Mac Pro vs Custom Built Core i7 PC
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I've already mentioned my reasons for dismissing the iMac. It lacks expandability and I would have to get the internal hard drive upgraded by Apple at a high premium, plus I don't want the glossy panel it uses.
In which case a Mac Mini is probably better suited to you.
Honestly for what you want it for you really don't need a Mac Pro.
If you have the money and want the bragging rights then by all means go for it - don't let me convince you otherwise - it sounds like you've half made up your mind anyway.
If it were me I would get a Mac Pro because I would want the best specced machine I could afford running OSX. However, our needs are different and I'm sure our circumstances are too so it's hard for me to say.
Panzer
I've actually just sold my Macbook Pro to fund the purchase of a new aluminium Macbook but the main 2 drawbacks with both is 1) I need/want dual displays and 2) I would prefer to keep my Work and Personal stuff separate if possible.
As above, I want to move to a dual display setup. I've already got a 23" Apple Cinema Display and I'm looking at buying a Samsung TN display to use just for text. I guess an iMac would save me the expense of a 2nd display though.
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Actually I can speak of experience, because I run both a MacPro and a fat Hackintosh under the same desk.
The 9650 is quite a bit faster for pure CPU bound tasks (4Ghz vs 2.8), but the Mac Pro is generaly smoother at evething else. 8 cores really allow you not to notice /at all/ that you have a few large apps running at the same time.
Now, for the hardware, the MacPro is a dream come true. I honestly beleive that /this one/ (not the next) is the best chassis for over 10 years. It's just a thing of beauty. Mounting a disk is laughably easy, the whole thing is aluminium it's gorgeous.
The 45nm Xeons run cool even at full charge, the machine is perfectly silent. That probably won't be the case of the i7s that run quite a bit hotter.
So, my main workstation is the MacPro, but the 9650 can also hit the nail quite hard, it's not as smooth, the hardware/chassis is nothing to compare, but well it beats the MacPro in most photoshop tasks, at Lightroom, Google Earth etc...
However the 9650 workstation cost me a lot less than your i7 (285 cpu, 150 mobo, 100 memory, ~50 PSU, 50 GPU, 12 cooler -- I had the chassis). If the difference was 100 like in your case, it would be a /no brainer/ to get the MacPro...
The 9650 is quite a bit faster for pure CPU bound tasks (4Ghz vs 2.8), but the Mac Pro is generaly smoother at evething else. 8 cores really allow you not to notice /at all/ that you have a few large apps running at the same time.
Now, for the hardware, the MacPro is a dream come true. I honestly beleive that /this one/ (not the next) is the best chassis for over 10 years. It's just a thing of beauty. Mounting a disk is laughably easy, the whole thing is aluminium it's gorgeous.
The 45nm Xeons run cool even at full charge, the machine is perfectly silent. That probably won't be the case of the i7s that run quite a bit hotter.
So, my main workstation is the MacPro, but the 9650 can also hit the nail quite hard, it's not as smooth, the hardware/chassis is nothing to compare, but well it beats the MacPro in most photoshop tasks, at Lightroom, Google Earth etc...
However the 9650 workstation cost me a lot less than your i7 (285 cpu, 150 mobo, 100 memory, ~50 PSU, 50 GPU, 12 cooler -- I had the chassis). If the difference was 100 like in your case, it would be a /no brainer/ to get the MacPro...
This is an interesting thread!
To create a PC with the same components as a Mac Pro would be vastly more expensive (I tried once recently, to prove a point), so the op would be getting value for money if he got a Mac Pro, but obviously this doesn't include the Core i7 machines you can make now, however personally as it stands I can't see the need for either a Core i7 machine or a dual Xeon workstation just for web development.
I'd wait and see what updates the Mac Mini line gets this year (apparently soon). I don't know if Mini-DV supports dual DVI, but I'm fairly confident there's an adapter for it on the apple site..
I concede that like the iMac, the Mac Mini isn't very expandable, but considering you're running this as a business, an updated Mac Mini would seem like the most cost-effective and power/task choice, especially given the apparent benefits Snow Leopard will bring later this year.
To create a PC with the same components as a Mac Pro would be vastly more expensive (I tried once recently, to prove a point), so the op would be getting value for money if he got a Mac Pro, but obviously this doesn't include the Core i7 machines you can make now, however personally as it stands I can't see the need for either a Core i7 machine or a dual Xeon workstation just for web development.
I'd wait and see what updates the Mac Mini line gets this year (apparently soon). I don't know if Mini-DV supports dual DVI, but I'm fairly confident there's an adapter for it on the apple site..
I concede that like the iMac, the Mac Mini isn't very expandable, but considering you're running this as a business, an updated Mac Mini would seem like the most cost-effective and power/task choice, especially given the apparent benefits Snow Leopard will bring later this year.
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Soldato
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I game on my Mac Pro quite happily. bought a second hand BFG 8800GT for £50 and flashed it so I could use in the MP. It's not the best of graphics cards but it plays games at a reasonable resolution on my Dell 24".
Even if you can build a windows based computer cheaper than a mac pro, or faster for the same price, will you see the difference in the faster windows machine over the mac pro? Can you live with windows 24/7?
