Review Early Mac Pro 2009 (2.26) vs 2008 (2.8)

[iamcheerful]

1) AMUG's Review

2) Also rather worth reading is this user's review (link's to Amazon) who has quite a good deal of feedback on use of FW800 with HDDs.

 

[snouter]

1) AMUG's Review

Decent review. Shows that most of the benchmark improvements come from memory related tests and software that excels at multi-threading, like Cinema 4d.

Otherwise, it's a push, or a nod to the 2008 model.

They get it right when they don't really say that the 2.26 is a bust (I would give it 3 or 3 1/2 stars out of 5, not the 4 stars they give it) but that it does not offer a good price to performance ratio at the 2.26 level.

The 2.66 should be the $3299 model and then things would be right.

Basically matches the advice usually given here.

 

[shroud]

After reading the amazon users review of the firewire implementation in the Mac Pro all I can say is that I am disgusted with what Apple (computer) has become over the last few years. They still haven't fixed the known port issues yet!!!

I have used Apple products going on 22 years now and have loved the experiences (good and bad!) as a whole up until Apple switched from Apple Computer to Apple Inc.

I can't say if it is shifted engineers, less quality employees, less focus on the computer and computer software (FCS, Logic, Shake etc.), shift to intel, new manufacturers etc. etc. I can say though that the 15 inch powerbook G4 aluminum was the best overall computing and customer service experience I have had in my life and it seemed to just be getting better up until then and that the Mac Pro version 1, 2.66 is the single worst computing and customer service experience I have had to date. Big shift and fast!

Sorry to hijack the thread, I'm just peeved to see that Apple hasn't fixed that issue as I am aware of three companies that I have used for ad work that all report the same port issues for the Mac Pro and in fact my ports (both USB and Firewire) are so unreliable that I have to use two sonnet pci express firewire and usb cards in order to have my computer make money....
/rant

I still much prefer Apple over the alternatives but my status as an Apple fan is now gone in a big way. I liked Rubenstein, Tevanian and Ive and of course the old Steve Jobs. I wish Jobs good health and lots of rest, he's earned it that is for sure.

 

[snouter]

yeah, we are in a bad spot...

we like OS X... we are less happy about our hardware choices...

 

[nick9191]

Apple chose the route of making the same ridiculously high, 100%+ margins that Dell makes on its Xeon gear rather than its normal, already high 30%. I guess Apple wants to say goodbye completely to it's pro market, I know many that were only sticking with Apple due to its extremely, extremely well priced Mac Pro, now thats gone, what incentive is there? Adobe apps runs better on Windows, FCS has been passed by in many areas, Windows 7 looks great.

 

[SydneyDev]

The 2009 line-up should have had the 2008 2.8 as the low end 8-core model. It is $500 less and overall better performer than what they went with. Did they think nobody would notice?

 

[snouter]

The 2009 line-up should have had the 2008 2.8 as the low end 8-core model. It is $500 less and overall better performer than what they went with. Did they think nobody would notice?

You have to go with the latest, and Nehalem does offer several advantages:

1. Tick - new architecture, faster per clock than Penryn
2. Hyperthreading - does work with software that can take advantage of it...
3. Energy - at idle there are improvements, under load not so much, but you also have the hyperthreaded processes
4. Memory - no question here, the new ram is superior, and is the same ram as used on PC, the 08 had some weird spreaders on them or soemthing

The real problem was releasing the 2.26 model as the base 8 core at $3300 with a $50 video card.

The 09 2.66 is a better match for the 08 2.8 for apps that are not multi-threading powerhouses...

It's a stretch to claim that the 2.26 can match the 2.8, even with more work per clock in most apps.

 

[PrincessPeach]

Thanks for the very interesting link. FW800 issues aside as they thankfully won't affect me, I'm still umming and ahhing over which of the 2009s to get. The 8core will hurt financially but the extra memory banks and promise of future flexibility is tempting. I will probably be going for the low end one though and spending on a better graphics card etc (following the advice I've picked up here) to get the best bang for my buck.

My husband has the 2.8 octo though, so it feels like a shame I'm paying so much for something which isn't so much better in many ways. I'd really like them to take a second look at the line and tighten up the price : performance balance too. Maybe I'll hold out until July just in case between WWDC and the rumoured Jobs reappearance we get a little tweak; I'm sitting on things until more Snow Leopard information is officially released as it is in the hope of at least saving the ~£70 buying that separately if it's due in the near future.

 

[snouter]

apple still has 08 2.8 octo refurbs for $2400...

 

[iamcheerful]

PrincessPeach, you are welcome. Actually we should thank the ppl who wrote a rather objective review and much needed comparison. AMUG's review may not satisfy/answer everyone's question. It did answer mine though. Energy/Power consumption, C4D & Handbrake.

I have quite a bit of FW400 devices, thankfully no FW800 yet. There're a couple of newer devices that use esata. Thing about esata as everyone knows, we need an extra power brick ...

As for your choice. I'm sure you know exactly what you want by now. All the best and let us know how you fare with your new purchase. Your personal input and comparison with the early 2008 mac pro would certainly be great value to the mac community.

p.s. my usual practice, if u don't need a mac yet, don't get one. if u need one, get the one that suits u best. get it and look forward to the next one.

 

[snouter]

p.s. my usual practice, if u don't need a mac yet, don't get one. if u need one, get the one that suits u best. get it and look forward to the next one.

We def get caught up in specs and benchmarks... thing is computers depreciate so fast that you feel the need to either use the thing for 5 years or cry and sweat over the price of the bleeding edge...

apple is brilliant at plotting out a product map that makes you pour over every detail and navigate all of the roadblocks they throw in your face at each price point... for example the single core Mac Pro and its artificial 8GB ram limit...

 

[Johno42]

Just stumbled across this, thanks for the links.

I am currently looking to upgrade my 2007 Mac Pro (2 x 3Ghz dual core), and was interested to see what others thought.

Cheers, John.