Mac Pro potential newbie

[eddjedi]

Hi guys,

I posted in the 'general newbie' forum but had no replies, so I figured you guys would be able to help more! I'm a seasoned Mac owner, been using them since OS 8, but I've never had a Mac Pro. Only had iMacs and laptops before.

I currently have a 2009 2.8ghz I7 iMac. It's a nice bit of kit, great screen, runs everything just fine at the moment. However I have acquired a 2006 2.66ghz Mac Pro, and am tempted to sell the iMac and replace it with the Mac Pro for daily use.

My question is quite simple really - In my situation, what would you do? I can think of several pros and cons for both. What attracts me to the Mac Pro is the upgradability, and the fact that if anything breaks, I can almost certainly fix it myself. But I realise it is 5 year old technology, and I'd kick myself if next year Apple announced they were dropping support for the older Xeons, like they have with the early Core Duos.

I just want to keep whichever is more future proof. I like the idea of having a machine that can take 32gb of RAM and a couple of quad core processors in the future. But is sticking with the i7 a more sensible choice?

Opinions would be appreciated

 

[Feek]

1) wait
2) buy new Mac Pro when it's released
3) ....
4) profit?

To be more precise, bask in the knowledge that you'll have bought a new system, just released that will be a powerhouse and last you for a good few years without even breaking a sweat.

 

[minifridge1138]

What are your options...

1) Keep the 2006 MP, sell the 2009 iMac.
2) Keep the 2009 iMac, sell the 2006 MP for a profit.
3) Keep them both.
4) Sell them both. Use proceeds to buy something new.

Personally, I'd be either (3) or (4), myself.

I don't know what you paid for the MP, so (2) may not be a valid option.

What do you do with your computer? Which machine is better suited for your needs?

How much money could you get for selling both systems?

 

[ActionableMango]

A MP that old will require hundreds of dollars of upgrades just to match your iMac performance. If you don't have a monitor, there's another few hundred dollars.

It's hard to know what to do since you don't indicate what your uses or requirements are, but generically I'd sell both computers and get the best MP you can. You clearly like the upgrade aspect and repair/replace aspect of the MP.

 

[eddjedi]

Yes sorry I could have explained better. I bought the iMac brand new a year or so ago, so have quite a lot of money tied up in it. It's still probably worth 50-70% of what it cost. The MP was 'free' - it was non-working scrap at work, so I took it home to see if I could fix it. And an £150 ATI Radeon 4870 video card later, it's working again. So I currently have about £150 tied up in the MP. It's probably worth about £600 I think, so less than the iMac. It does not have a monitor currently, but I'm not stupid enough to spend £800 on an Apple one. a £100 Dell one will do just fine.

I'm a web developer so hardcore gaming/video crunching power isn't something I need. However even with my light use, I still need to upgrade every few years due to latest software requirements. And of course storage is something you can never have too much of, so 4 HD bays is very appealing.

I hope that makes it a bit clearer. I don't really want to sell both and put it towards a new MP - the idea is to have some money left over afterwards (after all I only bought the iMac a year or so ago, so definitely don't NEED an upgrade yet. However while I have both sat here, I can't help but wonder which will still be going strong in 2 or 3 years time. And that's the one I'd like to keep!

Cheers.