I can't wait any longer

[kmo19]

So the current date for the updated Mac Pro seems to be March - June. I have a 2004 G5 with Tiger and need a new machine ASAP for iPhone development, the new CS4 suite, etc. I was hoping for at least a mention of a release date at Macworld, but alas, we are kept in the dark.

So, if I were to buy a current Mac Pro such as:
- 2.8GHz Eight Core System
- 2GB (2x1GB) RAM
- 500GB SATA Hard Drive
- Dual 16x Dual-Layer SuperDrives
- nVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB Graphics
($3100)

What will I be able to upgrade when the new one comes out? The big thing is the processor, and that's the one thing that can't be upgraded right? Is it completely dumb to buy one right now? I'm pretty desperate...

[Dragonforce]

Actually its not "dumb" to buy one now. Buy it if you need it. Computers will always get outdated sooner or later, its the same thing every year. Buy one now and it will be outdated in approx. 6 months, buy one in 6 months and it will be outdated one year later. If you always need to have the latest and greatest you need to buy a new Mac Pro every year.

FYI, I just got a 1st generation Mac Pro with two dual core Xeons at 2 GHz and 4 GB RAM for pre-press and a little audio / video encoding and I yet have to get all four cores to their maximum.

So if you buy one now with eight cores at 2.8 GHz - this computer will last you for at least 3 years if not longer.

Go ahead and buy one. Mac Pros are great machines.

PS: You should be able to upgrade all the hard drives, optical drives, memory without any problems. You could even upgrade the CPU but they are EXPENSIVE (talk about $1000 for ONE)

[Tallest Skil]

Don't buy the RAM from Apple, don't buy the HDD from Apple, don't even buy the second ODD from Apple.

Get it all third-party for less than the price Apple makes you pay to UPGRADE TO those specs.

[michaelsviews]

So the current date for the updated Mac Pro seems to be March - June. I have a 2004 G5 with Tiger and need a new machine ASAP for iPhone development, the new CS4 suite, etc. I was hoping for at least a mention of a release date at Macworld, but alas, we are kept in the dark.

So, if I were to buy a current Mac Pro such as:
- 2.8GHz Eight Core System
- 2GB (2x1GB) RAM
- 500GB SATA Hard Drive
- Dual 16x Dual-Layer SuperDrives
- nVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB Graphics
($3100)

What will I be able to upgrade when the new one comes out? The big thing is the processor, and that's the one thing that can't be upgraded right? Is it completely dumb to buy one right now? I'm pretty desperate...

Like I always say try expercom.com and do not base the price you see on the site as the up to date price, you have to log in and than look at prices which are usually 150 and up cheaper, they also ship from multiple warehouses. In my shopping around between them for the system and memory and than the HD from Newegg, I save a boat load of money.

You already purchased CS4 I take it?

[kmo19]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I want internal hard drives. Which one on Newegg should I get? Should be at least 500GB. Also, if I get a machine with 4GB RAM and want to upgrade to 8 or more, which RAM do I buy?

[Tallest Skil]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I want internal hard drives. Which one on Newegg should I get? Should be at least 500GB. Also, if I get a machine with 4GB RAM and want to upgrade to 8 or more, which RAM do I buy?

You DON'T get a machine with 4GB of RAM, you get it with the base 2GB and buy more RAM from OWC (http://www.macsales.com).

[numbersyx]

Don't buy the RAM from Apple, don't buy the HDD from Apple, don't even buy the second ODD from Apple.

Get it all third-party for less than the price Apple makes you pay to UPGRADE TO those specs.

Buy now if you need it. That's the general rule of thumb.

I also agree that you should get the base model and then go to the third party sellers for RAM and a second HDD. Apple hoses the consumer on those two aspects...

[kmo19]

ok, so how about this:

Mac Pro 8-core 2.8GHz 2GB/320G/SuperDrive/ati2600XT/BT = $2799 (Expercom - I don't know the "real" price since you can't buy a Mac without being a previous customer or calling them I guess)

8GB 800MHz FB-DIMM RAM = $186 (OWC)
1.0TB Hitachi 7K1000 7200RPM Serial ATA HD = $100 (OWC)

Total = $3086 + $25 shipping
Hopefully no taxes on the Pro (shipping to CA)

Also, I want to run Vista on the 320G drive and OSX on the 1TB drive. Do I need anything else to do that? Is there any way to run Vista AND XP?

