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Return Ultimate iMac for Base model Mac Pro?

Diversion

Diversion

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 5, 2007
773
142
Jacksonville, Florida
My concern is that for $300 more, I could return my Ultimate iMac (just bought on Sunday) for a base model Mac Pro.

I'm a decent gamer, I play daily but not too super serious, my requirement to have the best video card isn't big (obviously, i would have just built a dual 780 desktop for under 3k if it was).

I know the Xeon is missing some hardware acceleratoin/instruction sets but will be a beast in anything multi-threaded CPU-bound.

The other issue is will dual D300s be more powerful in gaming over the 780M in the iMac.. My guess looking at specs say yes, it's a combined over 2000+ stream processors vs. the 1500ish in the 780M. Of course, Firepro drivers aren't designed with gaming in mind so there's a gaming performance hit there.

Lastly, you get the $999 Cinema Display value built right into a iMac vs. no monitor in the Mac Pro..

Trying to take all things into consideration and don't want to have buyer's remorse. I guess I should wait for a proper review of the base model Mac Pro before assuming anything today!
 
If you're only talking 300 more (does that include the display?) then I'd go for it. I'm not a gamer so I can't say whether it will be better but I will assume it is.
 
Diversion said:
My concern is that for $300 more, I could return my Ultimate iMac (just bought on Sunday) for a base model Mac Pro.

I'm a decent gamer, I play daily but not too super serious, my requirement to have the best video card isn't big (obviously, i would have just built a dual 780 desktop for under 3k if it was).

I know the Xeon is missing some hardware acceleratoin/instruction sets but will be a beast in anything multi-threaded CPU-bound.

The other issue is will dual D300s be more powerful in gaming over the 780M in the iMac.. My guess looking at specs say yes, it's a combined over 2000+ stream processors vs. the 1500ish in the 780M. Of course, Firepro drivers aren't designed with gaming in mind so there's a gaming performance hit there.

Lastly, you get the $999 Cinema Display value built right into a iMac vs. no monitor in the Mac Pro..

Trying to take all things into consideration and don't want to have buyer's remorse. I guess I should wait for a proper review of the base model Mac Pro before assuming anything today!
Click to expand...

Don't look at the Mac Pro's GPUs in terms of combined power if you're curious about gaming performance. It's quite likely that they won't be using Crossfire, so just assume the performance of a single D300 (roughly a Radeon 7870, IIRC). Still, it's certainly best to wait for reviews to be sure.
 
maflynn said:
If you're only talking 300 more (does that include the display?) then I'd go for it. I'm not a gamer so I can't say whether it will be better but I will assume it is.
Click to expand...

Well being I have a Thunderbolt Cinema Display in possession I wouldn't need to buy a monitor for the Mac Pro.. However, the inclusion of the built-in $999 Cinema Display with an iMac makes it a little less painful.

----------
Mike Biggen said:
Don't look at the Mac Pro's GPUs in terms of combined power if you're curious about gaming performance. It's quite likely that they won't be using Crossfire, so just assume the performance of a single D300 (roughly a Radeon 7870, IIRC). Still, it's certainly best to wait for reviews to be sure.
Click to expand...

If you're right about the no-CrossFire bit then it may become obvious a D300 will be underpowered for gaming. Also, given the Mac Pro's size.. I'm convinced the GPUs are "Mobile" class ones.. and not comparable to desktop class. So it would be a 7870M, not a desktop 7870, right? That would be severly underpowered for gaming if you're limited to a single card in the Mac Pro vs CrossFire. Is this lack of CrossFire confirmed?
 
I'm ready to buy and have gone through a number of "almost" purchases. First, a maxed out iMac when they became available back in October, then a used Mac Pro 5,1 and now the 4 or 6 core nMP. I basically decided to wait for the reviews, performance specs, etc. I'm still unsure, but the front-runner is the 6 core nMP with 512 SSD. Now off to fertilize the money-tree I'm going to need.

Good luck with your decision. Hopefully, the reviews will come fast and furious and you have some time to make a decision.

Rob
 
rtrueman said:
I'm ready to buy and have gone through a number of "almost" purchases. First, a maxed out iMac when they became available back in October, then a used Mac Pro 5,1 and now the 4 or 6 core nMP. I basically decided to wait for the reviews, performance specs, etc. I'm still unsure, but the front-runner is the 6 core nMP with 512 SSD. Now off to fertilize the money-tree I'm going to need.

Good luck with your decision. Hopefully, the reviews will come fast and furious and you have some time to make a decision.

