Mac Pro vs iMac?

[Zach Vega]

Every two years I upgrade my computer. My last update was in February 2011. I've been looking at two computers - a Mac Pro with an Apple Cinema Display and an iMac. I like the Mac Pro because of its easy upgradability and future-proofness though out this decade, which I can't say of the iMac. However, I also like the iMac because of the built in screen and reduced cost from not having to buy another monitor. What do you think I should get?

 

[simsaladimbamba]

What are your computational needs?

 

[teleromeo]

Why do you need future-proofness if you buy a new one every 2 years ?

 

[Flood123]

Why do you need future-proofness if you buy a new one every 2 years ?

Maybe resale value ?

 

[Icaras]

Why do you need future-proofness if you buy a new one every 2 years ?

Exactly. Just get an iMac.

 

[CaptainChunk]

It only makes sense to buy a Mac Pro if your workload exceeds what 4 physical CPU cores can handle and/or you need the expansion (GPUs, RAID, expansion cards, etc.) afforded by an upgradeable tower.

If none of the above reasons necessarily apply to you, just get an iMac. They're a lot cheaper.

Every two years I upgrade my computer.

You upgrade every two years? Wow, that must be nice. My Mac Pro is almost 4 years old and it's still a good workhorse (video editing, mostly).

 

[comatory]

you sound like iMac type of guy. wait till the end of Oct, if no new iMac comes out, buy the current gen

 

[Zach Vega]

What are your computational needs?

I play a lot of games. I use Photoshop, After Effects, and FCP commonly as well. This Mid-2010 21.5" iMac is just lagging. I've had to attach 2 terabytes of external storage just to fulfill everything.

Maybe resale value ?

If I go with a Mac Pro, I probably could go 3-4 years.

you sound like iMac type of guy. wait till the end of Oct, if no new iMac comes out, buy the current gen

I think I'll go with an iMac with the following specs:
27" display
16GB DDR3 RAM
2 TB HDD (an SSD would be nice though)
3.4GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
AMD Radeon HD 6970M (2GB VRAM)

It might be overkill for me right now, but it won't be in 2014, with games like TS4 and SC5 coming out.

 

[Chrisg2014]

Maybe resale value ?

Still you're going to lose a lot of Money, iMac sells better then the MacPro for resale.