[tcphoto]

The Apple Store will charge you sales tax whether you buy online or in the store. I would suggest looking at macmall or smalldog and put that tax money into your memory and hard drive upgrades.

[michaelsviews]

You DON'T get a machine with 4GB of RAM, you get it with the base 2GB and buy more RAM from OWC (http://www.macsales.com).

FWIW, I agree with your comment / do not, reason why is its only 85 dollars more at the site I mentioned for the 4 gig. Than again we dont know where the OP is going to order from, so I agree if he's going to Apple to get the system at a local store.

Also my suggesting of the place to get it does NOT charge sales tax at least on the last two orders they didnt according to the invoice's

[Pressure]

Seeing as new graphic cards are around the corner I would go with the standard model with the Radeon HD 2600 XT, ****** as it is and then upgrade to a newer card later.

iPhone development do really not need a faster graphic card anyway.

The best option would be to go for a refurbished model, if any is available.

[michaelsviews]

Seeing as new graphic cards are around the corner I would go with the standard model with the Radeon HD 2600 XT, ****** as it is and then upgrade to a newer card later.

iPhone development do really not need a faster graphic card anyway.

The best option would be to go for a refurbished model, if any is available.

:rolleyes: Isn't the ATI 2870 the newest ? The one with the fan that stays on all the time, this is also noted in a lot of You Tube video's also.

[kmo19]

FWIW, I agree with your comment / do not, reason why is its only 85 dollars more at the site I mentioned for the 4 gig. Than again we dont know where the OP is going to order from, so I agree if he's going to Apple to get the system at a local store.

I do not want to buy from Apple - I don't want to pay the $300 in sales tax.

[gkarris]

Some people are cool with buying refurb or used to tie them over for a year or so until they can get the latest/greatest next year...

http://www.dvwarehouse.com/Apple-Mac-Pro-c-53_5210.html

[kmo19]

The Apple Store will charge you sales tax whether you buy online or in the store. I would suggest looking at macmall or smalldog and put that tax money into your memory and hard drive upgrades.

MacMall has good prices. Unfortunately they will charge sales tax as well.

[michaelsviews]

ok, so how about this:


The memory also has to be ECC memory I believe which is super expensive.

8GB 800MHz FB-DIMM RAM = $186 (OWC)
1.0TB Hitachi 7K1000 7200RPM Serial ATA HD = $100 (OWC)

Total = $3086 + $25 shipping
Hopefully no taxes on the Pro (shipping to CA)

Also, I want to run Vista on the 320G drive and OSX on the 1TB drive. Do I need anything else to do that? Is there any way to run Vista AND XP?

Mac Pro 8-core 2.8GHz 2GB/320G/SuperDrive/ati2600XT/BT = $$2,201.06 Expercom's price & The 4 Gig model is $2,286.17

The memory also has to be ECC memory I believe which is super expensive.

[kmo19]

Mac Pro 8-core 2.8GHz 2GB/320G/SuperDrive/ati2600XT/BT = $$2,201.06 Expercom's price & The 4 Gig model is $2,286.17

Wow, that seems too good to be true. I'll have to give them a call.

[michaelsviews]

Wow, that seems too good to be true. I'll have to give them a call.

All you have to do is create an acct, than when you login it will show you the prices, and I believe your first order of a computer has to be done over the phone. Sorry I didnt mention it before.

One other thing, What are you going to use for a monitor? IHMO Samsung 2233SW, available in SAMS clubs for 198.00. Have one running on the MBP that I use for now. Although my MBP's screen is great also.

[michaelsviews]

Wow, that seems too good to be true. I'll have to give them a call.

See attached

[pwn247]

As mentioned again and again above, don't buy the "upgrade" hard drives or memory from Apple. They're good parts, I'll give em' that, but for the cost it's a horrible sham.

