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Buy MP now or wait untill 2011/2012

T

The Hockaday.

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 14, 2010
67
0
I plan to go to school next year for Industrial Design. ( this includes extensive 3d modeling and rendering )

My question is...Should I wait to buy the Mac Pro when I enter college or would it be ok to buy it now? I am running a powerbook g4 now and it has crippled under the weight of the programs I want to use.

Are the speculative advancements in Mac Pros worth waiting for? Thanks in advance.
 
Thank you all for your kind replies...perhaps it would be wise of me to just buy a used intel based mac and work with that until the '' big day '' and then spend a hunk of cash.
 
Buy Now

i would actually buy it now because if it takes another 500 days to update the mac pro then by next year you would have to buy it at the same price when you could just have gotten it now and already have a good year of use into it. never rely on mac pro rumors especially if you need it for school, many of us had to learn this the hard way with this most recent update. if your in high school or any other college right now you can get the same student discount as well.
 
Apple might easily not refresh it by this time next year, and if you will need it for school, you will just end up buying this model anyway, for the same price as now, except it will sport a year old hardware.
 
Also, mac pro's tend to yield a rather higher resale value, I just bought a 3.33 6core which I plan to hold on to until something ground breaking comes out, like 8 core sandy bridge, USB 3, lightpeak, fw1600...
 
Greg Punzo said:
i would actually buy it now because if it takes another 500 days to update the mac pro then by next year you would have to buy it at the same price when you could just have gotten it now and already have a good year of use into it. never rely on mac pro rumors especially if you need it for school, many of us had to learn this the hard way with this most recent update. if your in high school or any other college right now you can get the same student discount as well.
Click to expand...

Discount does not apply to high school. :) unless you're a teacher.
 
When I was in high school I took dual credit classes and was able to get a college discount because I was taking college level classes. If you decide to buy now and are doing those types of classes, you should be able to get a discount. As for the next MP update, it probably won't be until late late 2011, but my guess would be 2012 (since it took so long for Apple to get the hexa-cores, it will probably take them a while for sandy bridge). So my advice would be to buy it now if you can. Then you can start experimenting early and start to get a feel for it. Otherwise if you waited, you would be at least halfway through your first year before they are even announced.
 
Thank You.

Thank you all so much for the information...the 3.33 you speak of...is this ghz? ( i'm rather new to shopping for macs etc. hence i ended up with the g4 a couple years ago ) I have 8 grand budget...I was thinking of just getting the mac pro with...6gb of memory and then upgrading...i've read that would be the cheapest. Here is what i've chosen for my add ons etc...any advice?
Specifications

* Two 2.66GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon “Westmere” (12 cores)
* 6GB (6X1GB)
* None
* 2TB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive
* None
* None
* None
* Two ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB
* One 18x SuperDrive
* None
* None
* Apple Magic Mouse
* Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad (English) & User's Guide

Would the 2.93ghz really make that much of a difference? I've googled around and have not come up with a real concrete answer.
 
The Hockaday. said:
Thank you all so much for the information...the 3.33 you speak of...is this ghz? ( i'm rather new to shopping for macs etc. hence i ended up with the g4 a couple years ago ) I have 8 grand budget...I was thinking of just getting the mac pro with...6gb of memory and then upgrading...i've read that would be the cheapest. Here is what i've chosen for my add ons etc...any advice?
Specifications

* Two 2.66GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon “Westmere” (12 cores)
* 6GB (6X1GB)
* None
* 2TB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive
* None
* None
* None
* Two ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB
* One 18x SuperDrive
* None
* None
* Apple Magic Mouse
* Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad (English) & User's Guide

Would the 2.93ghz really make that much of a difference? I've googled around and have not come up with a real concrete answer.
Click to expand...

I'd get the 1 TB HD and add another one from wherever you buy your ram, it'll be cheaper that way and IMO safer (If one drive goes down you don't lose everything). I don't know if this is true for CAD and other 3d design software but for audio/video and other intensive programs using one HD to run the OS and app and another HD to write that data to will make things quicker.

Also get the wireless keyboard! It's a small add-on and saves a much needed USB slot (at least for me). Plus while you're at college you can use it to control the mac from your bed! :p
 
2nd Gen "i" series will be out next year AKA "Sandy Bridge." Even if you buy a "Westmere" based MP it's still a 1st Gen 'i", and I'm assuming whatever machine you buy will be the machine you use throughout school... if you will be upgrading every couple of years different story.

Also whatever program you enter may have or suggest specific computing requirements or s/w which needs specific specs to work well. The school may also have it's own lab which would make owning a MP pointless. It's been a long time since I was in school, but having a heavy, expensive MP in the dorm would be a huge burden.

So my advice would be to hold off. Using a G4 is a PITA for anything so not even sure how you are not pulling your hair out doing 3D. It may not be a bad idea to buy a refurb MBP or iMac for the interim. Sell it next year if you trade up to a MP or even a faster MBP. You won't lose too much money doing that.
 
lol thank you all for the great info. I have...one more question ( lets hope just one more right? )

I plan on buying a non apple display...i know the apple display has the cool apple logo but i figure i can get much better for the same price or less...what style ( lcd...w/e else they use now a days ) would be best? I read somewhere here that all you have to do is make sure its..DVI (?) acceptable.
 
