• MacMini Server i7 2.3Ghz 2x1TB internal drives plus external if I need it (T-Bolt or USB3)
• iMac 3.2Ghz Core 2 Duo with 8GB ram and 1TB internal HDD.
[EDIT - and a hackintosh too - see next post)
For what I work on most (Video and Photo) the MacBook Pro and Mac Mini are FASTER than the 8 core MacPro, even though their CPUs are slower. Why? Probably because both have 16GB 1600Mhz DDR3 compared to the MacPro 800Mhz DDR2. That makes a HUGE difference. The GPU is much better in the MBP than the MacMini, so the MBPis actually the fastest machine I have today - even faster than my overclocked i7 windows machines when running Premiere Pro and Media Encoder on the same source files! Needless to say our jaws were on the floor when we saw that (and my son prefers Windows!).
For some video work the Mac Pro is faster than the MacMini due to the graphics card, but after that there isn\'t much in it and the MacMini is both quieter and cheeper to run.
The iMac is the slowest because it\'s an older model (2009) Core-2-Duo.
Now, if I had to go buy a new desktop TODAY (and not wait to see what MacPro gets announced in June) then it would be the 27\" i7 iMac. Why? It totally kills the others in speed and has a really nice display. It also has dual t-bolt ports and USB3, whereas my MacPro and MBP only have USB2.
As a second choice, it would depend on whether I wanted a desktop or a laptop. The MacMini is an excellent machine and low power consumption too (see below). If I needed a laptop then the MacBookPro would be the obvious choice.
POWER
The MacPro draws 245 watts when IDLE and 336 watts when rendering video plus another 176 watts for the monitor.
The MacMini draws 13 watts when IDLE and 21 watts while rendering. That\'s a HUGE difference in running costs! I leave the MacMini running as my server and offload exports and renders to it over night where needed.
The MacBookPro draws 22 watts IDLE with the screen closed (using with external monitor) and 72 watts open and rendering. Of course you need to add the monitor power consumption when using an external monitor.
I haven\'t checked the iMac yet.
The new 27\" iMac uses only 76 watts IDLE including the screen ON. It raises to a little over 110 watts when rendering. This is still only a quarter of the MacPro with a monitor attached yet it\'s also a lot faster.
Now, check the cost of your own electricity to run these babies. I worked out that my MacPro has cost me £1480+ in electricity to run since I bought it. Over the same period the new iMac would have cost around a quarter of that. The MacMini is miserly, but then it depends on what monitor you add. If you added my MacPro monitor to the MacMini it would still cost more that twice as much to run as the iMac.
Running costs may mean nothing to you, but if you sit down and actually calculate the cost of running your computers over 3 - 5 years it can add up to a lot of money and makes it worth considering as part of the total cost of ownership.
• MacMini Server i7 2.3Ghz 2x1TB internal drives plus external if I need it (T-Bolt or USB3)
• iMac 3.2Ghz Core 2 Duo with 8GB ram and 1TB internal HDD.
[EDIT - and a hackintosh too - see next post)
For what I work on most (Video and Photo) the MacBook Pro and Mac Mini are FASTER than the 8 core MacPro, even though their CPUs are slower. Why? Probably because both have 16GB 1600Mhz DDR3 compared to the MacPro 800Mhz DDR2. That makes a HUGE difference. The GPU is much better int he MBP than the MacMini, so the MBPis actually the fastest machine I have today - even faster than my overclocked i7 windows machines when running Premiere Pro and Media Encoder on the same source files! Needless to say our jaws were on the floor when we saw that (and my son prefers Windows!).
For some video work the Mac Pro is faster than the MacMini due to the graphics card, but after that there isn\'t much in it and the MacMini is both quieter and cheeper to run.
The iMac is the slowest because it\'s an older model (2009) Core-2-Duo.
Now, if I had to go buy a new desktop TODAY (and not wait to see what MacPro gets announced in June) then it would be the 27\" i7 iMac. Why? It totally kills the others in speed and has a really nice display. It also has dual t-bolt ports and USB3, whereas my MacPro and MBP only have USB2.
