Which Mac?

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Geektastic

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#24259 19-Jul-2008 08:57

Hi All

Grateful for advice. I am looking to upgrade my dual 2.7 G5 Mac (4.5Gb RAM, 500 Gb HDD) to an Intel version of Mac.

I am a professional photographer and my principle workflow on the machine is Aperture with various 3rd party plug-ins. At the moment I have a pair of Firewire 800 external drives attached as backup storage and a 20" Cinema Display.

At the moment I am considering

A 3.06 Ghz 24" iMac with 4Gb Ram
A Mac Pro with dual 2.8 quad core processors and 4GbRAM.

The iMac appeals as a compact and relatively affordable option, but will not (apparently) run a 30" monitor as a second display in due course. The Mac Pro is obviously more expandable and more capable and will run whatever monitors I can afford - but costs more in the first place.

I have also read varying reports as to the colour accuracy of the iMac displays and of the reflections from the glossy screen.

i would be grateful for views, recommendations, suggestions etc!

Thanks!

wazzageek

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#149415 19-Jul-2008 10:27

To be honest - I'd spring for the MacPro - go with the Displays that you can afford to begin with.

With the MacPro, you will be able to:

Add in an extra graphics card (and hence extra screens if required)
You're not limited to a total of 4GB of Ram
You're not limited to the one internal drive (Hard drive and optical)

Plus - if you're screen develops issues in the future, you only have to replace the display.

I'm saying all this with the view that you are going to be doing professionally photography on this. I would imagine that if you go the iMac route you'll be wishing you could upgrade in the near future ...

Hope that helps ...
Wazzä

magu

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BitSignal

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#149494 19-Jul-2008 17:07

wazzageek: To be honest - I'd spring for the MacPro - go with the Displays that you can afford to begin with.

With the MacPro, you will be able to:
Add in an extra graphics card (and hence extra screens if required)
You're not limited to a total of 4GB of Ram
You're not limited to the one internal drive (Hard drive and optical)
Plus - if you're screen develops issues in the future, you only have to replace the display.

I'm saying all this with the view that you are going to be doing professionally photography on this. I would imagine that if you go the iMac route you'll be wishing you could upgrade in the near future ...

Hope that helps ...
Wazzä

I second that. Go for the more expandable Mac Pro and you won't regret.

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