I done went and got myself a new Mac Pro, and made out like a BANDIT!

[BiikeMike]

So, I finally decided to get my Mac Pro. I called the Apple store to see if they could build it to what I wanted, and they said sure they could. I went in, and told them I wanted the 2.66 with the standard gig of ram, the x1900 and Bluetooth with a BT keyboard and mouse. Hey, while you are at it, throw in a 30". The girl who was ringing me up was having a hard time with the educational discounts, so she just started discounting stuff. I figured it would be around right, so I didn't question.

They said it would be about 45 minutes to install everything, so I went and got something to eat. Unfortunately, they were not done in time, so I had to go to work to pick up some stuff. Fast forward two hours, I go back and pick it up. Get it home, tear out the old stuff on the desk, and then set up this bad boy. Take it out of the box, and guess what, there is a regular keyboard on top. Sweet, I got a BT keyboard and mouse, AND a wireless keyboard and mouse. so I go to set it up and guess what, there are TWO video cards in there. So I have the x1900 AND the 7300gt!

I'm pretty stoked, and I'll post pictures of it later. The only problem is with the BT mouse, it kind of....sucks. It skips around and does not track well. Is that because I don't have it on a real mousepad? I had ball mice before, and just used them on the desk. I've tried this one on the desk, on paper, and on a book, no dice.

I'll order some more RAM tomorrow, and i'll be set for awhile!

I'M STOKED!

[Lord Flashheart]

Gratz! Nice machine. Post some pictures and benchmarks :)

[Lord Flashheart]

Oh ya, How much you pay for your new baby?

[jessica.]

Awesome such a wonderful machine as always.

[Keebler]

congrats on the MP!

I have to ask...shouldn't you return the 7300 and the original keyboard? is it standard to keep the stock card when you upgrade? asking b/c i'm about to buy one too.

Cheers,
keebler

[island]

Return the items? Not unless they charged him for it. Figure it's a bonus for not knowing what they are doing.

[cr2sh]

I'm jealous... that's the system I've been wanting for a while, but I keep holding off... saving, saving, saving.

I guess the one concern I have is regarding future updates. It seems mighty Apple-like to put out a top of the line machine and then sit back. Everyone who wants the eightcore will spend a ton of money to get it... and then a couple weeks later apple ups the rest of the line to lower model 8 cores.

I could see it happening and I object to MR's buyer guide recommending people buy now just because of the single 8core release.

[dartzorichalcos]

Congratulations:) You have a very nice machine.:)

[BiikeMike]

I'm jealous... that's the system I've been wanting for a while, but I keep holding off... saving, saving, saving.

I guess the one concern I have is regarding future updates. It seems mighty Apple-like to put out a top of the line machine and then sit back. Everyone who wants the eightcore will spend a ton of money to get it... and then a couple weeks later apple ups the rest of the line to lower model 8 cores.

I could see it happening and I object to MR's buyer guide recommending people buy now just because of the single 8core release.


Yeah, I agree. I've been waiting a long time as well, and I just can't wait any longer. My workflow has been TERRIBLE, and I needed it all in one machine, and a large enough display to work on multiple applications at once. I figure if they come out with something I can't live without, I can always sell and buy again. If I can live without it, thats the way technology goes, no matter when you buy, you will be out of date within 6 mos!

anyway, on to the pics!


You'll notice, in the before pics, There were two boxes, two mice, two keyboards, and a whole MESS of wires!

Look what my desk looks like now! And now I have one big happy family!

(And by the way, this mouse is annoying the CRAP out of me!)

[twoodcc]

congrats! that's awesome that you got 2 video cards!

yeah, post some pics.....and how much RAM are you gonna order?

[mikes63737]

In your pictures it looks like your desk is shiny. I don't know if this works with laser mice, but you can try using it on a piece of paper. It should help the skipping.

[Lord Nerdos]

I bought mine last Friday. I finally flipped after all the waiting and the revelation about Leopard's delay. Jumped on subway with $4000 in my pocket (only in Japan) and picked it up at the Apple store in Osaka.
The girl seemed surprised that I was going to take it with me. After walking a couple of yards with the damn thing back to the subway station I realised why. Got home and gave the free ipod nano to my wife. Just as well as it was our wedding anniversary the next day and I had forgotten about it:eek:

I'm glad I didn't wait any longer. Who knows when (or if) the mac pros will change to an all 8-core line up. The benchmarks made up my mind for me!