As a second choice, it would depend on whether I wanted a desktop or a laptop. The MacMini is an excellent machine and low power too (see below). If I needed a laptop then the MacBookPro would be the obvious choice.
POWER
The MacPro draws 245 watts when IDLE and 336 watts when rendering video plus another 176 watts for the monitor.
The MacMini draws 13 watts when IDLE and 21 watts while rendering. That\'s a HUGE difference in running costs! I leave the MacMini running as my server and offload exports and renders to it over night where needed.
The MacBookPro draws 22 watts IDLE with the screen closed (using with external monitor) and 72 watts open and rendering. Of course you need to add the monitor power consumption when doing using an external monitor.
I haven\'t checked the iMac yet.
The new 27\" iMac uses only 76 watts IDLE including the screen ON. It raises to a little over 110 watts when rendering. This is still only a quarter of the MacPro with a monitor attached yet it\'s also a lot faster.
Now, check the cost of your own electricity to run these babies. I worked out that my MacPro has cost me £1480+ in electricity to run since I bought it. Over the same period the new iMac would have cost around a quarter of that. The MacMini is miserly, but then it depends on what monitor you add. If you added my MacPro monitor to the MacMini it would still cost more that twice as much to run as the iMac.
Running costs may mean nothing to you, but if you sit down and actually calculate the cost of running your computers over 3 - 5 years it can add up to a lot of money and makes it worth considering as part of the total cost of ownership.
• MacMini Server i7 2.3Ghz 2x1TB internal drives plus external if I need it (T-Bolt or USB3)
• iMac 3.2Ghz Core 2 Duo with 8GB ram and 1TB internal HDD.
For what I work on most (Video and Photo) the MacBook Pro and Mac Mini are FASTER than the 8 core MacPro, even though their CPUs are slower. Why? Probably because both have 16GB 1600Mhz DDR3 compared to the MacPro 800Mhz DDR2. That makes a HUGE difference. The GPU is much better int he MBP than the MacMini, so the MBPis actually the fastest machine I have today - even faster than my overclocked i7 windows machines when running Premiere Pro and Media Encoder on the same source files! Needless to say our jaws were on the floor when we saw that (and my son prefers Windows!).
For some video work the Mac Pro is faster than the MacMini due to the graphics card, but after that there isn\'t much in it and the MacMini is both quieter and cheeper to run.
The iMac is the slowest because it\'s an older model (2009) Core-2-Duo.
Now, if I had to go buy a new desktop TODAY (and not wait to see what MacPro gets announced in June) then it would be the 27\" i7 iMac. Why? It totally kills the others in speed and has a really nice display. It also has dual t-bolt ports and USB3, whereas my MacPro and MBP only have USB2.
As a second choice, it would depend on whether I wanted a desktop or a laptop. The MacMini is an excellent machine and low power too (see below). If I needed a laptop then the MacBookPro would be the obvious choice.
POWER
The MacPro draws 245 watts when IDLE and 336 watts when rendering video plus another 176 watts for the monitor.
The MacMini draws 13 watts when IDLE and 21 watts while rendering. That\'s a HUGE difference in running costs! I leave the MacMini running as my server and offload exports and renders to it over night where needed.
The MacBookPro draws 22 watts IDLE with the screen closed (using with external monitor) and 72 watts open and rendering. Of course you need to add the monitor power consumption when doing using an external monitor.
I haven\'t checked the iMac yet.
The new 27\" iMac uses only 76 watts IDLE including the screen ON. It raises to a little over 110 watts when rendering. This is still only a quarter of the MacPro with a monitor attached yet it\'s also a lot faster.
Now, check the cost of your own electricity to run these babies. I worked out that my MacPro has cost me £1480+ in electricity to run since I bought it. Over the same period the new iMac would have cost around a quarter of that. The MacMini is miserly, but then it depends on what monitor you add. If you added my MacPro monitor to the MacMini it would still cost more that twice as much to run as the iMac.
Running costs may mean nothing to you, but if you sit down and actually calculate the cost of running your computers over 3 - 5 years it can add up to a lot of money and makes it worth considering as part of the total cost of ownership.
May 15, 2013 at 12:05 PM
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