Ol' Mac Pro Right For Me?

[Daniel_Upton]

Hey guys..

I have a question and i was wondering if the community brain could help me out..

My needs are middle range - high end,
I'm a software developer working primarily with windows .net and IBM lotus domino which means i need the power to virtualise 2 or 3 small windows VM's simultaneously (around 1GB of Ram and 1 CPU Core Each) using parallels (Boot camp is not an option!)

I also do some light video editing using after effects and premiere pro CS4,
and work with RAW files in photoshop CS4 occasionally too..

My current primary computer is a white mac book (core 2 Duo 2ghz, 4GB DDR2 Ram) which is seriously showing signs of strain!

My budget is kinda low but ive found somebody who wants to sell me a 2006 "woodcrest" mac pro of the following specs:

2 x 2.66 GHz Dual Core Xeons (4 Cores Overall)
8GB DDR Fully Buffered Ram
(all other components are standard)

For £1,200 (GBP)

Will this machine suit my needs?
I'm asking because my budget is quite low and the only thing apple offers for this price range is the low end imac (21.5")
which seems kind of underpowered with a tiny display!

Thanks!
Daniel

 

[pigoo3]

Yes...the "quad-core" Mac Pro would fit your needs.

But for £1,378.00 (yes £137 more than your budget)...you can get a REAL NICE 27" iMac.

iMac - Apple Store (U.K.)

Remember if you purchased the Mac Pro for £1200...you would probably spend at least £137 extra for a monitor, keyboard, and mouse (which would be included with the iMac purchase)...if you don't already have these items.

Maybe an even better possibility...would be to purchase this refurbished 24" iMac for £1,019.00.

Refurbished iMac 24-inch 2.93GHz Intel Core 2 Duo - Apple Store (U.K.)

It's in stock (as of 7:56pm EST)!

Hope this helps,

- Nick

BTW...you should probably remove any mention of HACINTOSH from this post & from your avatar...if you want to remain a member at Mac-Forums.

Just a friendly warning from another member!

 

[ZorroAMG]

I'd recommend the 27" quad core for a few £ more than that old 2006.

It will be faster and come with a gorgeous display.

 

[Daniel_Upton]

Yes...the "quad-core" Mac Pro would fit your needs.

But for £1,378.00 (yes £137 more than your budget)...you can get a REAL NICE 27" iMac.

iMac - Apple Store (U.K.)

Remember if you purchased the Mac Pro for £1200...you would probably spend at least £137 extra for a monitor, keyboard, and mouse (which would be included with the iMac purchase)...if you don't already have these items.

Maybe an even better possibility...would be to purchase this refurbished 24" iMac for £1,019.00.

Refurbished iMac 24-inch 2.93GHz Intel Core 2 Duo - Apple Store (U.K.)

It's in stock (as of 7:56pm EST)!

Hope this helps,

- Nick

BTW...you should probably remove any mention of HACINTOSH from this post & from your avatar...if you want to remain a member at Mac-Forums.

Just a friendly warning from another member!

Hey Nick

Whoops! Sorry I didn't think that would go down well! Thanks it's gone from my description.. was only a passing idea anyway!

Yeah i've been thinking of the iMac,
Only thing is the £1,378.00 iMac is still only a dual core..
Which is ok but my boss has an imac of the same spec and ive seen it really struggle under the same workload i would be giving it!

Also for the future i'm considering creating a RAID 0 Array which you cant do with an iMac!

Your right i'd also end up spend more for the monitor, I'd probably go for 2 24" samsung displays so an extra £350ish

Thanks for your swift reply!
Daniel

 

[pigoo3]

Yeah i've been thinking of the iMac,
Only thing is the £1,378.00 iMac is still only a dual core..
Which is ok but my boss has an imac of the same spec and ive seen it really struggle under the same workload i would be giving it!

Well it was just an idea. It sounds like you have had some first hand experience with the faster dual-core iMacs...which of course is really helpful.

If your willing to spend an extra £350 for 2-24" displays (can you really get 2-24" displays for £350 in the UK?)...that extra money on top of the £1200 you mentioned spending would get you real close to the price of an i5 Quad-Core 27" iMac for £1634. That 27" display is pretty awesome.

I'm not sure how important that Raid Array is to you...but if it never happens, it could be stopping you from getting a nice iMac.

Good luck with your decision,

- Nick

 

[Yackedy Sacks]

i have the mac pro that you're considering. it was overkill when i bought it 2.5 years ago, and it's still more power than i need today. an iMac is basically a laptop with a nice (very nice) display. if you want processing power, go for the mac pro!

 

[chas_m]

i have the mac pro that you're considering. it was overkill when i bought it 2.5 years ago, and it's still more power than i need today. an iMac is basically a laptop with a nice (very nice) display. if you want processing power, go for the mac pro!

Now that the iMacs have the i5/i7 chips, I don't think this view is still operative.

The various speed-fiend test sites I've checked seem to rate the iMac very favourably against the latest Mac Pros.

This will of course change over time, but as of today the iMac is actually Apple's biggest hardware "bang for the buck."