[GFLPraxis]

30"? Four processors?

I hate you. I really do. :(

[cr2sh]

I think BiikeMike might need to go out and spend like $20 at Staples and get a bunch of cables ties and velcro wraps, and really get that cable mess cleaned up. Your new computer really deserves better.

Maybe buy some crimpers and start making custom cables that are just as long as you need... just do something. :)

[joachim]

Congrats on your purchase! I'm glad you posted pictures. I can't get enough of the ACD pics!

Btw, try the wired mouse. You'll probably get way better performance.

[BiikeMike]

Yeah yeah, blah blah, I have the zip ties, I JUST WANTED TO GET MY COMPUTER SET UP!

too bad I have to be at work really early I and just got to install Lightroom. Tomorrow after work I will really get into it, and when i'm done, i'll install Doom3 :D


One other question, I have some realllly old Altec Lansing speakers that worked with the PowerMac G3, and didn't work with my crappy windoze box. I figured it was somthing wrong with the box, but now the speakers don't work with the Mac Pro. Is there something different about those old Powermacs?

[yojitani]

Hey,

Just a little tip based on my experience: try to put the MP on your desk or at least off the floor. with all the holes, they tend to collect dust pretty easily, especially on the floor.

YT

[BiikeMike]

Hey,

Just a little tip based on my experience: try to put the MP on your desk or at least off the floor. with all the holes, they tend to collect dust pretty easily, especially on the floor.

YT


are you serious? That is definantly not an option. My woman would kill me if I put that thing on the desk! plus, then there would be no room for the ACD :)

Thanks for the tip though, I'll keep an eye on the dust, and clean it regularly.

[bpd115]

I, also purchased a quad 2.66 this weekend.

I don't think the 2 video cards were a mistake. In fact I'm sure of it.

When I went in to configure my system this weekend (Go Delaware, no sales tax!) I asked if they could do 2 x 1 gig sticks of RAM. He came back and said they could but they couldn't keep the 2x512s so i wouldn't be getting a discount or 'trade in value' so to speak. They would keep them in the machine or give them to me. I suspect you paid more than the ~230.00 for the 1900XT which is what the online store would have charged you to 'upgrade' from the 7300.

As for her randomly discounting stuff, cool.

But yes, My Pro is a BEAST. I ordered 2x1gig sticks from OWC for 240 shipped. I just put 2 500 gig maxtor prolines in raid 0 for my boot drive. She FLIES!

5 internal drives. 2 500s, 2 320s, and a 250. Yum.

Here she is

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a310/bpd115/DSCN1200.jpg

[speekez]

So, I finally decided to get my Mac Pro. I called the Apple store to see if they could build it to what I wanted, and they said sure they could. I went in, and told them I wanted the 2.66 with the standard gig of ram, the x1900 and Bluetooth with a BT keyboard and mouse. Hey, while you are at it, throw in a 30". The girl who was ringing me up was having a hard time with the educational discounts, so she just started discounting stuff. I figured it would be around right, so I didn't question.


I didn't know you could get built-to-order Macs in the store. Is this the case with lots of Apple stores. I was about to order mine online tonight, but if I could get it locally, then all the better......

[zen.state]

Hey,

Just a little tip based on my experience: try to put the MP on your desk or at least off the floor. with all the holes, they tend to collect dust pretty easily, especially on the floor.

YT

towers BELONG on the floor

[QCassidy352]

towers BELONG on the floor

amen to that! I can't stand seeing 'em on top of desks! huge waste of space.

Congrats to the OP! Wonderful "family" you got there! :)

[cr2sh]

towers BELONG on the floor

right! that's why the call it a "desktop" :)

[BiikeMike]

BPD, you are right. I just checked the reciept, and it was a little more than $100 more than $230 ($359 to be exact). Oh well, Now I have two video cards :)

I still got the whole kit and kaboodle for under $5g's with some software included (and stupid VA tax) so i'm pretty happy!


BTW, I like your background ;)

[GrBear]

towers BELONG on the floorAs an IT manager dealing with many many Wintel towers I can tell you this, placing them on the floor is the fastest way to kill a computer. That being said, since the Mac Pro's CPU does not have a fan on it to seize up from dust, it may be less of an issue, it depends on the fins of the the heatsink. Even so, the fans are much more likely to start getting noisy and eventually seize at a much higher rate than if it was off the floor.

After seeing the countless damaged computers (from inhaled dust) that were sitting on floors, I'll never let one sit under my desk ever again.

