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Are new Mac Pros around the corner?

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badlydrawnboy

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Oct 20, 2003
1,531
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Yet another "should I buy now or wait" question. I'm in the market for a Mac Pro. I primarily use my computer for digital photography (Photoshop CS3 & Lightroom), a bit of design (InDesign, Illustrator, etc.) and of course the basics. No video work, at least not often (maybe the occasional iMovie project) and no games.

Is it worth waiting for the new Mac Pros? Any word on when they're expected?

One more kind of unrelated question: would there be a significant difference between 5 and 7 GB of RAM with the applications I use? I'm trying to decide whether to spend the extra $200 I have on another hard drive or 2 more Gigs of RAM.

Thanks.
 
For your needs, the current models are excellent. I'd at least get a 2.66.

You could wait for the latest to be announced, and the current one's will be even cheaper, but still well suited (and then some) for your type of work.
 
Yikes! Don't want to wait until January, especially if I won't see a big difference in the kind of work I do.
 
If you don't hear anything by November 15th, expect them in January. That said, there is a lot of reason to have hope that they will launch next month.
 
I'm really hoping that Apple surprises us with Mac Pro updates next month. Although I'm in the market for one and would like one as soon as possible, I really don't want to buy what they're currently offering. So if I have to, I'll wait until January.

If they release them next month, it makes one wonder what all they'll deliver in January.
 
Any realistic estimates on when these Mac Pros will be announced? I heard Penryn was shipping on Nov. 12th (or is that an old rumor?), so wouldn't the Mac Pros at least be announced by then?

Also, can someone explain this article to me (http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/10/18/apple_to_fire_up_penryn_based_mac_pros.html)? I don't know enough about the new chips to make sense of it. I am NOT planning on buying a top-of-the-line new Mac Pro when they come out. If I bought today, it would be the 2.66Ghz model. So I guess I'm wondering whether the equivalent new model to the current 2.66 will be significantly better. I understand that the $4,000 8-core will be blazing fast, but I don't have $4,000 to spend.
 
badlydrawnboy said:
Any realistic estimates on when these Mac Pros will be announced? I heard Penryn was shipping on Nov. 12th (or is that an old rumor?), so wouldn't the Mac Pros at least be announced by then?
Click to expand...

The last realistic date this year would be the 15th which is the Thursday before Thanksgiving.

Also, can someone explain this article to me (http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/10/18/apple_to_fire_up_penryn_based_mac_pros.html)? I don't know enough about the new chips to make sense of it. I am NOT planning on buying a top-of-the-line new Mac Pro when they come out. If I bought today, it would be the 2.66Ghz model. So I guess I'm wondering whether the equivalent new model to the current 2.66 will be significantly better. I understand that the $4,000 8-core will be blazing fast, but I don't have $4,000 to spend.
Click to expand...

Based on what Apple currently offer and what the technology and pricing will enable them to offer it's possible that a $2,500 Mac Pro could come with 8 cores at 2.8Ghz or 2.83Ghz, 2GB of RAM and a slightly larger hard drive and newer graphics card.
 
Thanks, Umbongo. I think I'll wait until Nov. 15th at least... not sure if I can wait until mid-January, though.
 
I want to buy the Mac Pro as a refurb so I think I'll be waiting for quite a while. that's fine though... I'll keep squeezing out everything I can squeeze out out my 1.42ghz Mac Mini which is what will be replaced with the Mac Pro. If I get a top of the line Mac Pro, I'm replacing the hell out my Mac Mini - I paid $380 for this off of craigslist.

My main computer though is my 15" 2.16ghz MacBook Pro (soon to be the 15" 2.2ghz MacBook Pro that I just bought today refurbed). The Mac Pro is going to be my secondary computer for bigger projects.
 
Luckily I qualify for the educational discount so I should be able to get the new Mac Pro for about $2300, assuming they retail for $2500. About the same as a refurb (right now, about $100 more expensive).
 
badlydrawnboy said:
Luckily I qualify for the educational discount so I should be able to get the new Mac Pro for about $2300, assuming they retail for $2500. About the same as a refurb (right now, about $100 more expensive).
Click to expand...

What kind of prices are mac pros supposed to hit when they roll out? Also, what modifications are worthwhile. With the MacBook pros, it really wasn't worth it to change anything and thats why I just bought the lowest 2.2ghz model.
 
i'm on the same boat as the rest of you guys! We've been waiting too long for this update. If they don't roll out by MacWorld, i'll just buy a mbp in Jan, instead of summer 08. I guess that will mean, i'll keep playing the MP waiting game.
 
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