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AR15.COM
6/8/2014 4:33:37 PM EDT
I have an early 2008 MAC PRO Quad Core Xeon 2.8Ghz machine that I mostly use for photos and movies (no heavy editing).  Main attraction to it was having all onboard storage.  Now that the new MAC Pro has only one HD on board, and I am looking to upgrade I am think to save some $$ and go for an iMac.  Just curious how the newer iMacs will compare speed wise to my current machine.
6/8/2014 4:35:49 PM EDT
[#1]
A modern i7 cpu will run circles around a 6 year old Xeon.
6/8/2014 4:37:28 PM EDT
[#2]
The new ones will smoke the old pro

The hard drives alone will be a huge difference
6/8/2014 4:40:51 PM EDT
[#3]
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Quoted:
A modern i7 cpu will run circles around a 6 year old Xeon.
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Yep. We just got an i7 iMac to run benchmarks to see if we're moving to them or the trash can Mac Pros in our labs. It beats the old style Mac Pros in just about every test.
6/8/2014 4:43:20 PM EDT
[#4]
Quote History
Quoted:
The new ones will smoke the old pro

The hard drives alone will be a huge difference
View Quote


Yep.


If you want more hard drives simply buy some externals.
6/8/2014 6:35:39 PM EDT
[#5]
you're going to be amazed how fast the iMacs are in comparison.
6/8/2014 6:36:07 PM EDT
[#6]

Quote History
Quoted:
Yep.





If you want more hard drives simply buy some externals.
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View All Quotes
Quote History
Quoted:



Quoted:

The new ones will smoke the old pro



The hard drives alone will be a huge difference




Yep.





If you want more hard drives simply buy some externals.




 
Thats what I love about the old mac pro and whats driving me away from the new one.  I don't need the speed, but all the drives in the tower is great.
6/8/2014 6:37:42 PM EDT
[#7]
So, here is the other thing.  I have about 2TB of data in my current Mac.  How do I even do a migration to a new machine when the max drive they offer is 1TB?  Do I have to set up an external array before I start?


6/8/2014 6:40:37 PM EDT
[#8]
What's your core reason for upgrading?
6/8/2014 6:41:27 PM EDT
[#9]
i have a 2012 i7 mac mini, and it's pretty impressive for the $650 i paid for it.
6/8/2014 6:41:43 PM EDT
[#10]
Quote History
Quoted:
So, here is the other thing.  I have about 2TB of data in my current Mac.  How do I even do a migration to a new machine when the max drive they offer is 1TB?  Do I have to set up an external array before I start?

View Quote

I will tell you what I did, instead of what I think you might do. I bought a Drobo 5N, put in 5 4tb drives, and use it for time machine and storage for all my macs. I have a DiskStation 212J with 2 2 tb drives (mirrored) that I use for time machine and light storage (for my IP cameras). 4tb drives are a couple hundred bucks right now.

If you do get a drobo 5n, for God's sake, buy a $100 SSD and slap it in the cache port on the bottom. Holy crap, I only put a 128 or 256 gig SSD in there and it's awesome.
6/8/2014 6:48:10 PM EDT
[#11]


Quote History
Quoted:



So, here is the other thing.  I have about 2TB of data in my current Mac.  How do I even do a migration to a new machine when the max drive they offer is 1TB?  Do I have to set up an external array before I start?




View Quote
You can do a build to order iMac with up to a 3TB drive. You have the option of a standard 7200 rpm hard drive or a Fusion drive which is a combination of SSD and standard HD. The Fusion drives give better performance but are still fairly new.

 






I do Mac IT for a living and have advised a few people on this. My feeling is that the Fusion drive is a very good balance of performance and cost. Just make sure that you have a solid backup solution just in case. Also, since they are new I also recommend the extended AppleCare that will give you an additional two years of warranty support if it develops issues.







A 27" iMac with 8 or more GB of RAM, an i7 processor and a 3TB Fusion drive should kick ass for you. The new Mac Pro, while sexy as hell, is probably more machine than you actually need.