I am getting ready to take the plunge and buy a new Mac but I am struggling with which one to get. The choice comes down to a top-of-the-line iMac or entry-level Mac Pro. My budget is only three-thousand and that would easily buy the...<br><br>24" 2.8 GHz iMac with 2GB of ram, a wireless mouse and Applecare, with money left over to upgrade my FC studio to version 2, or the<br><br>Mac Pro w/1GB ram and the 23" HD Cinema Display which will exceed my budget by a couple hundred dollars but would make much better use of my existing software, not too mention Leopard.<br><br>On a personal note, you should be aware that I am going to buy this with a credit card. Since retiring in 2001 and living on a pension, I have managed to stabilize and live comfortably within my budget, but what I can't seem to do anymore, is save money and now that my MDD G4 is going on five years and is max'd out in ram and hard drives with a top-of-the-line video card, performance has become the real issue.<br><br>I have no qualms about buying on credit, simply because I've always gotten terrific mileage out of my Macs. The 'dualie carried me for five years and I believe I pushed the software envelope while cutting my teeth on graphics, video, and audio editing programs and somewhere along the way my needs have trebled and the MDD can no longer keep pace.<br><br>The 24" iMac HD, while gorgeous and would probably last at least five years, there is mounting talk of performance issues in the Apple Discussion forums related to bad video drivers and Apple has yet to acknowledge there is even a problem. Another member raised issues about Motion being problematic. Motion and FCP and Maya excels masterfully using Open GL standards which aren't supported on the iMacs and that could be a potential headache for me.<br><br>I guess what I'm saying is, in the 27 years I have been using Apple products I have been fortunate and never bought a lemon, however I have always compromised my craft because of the lack of funds and ended up with a great machine but no money left for decent software.<br><br>Funny, as I look back over the years, all five of my computers have each cost me about 2600 dollars and though the money stayed the same, the computers themselves grew exponentially in features and I have now finally reached a point where my software has finally eclipsed the computer's capability. That has only happened in the last five years as I was able to save for better software.<br><br>The real dilemma now is I used FCP to render a 1-hour 3.5GB DV project and it took more than 11 hours with the MDD. The resulting video was superb and the final product was 1.2 GB, however, I still have 20-hours-plus of raw video yet to process and I'd like to finish before I die!<br><br>The iMac could cut that time in half I'm sure and the M Pro could probably cut that in half still. When you get to be my age, time is everything and so performance becomes the issue.<br><br>I'm certain all of you have struggled with decisions similar to mine and you welcomed input from everyone who would listen because the last thing anyone wants to do is "settle" for something less than they really wanted.<br><br>Is a performance-compromised Mac Pro with a lot of headroom better than a fully equipped HD iMac that cannot be upgraded at all, per say? I could probably save the money I need to eventually upgrade the ram and down the road add another SATA in the Mac Pro and even the processors are upgradeable but the same cannot be said of the iMac.<br><br>I should mention that the HD is critical and that's why I am including the 23" Cinema and am seriously considering the HD iMac. I won't be buying an HD television set simply because I'm not that into television and adding an HD tuner to either Mac is a snap.<br><br>Any thoughts?<br><br><br><br>M i c h a e l (OFI)

I would tend to lean towards the MacPro, only because I'm still a little wary of the all-in-one models. Never trust em' myself.<br><br>Anyway, if you were to go with the MP, are you that dead set on the Apple LCD? I'm just thinking a Dell Ultrasharp would save you the few hundred that you'd be over budget - then you could either pocket that money or spend it on more RAM for the tower, which you could always use.<br><br><br><br>

I don't have either and I won't be getting one for another year or two, but here are my thoughts.<br><br>Are you using this for personal or business on the side?<br><br>I would think that the iMac would be a damn good machine to get but then again you are using some serious software.<br><br>Probably I would go the Mac Pro route. You don't have a monitor? Thought about getting a Dell one? (yeah, Dull, but they are cheaper and HD I think)<br><br>The only drawback, from what I have read on the internet, is that the mac pro really seems to hum along best with 4GB of ram at the minimum. I'm sure the owners of the Mac pro can let you know for sure.<br><br>Check your PM's.<br><br>

