Need Assessment

[ChopinGuy]

I am going to be getting a system for my work where I'm director of music for a large catholic church -- the current computers they have are pathetic and at this point I don't care about investing my own money in something that I spend so much time at...

So, my question is -- for a system that I want to be able to keep for some time into the future is a current MacPro the right choice??

My uses of the machine will be both in OSX and a lot in either VMware or Parallels as our work network is windows based.

In OSX would be my more intensive programs using logic pro and CS5 -- nothing major but designing graphics for our screen system and doing some simple audio tracks in logic.

In windows, it would be mostly running the office suite and other non-intensive programs.

Do these uses justify a Pro -- or would an iMac be more appropriate. Of course I like the expandability of the Pro and ease of fixing over the iMac -- but that comes at a considerable cost as well.

Appreciate your thoughts and help...

 

[avemestr]

Get an iMac.

Or better yet: Wait some weeks and buy a 2012 iMac.

 

[ChopinGuy]

Fair enough -- kind of figured that the pro might be a bit overkill for my needs...

Still like the thought of easy service-ability and upgrade paths with the pro though...

 

[derbothaus]

Get what you want. An i7 iMac with 16GB memory will work well. But a MacPro would work better but cost you a bunch more and you should wait till 2013 before that anyway unfortunately. A 6-core Mac Pro is still a great buy but no USB 3, SATA3, or Thunderbolt
I would stay away from dual processor models as you really don't need it.

 

[scott.n]

It sounds like a Mac Pro is what you really want. I say go for it.

A hexacore or octocore will still be faster (and ignoring the additional cost of a display, not too much more expensive) than all but MAYBE the highest end new iMac.

 

[ChopinGuy]

Thank for the thoughts -- I am think I am going to wait for a hex-3.33 to show up in the refurbished store. See those go for around $2,500 and I won't have to pay tax on it...

Though I think these are rare as I rarely see them refurbished...

 

[DanielCoffey]

That is cos they are good workhorses. A 2010 6x3.33 would be fine for your needs. Remember to buy the RAM from a non-Apple source.