Between iMac and Mac Pro

Hi everyone!
I am a lifelong PC user looking to switch to a Mac. Because I like some windows programs and gaming, I am still a little bit reluctant (less since Macs can run windows) to buy an apple computer mainly because i like computer video games.
I feel like if I buy an iMac I would spend a lot of money for the all-in-one design (granted, it's amazing) while I only need a desktop computer without a screen. Also, if I go with a Mac Pro, it's a little bit out of my price range...
Bottom line : do you think apple is developing some product to bridge the difference between an iMac and a Mac Pro for customers like me?
Thank you

OK, first the bad news is that we aren't allowed to speculate on future products real or fictional on this forum, read the Help & Terms of Use to your right.
However that being said you don't mention what games you like to run so it's difficult to speculate if an iMac is the right machine for you or not. Take a look at this link where there is an imbedded link to View of the iMac Graphics chart it describes games performance with different graphics cards:
http://www.apple.com/imac/features.html
If you still feel an iMac doesn't have enough power then you could always purchase a Mac Pro, they start at $2499 which just means you would need to save a little longer to buy one.
There are a lot of people that have switched to Mac's from PC's with similar concerns as yours, I would also recommend searching through the forums to get some additional information and maybe the direction they took. However be forewarned if you do decide to get a Mac you'll probably never want to use Windows again.
Regards,
Roger

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Deciding between iMac and Mac Pro

My current desktop computer (a PC) is basically dead. It is under extended warrenty but the custom build place I got it from tells me nothing is covered (because of their negligence but they won't admit that) And basically they want me to pay out of pocket for a brand new computer.
However after having a Macbook Pro for a year and loving it I decided to just change my desktop over to a Mac which I want to purchase by the end of October (or if this computer gives out before then earlier) However I just can't decide between an iMac or a Mac Pro.
The 2 big things are video editing at the moment just Final Cut Express and gaming when/if I get a chance. The iMac I'm looking at is the 3.06 GHz, with 4 GB ram, and a Geforce 8800GS video card. On the Mac Pro side it'd be more or less the Stock Mac Pro with 2.8 GHZ Quad core x2, 4 GB Ram, and I'd purchase the ATI HD 3870 video card for it.
The other difficulty is I do need a new monitor as well with the iMac a new monitor isn't an issue but with the Mac Pro it's extra and I guess I'm trying to debate if the difference between the 2 computers is really worth the cost. I'd like for the new computer to last me 3-4 years maybe a bit longer so it's just a matter of which is better for my needs. Is the Mac Pro really worth it over the iMac? I know I cant replace anything in the iMac but if it can do me for awhile I don't see why that'd be a downside
The other factor is, buying at the end of october, is it wise or should I try and get as much life out of my dead PC and try and wait for the next iMac/Mac Pro refresh?
Thank you to everyone who replies with their opinions.

The biggest advantage of the MacPro is its expandability. Yes, it is faster too, but is the speed difference worth the extra cost? Looking at what you can expand in a MacPro (unlike PCs which can be swapped out component by component until nothing but the case is original equipment) I decided that expandability was too limited to be worth the price and the speed increase wasn't either.
In the past I'd bought a Mac tower and kept it 5 years, over those five years upgrading the graphics card, swapping out the CPU, bigger drives, etc. I looked at the MacPro and concluded there wasn't much I would or could do to expand it other than a bigger hard drive or more hard drives and more memory. Maybe a better graphics card. Meanwhile, I could buy an iMac, keep it for 2 1/2 years, sell it, buy a new iMac and keep it for 2 1/2 years and wind up spending less (thanks to the high resale values of Macs).

What is the difference between iMac and Mac pro?

I want to buy an iMac but have saw the mac pro. What is the difference? Do you need an iMac to get a mac pro or does it come with a monitor?

Yes, exactly as Kappy has stated.
The iMac is an "all-in-one" computer similar to an HP Envy, or HP Touchsmart.
HP Envy Here: http://tinyurl.com/bb-hp-envy
HP Touchsmart Here: http://tinyurl.com/bb-hp-touchsmart
These are an "all-in-one" machine, where the CPU (central processing unit), mainboard, and graphics display adapter are all embedded onto one board, and it is built-in to the monitor display case.
So you just have what looks like a "thicker" monitor on your desk and your keyboard connects to this "all-in-one" computer. (and actually the newest 2012 iMacs are not really that "thick" at all, and it does look pretty nice/thin/sleek).
The disadvantage to an "all-in-one" is that it's not easily upgradeable. You can't change out the graphics cards, or install new PCIe expansion cards (faster network cards, RAID adapter, etc.), can't add extra internal hard drives (i.e. 4 internal hard drives), etc.
The Mac Pro is a standalone computer. It requires an additional monitor/display. The advantage of having a Mac Pro is that it is upgradeable (you can get more powerful graphics cards in the future if you need better 3D rendering power) and it has far more memory slots, so it can be expandeable to I believe 128GB of RAM (whereas I believe the iMac might be 32GB of ram?)
iMac memory expansion here: http://www.apple.com/why-mac/compare/
Mac Pro Memory expansion here: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/Mac-Pro-Memory#1333-memory
Also the iMac is a much thinner device, and you can't separate the display from the CPU (they are an "all-in-one" device) so you can't upgrade or change the primary display, but you can add a second display).
With the Mac Pro, you can add additional graphics cards, and you can power up to twelve displays (if you wish). You also have a much more powerful processor on the Mac Pro (one quad-core, or up to two 6-Core Intel Xeon processors). So the Mac Pro a much more powerful machine.
The iMac is just a nice cute/thin desktop display (all-in-one), but with a quad-core processor it's still a fairly fast/decent machine.
If you are doing heavy 3D graphics rendering or gaming, or graphics design (3D CAD, etc.) then I would probably go with something more powerful like a Mac Pro, since you can get better graphics cards, and the Mac Pro will run much cooler (as you're trying to do massive rendering).
> Do you need an iMac to get a mac pro or does it come with a monitor?
No, you don't need an iMac for a Mac Pro (they are two separate and different computers), but yes you do need an external monitor display if you buy a Mac Pro.
Any 1920x1080p monitor/display with an HDMI input will be sufficient for using with a Mac Pro.