2nd gen...

well if the 2nd gen will be out next year then it seems to be the best course of action to buy a used or refurbished mpb imac or mac pro...I guess that is what i have to decide...do i want a mbp imac or...a mini? never quite understood the differences between the imac and a mini besides the display and mac are one in the same with the imac.
 
seems I am now in the need or atleast interested in looking for a mac reseller...who are the good resellers i should visit? ( besides apple ofcourse )
 
Greg Punzo said:
i would actually buy it now because if it takes another 500 days to update the mac pro then by next year you would have to buy it at the same price when you could just have gotten it now and already have a good year of use into it. never rely on mac pro rumors especially if you need it for school, many of us had to learn this the hard way with this most recent update. if your in high school or any other college right now you can get the same student discount as well.
Click to expand...

So true. One wonders if this will be the end of the line for the Mac Pro. Hopefully not. If there is Sandy Bridge with USB 3.0 and SATA III in 2011 I might sell my 2010 MP. But counting on this would be crazy. It may never come.
 
Personally, I would wait until AFTER you are in school and start taking classes. Get an idea from the instructors what you REALLY need for your course work before dropping that much cash on a machine. Then get the minimum that you need to do your school work. Do you even know if you are expected to use your own equipment for course work or are heavy duty lab machines available to you? You will have a lot of unexpected expenses going to school so be smart with your money. You don't want to graduate under a load of unnecessary debt. If you are loaded and money is no object, then you can ignore all of this advice.
 
The Hockaday. said:
Thank you all so much for the information...the 3.33 you speak of...is this ghz? ( i'm rather new to shopping for macs etc. hence i ended up with the g4 a couple years ago ) I have 8 grand budget...I was thinking of just getting the mac pro with...6gb of memory and then upgrading...i've read that would be the cheapest. Here is what i've chosen for my add ons etc...any advice?
Specifications

* Two 2.66GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon “Westmere” (12 cores)
* 6GB (6X1GB)
* None
* 2TB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive
* None
* None
* None
* Two ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB
* One 18x SuperDrive
* None
* None
* Apple Magic Mouse
* Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad (English) & User's Guide

Would the 2.93ghz really make that much of a difference? I've googled around and have not come up with a real concrete answer.
Click to expand...

Don't get a 2TB drive from Apple. You can get your own for the same price and keep the one it comes with. Also, don't get twi 5770s unless you really NEED more than 3 monitors. Get a 5870, it is much more powerful. The only advantage to having two 5770s is for more monitors, thats all.

I'd suggest buying RAM from OWC or Transintl, they have the best prices right now.

As for the 2.66 to 2.93 making a big difference, I'm not so sure it would be HUGE, but it would be 270 MHz over 24 virtual cores which can add up. Also on apps that don't make use of all available cores, the higher clock speed the better.

If you are looking into a monitor, get one with an IPS panel. Dell has some good ones, look at their Ultrasharps. I ordered a Dell u2311h, its a 23" IPS monitor and it was only $290 on Amazon. Hooking up a non Apple monitor will be fine. the 5770 and 5870 both have 2 Mini DisplayPorts and 1 dual link DVI. If you are gonna have more than one 30" monitor, you will need a Mini DisplayPort to dual link adapter ($100). If not you will have smaller displays, a normal MDP to DVI should work fine. And if it supports HDMI you can get MDP to HDMI as well.

If you can afford it, it might be worth going for 2.93 12-core since you would already be spending so much on the 2.66 12-core. And most render engines will make use of all available cores so no need to worry about that. I would suggest getting the best you can afford. When 3D modeling and rendering gets more complicated over the years, you will want to have better hardware so your render times will stay down. But right now, any 2010 MP will be a significant upgrade from what you have now :)

Also, since you're in highschool, if you are lucky enough to have your parents pay for all of this, definitely go for the 2.93 :)
 
well...i think i have decided to buy a refurbed imac...and wait untill next year ( or a lil later ) and then hopefully buy a second gen mac pro since idt you can upgrade.
 
The Hockaday. said:
well...i think i have decided to buy a refurbed imac...and wait untill next year ( or a lil later ) and then hopefully buy a second gen mac pro since idt you can upgrade.
Click to expand...

I think that is the smart play. The iMac will hold you over until you figure out what you really need. Plus if you still need to get a Pro later for rendering you can do your 'day to day' stuff on the iMac while the Pro is chugging away.
 
Hey people, can't you tell by now that this kid is pulling your chain?

Just ignore him and hope he will go away!
 
DianeL19 said:
Hey people, can't you tell by now that this kid is pulling your chain?

Just ignore him and hope he will go away!
Click to expand...

Ok lol...not a kid and not pulling chains...Thanks for your advice everyone. Since it takes a year of residency to go to this college i've decided to wait on the MP and go with this refurbed iMac. Will be nice to use something besides my g4 PowerBook lol...if it was a windows machine i would have smashed it out of frustration years ago...:apple:

Have a good day everyone. Happy Mac-ing.
 
The Hockaday. said:
I plan to go to school next year for Industrial Design. ( this includes extensive 3d modeling and rendering )

My question is...Should I wait to buy the Mac Pro when I enter college or would it be ok to buy it now? I am running a powerbook g4 now and it has crippled under the weight of the programs I want to use.

Are the speculative advancements in Mac Pros worth waiting for? Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

If I was in your shoes I buy a mac book (not mac book pro). It will run circles around your g4 powerbook. I'd use some of the leftover budget for updated software, and perhaps an external monitor (keyboard, mouse). The rest I would save - you are going to need it.

It is pointless to buy a machine you do not need, It is also pointless to buy something you may or may not need.
 
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