Going to by a MacPro

[HeroBiX]

I decided now, I will by an MacPro

but got some questions regarding it, the graphic card doesn't seems so good, working with 2D/3D and wounder when they last upgraded the MacPro, maybe they will soon upgrade it again?

other wise I get the cheapest alternative and then by a new one, but any good ides for which graphic card I should go for?

and then... I need (more want) two 24 inch screens, my college got that at my working place, really want that to
so I wounder if you have some good advice on good screens, it should look good, not ALOT of buttons, a simple, good looking and good screen =)

 

[xAlucard9000x]

since you will have to buy through apple store, you will suffer low selection and ridiculously high prices, but currently the only decent one i could find.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/M...fnode=MTY1NDA5OQ&mco=MTA4MzU2NTc&s=topSellers


hope i helped.

 

[Igantius]

I decided now, I will by an MacPro

but got some questions regarding it, the graphic card doesn't seems so good, working with 2D/3D and wounder when they last upgraded the MacPro, maybe they will soon upgrade it again?

other wise I get the cheapest alternative and then by a new one, but any good ides for which graphic card I should go for?

and then... I need (more want) two 24 inch screens, my college got that at my working place, really want that to
so I wounder if you have some good advice on good screens, it should look good, not ALOT of buttons, a simple, good looking and good screen =)

There are a lot of threads that deal with your questions - it's always worth doing a search.

re: your question about when the Mac Pros were upgraded, the MR buyers' guide (link at the top of the screen) has that information. Although updates are expected soon, no one knows when they will be released - if you can hold off buying, then it's best to do that.

 

[Hmac]

Mac Pro is a good machine. The one you buy depends a lot on what you need it for. For pro use, advanced sound editing, 3D graphics editing etc, you'd want multiple cores. There aren't that many multi-threaded applications out there that a multi-core Mac can take advantage of, and they are mostly pro-level $$$ programs. For general use, you'd want the fastest single processor machine you can afford. If you going to add memory to it, it's cheaper to buy that memory from Crucial.com than from Apple.

Video cards - the Apple 4870 is a good card with good performance. It will run two 24" DVI monitors just fine, although you'd need a miniport->DVI adapter for the second monitor. The alternative is to buy a PC-version 4870 or 4890 and reflash the ROM to make it work with a Mac. There are lots of threads around here on that. It would impose some extra hassle, but you'd save about $200 on the video card.

Apple's monitors are good monitors, and very stylish, very simple. Dell also has some good monitors at somewhat lower prices.

Rumor has it that new Mac Pros with somewhat upgraded processors are expected sometime in the next 3-4 months. They may be a little faster, but IMHO are likely to be a little more expensive too.

 

[HeroBiX]

Thanks for the answer, I will start searching trough the forum and see what I can find

Iam not stuck with buying it from the Apple Store, I know they over price everything... sadly!

 

[Hmac]

Thanks for the answer, I will start searching trough the forum and see what I can find

Iam not stuck with buying it from the Apple Store, I know they over price everything... sadly!

Many or most resellers will be under the Apple Store, online or retail, and depending on which reseller you buy from, they won't charge you sales tax. Within the last week, I just bought a Mac Pro from B&H Photo and price was $200 cheaper than Apple, plus no sales tax, so just on that $3000 machine I saved almost $400 over what I would have paid to buy from Apple. Shipping was free.

The Apple 4870 is $349. You can pick up a PC version 4870 for about $160, but then you have to go through the hassle of reflashing it so that it will work. There are some great tutorials here on how to do that, so it's a viable option if you're inclined to save that money, technically adept, and willing to put up with the potential hassles. I wasn't, plus the PC-versions won't run two 30" ACD's and I needed a card that would, like the Apple version 4870.