Replace Macpro 2.66 2006 with iMac i5 or i7

[jazz1]

The 27" inch iMac screen is getting to me, and I'm wondering if now is the time to go with an i5 or i7 iMac? Can I assume that these two newly chipped iMacs will outperform my 2.66 2006 MacPro? Note I have an ATI 3870 and a four drive RAID0 in the Macpro.

I use my current set-up for some occasional Lightroom work, surfing, WP, and stream media like Hulu and Netflix.

I've recently seen a rumor that there may be a new 27" display coming. If the price was right maybe I could get it and keep the Macpro. However I don't really see me buying another desktop as I'm looking for less heat, less noise, and smaller footprint.

While I like the expansion capabilities of the MacPro I'm thinking I could live with the 27" screen and could re-task one of my current screen as a second one if I needed to.

 

[Hellhammer]

iMac sounds good for you. It has faster CPU, GPU and RAM but slower HD because it's not in RAID0 but I think you can live with that and if you want, you can replace it or the SuperDrive with SSD. Your usage ain't very heavy so no need for Mac Pro

 

[wessew]

If I read the attached table correctly, it looks like an i7 could increase your system performance by up to 66%!? I am looking at the i7 as well, but what about the issues regarding display yellowing and uniformity. Is the problem behind us? Anyone want to chime in?

http://www.primatelabs.ca/blog/mac-benchmarks/

 

[jazz1]

If I read the attached table correctly, it looks like an i7 could increase your system performance by up to 66%!? I am looking at the i7 as well, but what about the issues regarding display yellowing and uniformity. Is the problem behind us? Anyone want to chime in?

http://www.primatelabs.ca/blog/mac-benchmarks/

Thanks the table helped a lot. It is time to upgrade I think.

 

[rnb2]

I just switched from a 2GHz 2006 Mac Pro to the i7 iMac. I had a three-drive RAID0 and the 3870 in the Mac Pro, and the iMac is faster in every conceivable way. You also don't get the audible fan noise from the 3870 - 10.6 made the graphics card much louder in my Mac Pro.

I'm running one of my old monitors (a Samsung 215TW) in portrait mode as a second monitor, with the iMac screen replacing my 23" Cinema Display, which it completely blows away. I went with the iMac both because of the delay in getting new Mac Pros on the market, and the cost of going that route - you'd have to upgrade the graphics card to match the iMac (though you could keep the 3870, I think the 4850 is faster), plus add a lot of RAM, and the iMac is still faster than the 2009 2.66 Quad Mac Pro, and just as fast as the 2.93 for most tasks.

The only major adjustment was to storage - I thought about going with the 2TB internal drive, but decided it wasn't worth the $250 upgrade cost. If it was a WD drive, maybe, but it's a Hitachi, and I'd rather live with the 1TB Caviar Black (as I already have three of them). I put together two FW800 2-drive RAID0 boxes, one as a backup/expansion for my photos, one for everything else, and expanded my Drobo to 4TB to use for Time Machine. I'm also booting off of a 80GB Intel SSD in an external enclosure, but that's another story

The i7 iMac is just beautiful. I did have some bad RAM, but once I got that figured out and replaced, mine runs like a dream. Fast, extremely quiet, and a gorgeous screen. I don't think you'll regret making the move.

 

[jazz1]

Well it sounds like my older desktop has been surpassed by the higher end version of the iMac. The only barriers that remain to me are the sale of my 2.66 Macpro and of course the worry of getting a yellow screen iMac. I'm sure it will be worth it.

 

[jazz1]

I just switched from a 2GHz 2006 Mac Pro to the i7 iMac. I had a three-drive RAID0 and the 3870 in the Mac Pro, and the iMac is faster in every conceivable way. You also don't get the audible fan noise from the 3870 - 10.6 made the graphics card much louder in my Mac Pro.

I'm running one of my old monitors (a Samsung 215TW) in portrait mode as a second monitor, with the iMac screen replacing my 23" Cinema Display, which it completely blows away. I went with the iMac both because of the delay in getting new Mac Pros on the market, and the cost of going that route - you'd have to upgrade the graphics card to match the iMac (though you could keep the 3870, I think the 4850 is faster), plus add a lot of RAM, and the iMac is still faster than the 2009 2.66 Quad Mac Pro, and just as fast as the 2.93 for most tasks.

The only major adjustment was to storage - I thought about going with the 2TB internal drive, but decided it wasn't worth the $250 upgrade cost. If it was a WD drive, maybe, but it's a Hitachi, and I'd rather live with the 1TB Caviar Black (as I already have three of them). I put together two FW800 2-drive RAID0 boxes, one as a backup/expansion for my photos, one for everything else, and expanded my Drobo to 4TB to use for Time Machine. I'm also booting off of a 80GB Intel SSD in an external enclosure, but that's another story

The i7 iMac is just beautiful. I did have some bad RAM, but once I got that figured out and replaced, mine runs like a dream. Fast, extremely quiet, and a gorgeous screen. I don't think you'll regret making the move.

I was looking at the 2TB upgrade, but the $250.00 upgrade cost seems a little pricey in today's market. I didn't notice if there is some kind of "credit" in the total price for replacing the 1TB with the 2TB.