Should I buy a 12-core Mac Pro or Retina display MacBook Pro?

[cinnabun93]

I am taking college courses online and my college requires a Mac and it will also be useful to be able to use every operating system legally. I was just wondering which I should get. I won't be moving around but I have a 27" 1080p monitor and plan to eventually get another monitor at 1440p for my birthday. I'm just debating which I should do.

[Jake0604]

I would get the 12-core Mac Pro.

[Loa]

Hello,

Very strange choice you're giving us, akin to: "Should I buy a hummer or a BMW convertible." My advice: read up on cores and see if you really need them all. I don't think you do.

Loa

[Macsonic]

@cinnabun93

It will depend on what kind of work will you be doing on your Mac. You can also consider a 6 core 3.33 Mac Pro as that might be enough for you. If you do video editing or 3d rendering the 12 core will be beneficial or if you intend to use this to a means to earn income.

[BeeJee]

Originally Posted by cinnabun93

I am taking college courses online and my college requires a Mac and it will also be useful to be able to use every operating system legally. I was just wondering which I should get. I won't be moving around but I have a 27" 1080p monitor and plan to eventually get another monitor at 1440p for my birthday. I'm just debating which I should do.

Why not an iMac? If that's out of the question, definitely get the Retina. If you can get by with the Retina then you don't need a 12 core mac pro. Besides they're going to be refreshed later this year.

[ClassObject]

I have both. If I were on college I'd get the retina.

[Yebubbleman]

Originally Posted by cinnabun93

I am taking college courses online and my college requires a Mac and it will also be useful to be able to use every operating system legally. I was just wondering which I should get. I won't be moving around but I have a 27" 1080p monitor and plan to eventually get another monitor at 1440p for my birthday. I'm just debating which I should do.

Neither. Maxed out non-retina 15". Use the remaining money you save by doing that (from buying a 12-core Mac Pro) and buy a refurbished Mid 2010 Quad-Core Mac Pro. Boom, you have two fairly modern, very powerful Macs that, as you said, can run all three OS platforms.

[dmax35]

Originally Posted by Jake0604

I would get the 12-core Mac Pro.

That would leave him no money for beer.

[apolloa]

Originally Posted by cinnabun93

I am taking college courses online and my college requires a Mac and it will also be useful to be able to use every operating system legally. I was just wondering which I should get. I won't be moving around but I have a 27" 1080p monitor and plan to eventually get another monitor at 1440p for my birthday. I'm just debating which I should do.

Well, with a total redesign Mac Pro planned for this year, I would actually wait for the MacBook Pro retina refresh and then get one, the refresh can't be far off now. You'll most likely get a speed bump etc then.
The Apple pages state the retina MBP can support up to 2560 by 1600 on external displays so no worries with that.

But as everyone has said, you haven't stated what you will use the computer for bar multiple OS's, for which I think RAM is more important?

[Jake0604]

Originally Posted by dmax35

That would leave him no money for beer.

Sorry I forgot, Beer>MacPro

[strwrsfrk]

Originally Posted by cinnabun93

I am taking college courses online and my college requires a Mac and it will also be useful to be able to use every operating system legally. I was just wondering which I should get. I won't be moving around but I have a 27" 1080p monitor and plan to eventually get another monitor at 1440p for my birthday. I'm just debating which I should do.

It depends on your workload. If you just need to be able to boot into any operating system for general purposes, consider either a Mac Mini or Dell Workstation (refurbished on both counts). For about $350 you can get a Dell Precision T3500 online (I like the Precision line from personal experience) with a Quad-Core Nehalem Xeon and up to 24GB RAM. Install Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, and any flavor of Linux you can think of with reckless abandon in a robust, upgradeable system and on the relative cheap.

With the rest of the money, a base-model Retina MacBook Pro (refurbished!) is an excellent machine. Then again, so is a maxed-out MacBook Air. I have a rMBP for work and my personal laptop is an 11" MBA, and both are amazing for different reasons. But for college, no matter how immobile you project your schedule, you'll want a laptop at some point.

