[rotuts]

next week end is a TaxFree weekend here in MA

I plan to get a new iMac

my current mac is a MacPro ( original ) w two samsung monitors and firewire

HD's connected 'outside' the box

what connectors do I need to run one of the monitors on the iMac ( to make

it a two monitor system

and what connectors to connect the various firewire external HD 's ?

many thanks !

[Mike Wuerthele]

Mini DisplayPort to DVI (likely).

Thunderbolt to FireWire (800), but I don't have any experience with daisy-chaining FireWire off of this adapter, or using 400-800 adapters with it.

Both will be at the Apple store.

This all said, which iMac are you getting? If you get the i5, it'll be about the same processing speed as your Mac Pro, assuming the old gear is quad-core. Seems counter-intuitive, but there it is.

[OreoCookie]

Note that the 27" iMac can drive two external displays

[Mike Wuerthele]

Not if you're using one of the TB ports for FireWire.

[OreoCookie]

Originally Posted by EstaNightshift 

Not if you're using one of the TB ports for FireWire.

True, I forgot that the new iMacs no longer feature FireWire ports. Although you could get a Thunderbolt dock.

[rotuts]

id be getting the 27" 3.2 GH i5

so Id no increase in speed processing video ?

from my EyeTV etc I also use elgato's turbo.264 HD

please tell me this is not true.

my MacPro can only do one video processing task at one time:

editing files from EyeTV ( in the app. ), then elgato turbo.264 HD

then doing rar's and pars after that but not at the same time

I wanted to do them im tandem and had hoped for a decent speed boost!

[akent35]

Do you have to get an iMac? A Mac Mini could satisfy your purposes, as it has two video outputs: a mini-display port and a mini-DVI port. The mini-display port is the same one you find on the current generation macbook, macbook pros (as well as the Mac Pro) and the Mini-DVI is the same as the on the old black/white macbook. The Mac Mini also has a Firewire 800 port, a Thunderbolt port, 4 USB 3.0 ports, and an HDMI port (plus other features).

For your external HDs, do they also have USB ports on them? If so, you could utilize the Mac Mini's USB ports. If they only have Firewire 800 ports, then you can directly connect one of them to the Mac Mini, and use a Thinderbolt-to-Firewire 800 adapter for the other one. If you do not plan on using the MacPro, then you already have a keyboard and a mouse.

I have the "high end" Mac Mini, and it has a 2.3 Ghz quad-core Intel i7 processor, with Turbo Boost up to 3.3 GHz, and 6 MB L3 cache. About the only "drawback" is that is comes with a slow, 1 TB 5400 rpm hard drive (I believe the 27" iMac has a 7200 rpm drive). But, you can easily replace that internal hard drive with an SSD (I did that), and install the 5400 rpm drive in an external case, with at least one USB port (either 2.0 or 3.0), and connect it to one of the USB ports on the mini. The machine is definitely way faster with the SSD.

In any event, just another possible alternative for you to consider. Good luck!

[OreoCookie]

@rotuts
You have to give us more detail about the configurations of your Mac Pro and the new iMac. I definitely, definitely advise you to get an SSD. Just the SSD will make common operations leaps and bounds faster: launching apps, swapping, all of these operations will be substantially faster.

I'll get into more detail in your other thread.

[akent35]

Originally Posted by OreoCookie 

@rotuts
You have to give us more detail about the configurations of your Mac Pro and the new iMac. I definitely, definitely advise you to get an SSD. Just the SSD will make common operations leaps and bounds faster: launching apps, swapping, all of these operations will be substantially faster.

Yes, that has certainly been the case for me! If, though, you purchase the iMac at either an Apple store or a retailer (like Best Buy), the chances if getting one with an SSD are slim to none. And, from what I understand, it is a real challenge (is it even possible?) to try and swap out the hard drive for an SSD yourself in an iMac.

Also, I saw on the other thread that OreoCookie mentioned more details about your needs. So, it looks like the Mac Mini will not work for you. Sorry about that!

[rotuts]

I plan to get the 3 TB drive w SSD

Im really impressed w the display on the 27 " iMac

I very much appreciate all this imput !

[billmboy]

The Belkin TB Dock has FW 800 and get a Mini Display to DVI/HDMI adapter (what ever it takes) and plug it in the second TB port on your computer or to the second TB connector on the Belkin Dock. I have one of these docks and it works great and I am daisy chaining fro firewire drives to it. I would also use the second port on the dock for the monitor and save your second TB port on the iMac for future external drives or Docks.

You could also use an FW adapter but I tried going that way and daisy chaining did not work well with constant disconnect.

I also have 2 Caldigit TB Docks and I use the HDMI port on one of them to rum my second monitor.

You can never have to many ports.