Mac pro cheaper in the long run?

[Cassius]

I was thinking if it would be cheaper to get a mac pro and run windows on it in the long run, due to resale value (I would format it and put the Apple OS back on it before selling it). Yes, buying it new costs more than getting the same system as a pc, but if you sell it, you should get a lot more of your money spent back compared to a PC, or am I mistaken?

[BloodBane611]

Honestly, ridiculous price overkill. I just bought a system that maxes out PR and can run ArmA II pretty decently for ~$800. Paying more than 3x as much won't get you nearly 3x as much performance, and it actually won't even get you a better computer - see builds below.

Mac Pro
2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon “Nehalem” processor
3GB 1066 mghz DDR3
ATI Radeon HD 5770 with 1GB GDDR5
1 TB 7200 RPM HDD

My build:
3.0Ghz Quad-Core AMD Phenom II
4 GB 1333 mghz DDR3
ATI Radeon HD 5770 with 1GB GDDR5
500 GB 7200 RPM HDD

You're paying more for a computer that will actually perform less well, and even if you do get the $1700 difference back, you have to pay that much more to begin with. As we've told others in the tech section, for about $1000 you can put together a very nice machine. If you want to spend more on a large HD display, surround sound, etc, you even will have plenty of cash left for that.

[Cassius]

Honestly, ridiculous price overkill. I just bought a system that maxes out PR and can run ArmA II pretty decently for ~$800. Paying more than 3x as much won't get you nearly 3x as much performance, and it actually won't even get you a better computer - see builds below.

Mac Pro
2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon ?Nehalem? processor
3GB 1066 mghz DDR3
ATI Radeon HD 5770 with 1GB GDDR5
1 TB 7200 RPM HDD

My build:
3.0Ghz Quad-Core AMD Phenom II
4 GB 1333 mghz DDR3
ATI Radeon HD 5770 with 1GB GDDR5
500 GB 7200 RPM HDD

You're paying more for a computer that will actually perform less well, and even if you do get the $1700 difference back, you have to pay that much more to begin with. As we've told others in the tech section, for about $1000 you can put together a very nice machine. If you want to spend more on a large HD display, surround sound, etc, you even will have plenty of cash left for that.

Yes no kidding, I just ran the configurator for the single (aka cheapest) cpu system. All I changed was to up from a dual 2,8 cpu to a quad 3,2 CPU and up the ram from 4 to 8 gigs. Almost 3200 Euro 3400 if I want the ati 5870 instead of the 5770. And that does not include a monitor yet. Thats almost 4000 dollars. Imagine the doomsdaymachine I could build with it. It could probably win the Afghanistan war cure Aids, straighten the leaning tower of Pisa and run PR with little lag.

Just to enable Raid I would have to add a 650 Dollar card and its max transfer rate is just 300 MB/sec too q.q .

For it to make any sense I would have to get like 2800 back on the used system. Guess its settled, a mac pro makes only sense if you really need all the support (which you have to pay extra for) or if you can deduct the whole lot from your taxes.

Nice looking case though.

[BloodBane611]

Macs are pretty sexy, I've owned a macbook pro for 2 years now. Seriously amazing customer service, a fairly high quality product, its just not one I would pay for with my own money, especially for a desktop.

[cyberzomby]

Macs are pretty sexy, I've owned a macbook pro for 2 years now. Seriously amazing customer service, a fairly high quality product, its just not one I would pay for with my own money, especially for a desktop.

I love the mac OS for designing and just how things work on there.

So to the OS: It would be a shame to delete it all together I'm starting to save up for one of those iMacs. They are actually faster than the mac pro's at the same budget. The 27 inch one that is. Although its sad to see that it can only run ARMA 2 decently. Might as well save up for a solid windows gaming pc than that can run it high.

[Qaiex]

You are mistaken since you never have to sell a PC, you just upgrade it and replace bit by bit as necessary.

[Cassius]

I love the mac OS for designing and just how things work on there.

So to the OS: It would be a shame to delete it all together I'm starting to save up for one of those iMacs. They are actually faster than the mac pro's at the same budget. The 27 inch one that is. Although its sad to see that it can only run ARMA 2 decently. Might as well save up for a solid windows gaming pc than that can run it high.

You could get an Intel system at half the price and run snowleopard on it. Though I assume you would have to get just the right components the OS supports. Or does snow leaopard support a wide array of Hardware?

[Dunehunter]

You are mistaken since you never have to sell a PC, you just upgrade it and replace bit by bit as necessary.

This. I am still using a rig that is now three years old.


Well, parts of it at least

[cyberzomby]

You could get an Intel system at half the price and run snowleopard on it. Though I assume you would have to get just the right components the OS supports. Or does snow leaopard support a wide array of Hardware?