[robbie12345]

Neither! But never ever buy a Mac Pro now. The 2010 Mac Pro is the same Mac Pro they are selling today. The 2010 was a 2009 with newer firmware, I would never pay top dollar for a 4 year old computer, and overpriced when it was released. The MPb retina is due for an update soon but still much better than the Mac pro

[handheldgames]

rMBP. The Macpro is outdated and about to be replaced. Plus the rMBP fits nicely in a backpack and can be used anywhere.

[PowerPCMacMan]

Where is the OP's justification for needing the 12-core? He makes no mention of video rendering, encoding, etc... all he mentions is he needs a Mac for his college coursework.

I say 6-core!!! Its the sweet spot and you can get a lot out of it.. if not, the 2.8 Quad Core and then get 6-core when you need it.

Originally Posted by Jake0604

I would get the 12-core Mac Pro.

----------

Outdated and about to be replaced? I seriously hope this new "something wonderful" turns out to be a highly expandable Mac Pro as we know it, otherwise there will be a lot of disappointed souls out there.

I am willing to bet the case design is going to be shuttered and replaced with a new case and look.. Expect for limited expandability because Apple doesn't want us to expand and or upgrade.. I have a feeling, a BIG FEELING the 2013 Mac Pro is going to be a hybrid of the iMac and or Mac Mini... something like a Mac Mini Pro but not as small.. but don't expect 4-5 PCIe slots in it also.

Originally Posted by handheldgames

rMBP. The Macpro is outdated and about to be replaced. Plus the rMBP fits nicely in a backpack and can be used anywhere.

[monkeybagel]

Originally Posted by PowerPCMacMan

I am willing to bet the case design is going to be shuttered and replaced with a new case and look.. Expect for limited expandability because Apple doesn't want us to expand and or upgrade.. I have a feeling, a BIG FEELING the 2013 Mac Pro is going to be a hybrid of the iMac and or Mac Mini... something like a Mac Mini Pro but not as small.. but don't expect 4-5 PCIe slots in it also.

Precisely the reason I bought mine now. The are removing expandability and many options with every "refresh." Instead of adding features, add one or two and drop one or two, and keep the same price.

I see them doing this with the Mac Pro considering the length of time between refreshes. If they do this again, I will get an HP or ThinkStation next when I need a new workstation, which I hope will be a while. The host OS is becoming less important as cores and virtualization performance increases. So far I am impressed with CentOS and Fedora 18. It would run nicely on an HP Z-Series dual socket or ThinkStation.

[Macsonic]

Originally Posted by PowerPCMacMan Outdated and about to be replaced? I seriously hope this new "something wonderful" turns out to be a highly expandable Mac Pro as we know it, otherwise there will be a lot of disappointed souls out there.

I am willing to bet the case design is going to be shuttered and replaced with a new case and look.. Expect for limited expandability because Apple doesn't want us to expand and or upgrade.. I have a feeling, a BIG FEELING the 2013 Mac Pro is going to be a hybrid of the iMac and or Mac Mini... something like a Mac Mini Pro but not as small.. but don't expect 4-5 PCIe slots in it also.

Good point PowerPCMan. I share the same sentiments with you that the 2013 Mac Pro may be more compact and less expandability. And if this will be the first generation of a Mac Pro revision, it would still be untested. Also considering the business direction Apple is headed- more compact design and it seems the quality of hardware materials being used are much better with the older Macs.

[alphaod]

Uh oh… another "What should I get for my birthday?" kind of thread.

[vmachiel]

The Mac Pro is extremely overprice IMHO. Build a hackintosh, this give much better value.

[lucasfer899]

Originally Posted by vmachiel

The Mac Pro is extremely overprice IMHO. Build a hackintosh, this give much better value.

No, no, no, no NOO.

The Mac Pro is not overpriced. When it came out the price for what it offers was very good, and these days the mac pro is still one of the best workstations out there. A hackintosh workstation does not compete.
When someone wants a workstation they want something with support, and something of which is reliable. The hackintosh can compare, but doesnt shape up. Please do NOT turn this thread into a hackintosh vs mac thread, as that is not what OP is asking. Stick to the guidelines, look at what he was asking.

[derbothaus]

Do you need portability? You have your answer. You can drown in minutia if you want but this is the only real follow up question. Sorry.