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SADLY not as i downloaded an upgrad to my original PAGES/
i have in the meantim had to open www.icloud. then from there import the file that i am working on and then check on ipad if it uploaded/ yes it did.
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HT201380 keep having scrolling problems with Maverick on both iMac and Mac Pro despite downloading mail software update

Have scrolling problems with Maverick despite downloading mail update on both IMAC and Mac Pro
Have to reboot and it helps for awhile then stalls again

The Mac OS X 10.4.7 Update introduced connection issues as a result of (according to the documentation) "Mail now supports connecting to mail servers through a SOCKS proxy". This probably has nothing to do with your problem, but it'd be worth going to System Preferences > Network and making sure the SOCKS Proxy is not enabled in the network configuration used to connect to the Internet.
Also, it looks like the crashes you're talking about are actually freezes, i.e. Mail becomes unresponsive rather than quitting unexpectedly. In Mail, open Window > Activity Viewer, and see whether Mail displays there what it's doing when it freezes. Actually, you may be able to avoid having to force quit Mail by canceling whatever it's doing (by clicking on the red stop icon of the activity).
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Take a look at the following articles for guidelines on how to properly install system updates:
Troubleshooting installation and software updates
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I run a computer based recording studio. I have been using a Powerbook for the last two or so years and I am thinking of upgrading to an iMac or Mac Pro.
However, noise is a sensitive issue for me. I have enjoyed near silence with the Powerbook, which enables me to hear into every aspect of my sound. I would like to continue enjoying that experience with an iMac or Mac Pro and wondered whether you could tell me how quiet these machines are? And whether there are any stats on the noise output of the Mac range?
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What version of iPhoto do you have on each system?
It sound like you propbably have a newer version of iPhoto on the MBP - and thay you opened the iMac iPhoto library using the newer iPhoto - if you did you were warned that doing this would convert the library and that the older version of iPhoto could no longer open the library - the error message you list says that this is what you did
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LN

Void between the iMacs and Mac Pro's.

The iMac is a powerful system but lack of PCI slots, single display does not work for everyone.
I want to upgrade and sell my G5 Dual 2.3 and move on to intel macs. A core 2 Duo Intel mac with PCI slots and multi display support will suit my purposes just fine.
I could go Macbook with external display but if its a machines i will carry around, i dont feel comfortable carrying my main studio machine around.
Or maybe i just haven't gotten out of the mindset and accepted an iMac as a super professional machine.
Do i make any sense at all ?
ps: Who's running an iMac as their main studio machine in atleast a semi-pro environment where clients come in regularly. And how do a FW interface and Harddrive behave together........ ?
<Edited by Moderator>

Faisal Baig wrote:
Does anyone else feel that Apple should have kept atleast 2 lower end options for those who want to be on a Mac Pro, but cant afford them.
They had moved to a "4 core" base model some time ago and you can still configure it with 4 cores you just get 1 Quad instead of 2 Duals. The cost is the cost of the system my friend but it is a pro workstation that you will have no need to upgrade from for a long time. These Intel's have a good lifespan compared to the G5s.
Faisal Baig wrote:
A core 2 Duo Intel mac with PCI slots and multi display support will suit my purposes just fine.
No such Mac.
Faisal Baig wrote:
Or maybe i just haven't gotten out of the mindset and accepted an iMac as a super professional machine.
For audio its not.
Faisal Baig wrote:
Do i make any sense at all ?
Sure you do!
Faisal Baig wrote:
And how do a FW interface and Harddrive behave together........ ?
Main problem with the iMacs is the lack of expansion as you have pointed out. You will always have devices competing for bandwidth on the internal FireWire bus. Also the FireWire bus is only as fast as the slowest device on the tree so you can lose performance quickly that way. With expansion ports you can record in one bus and write out another and get much better performance that way. But with 4 drive bays on the MacPro you won't need to write out a bus except for backup or if you were to get an external RAID.
Cheers!

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Len

leonardfromoshawa wrote:
To backup in the future requires hooking up each machine individually and using TM.
To do it that way, yes, but that's not your best bet.
First, having both sets of backups made directly, in the same partition, may present problems later on. See Time Machine - Frequently Asked Question #4 for details.
Second, the inconvenience of switching back and forth means both Macs won't get regular backups. If you do switch frequently, there's the risk of damaging a port or plug.
Your best bet is to partition the drive. Continue backing-up the iMac to one partition directly. Leave the drive connected to the iMac, and back the laptop up to the other partition via your network. See Time Machine - Frequently Asked Question #33 for details, and #22 for setup instructions. That way, both will be backed-up hourly, as long as they're awake and the laptop is in range of your network.
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No. You cannot connect a drive to an Airport Express's USB port, only a printer.

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Hi,
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<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3924#>
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<http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3775>

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Between iMac and Mac Pro

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