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Thinking about swapping Mac Pro for Imac

B

BrenMyster

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 22, 2007
73
0
Hey folks

Just wanted some opinions on this.

I'm thinking about swapping my mac pro for a imac. I currently have a mid 2010 3.33ghz 6 core, 16gb RAM, ATI Radeon HD 5870 1gb, Mac Pro, it gets about 16,000 on Geekbench.

I obviously will wait until the new imac come out and I'm pretty sure I can get the same price for my mac pro as a new high end imac.

My main reason for swapping are
The screen, 27 plus I can use my current 24 as a 2nd display :)
Thunder bolt
webcam
The look (I know, I know)
After 2 years mac's generally start to have a declining resell value.

I will have to get a dock for my 3 SATA drives inside the mac pro. as well.

Am I mad?

If the new imac gets 16000 on geek bench I will defiantly consider it.

Any thoughts?
 
Well seems like you dont need the power and expandability of the Mac Pro if you are that tempted to swap.
If thats the case go for it, if you do need it then dont, as its pretty hard to exchange anything but RAM in an iMac, you cannot add as much RAM or HDD's and the iMac will not even come close to the GPU power you can have in the Mac Pro.

May I ask what you use your Mac Pro for. Knowing this will make it easier for people here to help you.

By the way, benchmarks are pretty unimportant. Of course it shows how quick the computer is, but its no use having a computer scoring xxxxx if you dont use it.
 
It depends on what you use the computer for, but your 6 core will be faster than the 2012 iMac in many applications.
 
I am considering the same thing except my Mac Pro is a dusty old 2006 model with a Radeon 5770. I know the new iMac will have a significantly faster processor and I'm ok with my hard drives being on the outside, however I'm concerned about how crappy the graphics card will be.
 
The argument of expandability in MacPro vs. iMac discussions is negligible at this point. There are hardly any cards (GPU's) that get updates, which support OS X out of the box. Blame Apple or blame the OEM, either way, it doesn't change the point. Swapping out an HDD is easier, yes, but if that's really the only strong argument of expandability over the iMac, than it's a poor one at best.

Just my thoughts....
 
Honestly, I think the reasons you have given are not enough, you stand to loose a lot, with very little gain.


I have both the 2010 3.33ghz Hexcore MP and the Current generation Imac 27'' 3.4ghz I7.

Though you say you're waiting for the next gen iMac, I think it would be madness to get rid of the mac Pro and swap it for the current iMac. They both scream, but the Mac Pro is way more robust, in so many ways you will miss. Also, I don't expect the next ten iMac to be that much faster than the previous gen.

External enclosures can be a world of pain, trust me.

Don't get me wrong the Imac is a great system, and if you add it up like you're getting a $1000 screen and then an awesome computer just $1200 more. its great.

But dropping a Hex Core MP with all its speed, robustness and expandability for an iMac which may or may not me marginally faster or slower, has TB a nice screen and a sexy form factor.......doesnt make much sense to me.

Cheers!

Edit: Just read that you're using Final Cut. I use Logic..do not give up the Mac Pro, you will regret it.
 
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The big killers are internal storage (a pain to replace/upgrade on the iMac - EASY on the Pro) and RAM.


If 32-64GB will be enough, and you can get by with an SSD, or don't mind pushing files out to external storage, the imac will do that stuff just fine.

You'll certainly get the basically same performance as you currently have in a smaller form factor by going to a new imac from your current machine.


I'd consider a Macbook pro, also. Similar power to an iMac (less RAM, but the disk is easier to swap), but also portable.


If you're condiering the swap because you want higher performance (rather than just replacing the machine due to age), I'd steer clear.
 
You aren't mad at all. I had almost the same exact Mac Pro model as you did (except the RAM size), and sold it for an iMac and absolutely love it.

For the photo editing tasks you've mentioned, obviously the iMac will be more than enough for your needs. As people have mentioned already in this thread, you will have to weigh your need for upgradeability to get a better idea of what you want.

For me though, even upgradeability wasn't enough to hold me back in getting an iMac because personally, I simply sell my old machine to buy a new machine when it's time for me to upgrade.

That and I just love the all in one design. Gets a huge piece of an aluminum block out of your setup. Saves space, saves heat, saves noise levels, and saves energy. :)
 
AS far as i can see the only thing I will loose (so long as the new iMac is almost as powerful on the GPU and CPU side) is the hard drive bays.

I'm never going to upgrade my GPU in my mac pro.

And I will gain a beautiful 27" display and thunder bolt ports. And less surface area to dust.

guess its just a matter of waiting for the specs and price of the new imac.

iMac have caught up so quick on the CPU and GPU speed over that last few years.
 
I would switch if I were you. Unless u really need the power difference ( which in most cases will feel faster on the iMac I believe except the softwares that exploit all cores) and as u say, the iMac is a beauty beyond any other machine IMO.
 
yeah, sod it,

I've been looking at them Drobo drive systems for all my internal drives as well. Can get a 4 bay for £250

I just hope I can get over £2000 for my mac pro on the ebay. It was just over £3000 new,
 
The GPU in the current 27 inch isn't actually lacking that much compared to the now ancient 5870. The 6970m is roughly on par with the desktop 6850 which isn't all that much slower than the HD5870. You won't be loosing much. Especially if your not doing 3D work or gaming. For photo editing and video, you'll hardly notice a difference.
 
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