Buy a 2010 mac pro and monitor or new imac retina

[octomac]

I had an i7 2.93 27" imac and the video card finally died. I am considering replacing it with 2010 mac pro 2.6 12 core / 16gb and some sort of 2560 monitor (maybe monoprice). This would cost around $2100. Pros: still one of the fastest on the 64 multi core benchmarks, easy to expand and repair. Cons: no thunderbolt, usb 3, possibly loud fans

Or i could buy the 5k mac and upgrade it to a 3tb drive and 16gb of ram for around $2900. Pros: has warranty, great screen, thuderbolt, usb3 Cons: no firewire, cost, no expandability, 1st gen with possible issues

I am a causal user but i have a large media library and need a lot of storage. This machine will remain on 24x7 and needs to be able to run a vmware instance of windows too.

 

[dan1eln1el5en]

hmm, at first I thought 5K, but after reading your note that you want it to be on 24/7 you should consider something else.
The mac pro is a very hungry machine and having it on always could be a considerable post on your electricity bill. for the iMac I would be carefull having it on always as well.

how about a previous version of the mini and a external storage NAS ?

 

[d.steve]

I am a causal user but i have a large media library and need a lot of storage. This machine will remain on 24x7 and needs to be able to run a vmware instance of windows too.

Can you expand on the. 24x7 needs? Is it to share a media library or for something else? Both are overkill for sharing a media library, and depending on the exact solution can allow for sleeping when idle and doesn't require actual 24x7 no-sleep operation.

For example, for itunes home sharing to AppleTv/IOS, the Apple bonjour/mdns stuff works fantastic.

 

[octomac]

hmm, at first I thought 5K, but after reading your note that you want it to be on 24/7 you should consider something else.
The mac pro is a very hungry machine and having it on always could be a considerable post on your electricity bill. for the iMac I would be carefull having it on always as well.

how about a previous version of the mini and a external storage NAS ?

I have a synology has that i use for time machine and security cameras. I tried to use it for mounting my iTunes library however i had so many issues when iTunes would default back to the primary drive for the library it became too much of a hassle.

I had a 2 x 2.4ghz quad core mac pro before my last iMac and it would keep the room warm

 

[d.steve]

I have a synology has that i use for time machine and security cameras. I tried to use it for mounting my iTunes library however i had so many issues when iTunes would default back to the primary drive for the library it became too much of a hassle.

I had a 2 x 2.4ghz quad core mac pro before my last iMac and it would keep the room warm

FWIW, I also had problems sharing from a (synology) NAS until I got the Mac and the NAS on the same wired segment. No problems since, but I acknowledge that this is not always an easy option for everyone.