Do I need to buy a Mac pro with an iMac?

I'm planning on buying a 27-inch iMac, do I need to buy a Mac Pro (single processor) or any other hardware etc with the iMac PC?

Go for the higher end 27 inch screen base model.
Get one with the fusion drive.
Add third party RAM after the purchase.
If you need an optical drive, the new iMacs no longer have an internal CD/DVD optical drive.
You will need to budget and purchase an external optical drive.
Also, budget for an external hard drive for backups and storage.
Most important, budget for, purchase and register for extended 2-years of AppleCare warranty before your first year of ownership has ended.
The cost of the extra 2 years is only a fraction of an actual out of pocket repair cost.
Later aluminum iMacs, in general, have a 3-5 year varied liability history and it's better to have 3 years of warranty coverage than get caught with an expensive repair sometime after the first free year of AppleCare.
Good Luck!

Similar Messages

I just replaced my mac pro with an iMac and i can't get it to work with my epson stylus 3800 printer?

i just replaced my mac pro with an iMac and i can't get it to work with my epson stylus 3800 printer? i have downloaded the 3800 software three times and the imac keeps telling me there is no software to run the printer? Any help here?

Care to share which OS you are using?

Not sure whether to buy a Mac Pro or an iMac?

I need some help....I am a long time mac user, I have a MDD Dual 1.25 G4 I have been using for 5 years, works like a champ, but I am ready to upgrade. I am print/web designer who uses CS2 at the moment, but I plan on upgrading to CS3. Based on my budget of around $2500, I basically am not sure if I want to get a 2.33Ghz 20" iMac and put 3 gigs of ram in it....or get the dual 2.0Ghz Mac Pro with the standard 1 gig of ram.
I know either one will be faster than my G4, but what I am not sure of is how will each run in comparison using CS2, or if I upgrade, using CS3? I know CS2 is not geared for the intel processors, but it will run OK correct?
The Mac Pro can hold a ton of ram, and the iMac is maxed at 3 gigs....but do I need more than that? I don't do video, I do flash work but not anything huge. Any ideas, experience, insight might help me. Thanks.

Don't forget that CS3 series of applications likes lots of RAM, even though Flash needs the littlest of it. 3GB is a good starting point. CS2 will run under the Intel Macs but it will be in the emulation mode Rosetta so it may not run a lot faster. Yes it will work faster than the G4, that is for sure.
My opinion is - go with the Mac Pro that you can afford and save up a bit of cash to get more RAM later from a third party RAM company like Ramjet or Crucial. 1GB may be all you need at first, then if you need more later you can always upgrade as needed.
I went from a G5 iMac to a Mac Pro and the speed is just awesome. The 20" screen is nice but I compensated by using a 17" and a 15" screens which more than makes up for it.

I am in China and need to buy a MacBook Pro with English as the core language. Where can I find one?

I am in Jilin China and went to the local Apple resale store, but all the MacBook Pros with Retina Display have Chinese as the core language, and the store workers couldn't help me get English. Where can I buy a BacBook Pro in China that has English as the core language?

Tom Gewecke wrote:
Lonna Lisa Williams wrote:
the store workers couldn't help me get English.
Not very bright of them. Every Mac can be switched among 33 languages, including English, in a few seconds via the system preferences.
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14211
And in Chinese
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14211?viewlocale=zh_CN
Along with that, when setting up a brand new Mac (or after install an fresh version of the OS), the first thing you have do is: select a language. That choice sets the language for the rest of the setup and the default. Pick English and you're done.
But as Tom mentioned, that can always be changed.

Can I use old Mac Pro with new iMac?

I have a Mac Pro (Pre 2007) running on 10.6.8 that is ok for now, but experiencing some degradation in performance. I have 4 drive bays full and memory maxed out. I am looking for a desktop solution that would allow the option to have the latest OSX (such as the latest iMac) and access this old Mac Pro still. Is this possible?
If so, what are some of the caveats?
SoftwareEx: CS6 is compatible with new OSX, but will files saved on new computer still be accessible on old computer?
Access to files
NetworkCurrently using older version of Airport Extreme for home office setup
Any insights would be helpful! I hate the thought of this old workhorse turning into nothing more than an external hard drive, but it is not upgradable to the new operating system.

