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possibly purchasing a new imac

S

skitzodancer

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 21, 2012
53
0
hi everyone,

i currently have a 17" macbook pro (last of the core 2 duo range) which i have hooked up to a 20" apple cinema display and use it for music production.

so later this year it my 21st birthday and my parents are giving me a fair bit of money and im thinking of upgrading my setup possibly to a imac or possibly even a mac pro.


i was just wanting to know what you guys think would be better, a imac with spec below:

27" imac
16gb ram
256gb ssd + 1tb hdd
2gb gpu
3.1ghz i7

or would it be better to get mac pro with spec below:

2.4ghz 8 core xeon
12 gb ram
1gb graphics
1tb hdd

i know a ssd will prove faster for loading apps and stuff but it doesnt really bother me that much... the only reason id prefer to go for a mac pro would be as i could use a tv as a monitor so i could play ps3 trough it :)

any advice would be very much appreciated.

thanks
 
I would say avoid the mac pro. The tech is pretty outdated and not worth the price IMO. Have you considered getting a high end mac mini, since you've already got the cinema display?
 
Dangerous Theory said:
I would say avoid the mac pro. The tech is pretty outdated and not worth the price IMO. Have you considered getting a high end mac mini, since you've already got the cinema display?
Click to expand...

yes... i used to have one a few years ago and i wasnt really a fan of it and now they have taken the disc drive away which seems ludicrous to me. i dont use the disc drive daily but i still want one and i dont want to pay a extra £60 for a external one.

i was contemplating using the 20" monitor along side the imac.
 
get the iMac

I would go with the iMac. Sure, you already have the display, but with the thunderbolt/mdp you could have dual monitors if you felt like it. The SSD will give you a noticeable boost and you can also play your PS3 on the 27" iMac. All you have to do is get a separate device from Elgato which is about $150 or even cheaper on Amazon and Craigslist. And you'll save about $500 with the configuration that you provided. Have fun!

http://www.elgato.com/elgato/na/mainmenu/products/EyeTV-HD/product1.en.html
 
i never knew you could play ps3 trough a imac... i bet the picture quality is amazing.

i always thought the mini display port on the was one directional, or did that change when it became thunderbolt (as i know thunderbolt is bidirectional)
 
PS3 on iMac

I don't think thunderbolt makes it bi-directional. As of right now I think the 27" iMac is the only one that has that capability. There are other work arounds with other products, but I think with the most recent iMac you have either very little or no lag. There are some great Youtube videos that show you some examples. I was going to try a work around on my 20" from 2009, but I know there would be too much lag and so not worth it.

Some of the products also rely on the usb interface, so you might want to double check things like that before you commit. However, the iMac is also a better choice in my opinion due to the form factor, the superdrive and sd card slot, the inclusion of keyboard and mouse/trackpad, and I think it also uses less energy.
 
RedCroissant said:
I would go with the iMac. Sure, you already have the display, but with the thunderbolt/mdp you could have dual monitors if you felt like it. The SSD will give you a noticeable boost and you can also play your PS3 on the 27" iMac. All you have to do is get a separate device from Elgato which is about $150 or even cheaper on Amazon and Craigslist. And you'll save about $500 with the configuration that you provided. Have fun!

http://www.elgato.com/elgato/na/mainmenu/products/EyeTV-HD/product1.en.html
Click to expand...

Can you explain how this works? You use that DVR to connect your PS3 to your iMac?
 
PS3 on your iMac

Billdemart said:
Can you explain how this works? You use that DVR to connect your PS3 to your iMac?
Click to expand...

it's actually quite simple. The device lets you use it like a passthrough. It's designed to be see by a Mac to act as a DVR. And because it's HD, you should have high quality video and sound through your speakers. It's just as simple as connecting the cables and using target disk mode to switch the input from your iMac to the device that you're using. Youtube has a few of these videos, and if you want another item that's even easier with fewer cables, Belkin makes one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lkpBhhS4c8
 
What resolution will the PS3 output on the iMac? Will it work for Thunderbolt enabled iMacs?

I mean, there have been countless threads since the 2011 iMacs were released regarding where people voice their frustration over not being able to use their iMacs as a screen for their PS3s, and now suddenly there's a solution?
 
There are numerous rumours starting to build that new iMacs will be out soon, as you may well know. That said when is your 21st? Because these new ones are rumoured to be out in June so if you still want the Sandy Bridge processors then you could wait and get one for even cheaper or wait for the update?

A lot of people just say buy now and don't regret it and if you're upgrading from a Core 2 Duo, then the Sandy Bridge will feel so much faster already but if you can hold out then get an Ivy Bridge,

What I will say though is if you're using it for music production, you may want to burn CD's from time to time and rumors also indicate that the new Ivy Bridge iMacs may lose the disc drive, so that is something else to consider.

skitzodancer said:
hi everyone,

i currently have a 17" macbook pro (last of the core 2 duo range) which i have hooked up to a 20" apple cinema display and use it for music production.

so later this year it my 21st birthday and my parents are giving me a fair bit of money and im thinking of upgrading my setup possibly to a imac or possibly even a mac pro.


i was just wanting to know what you guys think would be better, a imac with spec below:

27" imac
16gb ram
256gb ssd + 1tb hdd
2gb gpu
3.1ghz i7

or would it be better to get mac pro with spec below:

2.4ghz 8 core xeon
12 gb ram
1gb graphics
1tb hdd

i know a ssd will prove faster for loading apps and stuff but it doesnt really bother me that much... the only reason id prefer to go for a mac pro would be as i could use a tv as a monitor so i could play ps3 trough it :)

any advice would be very much appreciated.

thanks
Click to expand...
 
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