2010 iMac 27" i7 quad VS 2009 MacPro 2.66 Xeon

[sweetness]

I am about to buy into a new machine.

I'd be doing some mixes in PT LE, with quicktime video.

I'll also be editing video. 1080p ProRes in Final Cut Pro. Some Apple Color and After Effects.

Looking at the new iMac, with OWC eSATA retrofit vs a Refurb 2009 Mac Pro with internal softraid.

The i7 seems like a speed boost over the 2.66 Xeon Quad plus it has a stronger graphics card. I'm wondering what you guys would suggest here, are there some other hardware issues that I'm overlooking that would give the mac pro the edge?

Mac Pro 2009 specs:
http://tinyurl.com/ylx37hb
Imac i5/i7
http://tinyurl.com/2v8nfc8

Thanks much.

[ssealy]

Hi, I just purchase the iMac 27" i3 to replace my older Mac Pro-- it was a dual G5 1.8 gHz. I'm running a digi 002 interface. My main reason for switching was because of the loud fan sound from the Mac Pro-- I had to bury it under a bunch of blankets.
The Mac Pro Tower does have much more flexibility as far as internal drives and expansion slots. For my Final Cut, I use a quad Mac Pro with AJA Kona-- something you wouldn't be able to do with iMac.
But the iMac is a beautiful, fast and quiet computer-- I'm hoping it'll be a nice fit for music recording.
I'm wondering what you mean by the OWC eSata retrofit. How would you use that with the iMac?
Thanks,
Steve

[ssealy]

Thanks for the eSata info! I get my iMac this week, I'll let you know how it goes. I'm a little concerned about having only one FireWire port-- I read that I should connect the drive first and then connect my digi 002 from the drive. The digi 002 is only a :FireWire 400 so I ordered an 800-400 adapter.