It sounds like what you want to do is create a simple peer network so you can use the Mac Pro as a storage unit.
This is easy to do, just connect the two with an ethernet cable and log on using the logon and password for the system you want to access. In the general case, this is a bad idea since you you have unrestricted access but you own both machines so security is a very low priority.
Caveats:
     The OS version will determine what apps a machine can run.
     Data is just data as long as both systems use HSF+ or some other common file system.
     Airport may or may not work... but a hard wire will always get it done and transfers data a lot faster.
You almost never get to have it ALL your way when mixing generations of systems, but if you keep it simple it works well. I've had a peer network with 4-6 systems running in my house since the turn of the century. Most Macs support 1000 baseT (gigabit ether) so data transfers up to 80-90MB/sec are easy.

I need to buy a mac server with 12 TB of HDD to share files in the network. i need some advices....

Some body helpme please!!

A Mac Mini Server configured with a Promise Thunderbolt array meets your general requirements.
That configuration is available directly out of the Apple Store in various geographies.
If you have specific questions or concerns, you'll need to post some details of those.

So im about to buy a mac pro, I just need help cause im not sure if it's worth paying more for instance, a hi-res screen compared to the stock screen, and will i really miss the .2 ghz and the upgraded video card if I get the 2.0 ghz mbp?

So im about to buy a mac pro, I just need help cause im not sure if it's worth paying more for instance, a hi-res screen compared to the stock screen, and will i really miss the .2 ghz and the upgraded video card if I get the 2.0 ghz mbp?

The_Tiger92 wrote:
So im about to buy a mac pro, I just need help cause im not sure if it's worth paying more for instance, a hi-res screen compared to the stock screen, and will i really miss the .2 ghz and the upgraded video card if I get the 2.0 ghz mbp?
It appears the 15" 2.2 ghz isn't worth spending $400 more for, but you get the 1GB Radeon 6750M that has four times the VRAM than the 15" 2.0Ghz model and about 167% more performance. High settings on all current games with over 50 fps.
If your not into 3D gaming or just light weight, then the 2.0 Ghz (last years performance) will suffice on low-medium settings at about 30 fps.
The 13" is rather poor as it has integrated graphics. 30 fps on only some games.
The high res screen is a excellent choice and the anti-glare is great for viewing just about anywhere.
No messy films to replace at $30-$40 a pop.
A lot of people bring the glossy screens back once they hear about the anti-glare.
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2011/05/23/glossy-vs-matte-screens-why-the-pc-indus trys-out-of-touch/
Here's my 17"
In my opinion the extra $400 for another 2-3 years of use out of the computer is worth it.
Quad cores are more than enough for most uses for most people for many years, it's just a slow card is going to make the machine feel slow in rendering graphics in the future.

Need advice on buying older mac pro

Hello fellow mac pro experts.
I am in the market for a used mac pro, and would like to know which one you would recommend and with how much RAM for the following main tasks:
1) The usual email / internet stuff
2) DVD rendering
3) Logic Pro
4) Will have to be able to run Windows 7 Ultimate using bootcamp.
I will use two 30" monitors, from HP model LP3065 (2560 resolution)
I would rather use Snow Leopard (10.6.8) if possible. I don't like Lion or Mountain Lion.
So, what is the configuration you would recommend, considering most small tasks (email, internet, office, etc) use just 1 core most of the times?
Thanks in advance!!

Mac Pro
Date introduced
Original Mac OS X included
(see Tips 1 and 3)
Later Mac OS X included
(see Tip 1)
Mac OS X Build(s)
(see Tip 2)
Mac Pro (Mid 2012)
Jun 2012
10.7.3
10.8
11D2001, 12A269
Mac Pro (Mid 2010)
Aug 2010
10.6.4
10.7, 10.7.2, 10.7.3
10F2521, 10F2554, 11A511a, 11C74, 11D2001
Mac Pro with Mac OS X Server (Mid 2010)
Aug 2010
10.6.4
10.7, 10.7.2, 10.7.3 (Server)
10F2522, 11A511a, 11C74, 11D2001 (Server)
Mac Pro (Early 2009)
Mar 2009
10.5.6
10.6
9G3553, 10A432
Mac Pro (Early 2008)
Jan 2008
10.5.1
10.5.2, 10.5.4
9B2117, 9C2031, 9E25
Mac Pro
Aug 2006
10.4.7
10.4.8, 10.4.9, 10.4.10, 10.5
8K1079, 8N1430, 8N1250, 8K1124, 8P4037, 8R3032, 8R3041, 9A581, 9A3129
It appears the 2012 is over-specified here. Since it is essentially unchanged from the 2010 model, Users (who wanted to bad enough) have downgraded to 10.6.8 and (once running) have no issues.
N.B.> Installation is COMPLEX and may require another Mac.

