2006 2.66 quad Mac Pro vs 2008 2.8 octo

[dnenciu]

Hi

I have the opportunity to get a brand new (with warranty) quad 2.66ghz 2006 model (stock) for ~1600USD

Or I could go for the octo 2008 2.8ghz for ~2300USD

Is the diff in performance worth the extra ~700?

I use photoshop, aperture as well as video editing soft like FCP.

I need to do it now as they will soon run out of the old 2008 2.8 and I don't want to get stuck with the crappy new upgrade with 4core and max 8gb RAM.

Thanks for the help.

 

[bozz2006]

I definitely think the newer one is worth the $700 price difference. Definitely.

 

[jjahshik32]

Hi

I have the opportunity to get a brand new (with warranty) quad 2.66ghz 2006 model (stock) for ~1600USD

Or I could go for the octo 2008 2.8ghz for ~2300USD

Is the diff in performance worth the extra ~700?

I use photoshop, aperture as well as video editing soft like FCP.

I need to do it now as they will soon run out of the old 2008 2.8 and I don't want to get stuck with the crappy new upgrade with 4core and max 8gb RAM.

Thanks for the help.

Definitely get the 2.8ghz 8 core model. At this point the 2006 models are not really worth it especially considering they are about the same speed as a 17" or 15" unibody mbp on most things these days AND you cant use the ati 4870 cards in them.

 

[dnenciu]

Definitely get the 2.8ghz 8 core model. At this point the 2006 models are not really worth it especially considering they are about the same speed as a 17" or 15" unibody mbp on most things these days AND you cant use the ati 4870 cards in them.

Yeah those are also my thoughts especially that the 2006 model is still pretty expensive and the 2008 one I can get with 24 months no interest.

 

[bozz2006]

jjahshik32, that isn't exactly true. going off what geekbench says (i know it's more complex than just what geekbench says), the highest end current MBPs score an average of 3598, while the 2.66GHz quad core 2006 mac pro scores 4940. and barefeats is saying that the 4870 will work in the mac pro classic.

 

[dnenciu]

Hi

I have the opportunity to get a brand new (with warranty) quad 2.66ghz 2006 model (stock) for ~1600USD

Or I could go for the octo 2008 2.8ghz for ~2300USD

Is the diff in performance worth the extra ~700?

I use photoshop, aperture as well as video editing soft like FCP.

I need to do it now as they will soon run out of the old 2008 2.8 and I don't want to get stuck with the crappy new upgrade with 4core and max 8gb RAM.

Thanks for the help.

just found out that I can get the 2.8ghz octo brand new from apple store for ~1925USD it's looking pretty tempting. Hmm must resist the urge

 

[HHarm]

How does it look, is the W3520 2.66 upgradeable to 3.2GHz later on? (reasonably easily)

 

[dnenciu]

How does it look, is the W3520 2.66 upgradeable to 3.2GHz later on? (reasonably easily)

well with the upgrade it will be more expensive than a octo 2.8 as the quad 3.0ghz quads are more than 1k to buy.

 

[HHarm]

well with the upgrade it will be more expensive than a octo 2.8 as the quad 3.0ghz quads are more than 1k to buy.

Upgradeable.... in the future!

 

[thedarkhorse]

getting the 2008 model gives you more gpu options for now and the future. The performance gains over a 2006 quad to 2008 octo should be quite noticeable as well.

 

[wfj5444]

just found out that I can get the 2.8ghz octo brand new from apple store for ~1925USD it's looking pretty tempting. Hmm must resist the urge

Oh my! Which store? My Apple Store has one for $2499 and I am buying it today. I would like to be able to haggle!

 

[Chupa Chupa]

At this point the 2006 models are not really worth it especially considering they are about the same speed as a 17" or 15" unibody mbp on most things these days AND you cant use the ati 4870 cards in them.

I'm not sure how you arrive at that conclusion. I just ran Geekbench on my Unibody MPB 2.4/4GB RAM and got 3100's twice. My '06 Quad 2.66 gets in the 5300s.

I was considering selling my 2.66 for an '08 Octo, but in the end concluded I'd be better off saving my $800 and waiting a year and then picking up a clearance or refurb at the next speedbump. The i7 represents a whole new architecture and I think will end up being even more significant than the jump from CD to C2D.

Now if I could get an octo 2.8 for $1925 I'd jump on that ASAP since the value isn't likely to go down more than a couple hundred in a year. But $2500 for last years chip and architecture may turn out to be not much of a deal. Typically Apple optimizes software to it's very best, newest machines. I don't think we really know what the new models can do yet.