I purchased my refurbished Mac Pro (two dual-core Xeons) earlier this year, and got it for a huge bargain! When it came time to upgrade, I spent $60 on 2GB RAM, another $60 on a 500GB HD, and I'm about to blow $100 on 4GB more RAM. :) For what I have now, I would've paid a ridiculous sum if I had gotten my upgrades from Apple.

So my best suggestions is to purchase the Mac Pro with the lowest amount of RAM, and with the smallest hard drive so that you can upgrade for cheap. :D

[mdk100]

I'm in the same boat...I've been waiting to get a Mac Pro, but the iTunes 8 update has managed to crash my Windoze system. So I'm without my main system now...not sure I can wait much more than a month or so. My biggest workload is just editing home movies on AVCHD...and then the usual iLife and surfing, so I'm thinking a 4-core Pro would do fine. I'd like to get a 30" Cinema display, but would definitely like to wait for any updates to that line. However, the 24" LED display has the new adapter type. I'd hate to get a Mac Pro now and find that I can't connect the next generation of Cinema Displays. Any thoughts on that?

[Tallest Skil]

I'd hate to get a Mac Pro now and find that I can't connect the next generation of Cinema Displays. Any thoughts on that?

Buy whenever you want and don't buy displays from Apple?

Just get a H-IPS display that isn't LED backlit if no one makes a DVI-Mini DisplayPort adapter.

[michaelsviews]

Buy whenever you want and don't buy displays from Apple?

Just get a H-IPS display that isn't LED backlit if no one makes a DVI-Mini DisplayPort adapter.

In your remark of don't buy displays from Apple could you be specific as too why shouldn't we buy these displays. From reviews on Apples web site and there is allot of them, they seem to be a pretty good if not excellent. I for one do NOT have throw away funds, but I do not mind spending extra for something that is built better which it seems ACD's are.

[michaelsviews]

As mentioned again and again above, don't buy the "upgrade" hard drives or memory from Apple. They're good parts, I'll give em' that, but for the cost it's a horrible sham.

I purchased my refurbished Mac Pro (two dual-core Xeons) earlier this year, and got it for a huge bargain! When it came time to upgrade, I spent $60 on 2GB RAM, another $60 on a 500GB HD, and I'm about to blow $100 on 4GB more RAM. :) For what I have now, I would've paid a ridiculous sum if I had gotten my upgrades from Apple.

So my best suggestions is to purchase the Mac Pro with the lowest amount of RAM, and with the smallest hard drive so that you can upgrade for cheap. :D

Could you share where your getting all these fantastic prices from on Memory and HD's ?

[nanofrog]

Take a look at 4GB kit (2x 2GB) here (http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/64FB2MPK04GB/) for $93.99. :)

[Lesser Evets]

I purchased a 2x2.66 about 19 months back and it is still extremely current and runs great. There is no doubt this tower will still be very functional in 4 years. These can stack out with 32GB and (at present) 4 TB drive space.

You can also upgrade processors in time, which might not be amazing but something to boost your system.

I say--BUY, if you really need it.

Don't buy the RAM from Apple, don't buy the HDD from Apple, don't even buy the second ODD from Apple.

Get it all third-party for less than the price Apple makes you pay to UPGRADE TO those specs.

Serious. You can save thousands in RAM and HDD money if you just buy the stuff elsewhere on the net or even in stores.

[Tallest Skil]

In your remark of don't buy displays from Apple could you be specific as too why shouldn't we buy these displays. From reviews on Apples web site and there is allot of them, they seem to be a pretty good if not excellent. I for one do NOT have throw away funds, but I do not mind spending extra for something that is built better which it seems ACD's are.

They don't work with the computer he wants.

They're the best displays on the market, but it's idiotic to buy a computer and then just wait and hope that someone will make them backwards compatible.

Just buy third party and buy the computer you want if the computer you want isn't compatible with the new Cinema Displays.

[kmo19]

See attached

I called Expercom this morning and they quoted me $2799 for the base model. I asked how much it would be if I was a returning customer, and they said $2679. I wish I could get the prices you are seeing...

[michaelsviews]

I called Expercom this morning and they quoted me $2799 for the base model. I asked how much it would be if I was a returning customer, and they said $2679. I wish I could get the prices you are seeing...

