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2007 Harpertown Stoakley-Seaburg Motherboard With New Graphics Cards 8-Core Mac Pro

Are You Waiting For A Stoakley-Seaburg and 2007 Graphics Cards 8-Core Mac Pro

  • No. I bought the FrankenMac

    Votes: 30 7.1%

  • Yes I Will Wait 'Til Apple Gets It Right

    Votes: 246 58.0%

  • Not sure. Waiting for benchmarks on the 4.4.07 model.

    Votes: 27 6.4%

  • I'll stick with 4 cores, thank you very much.

    Votes: 121 28.5%
  • Total voters
    424
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Multimedia said:
Not me. I only do video not gaming.
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I don't game either, but the current video cards aren't great. Especially the default. You can't even use those $20 adapters for video out. I still have a CRT to see what my output will look like on a normal screen, and would have to buy the overpriced and underpowered ATI upgrade aftermarket just to do that. The 7300 isn't supported. I usually just go through my iMac, which does have s-video/RCA out capability. My MBPs 8600 can do it too, as could my previous machine, a PM G5.

Not to mention all of the stuff that's offloaded to the video card, especially in Leopard.
 
can u purchase an after market graphics card from another store other than apple? or are the cards for the mac pro mac editions only? i cant just purchase one from a computer store down the road?
 
jonnos said:
can u purchase an after market graphics card from another store other than apple? or are the cards for the mac pro mac editions only? i cant just purchase one from a computer store down the road?
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Yes you can but it will only work when you boot in to Windows. If you boot in to OS X it will not work.
 
aLoC said:
Yes you can but it will only work when you boot in to Windows. If you boot in to OS X it will not work.
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oh okay!
are there any people that do this?
is it fine to have an mac ed card in with one thats only compat with windows at the same time? is the current card that comes with the base MP setup enough power for amature - intermediate level of video editing?

i havent fully done my research on MPs since ive been looking to purchase a MBP but i think im not changing my mind. ive seen on the net that there are DX 10.1 pcix 2.0 card coming soon. i just dont want to be out dated so quick when i purchase something so damn exspansive.
reason why i was thinking of purchasing a MP is that i think this will last me longer than a MBP am i right? like it will still be a decent computer in lets say 3-5yrs time compared to the MBP? well enough power?

this comp is going to be for my design work etc but i will have that occasional gaming here and there.
 
jonnos said:
reason why i was thinking of purchasing a MP is that i think this will last me longer than a MBP am i right?

like it will still be a decent computer in lets say 3-5yrs time compared to the MBP? well enough power?
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3-5 years is like a century in computer-time - it's hard to predict how useful a computer will be in 5 years. It will certainly do whatever you're doing today, but whether it will be adequate for new software or applications can't be predicted.

But, the upcoming Mac Pro is definitely more "future-proof" than a laptop.

  1. The MacBook Pro is approaching the end-of-the-line, in Jan-Mar Intel will be releasing a new generation of mobile chips with better performance and lower power consumption.
  2. The upcoming Penryn/Stoakley MP will support 4 to 8 cores, and at least 16 GiB of RAM - the MBP is dual-core with a 4 GiB max.

One prediction that is safe to make is that future software will need (or be able to use) more cores and RAM.
 
In 3 years, the MP will be useful, but slower than the iMac of that time.
In 5 years, the MP will be a Mac Mini, but slightly more useful.

In 2 years, the MBP will be useful as a notebook that is capable of running pro apps, but not something you'd want to use knowing what other options are available.
In 3 years, the MBP will be great for surfing, email, and older apps.
In 5 years... I don't know. I've never had a notebook be useful for that long.

If you're runnig pro apps that need the horsepower, get the MP. If you're fine with a desktop, get the MP.

Otherwise, the MBP should suit your needs fine.

*Just because something can get the job done doesn't mean it is the best tool for the job. You can dig a hole with a spoon, but shovel is much better. A backhoe (did I spell that right?) would be best, but I doubt you work for Industrial Light & Magic with access to their render farm.

Now is a very good time for you, what with MP & MBPs coming down the line. Be happy.
 
seany916 said:
In 3 years, the MP will be useful, but slower than the iMac of that time.
In 5 years, the MP will be a Mac Mini, but slightly more useful.

In 2 years, the MBP will be useful as a notebook that is capable of running pro apps, but not something you'd want to use knowing what other options are available.
In 3 years, the MBP will be great for surfing, email, and older apps.
In 5 years... I don't know. I've never had a notebook be useful for that long...
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This seems like reasonable speculation, but the specifics could easily be off.

For example, who would have expected that Leopard would require a dual-core Intel to run all of Ichat, or a 1.6 GHz CPU to play a DVD at high quality?