[BiikeMike]

As an IT manager dealing with many many Wintel towers I can tell you this, placing them on the floor is the fastest way to kill a computer. That being said, since the Mac Pro's CPU does not have a fan on it to seize up from dust, it may be less of an issue, it depends on the fins of the the heatsink. Even so, the fans are much more likely to start getting noisy and eventually seize at a much higher rate than if it was off the floor.

After seeing the countless damaged computers (from inhaled dust) that were sitting on floors, I'll never let one sit under my desk ever again.

But what if you open it monthly or every two months and air spray it out? will that harm it?

[zen.state]

But what if you open it monthly or every two months and air spray it out? will that harm it?

don't listen to them.. I have been using computers for over 20 years now and any tower I have ever owned (about 11-12) has been on the floor. I gave my aunt my old blue and white G3 which has lived its whole life on a floor and it still functions perfectly. it is now almost 8 years old.. I blow out all my systems at least once a month or more and I get my aunt to do the same.

[BiikeMike]

don't listen to them.. I have been using computers for over 20 years now and any tower I have ever owned (about 11-12) has been on the floor. I gave my aunt my old blue and white G3 which has lived its whole life on a floor and it still functions perfectly. it is now almost 8 years old.. I blow out all my systems at least once a month or more and I get my aunt to do the same.

Well, That Blue and White in the picture in the previous page is probably about 8 years old, and I think it's been blown out twice :eek: Still works fine, and has been on the floor, on a carpet in a house with a dog, some rabbits, and a bird. so...... i'm not too worried about it :)

[zen.state]

as long as you keep the floor under and around the tower clean I don't see any possible problems. dust falls and settles on the first thing it touches.. it doesn't matter how high or low in the room anything is.

[Lord Flashheart]

Air spray it out every so often. I had a pc as my gaming machine years ago that sat on the floor and I never cleaned. When I finally opened it, after a LONG time, it was a mess. So much dust and dirt. It was real bad.

[BiikeMike]

4 gigs of ram in the mail :D

[jaw04005]

I manage a small network of computers for a local preschool, and their towers sit on the floor. Every month or so, I take each tower outside and blow it out with a leaf blower.

Looks a little scary, but it works great. The amount of dust and dirt that collects because of their gravel playground is ridiculous. Compressed air just won't do the trick. :)

[X1Lightning]

I manage a small network of computers for a local preschool, and their towers sit on the floor. Every month or so, I take each tower outside and blow it out with a leaf blower.

Looks a little scary, but it works great. The amount of dust and dirt that collects because of their gravel playground is ridiculous. Compressed air just won't do the trick. :)

That is AWESOME! :D

[GrBear]

don't listen to them.. I have been using computers for over 20 years now and any tower I have ever owned (about 11-12) has been on the floor.

Somehow I can't see the comparison between your computers, and the 40+ I manage that get replaced every 3 years. The most maintenance I have to do on them is replacing CPU fans (they're usually the first to fail), followed by PSU fans. The first one will kill a CPU pretty damn quick, the second will just cause mysterious crashes and reboots.. mostly crashes though.

YMMV depending on where you live of course. Seems the further north you go the worst it gets.

[GrBear]

as long as you keep the floor under and around the tower clean I don't see any possible problems. dust falls and settles on the first thing it touches.. it doesn't matter how high or low in the room anything is.

That will also depend alot on what, if any, floor coverings you have. Carpeted rooms tend to be worse in that regard for recirculating dust back into the air from foot traffic.

[zero2dash]

Every tower I've ever had, used, or serviced has been on the floor and never had problems. Depends on traffic area, sure, but it also depends on brand names and what you get as well. ;) I'd assume anything premanufactured (HP, Compaq, Dell) craps out before anything custom made either by yourself or a system builder/otherwise considering in that regard you're getting better equipment than the 'bargain basement' stuff Dell and so on throw in their computers.

I envy both of you for getting new toys. :)

[brooker]

Congrats. That's awesome. I'm soo needing an upgrade myself, and keep going back and forth between the 4-core and the 8. I think you are right tho... buy a 4-way now, and when :apple: puts out the next iteration, sell and upgrade if needed.

Well done!

[BiikeMike]

Congrats. That's awesome. I'm soo needing an upgrade myself, and keep going back and forth between the 4-core and the 8. I think you are right tho... buy a 4-way now, and when :apple: puts out the next iteration, sell and upgrade if needed.

Well done!

