What Mac to buy, iMac or refurb Pro

[lanceh5]

Well today I took the old G5/1.8 Ghz iMac out of the kitchen and brought in the Intel 20" iMac (2007 model). The G5 was chocking and stuttering listening to internet radio and looking at email with some video and pictures.

Now I need to replace the intel iMac but with what? I was looking at the new iMac 2.9 ghz with the ATI card for $2000. Is that iMac just a speed bump from 2.4 Ghz to 2.9 Ghz?

The other option I was considering is a refurb octad 2.8 Ghz Mac Pro for $2400 or maybe a refurb Mac Pro quad 2.8 Ghz for $2000. I have an external monitor, keyboard, etc.

I was using the intel iMac in the upstairs "office" doing some CAD design. I also started converting some WMA files to MP3. The intel iMac was doing the work OK.

When OS 10.6 is released the more CPU cores the better.
What to do?

 

[BulletToothTony]

Well today I took the old G5/1.8 Ghz iMac out of the kitchen and brought in the Intel 20" iMac (2007 model). The G5 was chocking and stuttering listening to internet radio and looking at email with some video and pictures.

Now I need to replace the intel iMac but with what? I was looking at the new iMac 2.9 ghz with the ATI card for $2000. Is that iMac just a speed bump from 2.4 Ghz to 2.9 Ghz?

The other option I was considering is a refurb octad 2.8 Ghz Mac Pro for $2400 or maybe a refurb Mac Pro quad 2.8 Ghz for $2000. I have an external monitor, keyboard, etc.

I was using the intel iMac in the upstairs "office" doing some CAD design. I also started converting some WMA files to MP3. The intel iMac was doing the work OK.

When OS 10.6 is released the more CPU cores the better.
What to do?

That mac Pro for $2000 sounds awesome.. that and a nice 24" - 30" Monitor would be a great setup.. i just got the 24" refurbed imac and it's quite awesome.. great beautiful screen.. and i just updated to 1tb hdd and to be honest it feels like a great machine.. if i needed the power thou i wouldn't hesitated to get that mac pro...

But i don't think i need a quad machine for gmail!! at least not yet!!

overall you should really think of what you're gonna be happy with...

I would get the 2.8 refurb over the 2.93 specially with them being at $1199..

I could've gone for the mac pro if i had a monitor alreade, but being that i was gonna have to spend an extra $500 for a nice monitor it's way too much..

 

[Matt Dean]

The MacPro 2.8 is a beast. Plus, the expandability/ upgrade options, etc. make it a better machine. 4 hard drive bays, second optical bay, PCI-e slots all make it a better investment. I have both an iMac and a Mac Pro. The Pro is noticeably snappier.