Those are the kinds of hassles you can expect to run into with either a MP or MBP. Some features or programs that won't work. As time goes on, you'll find more and more issues with speed or functionality of new programs.

Other tech will continue to advance - today "video encoding" means something like DVD quality for most users (640x480 images). In a few years, the typical home video will be 1080p or 1080i (1920x1080 images), and Blu-ray will be the default medium.


seany916 said:
Now is a very good time for you, what with MP & MBPs coming down the line. Be happy.
Click to expand...

I don't know about "now", since we're now at least 2½ weeks away from a new Mac Pro, and at least 3 months away from a new MBP.
 
Eidorian said:
It looks like I've saved enough money since May to afford the low end of the Mac Pro revision. :cool:
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I'll be going with the middle range and doing the buy now, pay later method. lol ;)

I'll be adding probably 2 more 250gig HD and more ram depending on what comes with it and a video card with 512mb or whatever is higher than that at the time. Oh, and bluetooth. Think that's it.
 
darthraige said:
I'll be going with the middle range and doing the buy now, pay later method. lol ;)

I'll be adding probably 2 more 250gig HD and more ram depending on what comes with it and a video card with 512mb or whatever is higher than that at the time. Oh, and bluetooth. Think that's it.
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I have several Belkin Bluetooth adapter sitting around since all of the new Mac minis come with it standard.

I'm a fan of paying all up front since I can afford it now. Just my thoughts.

I can't wait for Penryn and SSE4. I might upgrade the video card though. I already have enough external storage to play with Time Machine.
 
Eidorian said:
I have several Belkin Bluetooth adapter sitting around since all of the new Mac minis come with it standard.

I'm a fan of paying all up front since I can afford it now. Just my thoughts.

I can't wait for Penryn and SSE4. I might upgrade the video card though. I already have enough external storage to play with Time Machine.
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Yea, I would be a fan paying up front too, had I had it. Will have it by next year though. haha. I was thinking of using an internal 250 for Time Machine. Not a huge fan of having an external on all the time to backup the computer 24/7.
 
darthraige said:
Yea, I would be a fan paying up front too, had I had it. Will have it by next year though. haha. I was thinking of using an internal 250 for Time Machine. Not a huge fan of having an external on all the time to backup the computer 24/7.
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I might have a spare SATA 250 around.

Most of my drives are ~300 GB IDE in FireWire enclosures.
 
AidenShaw said:
Why buy anything smaller than a 750GB?

With 750s going for less than $200, and 1TB for less than $300 - why fill up those extremely scarce disk slots with small drives?
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I know, I know. I'm on a tight budget and can only spend like $2,800. So I figured mid range with student discount, 2200?. Buying 2 or 4 more gigs, mid or low end graphics card, and 2x250 internal for like 60-70 bucks.
 
darthraige said:
I know, I know. I'm on a tight budget and can only spend like $2,800. So I figured mid range with student discount, 2200?. Buying 2 or 4 more gigs, mid or low end graphics card, and 2x250 internal for like 60-70 bucks.
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I might go the ADC route in a week or two.

It's $2299 right now for education on the 2.66 model.
 
Eidorian said:
I might go the ADC route in a week or two.

It's $2299 right now for education on the 2.66 model.
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Get the Student Developer package for $99 dollars. You get a one time 20% discount on any system+monitor purchase. If your planning to spend 2k or more, it's worth it.
 
krunk said:
Get the Student Developer package for $99 dollars. You get a one time 20% discount on any system+monitor purchase. If your planning to spend 2k or more, it's worth it.
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Well, I'm not reallllllly a student, that's why my fiance is making the purchase for me. lol... Already have 2 20" wide LCD screens and out of desk room. But I think I am all set. ;)
 
darthraige said:
Well, I'm not reallllllly a student, that's why my fiance is making the purchase for me. lol... Already have 2 20" wide LCD screens and out of desk room. But I think I am all set. ;)
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I don't think there's a problem with that a student does with the machine after they purchase it. ;)
 
Buying Anything Less Than 750 @ $180 or Less Is A Waste Of Money

AidenShaw said:
Why buy anything smaller than a 750GB?

With 750s going for less than $200, and 1TB for less than $300 - why fill up those extremely scarce disk slots with small drives?
Click to expand...
I agree. I returned a bunch of unopened 500's when 750s dropped to $200. I just bought two Seagate external FW400, USB2, ESATA 750s for $198 each last week at Frys.com. That makes the 750 like $150 which is the same price as $100 500s. There's no point in having anything less than 500 in boxes any more. I say consolidate smaller drives up to 750 now to avoid too much confusion. I currently run 14 external drives - FW400, FW800 & USB2. It's not pretty. :eek:
 
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