About to buy a Mac Pro, have quick question please.

Hi all,
I am going to more than likely buy a Mac Pro 2.66 tonight or tomorrow, but I was wondering something in regards to graphics cars if any one could assist me.
I am planning to go with the ATI card and 2gigs of ram since I do some gaming on the side and plan to use bootcamp for that.
My question is that if I buy the machine in retail store, they do not credit the stock GeForce card and just add the ATI card in, so if I go that rout can both the ATI and Nvidia card both reside in the machine at the same time and be used in SLI mode?
EG: can I get the power of both cards or will I only be able to use the processing power of one card? If only one card then would I be better off configuring the machine online since they credit you the difference of the Nvidia card which saves roughly $150.00 off the order from doing it in a retail store?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am not worried about the $150.00, it would almost be worth it to spend the extra since the shipping time on the online configuration may end up costing almost the same unless I want to wait a few weeks for the machine.
Whats your thoughts on this? Is it worth it to buy in the store and use both cards or just buy online from apple and get the credit for the Nvidia card?
Thanks in advance!

can both the ATI and Nvidia card both reside in the machine at the same time and be used in SLI mode
No… SLI requires two Nvidia SLI capable cards. In addition, SLI is not supported under Mac OS X although does work, apparently, under Windows and Boot Camp. ATi's comparable technology is CrossFire.
would I be better off configuring the machine online since they credit you the difference of the Nvidia card which saves roughly $150.00 off the order from doing it in a retail store?
Financially yes as the Nvidia card is ultimately useless to you. One consideration though is the CTO conditions of return, or lack there of, in case you receive a DOA. In the US, amongst other countries, CTo unit are not returnable even if they are DOA so you should check the terms of sale in the country store you would buy from.
Whats your thoughts on this?
I, like many others, bought CTOs from the Apple Store so I don't think it's such a bad way to go. It also means you won't have any pressing need to open your new Mac Pro right away.
One thing you might want to consider though is to downgrade the standard 250GB hard drive to a 160GB drive and use the saving on a drive of your choosing. Apple tends to use OEM desktop drives that have unimpressive performance. The 160GB drive in my Mac Pro didn't even get turned on. It was a Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 if you're interested.

If I buy the Mac pro and iMac combine it together would it be faster?

If I buy the Mac pro and iMac combine it together would it be faster or I just buy the mac pro and Apple Thunderbolt Display (27-inch)?

If you buy a Mac Pro 2013, use the iMac for casual stuff and use the Mac Pro for media creation work.
Maxed out iMac with 4-core 32GB RAM and 1TB SSD PCIe is nice.
Mac Pro with 6-core 64GB dual graphics for $1000 more might run rings around it.
Why not look them both up on Geekbench.
Some people really need and like having two systems, maybe laptop (Air) and a more powerful system.

Planning on buying a Mac Pro

Hi, I'm planning on buying a Mac Pro 3Ghz in the near future and had a few questions before I buy it.
I plan on using the computer mainly for games but I want to have it for a long time and be able to handle whatever I throw at it (games and otherwise). I had a iMac G3 300Mhz for about 5 years and been useing a iMac 2Ghz more recently, both of which I have been very pleased with but I know a regular tower has alot more options and complications too.
At first I was planning on buying all my RAM from Apple and just getting the monitor seperate (since they seem pretty overpriced), on futher research I found that the 2GB RAM I was going to get at first is really a min. amount for the system and 4GB much better for getting full performance from the computer. Now from Apple the price difference from 2BG to 4GB is $800, not cheap.
So my first question is where can I find memory thats not so expensive? and what are the good brands to buy?
I also found out that the hard drives that apple uses aren't that good. Was going to get the 250GB HD but I probly don't need that much and can always add more so size isn't a big factor.
So what brand has good hard drives and where would be the best place to buy it?
I'm now planning on getting the computer with the min. HD and RAM and upgrading from there but I also want to be able to put in all the upgrades right away and not have to worry about adding more for awhile.
Last is the monitor but that doesn't concern me as much as the main computer. I want to get atleast a 20", any suggestions you have would be appreciated.
Thanks for taking the time to read my post.