I just spoke with Roger at Expercom and the price you have is the 8 core system, if you look at the screen shot I put up there it showed the 4 core system. And the ones that are in stock ship the same day from there warehouses "More than one warehouse"

[michaelsviews]

They don't work with the computer he wants.

They're the best displays on the market, but it's idiotic to buy a computer and then just wait and hope that someone will make them backwards compatible.

Just buy third party and buy the computer you want if the computer you want isn't compatible with the new Cinema Displays.

If you already mentioned this than give me the thread, if not would you please explain WHY they will not work with what the OP''s system configuration is?

If I am missing something please let me know.

Thank you

[kmo19]

I just spoke with Roger at Expercom and the price you have is the 8 core system, if you look at the screen shot I put up there it showed the 4 core system. And the ones that are in stock ship the same day from there warehouses "More than one warehouse"

Yeah I just noticed that too. I think I want to go with the 8-core. The best deal I've found is here (http://www.jr.com/apple/pe/APP_MA970LLA/). $2589, no tax, free shipping.

[Tallest Skil]

If you already mentioned this than give me the thread, if not would you please explain WHY they will not work with what the OP''s system configuration is?

If I am missing something please let me know.

Thank you

Mini DisplayPort ≠ DVI.

[michaelsviews]

Yeah I just noticed that too. I think I want to go with the 8-core. The best deal I've found is here (http://www.jr.com/apple/pe/APP_MA970LLA/). $2589, no tax, free shipping.

I just went there and when you add to cart and zip code I came up with the following:

Subtotal: $2,589.00 Shipping: (12309, US)
UPS Ground
You save $55.55

FREE
Additional shipping options will be available during checkout
Tax: (12309, US) $207.12 Total: $2,796.12

[michaelsviews]

Yeah I just noticed that too. I think I want to go with the 8-core. The best deal I've found is here (http://www.jr.com/apple/pe/APP_MA970LLA/). $2589, no tax, free shipping.


For what your saying your going to use this for , 8-Core maybe a slight overkill, do not want to go to OT but the guy who wrote River Guide for the iphone is a fellow co-worker and wrote it all on the iMac 24" 3.0 and is now working for J&J and writing a very intense app for them and using the iMac, unless your going to use CS4 for serious graphics and like a 1000 layers of work on some things you mite be spending money you do not need too.

Just trying to help NOT tell you what to buy. :rolleyes:

[kmo19]

For what your saying your going to use this for , 8-Core maybe a slight overkill, do not want to go to OT but the guy who wrote River Guide for the iphone is a fellow co-worker and wrote it all on the iMac 24" 3.0 and is now working for J&J and writing a very intense app for them and using the iMac, unless your going to use CS4 for serious graphics and like a 1000 layers of work on some things you mite be spending money you do not need too.

Just trying to help NOT tell you what to buy. :rolleyes:

Thanks, I understand. I'm also going to be running Pro Tools LE on it, which can be very processor-intensive. The iPhone development is just what is pushing me into buying now instead of waiting 3-6 months, because I need an intel-based mac for that.

[jimmyjohn114]

Yeah there pretty much isnt any use for you to buy a machine like this. You could do all this on a MacBook if you wanted to, and just get an external display if you need a larger screen.


About the Apple Cinema Displays, the old ones are no good so I would not recommend buying those because they are inferior technology and slow. I went to the Apple store recently and compared the new 24" LED display and the old ACDs and the difference was a amazing. The old ACDs looked washed out and grainy. So I don't know if you were thinking about those but to buy one of those things would be ridiculous. You could get a better monitor from Acer or someone for $200 that has better color, response time, and resolution.

If you HAVE TO have a MacPro I would definitely wait. The technology you'll get is already over a year old. It is such a waste to buy an outdated machine for such a high price. And for upgrade parts I would recommend NewEgg not OWC or whatever. Everything on OWC is over priced. It is for macs only but you don't need to get Mac only parts anymore. I recently just upgraded ram for three Mac notebooks and I got all of it from newegg and it was supposedly only for PC's. Being that all macs have regular intel hardware lets you get hardware for intel pcs, not special mac hardware. I looked at memory for "mac only" on the new egg site and it was $40 per DIMM, then looked at the same spec'd memory on the PC only side and it was $25 yet it was perfectly compatible with my mac. So after that long winded explanation OWC is very overpriced.

