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all the quad core penryn people...
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Video Work Is Core Intensive
If any of your work or play is Video related you will want 8 cores and more next year to cut your compression and conversion times down more and more. Who isn't going to want to compress and convert video for their iPods and their Apple TVs? It's a common widespread application that touches almost everyone. If you don't think so then you don't watch TV or own an iPod.
With what application? 8 Cores with Compressor would do that job @ 600fps or more.
If any of your work or play is Video related you will want 8 cores and more next year to cut your compression and conversion times down more and more. Who isn't going to want to compress and convert video for their iPods and their Apple TVs? It's a common widespread application that touches almost everyone. If you don't think so then you don't watch TV or own an iPod.
but does this come down to "time is money" again?
I'm just about to buy one this morning and i think i'm going quad. If something takes 10 minutes to render/encode/compress instead of 6 minutes i'm really not going to care, it means a longer lunch.
I do a lot of rendering/encoding/compressing overnight - i set it going at about 6pm and by the next morning everything is done and dandy.
Sod it, i'm going quad and gonna buy myself a better/bigger screen and 2GB ram - thats where i'd like to see more performance.
I'm just about to buy one this morning and i think i'm going quad. If something takes 10 minutes to render/encode/compress instead of 6 minutes i'm really not going to care, it means a longer lunch.
I do a lot of rendering/encoding/compressing overnight - i set it going at about 6pm and by the next morning everything is done and dandy.
Sod it, i'm going quad and gonna buy myself a better/bigger screen and 2GB ram - thats where i'd like to see more performance.
Don't kid yourself you want the octo. I ordered a quad, I'm returning it (video issues) and getting a octo. It's only $500 more, get the octo, you won't be sorry. Extra ram and a larger monitor is a nice upgrade, but so is having 8 cores.
Just my 2 cents.
Oh come on!
why don't you show us an article comparing a ferrari with an audi or one comparing a Canon 5D camera with a 400D
please - all good products (above) but you can hardly compare them with any expectation that one will stand up squarely to the other.
Comparing the Q2.8, Q2.66 and Oct2.8 would be more interesting without the 'white noise' of Oct3.2 and G5s thrown in there.
Who was that article aimed at? People wondering whether to buy the Oct3.2 or the Q2.8 (is there anyone?)
Time Saved Is Time Earned
I don't do the overnight compression routine any more than I do it all day long. So the idea that fast enough to get the job done overnight does not work for me at all. I think the $500 difference is not worth it. It's $2600 academic for the 8 core if you simply enroll in a local Jr. College class. How can you rationalize paying $2300 for the Quad when it's really only $300 more for the 8 core when you become a part of the academic world? Take a video class or a photoshop class.
I think we're in that time in computing history when the idea of multicore processing is still a novelty not yet fully understood by most and thus something most don't think they need or will need for the life of their computer. What is most misunderstood is how soon all applications will take advantage of all available cores. At MacWorld I even found RapidMind, a company that's specializing in helping other developers to convert their code to multicore in only a few months. By this time next year almost all applications will use all 8 cores. It's very shortsighted to think otherwise.
More like "time is time". You must be very young to not value faster crunch times. I'm closer to death than birth now so I don't care about saving money any more. I bought the 3.2GHz model so I could get the maximum video encoding speed so stuff will be done sooner than later.
I don't do the overnight compression routine any more than I do it all day long. So the idea that fast enough to get the job done overnight does not work for me at all. I think the $500 difference is not worth it. It's $2600 academic for the 8 core if you simply enroll in a local Jr. College class. How can you rationalize paying $2300 for the Quad when it's really only $300 more for the 8 core when you become a part of the academic world? Take a video class or a photoshop class.
I think we're in that time in computing history when the idea of multicore processing is still a novelty not yet fully understood by most and thus something most don't think they need or will need for the life of their computer. What is most misunderstood is how soon all applications will take advantage of all available cores. At MacWorld I even found RapidMind, a company that's specializing in helping other developers to convert their code to multicore in only a few months. By this time next year almost all applications will use all 8 cores. It's very shortsighted to think otherwise.
Or wait another 4 weeks or so until the new MacPro's start showing up on the refurb page. Did you ever notice how the refurb price savings is double the educational discount? I have.