Last fall Intel customers that run heavy servers were clamoring for Intel to get new chips out the door. Servers are often optimized for multi-cpu/cores, and the new chips run cooler, take less power to run, AND less power to cool. The costs of running a server farm makes any reduction in cost important today. Plus, even though they are clocked slower, are somewhat more efficient (improved and more mature?) that and stability are often what drives servers, not the hottest (figuratively and literally) cpus and systems.
So even if/when Intel does start shipping, and tested/qualified for OEMs they may not have any "left over" for awhile for desktop. And it could be they might even end up in Apple Xserves rather than MacPro.
Given that it took until November (late) for Apple to use Xeon in Xserve I almost wondered if it takes longer and more testing (and revising version of server) or if Apple might be hoping to delay and see if Intel could supply the new 53xx chip (would they use single quad-core or two? or have both configurations?).
Often it does take a "patched" or revised OS to deal with any new hardware as well (10.4.9? 10.5.1? something in-between?).
Anyone whose work is really cpu bound on G5 Quad or Mac Pro will probably be first off the line for these, as they were for the other two systems.

I intend to buy new mac pro, is it better to wait for the new OS X mountain, or can buy it and we can update it without affecting its performance?

I intended to buy new mac pro, is it better to wait for new OS X moutain or can buy it now and update it later as it will not affect its performance???

khalid.mktaka76 wrote:
I intended to buy new mac pro, is it better to wait for new OS X moutain or can buy it now and update it later as it will not affect its performance???
If you can wait about a 3 months after 10.8 is released this summer and upon new hardware you should be in excellent shape to have not only a fastest latest machine, but a OS X version that all the bugs have been worked out. Plus the three free months of Apple hand holding while they figure out what they did wrong with the new OS version.
If you need a new machine now you'll have to get what you need obviously, but 10.8 should run on it just fine. However know that Apple tweaks things with more currently sellling hardware first, then later gets to the previous released models.
It's been my guestimation that your good for about two year old hardware with very recent OS X release, three years or older hardware you may want to reconsider sticking with the previous OS X version as your hardware is getting dated and likely has only a year left to go anyway (4 year average), so why bother mucking it up, slowing it down and having to buy all new/updated software and third party hardware because they won't make drivers for your new OS version?

Is it good time to buy Mac Pro with display?

Hi There,
I am thinking to buy Mac Pro with display and I wonder if it’s good time to do that. Displays still waiting for update. We have been waiting for Mac Pro update long and as far as I see the update wasn’t what people generally expected.
And disappointing thing about Blue-ray drive as well. I think it was good time to put one in by Apple.
So do you think its good time to buy all that stuff or wait longer and perhaps better Mac Pro with new display will come out soon?
Regards

Rufus wrote:
Um no.. It's more than an "extravagant speed bump," the new Mac Pro is using the new 45nm chip architecture. In addition, the significantly larger cache and faster 800mhz RAM make for drastic performance increase.<</div>
Um...yes..
and with this new faster processor, I'm to do what with???...open an Excel spreadsheet a nanosecond faster, get a few more fps on Doom3? Woop-tee-do! I now have 8 cores but most software uses 1 of them while the other 7 purr in idle.
BluRay/HD video is here... or should I say HAS BEEN here for over a year now.... how am I going to use this new super-dooper processor with editing, creating, and authoring HD video and discs?
A faster processor at this point is meaningless without the tools to use it with.
All they did with the new MacPro is give you a computer that is worth the fixed $2800 price tag.
Reminds me of the tire commercial on tv where they describe this car with exotic and powerful 12 cylinder engine, and plush leather seats, and race proven suspension...... but with no tires.
It all looks great on a spec sheet, but you can't use it to do any real work.
I can film HD video all day long, but I can't use a Mac to put it on disc...... (but I can use a Dell!!)
There is no way anyone can explain this other than political.... I would bet that this has something to do with Steve's affiliation with Disney and other studios in regards to his doomed movie rental snafu. Apple has always been the ground breaker in bringing such technology to the market first (a mouse, a cd drive, multiple displays, a superdrive, etc.), and usually before the consumer even understands they need it. To be this far behind with BluRay, he's got to be holding back for a reason ... and I would love to hear it.
I've been a Mac user for 22 yrs and have only been embarrised to be so twice... once when the fruit flavored iMacs were introduced (eventually proved to be the best selling computer model of all times), and now with the absence of BluRay. I've been hoping Steve will prove me wrong again, but I've been hoping for year now... and am still waiting.
Um... No, the Mac Pros power isn't gonna do much for an excel spreadsheet.. However, I bought mine to use with Logic Studio which does take advantage of all eight-cores and the faster front side bus and RAM, and the performance is remarkable..
Just for kicks I timed how long it took to rip "Finding Nemo" with my old G4 dual 1.25 ghz using Handbrake's Apple TV preset... The G4 took 7 hours and 54 minutes.. My new Mac Pro did the same job in 24 minutes..
If you really want a Blu-Ray drive in your Mac Pro, then just buy one and stick it in the empty optical slot, but be prepared for the price tag... http://www.mcetech.com/blu-ray/
And if you use one of the Pro apps that takes advantage of multiple cores, the new Mac pro is a dream.. If you don't use one of those apps, you probably don't need a Mac Pro. At any rate, you're whole spiel about the Mac pro's power being trivial or useless is nonsense..

