Background check: I started out on a G4 Tower in art school, graduated to a early G5 Tower, hopped on the transition train with the first Intel White iMac, and now I think it's time to go back to towers again with the Mac Pro. I dislike laptops as main machines for lots of reasons, the glossy aluminum iMac screens killed that option for me, and there's no prosumer Mac in sight. Price be dammed-time to step up my Mac game.
But to say the Mac Pro isn't a stretch for the wallet would be a lie. The cheapest I would go is: Mac Pro Single 2.8GHz Quad Xeon CPU/ATI 2600 XT GPU/Airport Extreme N/Bluetooth Keyboard & Mouse (later adding aftermarket RAM and hard drives). However, I kind of want the Nvidia 8800 GT GPU, and that second 2.8GHz Quad Xeon processor. But this raises my price from a reasonable $2,400.00 delivered (I get a discount) to a value questionable $3,100.00 delivered.
I'm dead set on loading up with 4 Western Digital 2-platter WD6400AAKS 640GB Hard Drives, grabbing a Viewsonic VP2650wb 26" widescreen LCD Display, hooking up Razer Mako 2.1 speakers, and turning my Mac Pro into my personal entertainment video server (I'm Mac only moving forward-no separate TVs and stereos. PS3 to HDMI-DVI Cable to Monitor!).
I will also use it for Final Cut Pro, video conversion, heavy dvd authoring, web design, Illustrator, Photoshop, and learning Maya, so the extra processor makes sense. I am also excited that Starcraft 2, and Call of Duty 4 are coming to Mac, as I am not putting up with a boot camped XP or Vista anymore (I'm currently Mac-less, saddled with an XP driven Dell Optiplex-it sucks). Though most of my gaming will be on my PS3, Call of Duty 4 and Starcraft 2 are best with a mouse. So the 8800GT makes sense.
Although someday I hope to make money with a Mac Pro, chances are it will not be on this machines life cycle. So one processor less may not matter right now. Or it could extend the life of my Mac, and make my current tasks easier. Yet, I'm still not sure if it's worth it yet.
Same on the 8800 GT. Not sure if it's worth it, gaming fun aside (and my PS3 can easily cover me there). I heard the 8800 GT is not as good as the stock 2600 XT for non gaming purposes. But I also heard that the 8800 GT is worth the money, and will improve pro programs that lean on the GPU. So which is it? Whats the best choice?
So begins my circle of logic. It's like I am trapped in a time loop. Help?
But to say the Mac Pro isn't a stretch for the wallet would be a lie. The cheapest I would go is: Mac Pro Single 2.8GHz Quad Xeon CPU/ATI 2600 XT GPU/Airport Extreme N/Bluetooth Keyboard & Mouse (later adding aftermarket RAM and hard drives). However, I kind of want the Nvidia 8800 GT GPU, and that second 2.8GHz Quad Xeon processor. But this raises my price from a reasonable $2,400.00 delivered (I get a discount) to a value questionable $3,100.00 delivered.
I'm dead set on loading up with 4 Western Digital 2-platter WD6400AAKS 640GB Hard Drives, grabbing a Viewsonic VP2650wb 26" widescreen LCD Display, hooking up Razer Mako 2.1 speakers, and turning my Mac Pro into my personal entertainment video server (I'm Mac only moving forward-no separate TVs and stereos. PS3 to HDMI-DVI Cable to Monitor!).
I will also use it for Final Cut Pro, video conversion, heavy dvd authoring, web design, Illustrator, Photoshop, and learning Maya, so the extra processor makes sense. I am also excited that Starcraft 2, and Call of Duty 4 are coming to Mac, as I am not putting up with a boot camped XP or Vista anymore (I'm currently Mac-less, saddled with an XP driven Dell Optiplex-it sucks). Though most of my gaming will be on my PS3, Call of Duty 4 and Starcraft 2 are best with a mouse. So the 8800GT makes sense.
Although someday I hope to make money with a Mac Pro, chances are it will not be on this machines life cycle. So one processor less may not matter right now. Or it could extend the life of my Mac, and make my current tasks easier. Yet, I'm still not sure if it's worth it yet.
Same on the 8800 GT. Not sure if it's worth it, gaming fun aside (and my PS3 can easily cover me there). I heard the 8800 GT is not as good as the stock 2600 XT for non gaming purposes. But I also heard that the 8800 GT is worth the money, and will improve pro programs that lean on the GPU. So which is it? Whats the best choice?
So begins my circle of logic. It's like I am trapped in a time loop. Help?
