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If you were choosing...

thefredelement

thefredelement

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Apr 10, 2012
1,213
672
New York
Would you go with:

27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display
  • 4.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.2GHz
  • 32GB 1867MHz DDR3 SDRAM - four 8GB
  • 512GB Flash Storage
  • AMD Radeon R9 M395X with 4GB video memory
  • Magic Mouse 2
  • Magic Keyboard (English) & User’s Guide
  • Accessory Kit
or:

Refurbished Mac Pro 3.5GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon E5

Originally released December 2013
3.5GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon E5
16GB memory
512GB PCIe-based flash storage
Dual AMD FirePro D700 graphics processors with 6GB of GDDR5 VRAM each

I use mostly Xcode, Sketch, Hype, Adobe CC, Slack, iTunes, Mail, Safari. The only games I play are AoE3, Diablo 3, SC2. I like to keep as much stuff open at a time as part of my workflow. I occasionally record music through an interface and probably a little more than occasionally create / edit videos. I'd like to be able to work with 4k in pro res.

Some caveats are, with the nMP, I'd get a 4k screen and eventually a 2nd, with the iMac I'd just need one. The nMP will need at least 32GB of RAM.

(I'm using a Mac Book with 16GB now and keep running into swap and it's fans keep spinning, a little annoying but I can hold out awhile longer, though I am looking at the site everyday.... )
 
iMac, as it's all Flash -- good job on no Fusion -- and you've got the built-in display. The less cables around, the better (speaking from personal preference of course). Saves the ache of finding a monitor which is comparable with the iMac's, and having that plugged in and all that ... go for the all-in-one I say.
 
the CPU and GPU in that mac pro are way way better than the iMacs. But with the iMac you're getting a high end 10 bit 5K screen.
 
This debate has been raging in my mind since I've decided I'm not putting anymore money into my 4,1 (which is now on sale on eBay).

I'm nervous to buy the Mac Pro because of it's age. In one way I'm hoping I can get the iMac, then a new Mac Pro comes out and get that and sell the iMac before a new version of that comes out.

Money isn't unlimited but at this point I'd rather pay for something kind of at it's cutting edge and hope it holds out for 5 - 7 years (figuring I'd spend around 7k on a new version mac pro and still another 1.5k in display tech).

Discover is also having a nice 10% cash back promotion between now and the end of the year at apple.com, plus I'm new to Discover so I get my cash back doubled up in Dec 2016... which is making me feel like I need to make a decision within the next 6 weeks.
 
I think you need to consider what your apps use in regard to CPU

Are they primarily single core apps and the occasional multi for short intervals?
Or are they Multi core ?

If its the first then the iMac will be an amazing computer for you.
If its the second i think you might be limited in the iMac due to heat.

I love my nMP its a beast compared to my 4,1 it feels light years ahead. A lot of people trash talk it but its powerful and meets my needs of Single Core and Multi Core.
the only reason i kept my 4,1 was to run CUDA.
 
merkinmuffley said:
MacPro. It'll be easy once you try and repair that IMac.
Click to expand...
Is one easier to repair than the other? About the only thing which is user serviceable on either is the memory. Perhaps the flash drive in the Mac pro. Other than that what else can the end user service?
 
p.l said:
I think you need to consider what your apps use in regard to CPU

Are they primarily single core apps and the occasional multi for short intervals?
Or are they Multi core ?

If its the first then the iMac will be an amazing computer for you.
If its the second i think you might be limited in the iMac due to heat.

I love my nMP its a beast compared to my 4,1 it feels light years ahead. A lot of people trash talk it but its powerful and meets my needs of Single Core and Multi Core.
the only reason i kept my 4,1 was to run CUDA.
Click to expand...

I think Xcode compiles one class per a core, which, is hopefully how SourceKit works also (that keeps code completion happy and current). I know that on my Mac Pro (a 2015) that Xcode seems faster as compared to my 4,1.

I do my video work in Final Cut and just use Adobe CC for my image based app related (creating, altering, etc) assets.

I use Sketch a lot for design prototyping and then to finalize interfaces. It can be a pig with a lot of bitmaps.

I'm pretty sure I'll end up with a Mac Pro, I think I'm just the kind of user who gobs up GB after GB of RAM. I also don't like the "feeling" of an iMac - I'm really just worried about making a poor decision equity wise.

Either way it's a losing proposition of course but will an iMac purchased today retain more of it's a value as compared to a refurb Mac Pro from 2013? - It's hard to tell b/c the 2013 model hasn't been replaced yet so no one knows how the values will hold. (values seem to be all over the place for the 2014 retina iMac and I couldn't easily find a close to max build one).

One thing is for sure, if a new Mac Pro was out now I would buy it over the iMac.
 
Well, I think, if I can somehow pull this off. I'm going to go for:

Refurbished Mac Pro 3.0GHz 8-Core Intel Xeon E5

Originally released December 2013
3.0GHz 8-Core Intel Xeon E5
32GB memory
1TB PCIe-based flash storage
Dual AMD FirePro D700 graphics processors with 6GB of GDDR5 VRAM each

if I can somehow get to pay for that using Apple Pay in store I'll get 20% off and it's a HUGE savings already from what Apple is charging. This way if Phil comes on stage at some point really soon (but after my return window) and says "This is 80% faster than the previous Mac Pro!" at least I won't feel SO bad.. :)
 
Man, they can't do it. They can't sell me a refurb in store b/c they don't have the part number, so the best I could do would be 10%. I'm not sure if I can justify that... bummer.
 
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