Told my friend to buy a Mac Pro today...right choice?

She wanted a new computer so she could edit music and video, but she only had $2200 to spend. She was gonna grab a MacBook Pro, but I told her to buy the Mac Pro but in its lowest configuration. 2.0GHz, 1GB Ram, 160 GB HD, no WiFi etc. It came in at $1962 with her student discount.
Is that the right choice? I told her it's upgradeable, but I wasn't sure if she could ever upgrade the CPU. Did I point her in the right direction? Or should she cancel her order and get the MacBook Pro?

Given her budget she's going to be tightly squeezed which ever way she goes. Ultimately, the startup price of a Mac Pro is probably going to be slightly higher if you need to consider a display. If not then they're going to more or less the same.
In my opinion you did point her in the right direction for several reasons…
1) 2 x 2GHz Xeon processors are going to be far better than single 2.16GHz Core Duo Mobile processor. I would however suggest she makes every effort to beg, borrow or steal the cash to stick with the standard 2.66GHz processors. They're far better value than the 2GHz and will serve her far better in the long run.
2) RAM is a real problem with all other Mac s as they're limited to 2GB. For serious video editing you want 4GB or more. With 1GB in either system she'll be struggling so it's suggest she have at least 2GB.
3) Laptops are limited to 2.5" drives and hence, are currently limited to 160GB (which you cannot even get as a CTO option) forcing MB/MBP users into external drives. The Mac Pro you can add up to 5 drives.
4) No RAID in the MBP which provides a huge performance boost for video editing.
5) No DVD+R DL recording in the current MBP.
6) No upgradeable GPU in the MBP. Even though the ATi X1600 Mobility in the MBP and the Nvidia 7300 GT are more or less the same, the Mac Pro does give upgrade options where the MBP does not.
7) No TOSLink in the MBPs.
Having been a laptop users for some time before going with a Mac Pro I can reasonably say that the only reason I would ever recommend a laptop is that you require portability.
The MBPs do come with Airport and Bluetooth as standard although you can buy USB Bluetooth adapters cheap enough and I'd suggest using Ethernet cables in any case.
Finally, have you/she considered going with say a 24" iMac?

We are a creative design studio, we need to use apple mac pro server , so we can make more than a different user to use at the same time doing different activities, on different screens, is it possible?what is the max. no. of users that can work efficient

we are a creative design studio, we need to use apple mac pro server , so we can make more than a different user to use at the same time doing different activities, on different screens, is it possible?what is the max. no. of users that can work efficient.
Appreciate your support and if possible , how to do this?

If you want to work with Mac OS X, you need one computer per simultaneous user.
What you are describing, " Multiple simultaneous logins to a single computer" is not avialable on a regular Mac of any description, unless you decide to use Unix tools instead of Mac OS X.
Server will happily store files for many, many users and provide them to multiple (up to hundreds) of computers at "near hard Drive" speeds over Gigabit Ethernet. It can make the File Sharing part easy.

Do I need to buy a Mac pro with an iMac?

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