Thanks, and good luck with your decision!

A word to the wise though, if you get the Bluetooth, you'll probably have to take your tower apart when you get it, and switch the antenae. That was the problem with the mouse. It works GREAT now!

Bluetooth Link 1 (http://www.mcelhearn.com/article.php?story=20060926112812529)
MacRumors Bluetooth Link (http://guides.macrumors.com/Adding_Bluetooth_and_Wireless_to_a_Mac_Pro)

[kellen]

Thanks, and good luck with your decision!

A word to the wise though, if you get the Bluetooth, you'll probably have to take your tower apart when you get it, and switch the antenae. That was the problem with the mouse. It works GREAT now!

Bluetooth Link 1 (http://www.mcelhearn.com/article.php?story=20060926112812529)
MacRumors Bluetooth Link (http://guides.macrumors.com/Adding_Bluetooth_and_Wireless_to_a_Mac_Pro)

My suggestion was a long shot, but in my case with my BT MM the bottom gets dust/junk on the area where it tracks from. A q-tip fixed this, although probably not the prob with a new MM.

[BiikeMike]

My suggestion was a long shot, but in my case with my BT MM the bottom gets dust/junk on the area where it tracks from. A q-tip fixed this, although probably not the prob with a new MM.

no worries, that was the first thing I tried :) Then I dug a little deeper and found out that all of our worries about Apple's quality control going down the crapper are not without warrent

[Multimedia]

1 PowerBook G4 screen + 4 Dells ( two rotated 90°) + Samsung HDTV. Trick Question - How many Macs are in this picture?

15" PB G4 screen + one 20" Dell on its side hooked to its ATI DVI port.
Quad G5 with two video cards (GeForce 6600+ATI Radeon X1900GT for G5) driving the other 4 screens including the Samsung HDTV.
2GHz Dual Core G5 also attached to two of the Dells I access with the Dell input buttons.

This is a candid picture. No attempt was made to "stage" the desks for this shot. As you can see I work in total caos. ;)

[TheAnswer]

This is a candid picture. No attempt was made to "stage" the desks for this shot. As you can see I work in total caos. ;)

:eek: :eek: :eek: I think from now on we'll have to call you Messymedia :D :D :D

[diamond3]

1 PowerBook G4 screen + 4 Dells ( two rotated 90°) + Samsung HDTV. Trick Question - How many Macs are in this picture?

15" PB G4 screen + one 20" Dell on its side hooked to its ATI DVI port.
Quad G5 with two video cards (GeForce 6600+ATI Radeon X1900GT for G5) driving the other 4 screens including the Samsung HDTV.
2GHz Dual Core G5 also attached to two of the Dells I access with the Dell input buttons.

This is a candid picture. No attempt was made to "stage" the desks for this shot. As you can see I work in total caos. ;)

I think there are 4? Is that a cube below? Have you ever tried having a clean desk? My guess is you could probably get rid of half the harddrives you have on the floor just by deleting the old files you don't need anymore. I am amazed how people can feel productive in that kind of working environment. I don't think I would be able to sleep at night knowing that mess was there. The best part are all those dvds faced upside down on the desk and keyboard.

[nickster9224]

or we could call you MassMedia

[puckhead193]

1 PowerBook G4 screen + 4 Dells ( two rotated 90°) + Samsung HDTV. Trick Question - How many Macs are in this picture?

15" PB G4 screen + one 20" Dell on its side hooked to its ATI DVI port.
Quad G5 with two video cards (GeForce 6600+ATI Radeon X1900GT for G5) driving the other 4 screens including the Samsung HDTV.
2GHz Dual Core G5 also attached to two of the Dells I access with the Dell input buttons.

This is a candid picture. No attempt was made to "stage" the desks for this shot. As you can see I work in total caos. ;)

What the hell do you do that requires so many computers/monitors. I know your into video. What sorta stuff do you edit?

[Multimedia]

I think there are 4? Is that a cube below? Have you ever tried having a clean desk? My guess is you could probably get rid of half the harddrives you have on the floor just by deleting the old files you don't need anymore. I am amazed how people can feel productive in that kind of working environment. I don't think I would be able to sleep at night knowing that mess was there. The best part are all those dvds faced upside down on the desk and keyboard.Yes 4. To the left of the left G5 is a PC I built myself that is never turned on. Yes you correctly spotted my classic Cube 500 under the desk. It is also never on any more but still just as quiet as when it's turned on. :)

Cube 500 was my primary Mac for about 2 years from 2002-2004 until I got the PM G5 bug after the original 2GHz DP went refurb for $2k. Owned two different 2.5GHz DP G5's in 2005 before flipping the last one for the Quad G5 refurb last February '06. I grabbed the 2GHz DC G5 at Fry's last September '06 for $864.26 before they changed their mind. Off camera is one more Cube 450 I never use either. But they are classics I hope to use again in future.

