G5 MacPro or 27" iMac

Anon.

Senior Member
Ok folks, here’s the situation. I was meant to buy my G5 MacPro from work a few weeks ago but upgrading the machines has been put back and put back so I decided what the hell, I’ll just get a new iMac because I need to get a new system sorted.

I planned on getting the base 27” iMac (3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo / 4GB Memory etc I’m sure you know the one). I was going to order it this Friday but my boss has just said our new Macs will be in here Wednesday. So, I have to make a choice.

iMac or MacPro.

The MacPro is a 2007 model (one of the first Intel MacPros) It has: 2x 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo / 2GB Memory and I’d be paying £500 for it. It hasn’t got an airport card so I’d need to sort that as well as more memory and I’d need to buy a monitor(s).

With the cost difference aside which do you think I should go for?

Cheers guys and gals :)
 
I know which one i'd personally go for, but it's totally up to you. If you like all the new gear in the latest releases I don't think you'd regret getting the iMac, and it's more powerful isn't it then the intel MacPro?

Way it up, but if moneys got an object, get an iMac I say.
 
Yup just checked a few things...if the Mac Pro is for sale I would have it.

If you can afford it you for the new hardware.
 
Yeah been trying to weigh it up.

I’m thinking the iMac will be a bit more future proof with the quicker processor, bigger hard drive etc but on the other hand the MacPro is doing everything I need it too at the moment, CS4 runs a bit sluggish but that’s nothing some more RAM won’t sort.

@Typo – I’m not sure he’ll let it go for £500 to anyone else. If no one in the studio buys it it’ll probably be going on ebay. I’ll have a word with him though if I decide to go with the iMac.
If I could afford to buy both machines and pass the Pro onto you for £500 I would but I can’t afford that sorry.
 
ok, the cpu's in the mac pro's should be the same architecture as the cpu in the imac (assuming the description is correct) so you are basically getting 4 cores at 2.66 versus 2 at 3.06GHz meaning in cpu intensive tasks the mac pro would win due to the extra cores.
Less ram on the mac pro although ram's easy enough to upgrade, wifi is again easily added and there's plenty of options in regards to monitors.
You don't say what gpu the mac pro has as this could be a deciding factor for some.

Personally I'd probably take the mac pro at £500, add in 2x24" non apple monitors for about £500 plus more ram and a wifi adapter if needed. You could probably upgrade the gpu if needed and it would likely still come in at less than the 27" imac.

If it was the quadcore i5/i7 imac that you were considering it would be a slightly more difficult choice as the i5/i7 do perform better than the core 2 chipsets but then they are also more expensive.

edit: iirc theres an app to overclock the mac pro which I don't think there is for the imac (well atleast anyways) and don't forget that snow leopard (and windows/linux) are all heading towards multi cpu optimisation too
 
Forget the technical side of it.

The iMacs work realy well and fluidly and from the sounds of it the MacPro does too.

They all have enough HDD space too.

Not to flame Levi's post, but having the power in your machine but not ever using it to it's full usage is useless. Buy a machine that fits your requirements, i.e either of them. The iMac doesn't need more power!
 
Thanks Levi, didn't actually consider the number of cores (just been looking at the speeds). The description is correct. The MacPro has two 2.66ghz processors so yeah, 4 cores. Glad you pointed that out.

As for the GPU, don't mind admitting I don't have much knowledge when it comes to stuff like this but the MacPro has a NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT (256MB)
 
As Anon said though, He is tempted by the iMac due to its future-proof specs.... so realistically the technical side is all that matters...
 
Yeah renniks is right.

Performance is more important to me than anything else. I think I've kind of been looking at it as 'newer has to be better' but as Levi pointed out that's not necessarily the case. If the cheaper MacPro is going to perform just as well if not better and the iMac it's the obvious choice for me.
 
argghhhhh had a decent post but then the damned error wiped it!!!!

Basically I was saying they both have pro's and cons, the mac pro has the additional cpu cores so in some respects is more future proof with the unified architectures that programs and os's are going, it also has the added benefits of more hard drive space. The CPU's are albeit still fast technically 2 generations old in terms of intels cpu line up, the i5/i7 (lynnfield - in quad imac) and i7 (nehalem - like in new mac pro) cpu's have since superseeded even the the imac's c2d.

GPU could do with upgrading but it's not desperate and could be done later.

Realistically only you can decide if the additional cores are worthwhile.
 
If you can afford it get the new shiny shiny. Otherwise get the older one if it'll do the job.
 
Its christmas get the cheaper one and spoil the lady friend.

Did I just say that? What has happened to me?!?!

Personally I'd way up cost vs life span vs practicality.

Which would probably mean MBP. It's safe to say you won't be dissapointed with either.
 
lol, Thanks Mike, I've already spoilt my lady friend. Done most of my Christmas shopping well in advance this year, even wrapped it all :D (now that's really not like me).

Cheers all, I think I'm going to go with the Pro. Like I've said I use it day in day out with no problems so there's no reason why it'll be any different using it for my freelance work.

New shinny shinny would be nice but i'll get that from my new monitors :)
 
As Anon said though, He is tempted by the iMac due to its future-proof specs.... so realistically the technical side is all that matters...

well you were thinking about buying a G5 and that's futureproof, and that dont have high specs so the same thing follows for the imac.

sometimes shiny shiny isn't the best option.

dont think it was meant like that but if it has 4GB RAM, 1TB HDD and 3.06GHz processor, that's defo going to be enough to last through cs4.

i have 2.66ghz, 4gb ram 500gb hdd and i'm sorted for a long time with cs4/cs3/whatever the hell i want.
 
I'm not saying a dual isn't fast enough for most graphic work, but I'm looking maybe from a different perspective. The imac being all in one is limited in its upgradability, theres only so much you can change, iirc its just the ram and hard drive on current models. The cpu's are a little different as you can't add an i5/i7 quad into the dual core and I don't think apple will allow the core 2 quad.

Now the 2x dual core already has nearly twice the cpu power of the imac that Anon was considering, it has the potential to support more ram and also more hard drives (they're cheap as chips these days), the graphics can be upgraded and/or added plus theres the option of raid (software or hardware) if wanted.

Like I said they both have pro's and cons but if Anon is going to do a lot of cpu intensive tasks then the mac pro would actually be the better option with a few upgrades as there is fundamentally more raw cpu performance. If Anon was looking at the quad i5 or i7 (best option due to hyperthreading) it would however make it a harder decision but they also come out more expensive (albeit relatively competitive for the specs)
 
Levi said:
I'm not saying a dual isn't fast enough for most graphic work, but I'm looking maybe from a different perspective. The imac being all in one is limited in its upgradability,

That's what swung it for me actually. The pro is more upgradable.

I consider the i5 but even though it's only a few hundred more it would be pushing my funds further than I'd like
 
Levi said:
sometimes shiny shiny isn't the best option.

True but in this case doesnt the new shiny shiny have the better spec plus the airport etc? Basically this is a choice that comes down to budget.
 
Back
Top