iMac or Mac Pro?

[tem07]

My birthday is coming up soon and I'd like to get an iMac or a Mac Pro!
I already have a monitor - a Dell 2407 WFP.

Thanks,
tem07.

 

[AdWright]

Good for you. Do you have a specific question?

 

[Feek]

As you've already got the telly there's no point buying an iMac. Mac Pro all the way but it's a lot more expensive.

 

[1337z0r]

Yep, you've already got the monitor, although with the iMac you could have a dual screen setup. Totally depends on what you use the system for, if its for heavy use such as running multiple VM's along with photoshop and lightroom ect then a Mac Pro might be right. If your just going to be running photoshop with a web browser and itunes then an iMac will be fine. Plus you can have a dual screen setup with the iMac.

 

[Chimerical]

Go for the Mac Pro. Would be such an awesome 8-core web browser.

 

[iraiguana]

What are you going to be doing on it?

You probably only need an imac or MBP would be good.

 

[Nymins]

Good for you. Do you have a specific question?

The question is in the thread title. Try and guess what it is.

 

[AdWright]

The question is in the thread title. Try and guess what it is.

yes, but if you give us some clue as to what you want to do with your computer you may get a better response.

 

[Le Samourai]

I'd say go for a refurbed mac pro and grab a quad core rather than 8-core.

The quad xeon is going to help out a bit more rather than a core 2 duo.

Lot's more room for expansion - extra ram, swap out HDDs and graphics card options.

 

[Speedy]

It depends on your needs. Every Mac has pros and cons.

iMac
Pros:

• Slim design
• Compact
• Silent

Cons:

• Not as fast as a Mac Pro
• Harder to upgrade hardware

Mac Pro
Pros:

• Fastest Mac
• Easy to upgrade hardware

Cons:

• Makes more noise than an iMac
• Not compact

As you can see, if you want your Mac for basic use you'd better get an iMac. If you're a power user or demand much power from your computer, then get a Mac Pro, but then you'll sacrifice silence and the ability to save space on your desk.

 

[Feek]

I've got my Mac Pro under the desk so I'm saving desk space and it's _practically_ silent. A few days after I got it I could sometimes hear a whirring sound that I thought was one of the fans. I then realised that it's actually my watch winder on the other side of the room, not the computer!

To all intents and purposes, when running (even while encoding videos with all 8 cores at 100% for a couple of hours in a room at 27C ambient temperature) it's silent.

I was put off the iMac by the fact that it's not height adjustable and therefore wouldn't fit under the shelf that sits over my desk. The existing monitor I have is height adjustable so it fits.

Mac Pro all the way!

 

[Cannaton]

To be honest, i'm in a similar predicament. I'm looking to purchase a desktop mac within the next month or so with a budget or around £1300, I'm at university (although currently on a placement year) so i can the higher ed discount.

I'm trying to decide between a 3.06ghz Dual core iMac and a 2.8ghz quad core mac pro (I don't think I need 8 cores). I already have a 22" samsung monitor, although i'm sure the 24" iMac screen would be better quality... However I'm also sure for my uses (3ds Max / Maya work, photoshop, web design work and some audio recording) I'd probably prefer the extra cores and upgrade potential of the Mac Pro...

I keep popping into the apple store in liverpool and playing on both... I really can't decide!

 

[tem07]

Thanks for all the advice guys; will probably go for the Mac Pro
Cannaton: If you are on a tight budget get the iMac but if you are getting a discount get the Mac Pro as you already have a monitor.