I have the same trust issues with AIOs too.<br><br>The last AIO I owned was the SE-30 and though it never gave me a bit of trouble, it was probably the most expensive Mac I ever owned. But man, I really gave the department of the navy/marine corps plenty to think about when they saw that machine sitting on my desk at work. It may have well been a mainframe to them for all they knew about desktops! Too bad they went DOS.<br><br>The display is the deal-breaker so to speak. <br><br>I studied up on the Dell UltraSharp 2405FPW Black 24" LCD Monitor and is a terrific monitor for photography and general purpose use but is too soft and fuzzy for digital video work. <br><br>You have given me other ideas for a monitor and no I'm not dead-set about the ACD, so thanks, I'll keeping looking.<br><br>I can always add another day of ramen to the weekly food menu if I absolutely have to. Ramen was a friend around the dorms, if you know what I mean.<br><br><br><br><br>M i c h a e l (OFI)

Yeah, even if it's not Dell, there's gotta be something out there for a lot less. Apple LCDs are nice to have but I've always been under the impression that while they're solid, they're not a 'must-have' unless you're one of those OCD-types who need their display to match the CPU.<br><br>Well whatever you decide, just be sure you post pics of the unboxing so I can respond with this:<br><br><br><br><br><br>

I would think that the iMac would be a damn good machine to get but then again you are using some serious software.<br><br>I know they're fine machines. I only wish I lived near an Apple store so I could take a project file in there to see just how well the iMac performs. My MDD can run Motion, which is a real test for any Mac, but everything I do in that program must be rendered to get a sense of how the final product will look and the time to accomplish that is not totally unbearable, so I would have to imagine that the newest Alu iMac would smoke my MDD, especially running on top of Leopard in 64-bit mode.<br><br>The newest Alu iMac is too new for there to be any real substantive discussions on its performance. Like I said, right now the Apple forums is lit up with video performance issues and those who have installed the latest iMac 1.1 update are reinstalling version 1.0 to return to normalcy.<br><br>Apparently there is a problem with the ATI/AMD video drivers that are causing the iMacs' user interface to freeze up requiring a hard reboot five and six times a day. What is confounding the issue is it might also be Bootcamp/Windows related as well but everybody's guessing.<br><br>I just wish Apple would come out and at least acknowledge the issue and say they are at least looking for a solution and then I would probably get the iMac. But right now it's touch and go.<br><br>You're right about the Mac Pro and ram, I've seen the test results. I could never be truly happy without at least 4GB of ram and 16GB of ram is to die for...<br><br><br>M i c h a e l (OFI)

I have been have the same debate as to what to replace my upgraded QuickSilver with. I have two 21" monitors and really like the space but the 24" iMac would do nicely. I really have enjoyed the expansion and upgradeability of my QuickSilver...since 2001.<br><br>If the money will be there, right now, I am leaning towards the iMac once the next version with 10.5 is released...that is if the money is there.<br><br>But hey, I at least now have a matching chair for the iMac that I just bought today with a free Staples gift card!<br><br><br><br>_______<br>

FWIW, when my MDD 867 dies (or I save enough cash), it'll be replaced by an iMac. Having had some hands-on with a new 20", I can tell you it's friggin' fast!!! All the benefits of internal drives and PCI cards can easily be matched with external solutions.<br><br>- alec -

I know. <br><br>I will slowly migrate three internal drives in the MDD to external enclosures but I will never retire my MDD because it's just too damn good. It has never failed and I have experienced only two kernel panics and except for a few days at a time each year, my MDD has been running 24/7 for five years!<br><br>I'm just wondering, would I be so inclined to fill up a Mac Pro with three more drives, max out the ram, and upgrade the video card as I have with the MDD?<br><br><br>M i c h a e l (OFI)

my tuppence-worth is to say, Formac LCDs are also really good and a lot cheaper than the Apple ones.<br><br>- padmavyuha<br><br>[color:purple]A lopsided man runs best along the little side-hills of success<br>- Frank Moore Colby</font color=purple>