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I don't want to start a new thread, but was wondering here.

I do wedding videography and am doing HD with simple HD camcorders. My computer is a Powerbook 1.6Ghz G4, 2GB RAM machine. It does the HD fine (other than the long encoding delay) until it reaches 45 min in length and starts skipping during the preview (no bueno).

Should I get the 2.8Ghz, or should i bend over backwards to get the 3.0? I'm certain it will do what i need, right?
 
I ordered the 3ghz one. For me it's partly because I want the fastest processors I can afford (3,2 is too rich, that jump is too much really..). While having 8 processors will be great for my HD-video work, the clockspeed is really what matters when working with Photoshop, InDesign etc, which is what I use about 70% of the time.

Plus, the 2,8 is the "low-end" version of this series of Mac Pro (Disregarding the 4-core one). When selling I find it to be easier to sell something that was "upgraded" a little, but maybe that's just my imagination. (Has been this way thus far though, I have always bought the high-end or mid-range, and find them to "last longer" in terms of price.)
 
I'll throw my .02 in here.

I plan to resell my new Mac Pro when Nehalem hits, so I want to buy the machine that will hold its value the best. Currently, I have an order in on the 8-core 2.8, but it's been a stuggle for me to work out which CPU is the best pick resell-wise. Some thoughts that I've considered:

a) The majority of machines being talked about here are 2.8's. If this is an accurate sample of all machines sold, will the eBay market be flooded with 2.8's when Nehalem hits?

b) The new 2.8's under perform the old 3.0 Clovertowns in some benchmarks. In the resell market, would the 3.0 Clovertowns be worth more than the new 2.8s?

c) It's possible there will be a 3.4 Ghz MacPro before Nehalem. If this happens, will 3.0 become the new baseline? If so, the value of all current machines will go down. But I suppose this is just something to be anticipated in a world of progressing technology. :)

In conclusion, I feel better banking the $800 or $1600 than investing in CPU upgrades. I'll take what I can get for my 2.8 come Nehalem, and if the CPU upgrades in the Nehalem lineup are more appealing, maybe I'll splurge then.
 
3.2 Xeons are on the beach of the "island of stability", C2E > 3.2 are in the intertidal zone. Don't expect much in the way of speed gains until Nehalem debuts.
 
How is it there's a 3.0 version that uses 80W vs. 120W? Is it running a 45nm process instead of a 65nm? The voltages are the same, so what the hell? =/

I really don't see any point in getting a 3.0 over a 2.8 or even a 3.2. to be honest. And I also don't understand why they wouldn'tuse a lower-power version of the 2.8 to ramp up speed if they could..
 
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