Really need advice regarding which one to get.

[Runqen]

Hoi! I really have trouble deciding whether to get this mac pro:

3.7 quad xeon
512gb flash
32gb memory
d700
apple display

or this iMac:

3.7 quad i7
32gb memory
512gb flash
780M

I'm using my computers for personal use only. I use them for the following things most of the time:

1 virtual OS (win xp or Win7) in Parallels
A few games (such as world of warcraft, diablo, racing games etc.)
using iWork
Some photo editing at amateur level (using aperture and such)
some video compressing and decoding
surf the web, use itunes, the usual stuff.

I guess that the obvious answer here is to get the iMac, however i would like this computer to work great for a pretty long time. I doesn't want anything to "bottleneck" the other and for upgradeability the mac pro is the only alternative really.

I really need some opinions from others here since i really can't decide. The iMac would probably work, but the mac pro is just so god damn cool! Also, the mac pro is just updated and fresh. That might not really matter, but it feels kinda good to buy the most recently updated machine.


Thanks in advance!


Edit: Almost forgot. For what i use the computer for, would you recommend me to go with the 6core and 16gb of ram instead of the quad and 32gb of ram? I'm quite unsure about which one would benefit the most for me. I usually have many applications open at the same time.

 

[CouponPages]

I had the same two candidates.

I opted for 6 Core Mac Pro, 1TB, D700, 32 GB.

Here's why.

Right now, the iMac will not only keep up with, but certainly outperform the Mac Pro in most of the things you currently do.

The down side, the Mac Pro as it stands today will underperform using a lot of programs that don't use GPUs.

Because Apple made it a point to not only add a good factory GPU to the models, but to add two. Clearly, they want developers to optimize their programs for dual GPUs, using OpenCL.

Virtualization won't be any better on the Mac Pro, but you can add a lot more RAM to the Mac Pro, so you can potentially run multiple VPCs at the same time with plenty of RAM to spare.

The number one reason for me however is expansion. Expansion can come in just about every component.

On day one, the iMac has two Thunderbolt ports, the Mac Pro has 6 Thunderbolt 2 ports. Thunderbolt 2 is smoking fast, and as time goes by, the prices of TB2 devices will potentially bring lower priced... super fast storage (even faster than the factory PCI-e SSDs).

Although changing the GPU is not likely to come along soon... unlike the iMac, it is at least possible.

CPU upgrades are already possible, and OWC has proved it by taking out a stock Xeon and replacing it with a 12 core. That said, the 12 core CPU is currently over $3000, so it's not something many will do right now. In time, we should see prices drop and even low cost used chips in the $1000 or so range. So in a few years, we could conceivably spend $1000 to double the cores... $400 or so to double our memory... and $500 or so to get a TB or more in SSD.

 

[Runqen]

Thanks for the input. Yes, the expandability is a great feature for the mac pro. I'm leaning towards the pro for that very reason. Plus the tb2 ports ofcourse.

I want to keep this one for a while, so the MP might be the better choice here.
However, if i chose to go with that one there is another question mark i needs straitened. Should i go with the 6core and 16gb of ram of quad core and 32 gb of ram?

I really don't know which config that would benefit the most for general use.

 

[CouponPages]

Based on what you said, that's an easy choice.

If you get the 6 core, and run a virtual PC, you could give the Virtual PC 2 or 3 cores... and still have decent performance on OSX. Even if you gave Windows 2 cores, you would still have 4. (With hyperthreading, you would actually have 12 virtual cores... and that means 8 for OSX, 4 for Windows).

Also, some applications that don't benefit from a GPU, do support multi-threading, the 2 extra cores will potentially give you 50% more power.

For example, HandBrake loves CPUs... so it'll eat 'em up.

 

[wildmac]

Do you already have a monitor(s)? If so, and if they are still good, then you are essentially paying for a monitor you don't need with the iMac.

The nMP is also likely to last longer, and be a more solid system, than the iMac which has had plenty of issues over the years.

Quad or Hex nMP? Hex might be overkill right now, but would retain better value for the long term.

If budget is an issue, get the Quad/D300/32/512

If budget isn't as much an issue, get the Hex/D700/32/1TB

 

[djpedro]

I'm in the EXACT same boat! (see my post I posted just a little while ago here!)
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1698350/

I actually have a quad core nMP on order, but have been thinking about canceling it and going with the new iMac for the same reasons. I will be using virtualization every day, and will also be logging in remotely, requiring the machine to be running 24/7.

I'm mostly concerned about being able to keep the machine on and up all the time, something I don't know if the iMac is designed for.

Cost isn't really an issue for this purchase, I just want the highest performance for what I will be using it for...