So how much wilder IS MacPro vs. iMac ?

Today I read a post from Larry Jordan where he talked about the iMac being "not that far away" from the new Mac Pro in terms of performance.

I'd really like to know HOW far, so if anyone can perhaps put a few words on it, I'd be happy.

We're now on a MacPro 2010 with SSD, 32gb ram etc. and we definately wants a shorter way from production to upload, so we're very interested in the new Mac Pro as it seems to do our job much faster.

I guess the latest, top spec iMac would be a big step ahead for us but......

I don't mind paying for performance, so if the Mac Pro is "that much faster", I don't really care (within reason) that it's more than the iMac price.

On the other hand, the amount of posts going "oh, the iMac is 90% as fast at 50% price" is starting to confuse me.

there are many ways to have a quicker workflow. Like recording straight to SSD's in prores. No need to first encode, you can go straight to your editing.

Hey Kenneth,

Not surprisingly you will get a lot of biased information depending on wether people will actually buy a new MacPro or want to stick to their iMac.

After having worked with maxed out 2013 iMacs for some time and having been able to do some tests with a new MP recently the only thing I can say is: if you primarily use your system for working with FCPX, Motion and LogicX you definitely will see a lot of benefit using even a mid-level new Mac Pro over using the latest and greatest iMac.

If you also do a lot of other stuff it depends mainly on what you are doing. Here's some comparison tests running both systems on a variety of applications:

www.macworld.com/article/2082568/lab-tes...ing-for-finally.html

Our iMacs are fairly new, I hope a lot of people continue to believe that these iMacs are as fast as a new MacPro so I can still sell ours at a really good price and get all new MPs instead :evil:

- Ronny

If you want an in-depth look, check out the Mac Pro review by AnandTech -- 15 pages and basically positive.

You might also find Slowest 'late 2013' Mac Pro 4-core versus Fastest 'late 2013' iMac 4-core from barefeats.com of interest. He essentially finds them comparable in terms of CPU but even the 4-core Mac Pro has much stronger GPU performance.

I second rgilman's links.
iMacs and your MP are a fine machines and if they meet your needs, then save your money. If not, then the new MPs offer dual GPUs, PCIe3 flash drive, 6TB2 and 4 USB3 ports, HDMI and many other improvements not to mention being quiet and cool. Ronny is coolest(nicest) kid on block by definition. Start by what type of work you are doing and throughput/job requirements.

You could also install a second GPU in your 2010MP and see rendering/effects/export improvement speeds under Mavericks, FCPX10.1 and Motion5.1. If rendering is your issue, this might offer a significant speed increase at relatively low cost.

Everyone should be aware and careful on how you use the TB ports in the new MPs as they are controlled and limited by only 3 controllers so make sure you balance the loads over the controllers not just the ports.
See this controller layout…http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/mac/MacPro2013/tbportmapping.png
Hope this helps, Greg