2008 Octo 2.8 or 2009 Quad 2.66

[JasO]

Hi guys,

I'll be using the MacPro for mostly Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Lightroom. I'll also most likely watch movies on it and do all the usual day-to-day stuff. but primarily it will be used to do print advertisements (student work) and also a few TV ads. So which machine will be better for me? I'm thinking the 2.8 since the performance seems better and the fact that i can upgrade the ram will be beneficial to me.

Just wondering if this is a good decision. I have been able to hunt down a 2008 2.8 Octo for AU$3,699 (RRP is AU$3,999) So i've been keen on this

OR

2009 Quad 2.66 for AU$ 4,099 edu price (RRP is $4499)



2008 Octo 2.8
PROs
-cheaper
- RAM price,
Can get 16GB for (4GB models for the 08 & 09) - US$497.99
Compared to -US$2,299.99 for the 2009 2.66
(i think the ram is faster in the 09 machines though?)
Can upgrade to the newest graphics cards (not a pro, but just something to keep in mind)

2009 Quad 2.66
Pros
-More ram out of the box
-Bigger HDD out of the box
-Newest model
-higher resale when you want to sell it (thats quite a while off for me)
-newer graphics card - MiniDisplay port


If I understand correctly, the the MacPro in the US is $2,499.00 and it was $2800 before? Either way I thought I read that the price has gone down. In other places of the world (Australia at least) The price has gone up 😎 So yeah, think of it with the Australian prices! Not the US prices. 😱

Just so you can see the benchmarks

Thanks all =)

 

[Cameraman12]

Actually the price has gone back up here in the U.S. as well at a couple of places for the 2.8ghz 8-core. I noticed that Amazon was first a couple of days ago going from $2539 to $2664. Apple is still selling it $2499 though.

Personally, I would stay away form quad cores simply because they eventually get phased out in favor of 8 cores and the new ones do have ram limitations.

 

[JasO]

Actually the price has gone back up here in the U.S. as well at a couple of places for the 2.8ghz 8-core. I noticed that Amazon was first a couple of days ago going from $2539 to $2664. Apple is still selling it $2499 though.

Personally, I would stay away form quad cores simply because they eventually get phased out in favor of 8 cores and the new ones do have ram limitations.

Oh, thats interesting about the US prices, good thing for me to keep in mind though.

I actually mean 2.8 Octo not 2.8 Quad! my mistake, i'll fix that up.