Theres a bunch of people who do that. its called Hackintosh. Theres a website (wiki) that shows what parts are optimised. But for me the iMac would be for freelancing, learning 3d apps like Cinema and maybe Maya and working with After-Effects. I also want it to run ARMA 2 near the higher configs. So I want a machine that can do both. I thought that quad core with 8 gigs or ram and a 1 gig videocard would do that but I read here that it wont SO that puts me back in the: I dont know what to do part

[Michael_Denmark]

MAC pro cheaper in the long run, not sure?

Not sure since I haven't had a MAC..yet.


Thoughts

I think first and foremost MAC pro, or IMAC for that matter, is perhaps cheaper in the long run, when you wanna create music or graphical stuff. Reason is simplicity.

However should you like to puzzle a bit with programs and so forth, windows might be a better choice in the long run?

The PC-noise-account is in the long run, perhaps cheaper as well. MAC pro / IMAC is known for less noise than most other systems. Less noise means less stress. Including the unconscious stress when deployed in front of a screen every day/almost every day.


The design is probably cheaper in the long run, IMAC 27 especially, has some useful and great looking design.

The IMAC 27 I had my eyes on yesterday is expensive as Hotel, yes, but it takes so little space compared to any tower-PC, and can be used as superb television too, so that fact alone is a cheap-thing in the long run.

You can use a Windows PC/Own build-system as TV too, but as far as I know, not with the tiny design of the IMAC. Tiny when taking into account, the amount of hardware it has stored within.

I couldn't decide yesterday, to buy or not buy the 27 IMAC, cause it is a lot of money for a computer. The largest amount of money I have used on a computer until now, is somewhere close to 700 euros, or 1000 dollars. But that has been with insurance.

I also want it to run ARMA 2 near the higher configs. So I want a machine that can do both. I thought that quad core with 8 gigs or ram and a 1 gig videocard would do that but I read here that it wont SO that puts me back in the: I dont know what to do part

Yes running ARMA 2 - with high settings would be nice. I have already found a great gamer-station (windows) that will be able to do that (being 1/3 cheaper than the IMAC 27), but the creativity-part, in my case, the music-part is not good on that gamer-pc.

as I have understood now, especially the MIDI sounds, and maybe also the real-time recording on any non-MAC, is close to bad quality, when compared with the MAC.

[cyberzomby]

Yes, I was in Audio/Sound Design for 6 months at school the teacher showed us something like Latency (the time for the music to reach your headphones from the program) and ALL the windows users had to adjust it A LOT while with the Mac users in my classroom only one or two had to do it and only a bit. Plus I love how OSX works like I already said.

I worked on the 27 inc iMac on my internship while I made video's and it was very nice. The space it gives you is amazing as well as the looks. Altough for home use I find it a bit to big. Sadly there isnt anything smaller that offers the same specs Mac's do cost a lot of money but everyone I know (even somes that dont even do Design) dont regret switching to Mac.

Could you maybe post the specs of that gaming system? Because I want to start saving up for a new computer and the best thing would be to buy one that can increase my professional side as well as my gaming side But for now I have my Macbook pro so if that gaming pc of yours is cheap enough I could use that on the side of my macbook pro while it wears off

[Michael_Denmark]

Motherboard
Asus P6X58D-E X58 SLI/CROS.1366 DDR3

Cpu
Intel Quad Core-i7-950-3.06 GHz

Cooler
Intel Standard

Graphic-card
Geforce GTX480 -1536MB -GDDR5-Asus

Ram
6 GB(3x2048mb) Corsair XMS3 - PC 1600Mhz

Harddisk
1. TB Harddisk-7200RPM-64MB-Sata III

DVD
22 x Samsung DVD Burner -Sata

Sound/net
Onboard

PSU
850 Watt-LC-POWER-Silent Modular

Tower
Zalman GS1000 TITAN PRO

This is the system. It cost around 1500 euros. The IMAC im looking on costs around 2200 Euros.

Also, just to almost follow up on the thread-question, thus not the PRO version: the screen on the IMAC 27 it self is probably a cheap investment in the long run as well. Its not - as far as I have been able to understand, a typical screen.

Thus simply saying that - at least an IMAC - is far more expensive, than a gamer pc, has to be compared with the screen too. Thus find a screen of that quality and add that to a 700 Euro/1000 dollar PC system and then consider what system is cheapest in the long run.

[Cassius]

Theres a bunch of people who do that. its called Hackintosh. Theres a website (wiki) that shows what parts are optimised. But for me the iMac would be for freelancing, learning 3d apps like Cinema and maybe Maya and working with After-Effects. I also want it to run ARMA 2 near the higher configs. So I want a machine that can do both. I thought that quad core with 8 gigs or ram and a 1 gig videocard would do that but I read here that it wont SO that puts me back in the: I dont know what to do part

I guess a mac is a powerfull machine. If money is no issue to you and you want to use mac exclusive software you can run both Snowleopard and windows on the same machine, just like you get both, the ferrari and the lambo, so why not?

8 gigs and a quadcore wont run arma2 on high? I guess with an beast of a videocard it will (5870) if not, what does it take??

[Jigsaw]

Moved to hardware & technical support