Very good points raised - thank you.
I've gone for the quad for now. I'm of the opinion, that at the moment, i'm happy with 4 cores. However, i KNOW i will need 8+ cores at some point. But when that point comes i won't be an impoverished graduate student! I will sell my current mac pro and buy the 8 core/16 core machine that Apple will bring out in 2/3 years. Depreciation of Mac Pro's is astonishingly slow, so the machine i bought for £1300 today will still be worth £900/£1000 in 2 years i bet.
OK i might be loosing a bit of money in the long term, but in the short term (and thats the kind of person i am), it's more important to me to be paying off other debts and make do with the 4 core machine, which don't forget is still a blisteringly quick machine, faster than a quad core Q6600 PC by a long way which was my other option.
Overall i'm happy with the Q core! Just waiting for it to be delivered now!!
Congrats on the quad core purchase!!! Where did you order yours from? I'm ordering mine this week.
I love that "make do with a 4-core machine" comment. Coming from my PowerBook, it's going to rock!!!!
Refurbished 2.8 Base 8 core Model In March or April Is The Best Way To Go
They'll be up there by Spring for sure. I may buy a second one that way.
I couldn't agree more. That's the way I usually go. But this time 'round I wanted top speed with the RAID card so I went all the way. But I agree with you that waiting a few months for the refurbs to show up is the most logical way to buy each new model.Or wait another 4 weeks or so until the new MacPro's start showing up on the refurb page. Did you ever notice how the refurb price savings is double the educational discount? I have.
They'll be up there by Spring for sure. I may buy a second one that way.
lol
i ordered from apple online - i would only order apple hardware from apple. It just makes me feel better if anything goes wrong i can take it back to the store or whatever
I agree. Put the money towards the upgrades. Sounds like you don't have money to burn like some of these other 8-core people.
I use Visual Hub overnight and queue as much video as I "need" converted for the next day and wake up happy. It took 9 minutes to for Visual Hub to convert a 700MB DIVX into iPod format and add it to itunes on my quad penryn...
Which imac LorenK? I'm waiting for my quad mac pro with Nvidia 8800 card and am currently using my G4 imac 1.25ghz with 768mb ram. Can't wait for the slight speed bump I should get!
Yo - newkeyboard! I'm going to be going from my 1.25GHz PowerBook up to a single Quad 2.8 and I'm banking on a HUGE speed bump. It's going to be awesome!
All these arguments about how much time the octo would save over the quad in things like ripping or encoding video and the "time is money" argument or even the "I have one foot on the grave so I need to do things fast" type of arguments assume that you are just sitting there doing nothing else but staring at the monitor waiting for the extra 10 minutes to go by while encoding the video. I rather save the $500 and buy the new 32GB iPod touch with it.
iMac to Mac Pro Quad
Someone asked so I'll answer, though it is a bit embarassing, an 800mhz iMac, so moving up to the Mac Pro is of course going to be light years faster, but boy, you really appreciate it more when it's a big jump than a marginal one. I also hooked it up to a Vizio 32" (a deal from NewEgg at $420), and it's so much more user friendly.
Someone asked so I'll answer, though it is a bit embarassing, an 800mhz iMac, so moving up to the Mac Pro is of course going to be light years faster, but boy, you really appreciate it more when it's a big jump than a marginal one. I also hooked it up to a Vizio 32" (a deal from NewEgg at $420), and it's so much more user friendly.
Of course with the octo-core system you could be doing the same video encoding, etc. as fast as (or faster than) the 4-core system while at the same time also browsing the web, working on a document, editing large photos in Photoshop, listening to your itunes music , etc. etc. etc.
ok you guys have convinced me to go quad! what do you think about this setup? single quad processor - 4GB RAM - 8800 nVidia graphics card and 500GB hard disk
nice - i just got my q2.8 today.
nice machine - I will give it a proper run tomorrow only had time to install firefox etc tonight.
one thing i've found is the airport card (behind all that aluminum!) isn't very strong. However I've moved my router a bit nearer and it's much better.
nice machine - I will give it a proper run tomorrow only had time to install firefox etc tonight.
one thing i've found is the airport card (behind all that aluminum!) isn't very strong. However I've moved my router a bit nearer and it's much better.