Purchase Help: Mac Pro 1,1 vs iMac 21.5 vs iMac 24

[FLAVAH]

Hey everyone, I purchased an ATV a couple weeks ago, so I've been doing the whole video encoding business, ripping from dvds, blurays, and mkvs. However, my Core Duo Mac Mini is no longer cutting it. I've heard many good things about the new iMacs, but my budget will limits me to the base version. As for the iMac 24", my friend is selling his 2.80ghz/4gb for $1k. I also came upon a deal for a Mac Pro 1,1 w/4GB for $1200.

Other than all the encoding, I do work with some light Final Cut Pro usage and a good amount of Light Room, but in this case I feel that my main issue is trying to rip/encode all the movies/shows as quickly as possible. I know that all 3 of my options should be able to handle FCP and LR pretty well. I have read in other threads about the Mac Pro 1,1 not being worth the purchase, but for my needs, does it seem alright?

Thanks in advance everyone!

 

[J&JPolangin]

...for your budget, I'd go with the 24" iMac...

 

[Winni]

I have read in other threads about the Mac Pro 1,1 not being worth the purchase, but for my needs, does it seem alright?

Then you have read a lot of nonsense in the other threads. For your needs - Final Cut and Lightroom - the Mac Pro is about the only valid and reasonable option, and that price is also acceptable.

The Mac Pro is a workstation class computer built for maximum throughtput and performance - it was designed for those applications that you want to use, and it will run circles around that iMac which basically is a notebook in a desktop case.

 

[Habitus]

Hey everyone, I purchased an ATV a couple weeks ago, so I've been doing the whole video encoding business, ripping from dvds, blurays, and mkvs. However, my Core Duo Mac Mini is no longer cutting it. I've heard many good things about the new iMacs, but my budget will limits me to the base version. As for the iMac 24", my friend is selling his 2.80ghz/4gb for $1k. I also came upon a deal for a Mac Pro 1,1 w/4GB for $1200.

Other than all the encoding, I do work with some light Final Cut Pro usage and a good amount of Light Room, but in this case I feel that my main issue is trying to rip/encode all the movies/shows as quickly as possible. I know that all 3 of my options should be able to handle FCP and LR pretty well. I have read in other threads about the Mac Pro 1,1 not being worth the purchase, but for my needs, does it seem alright?

Thanks in advance everyone!

In your case, the Mac Pro may be the better option. It has more upgrade options.

Good luck,

habitus

 

[juanm]

I recently bought a Mac Pro 2x Dual core 2,66Ghz with the X1900XT and two Apple cinema Displays 23 and 20 and couldn't be happier. To be frank, it was such a good price I couldn't refuse it. I've since bumped it to 2x4GB of RAM and thrown in it a few TBs and the Airport n card (it already had Bluetooth) and for my photography needs I feel like I'm set for the next two to three years. Aperture runs great and I it encodes fairly fast.
Eventually, when the prices go down (in a year or two), I'll swap the processors for 2nd hand X5355 and maybe add another 8GB of RAM.

 

[ChrisA]

For rippinf DVDs I was about to suggest that you buy four Minis. That would in effect give you an 8-core system. But if you can get a Mac Proc for only $200 more then it will work best for you. The big difference is not the processor but the amunt of RAM you can stuff in to the Mac Pro. Fr Lightroom and FCP you need alll the RAM you can get and I think the MP will hold 16MB.

For DVD ripping processor speed is what you need. It's one of the few tasks where CPU does matter. Even for the FCP you will notice the CPU is idles a lot of the time. even on a Mni.

 

[juanm]

For rippinf DVDs I was about to suggest that you buy four Minis. That would in effect give you an 8-core system. But if you can get a Mac Proc for only $200 more then it will work best for you. The big difference is not the processor but the amunt of RAM you can stuff in to the Mac Pro. Fr Lightroom and FCP you need alll the RAM you can get and I think the MP will hold 16MB.

It'll hold 32GB (eight 4GB sticks)

 

[Battlefield Fan]

Then you have read a lot of nonsense in the other threads. For your needs - Final Cut and Lightroom - the Mac Pro is about the only valid and reasonable option, and that price is also acceptable.

The Mac Pro is a workstation class computer built for maximum throughtput and performance - it was designed for those applications that you want to use, and it will run circles around that iMac which basically is a notebook in a desktop case.

really? you'd suggest a 4 year old computer to someone? Most upgraded 2006 MP's have to be upgraded (RAM, graphics cards, and RAID 0) to even come close to the iMac. The ability to upgrade and have expansion is the MP's only real advantage but clearly the OP said he is on a strict budget therefore not leaving him much leftover to spend on upgrades.

Don't be so ignorant next time. The 27" i7 outperforms the current MP. gasp! The days of having to spend truck loads of money to get a fast computer are coming to an end. Come out of the 90's please.

 

[Battlefield Fan]

Oh and OP I would go with the 2.8 iMac. Nice screen size, actual graphics card(base iMac's card is hardly enough to get by in FCP)

 

[opeter]

The old PowerMac has maybe 2 CPUs, but the RAM is 1/3 the speed of the iMacs. Also, the same goes for the CPUs FSB.

The iMacs CPU has 6 MB L2 cache, while the Mac Pro CPUs have 4 MB each.

I really do not know, what to recommend. Also, don't forget, that the Mac Pro has an 1 kW PSU. So calculate your electric bill ...

 

[Eidorian]

Core i5 all the way.

 

[Velin]

I also came upon a deal for a Mac Pro 1,1 w/4GB for $1200. . . .I have read in other threads about the Mac Pro 1,1 not being worth the purchase, but for my needs, does it seem alright?

You got good advice about the Mac Pro 1,1. It uses the old 32-bit EFI firmware. Which means you'll be seriously limited on upgrading -- already the Pro 1,1 can't use the latest ATI and Nvidia cards, you'll have Windows 7 compatability issues, etc. I wouldn't buy one.


You're going to want a Mac Pro 3,1 if you go the Pro route. It has the 64-bit EFI firmware and you can use everything that's available.

 

[FLAVAH]

Thanks for all the advice! So right now I'm still kinda stuck between the imac 24 and the mac pro. Although the mac pro has a lot of disadvantages in it being older, not compatible with upgrading, etc, I'm just thinking that with what I need it for, it should suffice. The extra cores will help me a lot with multitasking while encoding videos using handbrake. However, the imac 24 is still making headway because of the newer technology, better compatibility, etc, and also it will actually come with the monitor, camera, bluetooth, airport, and small things like that. It will also have a bigger HD than the MP.

I know that encoding h.264 videos, or even encoding in general, is based on the pure processing power, versus ram. So comparing the latest imac 24 hardware with the A1186 mac pro 1,1 quad core, how much faster would the mp be? or might it even be the same?

I think I'm going to wait it out a couple more days until after the apple conference this week, just to see how prices fluctuate with any new products that come out. If you guys have any more input, please don't hesitate to post up! Thanks!