[akadmon]

or we could call you MassMedia

Nah! How about eternal wannabe motherboarding member of the Mac Pro elite?


OK, OK -- jk ;)

[cr2sh]

Why rotate the dell screens 90degrees?

[akadmon]

Why rotate the dell screens 90degrees?

Because he can.

Some things are just better suited for portrait mode. Case in point this forum. I have my Dell rotated while I'm writing this.

[DigitalAx]

1 PowerBook G4 screen + 4 Dells ( two rotated 90°) + Samsung HDTV. Trick Question - How many Macs are in this picture?

15" PB G4 screen + one 20" Dell on its side hooked to its ATI DVI port.
Quad G5 with two video cards (GeForce 6600+ATI Radeon X1900GT for G5) driving the other 4 screens including the Samsung HDTV.
2GHz Dual Core G5 also attached to two of the Dells I access with the Dell input buttons.

This is a candid picture. No attempt was made to "stage" the desks for this shot. As you can see I work in total caos. ;)

I've seen your posts on here, MM, and I knew you had a lot of equipment, but I never expected that fire hazard. :eek:

[SWC]

1 PowerBook G4 screen + 4 Dells ( two rotated 90°) + Samsung HDTV. Trick Question - How many Macs are in this picture?

15" PB G4 screen + one 20" Dell on its side hooked to its ATI DVI port.
Quad G5 with two video cards (GeForce 6600+ATI Radeon X1900GT for G5) driving the other 4 screens including the Samsung HDTV.
2GHz Dual Core G5 also attached to two of the Dells I access with the Dell input buttons.

This is a candid picture. No attempt was made to "stage" the desks for this shot. As you can see I work in total caos. ;)

Seems you would be perfect for a xserve raid.

[zero2dash]

Multimedia:

I envy all your computing power. :eek:

Q - how much is your electric bill? :D

[brooker]

PB ... PC ... Cube 500 ... Quad G5 ... 2GHz DC G5 ... Cube 450 ...



Wow! not counting the PC, that makes for 9 processor cores? Have you considered Xgriding those together? You could probably give the Octo a run for it's money, Xgrid doing what Tiger can't.


Biike, sorry to participate in the hijacking of your thread. FWIW, i'm still excited to hear your ongoing stories of getting everything up and running on your new baby. You had mentioned plans for virtualization, right? Try the multi-core aware VMWare beta, and see if you can assign all four cores to an OS.

[BiikeMike]

Wow! not counting the PC, that makes for 9 processor cores? Have you considered Xgriding those together? You could probably give the Octo a run for it's money, Xgrid doing what Tiger can't.


Biike, sorry to participate in the hijacking of your thread. FWIW, i'm still excited to hear your ongoing stories of getting everything up and running on your new baby. You had mentioned plans for virtualization, right? Try the multi-core aware VMWare beta, and see if you can assign all four cores to an OS.

Yeah, I'm kind of enjoying the hijacking, although this was supposed to be about ME! :)

I'm still trying to get Parallels working right, I don't know if its something wrong with what i'm doing, something with paralles, or something with my windoze discs, but it's doing a pretty good job of pissing me off by not just installing all by itself like it's supposed to!


But, on a happy note, I had ~350 pictures to go through, weed out the bad and correct the good today, and HOLY $&^#@*(&#^@#$&(*@#&$(@*&^!!!!!!!!!! It was amazing working with such a big workspace, and so much power. I'm definantly glad I wen't for the 30! Although now, my 15" MBP seems WAY to small, and i'm scared to even open my lady's MacBook!

If I can get Parallels up and running, and figure out this whole VNC thing, I will be one super duper happy camper!

[Pressure]

You should definitely invest in a new desk.

Something that gives you more room and real estate.

[brooker]

I'm still trying to get Parallels working right, I don't know if its something wrong with what i'm doing, something with paralles, or something with my windoze discs, but it's doing a pretty good job of pissing me off by not just installing all by itself like it's supposed to!


My research (read: distractions from work) today indicated that Parallels is not multi-core aware. Maybe in the next version or two.

