Buying a mac pro

[Ramonesmania]

Hello, I'm new to the forum. Currently I own a 13'' Macbook, and did own an imac before selling it. Now, Im on the hunt for a new machine. So, down to business.

I've been looking at mac pro's lately, and while they're not cheap, I like their upgradability and have always loved the OS. I'd like to ask a couple of questions before I decide what to do. I appreciate any advice you can give.

I like the mac pros upgradability, but just how 'future proof' are they ? Is it just a glorified Imac ?

How can I be sure what graphics cards will work in the mac pro ? I understand all graphics cards work fine in windows via bootcamp, is this true ?

Do the new 24'' imacs have an upgradable graphics card ? I heard a rumor about an empty PCI-E slot or something.

How are the 17'' macbook pros for gaming ? How would it run Call of Duty 4 for example ?

When will the next mac pros be released ? Will it be so far away it'd be better to buy one now or close enough not to warrant buying a current model ?

Thank you.

 

[Tallest Skil]

Fáilte! Welcome to MacRumors!

First, what do you do?

It is impossible to future-proof anything.

Glorified iMac?! I ought to hit your Irish kisser... No, it's a fully-blown, upgradable, desktop computer.

All PCIe graphics cards work in Windows. Only Apple's cards and those activated by netkas' injector or the flashed PC equivalent cards work in OS X.

The iMac does NOT have an upgradable GPU.

The next Mac Pro is Gulftown in H1 2010.

 

[Ramonesmania]

Thanks for the quick reply !

Now, I will primarily be using it for gaming, which is why I'm concerned with upgradable graphics cards. I'll most likely install windows on it and play the games through windows.

Also, I'll be using final cut for editing short films, which I'm having serious trouble doing now. As soon as I throw a few effects on some footage it takes too long to render/export.

You said nothing is 'future proof', and I agree, what a stupid thing for me to say ! However, I don't want to be put in a classic apple situation, like I was with the imac and now with this macbook, for a good few years anyway. I'd like this computer to be able handle 99% of games that will be released in the next 5 years, is this too optimistic ? Considering the price of these things, I hope not !

 

[TK2K]

The mac pro is designed to be a professional workstation, you can easily upgrade the ram to over 128GB on the current generation (for the 8 core model) you can add up to 4 internal hard drives, up to 4 graphics cards, and while the processors themeslves are not easily upgraded, they are top of the line and will provide you with tons of power for a long time.


An imac is, effectivly, a laptop mounted behind a LCD screen. If an imac is a toyota CRV, the mac pro is a full blown US Army hummer.


You'll need to upgrade graphics cards every 18-24 months on ANY computer to be able to play 99% of new games. The processors in the mac pro are powerful enough for games for the next 4 years at least, and you can add tons of ram so you're set on that mark

you can also get a 285GTX for the mac pro currently, which is an extremely powerful graphics card.

 

[Ramonesmania]

The mac pro is designed to be a professional workstation, you can easily upgrade the ram to over 128GB on the current generation (for the 8 core model) you can add up to 4 internal hard drives, up to 4 graphics cards, and while the processors themeslves are not easily upgraded, they are top of the line and will provide you with tons of power for a long time.


An imac is, effectivly, a laptop mounted behind a LCD screen. If an imac is a toyota CRV, the mac pro is a full blown US Army hummer.


You'll need to upgrade graphics cards every 18-24 months on ANY computer to be able to play 99% of new games. The processors in the mac pro are powerful enough for games for the next 4 years at least, and you can add tons of ram so you're set on that mark

you can also get a 285GTX for the mac pro currently, which is an extremely powerful graphics card.

Great, thanks for the help.

Im assuming you have a mac pro, if so, may I ask where you purchased it ?

Would ebay be a good idea ?

Is there a point in shopping around or does apples online store offer the best prices ?

 

[TK2K]

Great, thanks for the help.

Im assuming you have a mac pro, if so, may I ask where you purchased it ?

Would ebay be a good idea ?

Is there a point in shopping around or does apples online store offer the best prices ?

I got mine from the apple refurb store online, came with everything a brand new one would including a year warranty, you can buy the additional warranty as well. apple refurb is pretty much the best price you'll find unless you have access to government pricing which is a HUGE discount. The educatinal discount is a lot too, often makes refurb only $100 less or so so some people opt for the new system

i got a mac pro because I had a powermac g5 before, which I got because I wanted the flexibility of a desktop without the power sacrifice of an imac. I wanted a silent, powerful mac based computer built on server level hardware (i used to build my own PCs, but things kept crapping out on me like high end montheboards etc). I love the OS X operating system, and love the flexability the mac pro offers.

I found my previous generation 8 core 2.8ghz more than enough power for anything I threw it's way, it's able to fly through final cut HD editing and anything else CPU intensive. I kept it with stock video card and had some issues playing prototype on my 1920x1200 monitor, but if i had opted for the upgraded ATI or Nvidia card I would have been all set.

Honestly, it's rock solid (i've left it running for weeks straight) and absolutely silent.

 

[seisend]

you need to notice, that the mac pro is no gaming machine. High End Gaming PC's are a lot cheaper and got more power for Games. But since the ATI 4870 and the new nvidia GeForce 285 GTX you can play the newest games easily... But the 285 GTX isn't cheap.. There are ways to flash the cards (edit: or netkas' injector) , that means buy the PC versions (cheaper) and install them into the mac with some tricks.Well I do gaming sometimes too, and I am gonna get me the mac pro with the 285 soon....

- Call of Duty 4 will run well on any MacBook Pro . It's not a graphics intensive game like others...

Honestly, if you mostly do gaming. The quadcore fits aswell. If you run cod or crysis or whatever this processor will sleep