Question : Problem: Changing from Windows to Mac - Information

Hello All -
I've been a user of DOS / Windows from the very beginning and have suffered through the growing pains for sure. I'm comfortable with Unix / Linux / VMS as well. I gave Vista a run and was very dissappointed with its performance overall. I'm at a point where I'd like to have something that is more reliable and have decided to take the Mac plunge, but am stuck between the 2.8 Core2 iMac and the dual 2.66 Xeon Mac Pro. As for my home use, photography is a hobby and I really enjoy working with Photoshop. I like working with DVD video as well. I'll still need my Windows apps for VPN with work and such, so I would like to run some flavor of Virtual Machine. Not to mention, that i have a lot of $$$ invested in Windows software that will take a little bit to get Mac versions for (assuming they exist). I currently use VMware Workstation 6.x for my VMs on a Windows host. I'd like to do just the opposite with the new set up as a Mac host. The VM needs to support USB. I'm hoping that Mac will do this.

Being a complete new person to the Mac World, I'd like to get as much information as I can and try to make a somewhat informed purchase.
- Advantages / disadvantages where the machines are concerned ?
- Performance compared to a Windows XP/Vista machine (Core2 Duo E6700)
- Any links to information on comparison

I looked at both machines this evening at a local Mac store and can't decide. Any information or suggestions greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Answer : Problem: Changing from Windows to Mac - Information

You've a nice problem ... choosing between 2 great Macs.
1st let me say that there is a pretty big price difference between the iMac and Mac Pro as the Mac Pro is aimed at Production and Professional users.  It has vastly more upgrade options and by the time you add screen, peripherals etc you are usually over $3000 whereas the iMac can be up and running for a lot less.

Read reviews of the various Mac Models here
http://www.macworld.com/topics/hardware/macsystems/desktopmacs/

The major advantage of the MacPro is the ability to customize .. use your own screen, add multiple Hard Drives etc.
Disadvantage, not much of a performance improvement over iMacs as few apps are optimised for QuadCore.

The major advantage of the iMac is the compact format with everything included incl, wifi, bluetooth, etc.
Disadvantage, no expansion options and glossy screen is not 100% popular with some graphic professionals.

On PERFORMANCE ... as the Macs use the same Intel Core 2 chips as Windows PCs the performace is on-par or better for most graphic apps.
See this article about the Hardware in a MacPro
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/95175/apple-mac-pro-is-crowned-the-fastest-pc-in-the-uk.html

You should also factor in a license for Parallels Desktop or VMWare Fusion so you can install a copy of Windows XP on the Mac (either in a BootCamp partition or simply as a Virtual Machine) so you can continue to run all your legacy Windows applications.

The main software with no Mac equivalents are ... Microsoft Server and Development Software (.Net, Visual Studio, SQL Server etc..), Games (many Windows games will run happily using BootCamp but official Mac versions are usually 6-12 months behind), Utilities for Windows (usually there are either similar Mac tools or free solutions).

All the Adobe Suite are on Windows and Mac.
Video & Audio authoring are arguably BETTER on Macs.  Many of the world-leading video production and music recording studios rely completely on Macs.