It might be worth it to you to download the VMWare beta, which, rumor has it, has MC support:
http://register.vmware.com/content/beta/fusion/registration.html


But, on a happy note, I had ~350 pictures to go through, weed out the bad and correct the good today, and HOLY $&^#@*(&#^@#$&(*@#&$(@*&^!!!!!!!!!! It was amazing working with such a big workspace, and so much power. I'm definantly glad I wen't for the 30! Although now, my 15" MBP seems WAY to small, and i'm scared to even open my lady's MacBook!


I'm sooooooo looking forward to a improved photo-processing workflow. Sounds awesome. i don't think i can do the 30", but dual 20" should do it for me...


If I can get Parallels up and running, and figure out this whole VNC thing, I will be one super duper happy camper!

Ok, here's the deal with VNC (this was my actual work today!): Tiger has a version built in. It is under System Prefs > Sharing > Apple Remote Desktop > Access Priviledges... Enter the password there. Apparently, you have to make sure your client is configured to use RAW encoding. A lot of people report that this VNC server is slow and/or buggy.

so the alternative is Vine Server (f.k.a. OSXvnc):
http://www.redstonesoftware.com/products/vine/server/vineosx/

Ugly but simple UI to get the VNC server running. Connect with Chicken of the VNC from a mac, or TightVNC from windows, or PalmVNC from your treo ;). It supports much many more encoding formats, and is reportedly much more reliable.

Hope that helps. So glad you are enjoying the new rig!

[point665]

Just wanted to give my input on dust... Originally when I purchased my G5 PM I had it sitting on the desk, which I didnt like too much and when we rearranged some stuff later on I moved it to the floor - where it has stayed now for over a year - even a few months in a 6th floor studio (which somehow seemed to gather alot of dust). For that time I put a airfilter on the front and simply wiped some of the dust off inside the class (not much at all). The airfilter made the fans work more and got the inside temperatures too warm for my liking so now that we moved I stopped using it and will see how the dust adds up, hopefully nothing bad.

However I can say we had a G3 PM which was in the same place as the G5 (6th floor studio) and it went years without being opened up (its in a different case and has fans which blow air from the side of the case to the processor...) - When I opened it up a few months back I was shocked it had not caught fire, there was literaly inches think dust layers on everything. I had to use a house vacuum (yes I know static) to get the dust out - but it kept getting clogged at the tip (no special tips or anything, just the round tube kind) thats how much dust there was. So I guess the best thing to do is check for dust every few months and if it keeps building up possible look into an air filter or relocating the machine.

Theres some nice setups in this thread:) And good luck with your purchase to the OP.

[Multimedia]

Wow! not counting the PC, that makes for 9 processor cores? Have you considered Xgriding those together? You could probably give the Octo a run for it's money, Xgrid doing what Tiger can't.No because I've never heard of it before. What is it and how do I set it up for how much money? Links please?Multimedia: I envy all your computing power. :eek: Q - how much is your electric bill? :DZero. I only pay very low rent that includes utilities because my office shares the same power source as a nearby business that pays all the utilites. :)

[ironjaw]

No because I've never heard of it before. What is it and how do I set it up for how much money? Links please?Zero. I only pay very low rent that includes utilities because my office shares the same power source as a nearby business that pays all the utilites. :)

You have to be the luckiest guy on earth:D

[BiikeMike]

No because I've never heard of it before. What is it and how do I set it up for how much money? Links please?


For an Apple consultant, you don't know too much about their products do you ;)

http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/xgrid/

[ahuyevshi]

I also got the base 2.66 last weekend... Upgraded to 6gb of Ram via CDW specials on Crucial Memory.. 2x500gb Drives and a 30in.. I am so Stoked.. I was ripping a dvd and Using Photoshop... I love this thing..

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/237/460190128_bbe9ef54d3.jpg?v=0

[bossass]

5 internal drives. 2 500s, 2 320s, and a 250. Yum.

Huh??? I though the MP had only 4 HD bays?

[Lord Flashheart]

Nice setup and pick ahuyevshi. I am envious :)

[Jiddick ExRex]

Huh??? I though the MP had only 4 HD bays?

There's room for an additional PATA hard drive in the second optical drive bay.

[ahuyevshi]

Nice setup and pick ahuyevshi. I am envious :)

Thanks Lord.. I been jonesing for one for years.. and I look at it this way.. There is nothing a quad core wouldnt be enough for me.