Rob
Click to expand...

I kind of wish I held off on a new iMac.. but I picked it up this past Sunday so i'll have enough time for reviews before making a solid decision. If CrossFire isn't enabled even under Windows then i'll just keep the iMac.. it makes more sense for me. It would probably take at least the 4000 dollar Mac Pro to beat the iMac in gaming and that's just not doable for me.
 
Diversion said:
Well being I have a Thunderbolt Cinema Display in possession I wouldn't need to buy a monitor for the Mac Pro.. However, the inclusion of the built-in $999 Cinema Display with an iMac makes it a little less painful.

----------



If you're right about the no-CrossFire bit then it may become obvious a D300 will be underpowered for gaming. Also, given the Mac Pro's size.. I'm convinced the GPUs are "Mobile" class ones.. and not comparable to desktop class. So it would be a 7870M, not a desktop 7870, right? That would be severly underpowered for gaming if you're limited to a single card in the Mac Pro vs CrossFire. Is this lack of CrossFire confirmed?
Click to expand...


The nMP uses desktop gpus not mobile
 
If Crossfire works in Windows, then I would say you should go for nMP, but even then I would recommend the D500 upgrade for the Quad. The 780M in the iMac is no slouch, even though it's a mobile card.
 
Diversion said:
Well being I have a Thunderbolt Cinema Display in possession I wouldn't need to buy a monitor for the Mac Pro.. However, the inclusion of the built-in $999 Cinema Display with an iMac makes it a little less painful.

----------



If you're right about the no-CrossFire bit then it may become obvious a D300 will be underpowered for gaming. Also, given the Mac Pro's size.. I'm convinced the GPUs are "Mobile" class ones.. and not comparable to desktop class. So it would be a 7870M, not a desktop 7870, right? That would be severly underpowered for gaming if you're limited to a single card in the Mac Pro vs CrossFire. Is this lack of CrossFire confirmed?
Click to expand...

It certainly isn't confirmed (anywhere I've seen at least). I tend to just assume the worst when it comes to situations like this. We'll see shortly though.
 
I doubt you will get crossfire support. Also, have you taken into account that you will need to either upgrade the SSD in the base Mac Pro or add a good external disk or both? The 780M in the iMac is actually quite good.
 
Ive been going back and forth in my head about what model to get .. originally i was dead set on the stock hex core for 3999 and just upgrade the ram down the road and the ssd. On my old hex mac pro .. i have a 480gb pcie ssd and only used like 70gb. The only game I play is WoW here and there so maybe the d500s will be fine.

I don't want to overbuy since I will probably sell it when they release a v2
 
Keep the iMac

Personally, I'd keep the iMac, considering your needs. The 780M 4GB is a good card, and I'm not sure what the extra $300 will really get you. That's a beautiful display you've got on the iMac that you won't have anymore. I just sold mine to get an old Mac Pro for work. But if it wasn't work related, I would've kept my iMac. Also, if you ever change your mind down the road, the iMac will retain a good amount of its resale value. On the flip side, what if you bought the MP and Crossfire never got supported under OSX? That might be a bummer to have spent extra for less performance where you wanted it.
 
Diversion said:
I hope there will be a few reviews out by the end of the weekend! It will surely put my mind at ease :p
Click to expand...

I wouldn't count on reviews by the end of the weekend. Just because you can order the nMP starting tomorrow, doesn't mean it will ship tomorrow. It could still be a few weeks before someone has one of these in hand to review.
 
Darth.Titan said:
I wouldn't count on reviews by the end of the weekend. Just because you can order the nMP starting tomorrow, doesn't mean it will ship tomorrow. It could still be a few weeks before someone has one of these in hand to review.
Click to expand...

Apple only gives us 14 days to return? Unless it's been changed to 30 and I would be happy to hear that. I'm going to be out of luck!
 
pricing...

... I overheard the following configuration:

12 core
dual 700s
I think it was 32GB
1TB
warranty

clocked in right at $5k. Guess we'll see in a few hours.
 
Diversion said:
Apple only gives us 14 days to return? Unless it's been changed to 30 and I would be happy to hear that. I'm going to be out of luck!
Click to expand...

isn't the return window way longer right now because of the holidays?

----------
Flint Ironstag said:
... I overheard the following configuration:

12 core
dual 700s
I think it was 32GB
1TB
warranty

clocked in right at $5k. Guess we'll see in a few hours.
Click to expand...

not a chance. more like 10k.
 
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