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Need computer for my project studio - iMac or Mac Pro

J

jasonrhcp

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 11, 2010
37
0
Hi. I am new to this forum. I am looking in buying a computer for my home music studio. I am looking in getting a new iMac 27" or a used Mac Pro either 1.1 (2006) or 3.1 (2008). I am not sure what to get. I was hoping your guys would share your opinion. What are the differences between the new iMac's and the older line mac pro. I see they still sell for 1000-2000 dollars. Even though they are older, are they still better??
Please help.
Thanks
Jason
 
I am a student at a university and worked for a full blown studio in my town. I am planning on recording bands around the area. I also record pageant music for the local pageant scene. Along those lines. I am looking for something that will last me awhile.
 
jasonrhcp said:
I am a student at a university and worked for a full blown studio in my town. I am planning on recording bands around the area. I also record pageant music for the local pageant scene. Along those lines. I am looking for something that will last me awhile.
Click to expand...

You worked at a full blown studio, have experience recording, but don't know what computer to get?

Rly?
 
I am just trying to figure out what would be the best in the long run. I am leaning more towards an older mac pro but Im just trying to figure out the differences. I am not a computer wiz nor do I claim to be one. There is nothing fishy. The studio I worked with had a mac pro with pro tools HD rig. I am getting an LE rig and I don't know if the mac pro is necessary.
Thanks
 
jasonrhcp said:
I am just trying to figure out what would be the best in the long run. I am leaning more towards an older mac pro but Im just trying to figure out the differences. I am not a computer wiz nor do I claim to be one. There is nothing fishy. The studio I worked with had a mac pro with pro tools HD rig. I am getting an LE rig and I don't know if the mac pro is necessary.
Thanks
Click to expand...

How vital is the data you are working with? If the hourly backups of Time Machine to an external hard disk of your work do not cut it for data redundancy, then you either need to go with a Drobo, or a Mac Pro with internal RAID.

In some cases, an iMac is faster than a quad Mac Pro, but if you want to expand with another video card, more RAM, or more I/O cards, the Mac Pro is the only game in town.

If I were just doing stuff on my own time and it wasn't something I was making a profit on, I'd go with the iMac. If this was music that was making an income and downtime would mean loss of revenue, I'd go with the Mac Pro.

It all depends if you are willing to spend the difference or if the $1000-$2000 is better spent elsewhere, such as more VST plugins or other items.
 
Thanks. I am looking to do some for profit in the future but not right away. A used mac pro (2008) model and the new iMac are about the same price. Which one has the better performance. Is the 2008 xeon still better than the i5??
 
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