[michaelsviews]

Yeah there pretty much isnt any use for you to buy a machine like this. You could do all this on a MacBook if you wanted to, and just get an external display if you need a larger screen.


About the Apple Cinema Displays, the old ones are no good so I would not recommend buying those because they are inferior technology and slow. I went to the Apple store recently and compared the new 24" LED display and the old ACDs and the difference was a amazing. The old ACDs looked washed out and grainy. So I don't know if you were thinking about those but to buy one of those things would be ridiculous. You could get a better monitor from Acer or someone for $200 that has better color, response time, and resolution.

If you HAVE TO have a MacPro I would definitely wait. The technology you'll get is already over a year old. It is such a waste to buy an outdated machine for such a high price. And for upgrade parts I would recommend NewEgg not OWC or whatever. Everything on OWC is over priced. It is for macs only but you don't need to get Mac only parts anymore. I recently just upgraded ram for three Mac notebooks and I got all of it from newegg and it was supposedly only for PC's. Being that all macs have regular intel hardware lets you get hardware for intel pcs, not special mac hardware. I looked at memory for "mac only" on the new egg site and it was $40 per DIMM, then looked at the same spec'd memory on the PC only side and it was $25 yet it was perfectly compatible with my mac. So after that long winded explanation OWC is very overpriced.

Someone else can correct me if I am wrong but AFAIK, Mac Pro has to be the ECC, Now if I am correct, which I think I am here, than the memory is high priced at both places you listed.

Regarding the ACD's being old and grainy, hmmm older technology yes, grainy I have never seen a grainy ACD, have to remember whats driving the ACD also.

[cosmos]

Someone else can correct me if I am wrong but AFAIK, Mac Pro has to be the ECC, Now if I am correct, which I think I am here, than the memory is high priced at both places you listed.

Regarding the ACD's being old and grainy, hmmm older technology yes, grainy I have never seen a grainy ACD, have to remember whats driving the ACD also.

As others have said, get the machine you need now. There will ALWAYS be another better, bigger machine released about three days after the return policy is over. Unless you have a lot bigger bank account than me, I would recommend purchasing what you need now and upgrade as needed.

I have a 2008 Mac Pro (8 core 2.8GHz) with 16GB RAM and an Apple RAID Card running an Apple supplied Seagate 750 boot drive and 3 - 750GB Samsung aftermarket drives. Note: Not all aftermarket memory FB-DIMMs are made the same. I went with OWC memory with their specs and lifetime warranty. Currently, they are sold for $185.99 for 4 modules of 2GB each. You should always have matched pairs in the risers in a Mac Pro for the best performance.

While at the time I purchased the drives from Newegg, http://www.macsales.com currently has really great prices. Drive/memory prices have DROPPED like a stone in the last few months. Both storage and memory are at crazy low prices right now.

I remember the time when only 1MB used to be $700 USD or more! Today you can find memory in the GB range for less than $25 USD! Do a quick Net search and find the best deals for you.

I also went with an aftermarket Samsung 24" monitor. This box runs my business with a Parallels VM running XP used for the laser print driver. I can run anything you can imagine with Final Cut Pro, FileMaker Advanced, Aperature as well as PhotoShop, Corel Draw and PhotoGrav on the XP side.

I also have a cloned drive in the gun safe should I have a need to boot from a total disaster without spending countless hours on installs and updates.

As you can see, the Mac Pro with the right software and hardware can run virtually anything out there today. As for performance, even in 32-bit, Geekbench runs at 8929!

Don't forget to defragment AND backup the drives either offsite or in a fireproof safe on a regular basis no matter what you get or are running.

If I need more, then I guess Snow Leopard should give an added boost.

Really, I cannot imagine a current Mac Pro, or for that matter, an iMac or Power Book with enough memory not being able to give anyone what they truly need for a LONG time.

Just be smart and purchase the memory, hard drives and monitor third party.