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3.06 iMac vs 2006 MacPro 2.66

patseguin

patseguin

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Aug 28, 2003
1,715
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I have the original 2006 Mac Pro that I bought at the Apple Store when they came out. I upgraded it to 4GB RAM, a 750GB HD, and 8800GT card. I am sort of in the mood for something new and I don't really game at all on my Mac. I've been looking at the new 24" 3.06GHz iMac with the 880GTS. I like the fact that it's all in one and it seems pretty powerful. I'm wondering if I would be taking a step forwards, backwards, or sideways if I were to purchase this new iMac and sell my Mac Pro. Any opinions? I've researched this but not come up with much.
 
I'm not much of a Mac guy but based on those specs it sounds like you would be spending a lot of money for little improvement.
 
9007938 said:
I'm not much of a Mac guy but based on those specs it sounds like you would be spending a lot of money for little improvement.
Click to expand...

I'd have to ask why you're even here then. :) j/k

Yeah, you might be right. Every time I go to the Apple Store, those new iMac just seem so damn sexy to me. ;)
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/4A102 Safari/419.3)

It would be a step backward, except in a few few cases in which an app could max out 2 cores but could not use the other two.

I understand your iMac lust, but it would be a pretty pointless "upgrade."
 
You are comparing dual vs quad core. So if you never used the quad cores I wouldn't see why you shouldn't upgrade.
core vs core the 3.06 will be a nice improvement.

Just look at the numbers somebody else posted:
3.06 iMac: 3995
2.66 Mac Pro: 4833

that is again 2 vs 4 cores.

the 3.06 is damn strong.
 
Bear in mind he has upgraded the Mac Pro graphics card. I feel the difference will be less.

Personally, from a monetry and performance stand-point I wouldn't do it. However, if you prefer the iMacs screen, quietness or 'all togetherness' then do it - you use it for hours on end so you should be happy with it.

AppleMatt
 
I have a 2,66GHz MacPro and my Geekbench score is much higher (5450)

Apart from that (benchmarks dont really mean anything), the Mac Pro is much faster than any iMac on the market. It has Xeon processors and 4 cores. The iMac has only two.
The iMac is a nice machine for surfing the web and checking emails, maybe using iPhoto and the whole iLife suite. If you are a power user then stay away from it. The Mac Pro is much better
 
petvas said:
The iMac is a nice machine for surfing the web and checking emails, maybe using iPhoto and the whole iLife suite.
Click to expand...

lol... you make it sound like a G3 imac... I think a 3 GHz core 2 duo and an 8800M GTS are good for a little bit more than checking email. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
 
QCassidy352 said:
lol... you make it sound like a G3 imac... I think a 3 GHz core 2 duo and an 8800M GTS are good for a little bit more than checking email. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Yea!! The imac can be a powerful editing station, or a nice retouching Aperture/Photoshop machines, specially the 24".

I have both, the 24" imac and the 2.66 Quad core, and the Mac Pro is WAY faster, has a lot of room, (4 drives inside).
 
I have a month old 3.06 Ghz imac with 4 GB, which I absolutely love. I'm in the uk and am assuming that you are in the states. However if postage and packaging wasn't such a pain in the arse I would swap.
I understand iMac envy I had it for a long time, but one day maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow you would regret downgrading to the iMac. Buying an iMac on top of your Mac Pro now that is a different story.
 
dollystereo said:
Yea!! The imac can be a powerful editing station, or a nice retouching Aperture/Photoshop machines, specially the 24".

I have both, the 24" imac and the 2.66 Quad core, and the Mac Pro is WAY faster, has a lot of room, (4 drives inside).
Click to expand...

The iMac's screen is not appropriate for Photoshop/Aperture Editing...
 
With the RAM, HD and Video card upgrades you have done, you could probably sell your Mac Pro for an easy $2500, plus whatever you could get for your monitor, keyboard and mouse.

If you feel like upgrading, and you don't feel that you'll miss the added performance of the quad core in the tasks you use your computer for, I say why not.

The added bonus is a year of warranty on your computer, faster cores, and an iPod touch if you're a student or faculty.
 
petvas said:
I have a 2,66GHz MacPro and my Geekbench score is much higher (5450)

Apart from that (benchmarks dont really mean anything), the Mac Pro is much faster than any iMac on the market. It has Xeon processors and 4 cores. The iMac has only two.
The iMac is a nice machine for surfing the web and checking emails, maybe using iPhoto and the whole iLife suite. If you are a power user then stay away from it. The Mac Pro is much better
Click to expand...

Do you think your 13 gigs of ram had anything to do with the higher bench? :p

Anyways, I vote no on the iMac. Mac Pro is hands down a better machine, and you have room to upgrade if you wanted too where you can't with an iMac (atleast not nearly as much).
 
If you have a mac pro and your considering getting an iMac you obviously dont need the mac pro anyway.
 
Well....

He may want the smaller footprint...I would have loved (and really could use) a nice high end mac pro but where I live/work I have to have a laptop. A desktop is not an option :/ (But the macbook pro is amazing by the way) So if you need the space, it may be a viable upgrade but if its performance your after, as others have stated it would be a downgrade. It all depends what you need your machine for.
 
petvas said:
I have a 2,66GHz MacPro and my Geekbench score is much higher (5450)

Apart from that (benchmarks dont really mean anything), the Mac Pro is much faster than any iMac on the market. It has Xeon processors and 4 cores. The iMac has only two.
The iMac is a nice machine for surfing the web and checking emails, maybe using iPhoto and the whole iLife suite. If you are a power user then stay away from it. The Mac Pro is much better
Click to expand...

you think so? then, you're wrong buddy..
i own the iMac 3.06 and it is exactly what i need, i work with audio professionally. if you think you are a power pro only with the mac pro, then you just don't know anything about. i use only 1/3 of the cpu power in a whole song/structure. that's enough. and at the same time, i do check my emails/surfing web/using iPhoto/whole iLife suite.
 
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