Might be stupid question - 24" imac or Mac Pro

[ipoddin]

The new 24" iMac's have my mouth salivating. I already have a 21" widescreen lcd so a dual monitor solution would be sweet. I've configured an iMac and Mac Pro with similar pricing and now to make a decision:

24" imac $2384:
# 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
# 1GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x512
# 500GB Serial ATA Drive
# NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT 256MB SDRAM
# SuperDrive 8X (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
# Apple Wireless Keyboard & wireless Mighty Mouse + Mac OS X (US English)
# 24-inch widescreen LCD
# AirPort Extreme
# Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR

Mac Pro $2374:
* Two 2GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon
* 1GB (2 x 512MB)
* 160GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
* ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512MB (2 x dual-link DVI)
* One 16x SuperDrive
* Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse - U.S. English
* Mac OS X - U.S. English

I want a rig for gaming (dual boot WinXP) as well as something to use for alot of RAW and Photoshop work and home movie editing. Obviously the Mac Pro is more powerful and expandable, but the new imac is no slacker either and dual screens is pretty sweet (though more limited in expandability).

Am I really crazy to even consider the imac based on nearly identical prices?

 

[Manzana]

there's not even a question!!!

we're talking 4 processors

server class processors no less!

if you didn't have the monitor, maybe.

 

[ZoomZoomZoom]

Slight shot in the dark, but you'll probably want the Mac Pro if you want gaming. With Vista will come DirectX 10, and new graphics cards to support it. Look at ign.com and some of the games that will use it, and you'll be wanting to upgrade about a year from now.

 

[^squirrel^]

I'm thinking the same.

Does the 7600Gt have enough beef for future games such as Microsoft Flight Sim X??? Probably run ok'ish. I'm sure it will cope fine with todays game such as Half Life etc....

I really like the fact of having a 24" screen, but then the Macpro is more powerful has a better GPU (X1900) plus you can expand it.

I think i'll go with the Macpro as i'm sure someone out there will crack this PC GPU thing in a mac.

I might buy the iMac for the Mrs at xmas so i can use it a bit then.

EDIT: another option is to buy the 24" imac and also buy or build a gaming pc.

 

[FFTT]

We know you really want the 2.66

The 24" iMac is more than enough computer, but if you are generating income
at a good enough level to warrant the Mac Pro, you won't regret the upgrade.

I would start out with 2GB RAM on either for your work.

The price of FB ECC RAM for the Mac Pro may determine your final decision.

 

[ipoddin]

I'm thinking the same.

Does the 7600Gt have enough beef for future games such as Microsoft Flight Sim X??? Probably run ok'ish. I'm sure it will cope fine with todays game such as Half Life etc....

I really like the fact of having a 24" screen, but then the Macpro is more powerful has a better GPU (X1900) plus you can expand it.

I think i'll go with the Macpro as i'm sure someone out there will crack this PC GPU thing in a mac.

I might buy the iMac for the Mrs at xmas so i can use it a bit then.

EDIT: another option is to buy the 24" imac and also buy or build a gaming pc.

Well I do have an existing PC for gaming, but it's not as powerful as the imac or MP. I was also planning on selling it for some xtra cash to put towards the Mac.

I know I should go for the MP with my existing 21" lcd. It's just that screen is sweet.

I will probably go MP as configured above. I also have a 500gb hdd in my pc which I'll pull out an put in the MP.

 

[ipoddin]

As an alternative, I could also just keep the existing PC for gaming only (works well with everything out right now), and go with a decked out mini for about $1k. All it needs to do is work well with RAW photos, photoshop, imovie and idvd Might not be the fastest Mac on the planet, but I save money, do what I need to do with it, and can save up for something even better in a year or so.

Think the mini will be up to the task? Or maybe a new Macbook when those come out with upgraded chips is better - I also get portability with that solution.

This is making my head spin.