I could have bought a PC with similar spec for the price of my mac pro but I prefer OSX and the apps available as well as having constant problems throughout my windows using life, so I decided to spend the extra for a mac pro
Oh and going on the macbook prices and if the mac pro is going to have new components, obviously, then I expect the price will definitely go up
Even if you can build a windows based computer cheaper than a mac pro, or faster for the same price, will you see the difference in the faster windows machine over the mac pro? Can you live with windows 24/7?
I could have bought a PC with similar spec for the price of my mac pro but I prefer OSX and the apps available as well as having constant problems throughout my windows using life, so I decided to spend the extra for a mac pro
Oh and going on the macbook prices and if the mac pro is going to have new components, obviously, then I expect the price will definitely go up
Thanks for the interesting comments. While I appreciate the feedback and suggestions of other (lower cost) machines, this is between a PC and the Mac Pro for the following reasons:
1. The Core 2 Duo - I built a computer 2 years ago with a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo processor in and had it overclocked to 3.4GHz for most of the time. I don't want to be replacing that Core 2 Duo computer with a less spec'd mac mini or a similar spec'd iMac.
2. The Mac mini and iMac are both not expandable enough for me - They both use laptop parts and therefore are very limited in what can be upgraded, and how much those upgrades cost would be far higher than other options.
3. The need for dual displays - The adapters on the Apple website are called 'Dual Link DVI' which are for using 30" Displays which currently require this type of connector and it's not to be mistaken for 2 seperate DVI connectors. (The only other option would be a Matrox DualHead2Go but not keen on that idea).
4. The screen on the iMac is glossy! (enough said about that one
)
5. With the Mac Pro I can house a number of hard drives in the case itself which saves having several external hard drives lying around. I will then only need 1 external for 'emergency use'.
However, I think the lure of OSX is going to win but as it doesn't look like the Mac Pro is going to be updated until March/April time, I am going to wait and see what Macworld brings, then if no Mac Pro, I have decided to buy either a Mac Mini or an iMac which will be used as the business 'office admin' computer and wait it out for the new Mac Pros.
1. The Core 2 Duo - I built a computer 2 years ago with a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo processor in and had it overclocked to 3.4GHz for most of the time. I don't want to be replacing that Core 2 Duo computer with a less spec'd mac mini or a similar spec'd iMac.
2. The Mac mini and iMac are both not expandable enough for me - They both use laptop parts and therefore are very limited in what can be upgraded, and how much those upgrades cost would be far higher than other options.
3. The need for dual displays - The adapters on the Apple website are called 'Dual Link DVI' which are for using 30" Displays which currently require this type of connector and it's not to be mistaken for 2 seperate DVI connectors. (The only other option would be a Matrox DualHead2Go but not keen on that idea).
4. The screen on the iMac is glossy! (enough said about that one
)5. With the Mac Pro I can house a number of hard drives in the case itself which saves having several external hard drives lying around. I will then only need 1 external for 'emergency use'.
However, I think the lure of OSX is going to win but as it doesn't look like the Mac Pro is going to be updated until March/April time, I am going to wait and see what Macworld brings, then if no Mac Pro, I have decided to buy either a Mac Mini or an iMac which will be used as the business 'office admin' computer and wait it out for the new Mac Pros.
Soldato
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From what ive learnt the macs are great for rendering and media based apps but for games they suck, compared to a custom built pc anyway.
For media macs used to be better, doubt thats the case anymore.
Soldato
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Its mostly down to the apps being used. CS4 on a PC vs Mac I don't think there are any differences like there used to be on powerpc's. Its all Intel based so if the app can only use 2 cores on a PC then its only going to use 2 cores on the mac pro. I made the decision on the OS and UI alone
Thanks for the interesting comments. While I appreciate the feedback and suggestions of other (lower cost) machines, this is between a PC and the Mac Pro for the following reasons:
1. The Core 2 Duo - I built a computer 2 years ago with a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo processor in and had it overclocked to 3.4GHz for most of the time. I don't want to be replacing that Core 2 Duo computer with a less spec'd mac mini or a similar spec'd iMac.
2. The Mac mini and iMac are both not expandable enough for me - They both use laptop parts and therefore are very limited in what can be upgraded, and how much those upgrades cost would be far higher than other options.
3. The need for dual displays - The adapters on the Apple website are called 'Dual Link DVI' which are for using 30" Displays which currently require this type of connector and it's not to be mistaken for 2 seperate DVI connectors. (The only other option would be a Matrox DualHead2Go but not keen on that idea).
4. The screen on the iMac is glossy! (enough said about that one
5. With the Mac Pro I can house a number of hard drives in the case itself which saves having several external hard drives lying around. I will then only need 1 external for 'emergency use'.
However, I think the lure of OSX is going to win but as it doesn't look like the Mac Pro is going to be updated until March/April time, I am going to wait and see what Macworld brings, then if no Mac Pro, I have decided to buy either a Mac Mini or an iMac which will be used as the business 'office admin' computer and wait it out for the new Mac Pros.
I think waiting for MacWorld would be a very advisable idea.
The iMac's a nice machine, but the Mac Mini gives you more flexibility over screens with the drawback that it will probably be less powerful. However, a Mac Mini with the updated nVidia GFX architecture combined with Snow Leopard I imagine would be a cheap and powerful system for what you want to use it for.
I only suggest the Mac Mini for short-term cost-to-purpose reasons; personally I would wait and buy an updated Mac Pro because of it's longevity, value for money, aforementioned expandability and the OS.