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.