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G4 Dual 800mhz vs MP 4core/8core

darthraige

darthraige

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Aug 8, 2007
1,612
2
Coruscant, but Boston will do.
Will I honestly tell a difference between a 4 core and an 8 core if I am upgrading from a G4 Dual 800mhz when it comes to video rendering and encoding? .... Know what I mean? Like if I go ahead and buy a 4 core today will I "WOW!" myself compared to my 800mhz, or should I just wait til September and hope for an 8 core MP to be released??
 
An 8 core Mac Pro is already out. If you are going to carry out multi threaded tasks which can utilize all the cores, then maybe it would be a good idea to go for an 8 core system but for the time being it looks clean and pure overkill!
 
dingdongbubble said:
An 8 core Mac Pro is already out. If you are going to carry out multi threaded tasks which can utilize all the cores, then maybe it would be a good idea to go for an 8 core system but for the time being it looks clean and pure overkill!
Click to expand...

Well, I know the 8-core is out, but I don't want to spend all that money for one, when there are high hopes for an all 8-core line up coming in September or October. For what I do, I would be running a bunch of stuff. Compressor, Final Cut, Motion, DVD Studio, Photoshop, all pretty much at the same time.
 
Well to tell the truth I dont expect that to happen. An increase in the number of cores in a system is a slow development. Apple has already said that the 8 core is for developers who want to make applications for the future for computers using 4 cores. I would say that the MP goes all 8 core when the lwoer end system get 4 cores. that should happen when Penryn cores roll out. I might be wrong but that is just my opinion. For the work you are doing I would say go for a high end Mac Pro. You seem to be a Pro. Pros dont care about money for their work!:D
 
dingdongbubble said:
Are you happy with your current system? The G4?
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I was happy back in 2001 with this POS. haha. Still does its job though. Just takes 10 hours to compress a friggin 60min video. On a MacPro takes like 10 minutes. You might of just sold me on a 4 core. Might just go ahead and purchase one. Although I'm just waiting for a client to get back to me on a price for something. So I could just end up with the 8-core 3ghz. That would be awesome.
 
Why dont you try your programs on a 4 core Mac Pro? Your friends Mac Pro or at the Apple Store. If nothing works, buy the Mac Pro and return it within 30 days if it does not work spanking fast for you. But beware the upgrade from the G4 might make you think that the MP is darn fast and more than enough for you and within a few months you might cry.
 
Or you could get the 8 core for 30 days and see if you arre utilizing the system properly. If you get the 4 core, remember you CAN upgrade the CPUs and make it into an 8 core.
 
When you say 2.66 vs 2.0 Ghz remember that the difference is not just 0.66 Ghz. It is actually and theoretically 0.66 X 4 = 2.64 Ghz. Now there will be some difference in practice but I think you need to check out some benchmarks to judge for yourself. Some are available at Barefeet. If you go for an 8 core system, then you basically get more than double the CPU power compared to the quad 2.0 ghz. This is because 2.0 x 4 = 8 ghz. but the 8 core is 3.0 x 8 = 24 Ghz. LOL

You see? The difference is HUGE. You need t check out benchmarks and the best would be to check out a real system.
 
dingdongbubble said:
Why dont you try your programs on a 4 core Mac Pro? Your friends Mac Pro or at the Apple Store. If nothing works, buy the Mac Pro and return it within 30 days if it does not work spanking fast for you. But beware the upgrade from the G4 might make you think that the MP is darn fast and more than enough for you and within a few months you might cry.
Click to expand...

Well, at my job we use the MacPro 4 Core 2.66 with 5gb mem. And to me, I'm use to it, and would like something more powerful. That way, when Final Cut 7 comes out, it would utilize all 8 Cores.
 
dingdongbubble said:
When you say 2.66 vs 2.0 Ghz remember that the difference is not just 0.66 Ghz. It is actually and theoretically 0.66 X 4 = 2.64 Ghz. Now there will be some difference in practice but I think you need to check out some benchmarks to judge for yourself. Some are available at Barefeet. If you go for an 8 core system, then you basically get more than double the CPU power compared to the quad 2.0 ghz. This is because 2.0 x 4 = 8 ghz. but the 8 core is 3.0 x 8 = 24 Ghz. LOL

You see? The difference is HUGE. You need t check out benchmarks and the best would be to check out a real system.
Click to expand...

I think I might just get the 8-Core 3ghz. It would certainly pay for itself in the end. That and I think I could have it paid off by the end of the year. I might just go that route. Thanks very much for your insights! I'll let you know what happens!
 
In that case yes I would recommend an 8 core system. Maybe you should buy RAM in their biggest modules e.g if you are going for 8 GB then get two 4 GB modules instead of 2 or 1 GBs. This is so that in the future it will be a bit easier to expand.
 
Keep in mind Apple haven't adjusted their prices since the Intel price drops, so what they are charging for those processors is highway robbery.

Going from 4-core 2.66 to 4-core 3.0 they charge 799, when in reality the cost is 319. Similarly, going from 4-core 2.66 to 8-core 3.0 they charge $1498, when in reality the difference is more like 400.
 
Wild-Bill said:
Keep in mind Apple haven't adjusted their prices since the Intel price drops, so what they are charging for those processors is highway robbery.

Going from 4-core 2.66 to 4-core 3.0 they charge 799, when in reality the cost is 319. Similarly, going from 4-core 2.66 to 8-core 3.0 they charge $1498, when in reality the difference is more like 400.
Click to expand...

Although I agree that Apple charges way too much for some things (like ram & HDD;s), you have to first understand the how & why........

Going from a stock configuration to a BTO machine costs mfgr's alot of time & money, and they have every right to recoup at least some of that money from the customer.

And don't ever use retail component prices as a basis to judge what Apple or any other pc maker should charge for a particular upgrade from one component to another........

OTOH......if the off the shelf public retail price on a single component is $300, you can bet your a*s that the OEM's aren't paying anywhere near that for them, simply because they buy truckloads of them at a time, not to mention marketing & advertising incentives from the makers :)
 
dingdongbubble said:
If you go for an 8 core system, then you basically get more than double the CPU power compared to the quad 2.0 ghz. This is because 2.0 x 4 = 8 ghz. but the 8 core is 3.0 x 8 = 24 Ghz. LOL
Click to expand...

Technically it is more than double but wouldn't triple sound better.
 
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