core mac pro. So my questions are:

1)What should i buy?!:D
2)If I buy the fully loaded iMac ( i'll upgrade the RAM myself) can i connect it to another external display(like a 30inch ACD)?
3)If I buy mac pro then what configuration should i go for?
4) What are the best displays available right now in the market? Are the Apple LED display good?can i connect 2 of them? If I buy 2 LED displays then i can also connect one to my macbook pro :D


You must be wondering why i am spending so much money and also buying a macbook pro. Thats because my current laptop is almost dead(windows :p) so I am thinking why not buy the base 15inch MBP as I am already spending so much money. I'll upgrade the RAM and will buy SSD myself...I'll use it on the go and will also edit photos etc on it. Thats why 15inch:cool:

I will be buying all this stuff in store so I am wondering if they'll giveme any discount or freebie:D...I'll also buy apple care...and I was thinking its time to upgrade to iPod Touch 64gb too:cool: I have been working hard for a lots of years so I don't have money problems...I saved a lot and i am proud of it:)

Thanks a lot for reading this! Thanks!

EDIT: I was checking out the apple online store right now...I saw that the quad core mac pro has only 4 RAM slots but the eight-core mac pro has 8 RAM slots! I don't need that much RAM but I was wondering as they are the same machines...why the difference in number of slots?!
 
dunkindonuts said:
Hi i am new to these forums...you people rock:D

Let me introduce myself. I edit lots of videos and make music and also play in a band. I have a pc right now but I want to upgrade because i have saved up lots of money and I am fed up of my pc. I was thinking of these options:

1) Mac Pro with 2 Displays and macbook pro 15inch

2) 27inch iMac and one extra display and macbook pro 15inch

I was wondering what to buy. My main usage is I edit and render lots of videos and also make music. I am also into photography (just a hobby) so I also edit lots of photos. I was thinking of buying the macpro but when iMac came i got confused (the new iMacs are just brilliant...checked one out at the store). I am confused between the top of the line iMac and the octo-core mac pro. So my questions are:

1)What should i buy?!:D
2)If I buy the fully loaded iMac ( i'll upgrade the RAM myself) can i connect it to another external display(like a 30inch ACD)?
3)If I buy mac pro then what configuration should i go for?
4) What are the best displays available right now in the market? Are the Apple LED display good?can i connect 2 of them? If I buy 2 LED displays then i can also connect one to my macbook pro :D


You must be wondering why i am spending so much money and also buying a macbook pro. Thats because my current laptop is almost dead(windows :p) so I am thinking why not buy the base 15inch MBP as I am already spending so much money. I'll upgrade the RAM and will buy SSD myself...I'll use it on the go and will also edit photos etc on it. Thats why 15inch:cool:

I will be buying all this stuff in store so I am wondering if they'll giveme any discount or freebie:D...I'll also buy apple care...and I was thinking its time to upgrade to iPod Touch 64gb too:cool: I have been working hard for a lots of years so I don't have money problems...I saved a lot and i am proud of it:)

Thanks a lot for reading this! Cheers!
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure the Mac Pros processors are of a higher standard and are thus faster. The same amount wont equal (of processors (iMac Quad vs the Mac Pro Quad)) the same speed because of the quality of the processors. At least this is what I believe. The Mac Pro is also very expandable, with easily fitted RAM and HDD.
 
Well, Mr. Money Bags, it really depends on how much you are wanting to spend. One arrangement is very different from the other. There is about a 2100 difference, with the Mac Pro setup being more expensive (and that is with base configurations).

What it really depends on is what you plan on doing with either in the future. If photography and music is just a hobby, you are going to be putting out a lot of dough for something might be really overkill.

If you honestly see yourself needing the processing power and expandability in the future, when photography or other ventures will require upgrades, the Mac Pro would probably suit you better. I think that you are really underestimating what a well spec'd imac can do.

In my opinion, if you are only editing photos and music as a hobby, an octo-core mac pro is supreme overkill.
 
Thanks for the quick replies everyone:)

Grizzly Adams said:
Well, Mr. Money Bags, it really depends on how much you are wanting to spend. One arrangement is very different from the other. There is about a 2100 difference, with the Mac Pro setup being more expensive (and that is with base configurations).

What it really depends on is what you plan on doing with either in the future. If photography and music is just a hobby, you are going to be putting out a lot of dough for something might be really overkill.

If you honestly see yourself needing the processing power and expandability in the future, when photography or other ventures will require upgrades, the Mac Pro would probably suit you better. I think that you are really underestimating what a well spec'd imac can do.

In my opinion, if you are only editing photos and music as a hobby, an octo-core mac pro is supreme overkill.
Click to expand...

Well music isn't a hobby...I record songs but mainly its the video that I do...
So its final that I buy a macpro...but will the quad core processor do my work?I was leaning towards the mac pro because of what people above are saying: the expandability...thanks for the help !

Btw what should i do about the displays?can anyone suggest me good displays?Should I go for apple LED/ACD displays or some other ones?
 
Cave Man said:
Right now, I wouldn't buy a MacBook Pro (end of cycle), but I'd jump all over an i7 iMac.
Click to expand...


I need to buy a MBP very soon as my current laptop is almost dead...If the new ones come out and i feel like upgrading it...i'll sell this one and buy that one:D

thanks anyways!
 
I disagree. I think we won't see new MBP's for another 4 months. It's usually 8 months between revisions and it's only been 4 since the last.
 
dunkindonuts said:
EDIT: I was checking out the apple online store right now...I saw that the quad core mac pro has only 4 RAM slots but the eight-core mac pro has 8 RAM slots! I don't need that much RAM but I was wondering as they are the same machines...why the difference in number of slots?!
Click to expand...


the quad core mac pro has one quad core processor
the eight core mac pro has two quad core processors
each processor gets its own four ram slots
 
Check out the refurb store as it is stocked with Mac Pros at the moment. The "Refurbished Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz Intel Xeon" is the best buy at $3,299 even though it is older, but you can get $350 off a quad.

If you want Apple displays then obviously you have to fork out the cash and you will need two graphics cards with the connector (GT 120 or Radeon 4870) or one of these. Personally I wouldn't bother with them and go for two Dell U2410 or HP LP2475w which will run off one graphics card with just a $10 adapter and cost a lot less. You can put the extra money in to a dual quad core system, RAM, storage or SSD for apps/boot drive and get a better working setup.
 
get a refurb high end mac pro, then you'll never need a new computer for a long time, u'll just need parts
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