Mac Pro - iMac Upgrade

Qion · #1 November 5th, 2009, 04:38 PM

I haven't posted here in a long time, but I have a serious upgrade question to ask: would it be worth the $400-500 to upgrade my current machine (a 2.66GHz quad-core Mac Pro) to the new 27" quad-core iMac?

My current setup is the aforementioned Mac Pro connected to two 22" run of the mill LCD displays. The 27" display has essentially the same pixel density of both my monitors combined, and this is the primary factor making me consider an upgrade. I do industrial design rendering, so color quality and plentiful work space are paramount.

Would the iMac have any speed advantage over my current system? Specifically, if I choose the 2.88GHz iMac option, would it significantly improve my render times? I don't feel that my current setup is underpowered, but a speed boost would be a nudge in the right direction.

Thanks!

nixgeek · #2 November 7th, 2009, 05:33 PM

Personally, I would say to stick with the Mac Pro. Although the new iMac does have the Core i-Series of processors, the CPUs in your Mac Pro are quite beefy in and of themselves (being Xeons and all). Plus, you have the added ability to upgrade your Mac Pro as time passes, and the money would probably be much better spent on a larger display for it anyway. Upgrade the RAM as much as you can and see about upgrading the video card as well.

Satcomer · #3 November 7th, 2009, 08:31 PM

As my signature says i have the 2008 Dual 2.8 Mac Pro and have been slowly upgrading the RAM is my beast and can't be happier! I'm up 10G now and soon will have 14G. I am crunching video at astonishing rate now.

The two things with all the RAM I have noticed is that anything after 4G for net use is almost useless. However if you are doing any graphics or video the more RAM the better!

Windows 7 (on a separate hard drive) on the other hand recognizes there is the installed RAM but most definitely doesn't take advantage over 8G in real world usage (video or graphics). I am not saying this as a fan boy but I have really taken notice of this quirk.

I say stay with the Mac Pro for another couple of years unless you are only doing every day stuff (no hard graphics or video crunching). The fat pipes in the Mac Pro will be much better than a laptop or all in one like the iMac. If you don't believe me look at the web site BareFeats.com.