Mac Pro 2009 Quad 2.66 -OR- 2008 Octo 2.8

[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 =)

 

[ceezy3000]

i would recomend the octo mac pro just because i know my friend is in the same field of work as you are or rather does much of what u do and he couldnt be happier. also the overall expandability of the older mac pro is a big factor if i was choosing

 

[Tesselator]

This might help: https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/7270035/

If it's me I'd get the 2008 Octo 2.8!

BTW, LR2.x multi-threads well for some stuff - so for it 8 will be lots better than 4.

 

[JasO]

Well I'm going to the apple store tomorrow, and hopefully I'll pick up a 2008 - 2.8. Unfortunately they keep persisting that they won't budge from the original RRP of AU$3999, which I think is very unkind since the new model is on their display desks.

Also going to be picking up a DELL Dell UltraSharp 2209WA 22-inch Flat Panel Monitor for AU$459. It's not a ACD i know, but it's half the price of the 23" second hand fleeBay apple cinema displays (around AU$800ish for 2+ years old)

After that i'll get some more ram and some more HDD space in there =D

 

[Tesselator]

Well I'm going to the apple store tomorrow, and hopefully I'll pick up a 2008 - 2.8. Unfortunately they keep persisting that they won't budge from the original RRP of AU$3999, which I think is very unkind since the new model is on their display desks.

Also going to be picking up a DELL Dell UltraSharp 2209WA 22-inch Flat Panel Monitor for AU$459. It's not a ACD i know, but it's half the price of the 23" second hand fleeBay apple cinema displays (around AU$800ish for 2+ years old)

After that i'll get some more ram and some more HDD space in there =D

Tell them you're a teacher and want a Educator's discount.

Works for me. Of course I actually am... but they never asked for any kind of proof or anything. Just: "OK, we can offer ___________."