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How Long Will It Last?

S

Secret Legend

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 30, 2010
12
0
Hey guys so I recently picked up a octo or 8 core mac pro with 12 gigs of ram 2x quad 2.93 GHz Xeon with a GTX 285, and 2 cinema displays( two 30 inch). Btw I have been saving up for many years for a great system and I finally got there :) Its a great upgrade from a 2.66 GHz iMac. But anyways how long do you think my Mac Pro Will last me in years, because I spent so much money on it, I just want to know a good time to upgrade to a new machine. So basically how many years do you think I could get out of my Mac Pro and that includes like upgrading ram and Graphics.

Heres what I do with my Mac Pro:
- Hell of a lot of encoding
- Final Cut Studio
- Adobe CS5
- 4D Cinema
- Modo
- Lots of 3D Modeling and Rendering
- And some games in Bootcamp here and there.

So how long do you think it will be until I should buy a whole new machine?

Any responses are greatly appreciated :) :apple::apple::apple::apple:
 
A while for sure!

My father is using his Power Mac G4 which according to appleserialnumberinfo.com, was built OVER ten years ago.

Sure it's slow, but it still works. :)
 
Wow, nice rig!

I think it will last as long as you can stand it.

Eventually, CS6 will come out, followed by CS7, on up until CSX, hahaha... anyway, along with that will come hexacores, hexadecacores, tetraicosacores, and so on (but probably never more than tetrahexacontacore... LOL) which will leave your piddly little octacore in the dust, and you'll have to decide if it's good enough or not.

My philosophy on upgrades is when I encounter an issue that can be overcome with an upgrade, I check my wallet against my imagination and patience to work around it. Once the erosion of my patience matches my checking account, I upgrade.

If money were no object for you, you might say it will last until the very next Mac Pro comes out!
 
wonderspark said:
Wow, nice rig!

I think it will last as long as you can stand it.

Eventually, CS6 will come out, followed by CS7, on up until CSX, hahaha... anyway, along with that will come hexacores, hexadecacores, tetraicosacores, and so on (but probably never more than tetrahexacontacore... LOL) which will leave your piddly little octacore in the dust, and you'll have to decide if it's good enough or not.

My philosophy on upgrades is when I encounter an issue that can be overcome with an upgrade, I check my wallet against my imagination and patience to work around it. Once the erosion of my patience matches my checking account, I upgrade.

If money were no object for you, you might say it will last until the very next Mac Pro comes out!
Click to expand...

Great response I am starting to think that my mac pro will at least have to last me 10 years for the money I put into it and I will be maxing out all the upgrades along the way so I figure 10 years is a good estimate and it will probably still be running smooth at the 10 years *Hopefully*
 
Secret Legend said:
Great response I am starting to think that my mac pro will at least have to last me 10 years for the money I put into it and I will be maxing out all the upgrades along the way so I figure 10 years is a good estimate and it will probably still be running smooth at the 10 years *Hopefully*
Click to expand...
Well at 10yrs old, the caps are likely to go, so I wouldn't expect a system to work longer than that. Unless the caps are replaced (preferably before they go entirely as to prevent other damage from occurring).

Whether or not it will still be usable for the initial purpose, it's doubtful IMO, given the nature of software bloat that tends to accompany new versions. But it could be re-tasked to something less strenuous. :)
 
nanofrog said:
Well at 10yrs old, the caps are likely to go, so I wouldn't expect a system to work longer than that. Unless the caps are replaced (preferably before they go entirely as to prevent other damage from occurring).

Whether or not it will still be usable for the initial purpose, it's doubtful IMO, given the nature of software bloat that tends to accompany new versions. But it could be re-tasked to something less strenuous. :)
Click to expand...

What do you mean *the caps* :confused:
 
Secret Legend said:
Heres what I do with my Mac Pro:
- Hell of a lot of encoding
- Final Cut Studio
- Adobe CS5
- 4D Cinema
- Modo
- Lots of 3D Modeling and Rendering
- And some games in Bootcamp here and there.
Click to expand...

If you are trying to make a living out of that rig you will probably want to swap the box in 2 - 3 years. I always upgrade when a new rig will cut my render times in half. This can literally mean many weeks and saved per year in 3D and After effects rendering. Which means a lot more time for extra work, so extra money to buy the new rig.

If it is a hobby machine, then you will get many wonderful years out of it.

Cheers
 
Ape_Man said:
If you are trying to make a living out of that rig you will probably want to swap the box in 2 - 3 years. I always upgrade when a new rig will cut my render times in half. This can literally mean many weeks and saved per year in 3D and After effects rendering. Which means a lot more time for extra work, so extra money to buy the new rig.

If it is a hobby machine, then you will get many wonderful years out of it.

Cheers
Click to expand...

Meh.... I do use it mostly for hobby, but do u guys think a PC would be better for something I will use long?
 
Longer than you'd bargained for - when the new FCS 4.0 comes out with 64-bit and true multi-core support it's going to more than double it's current performance...currently it uses about 50% at most ( in some cases a lot less!) - so something to look forward to - in September...
 
nanofrog said:
Well at 10yrs old, the caps are likely to go, so I wouldn't expect a system to work longer than that. Unless the caps are replaced (preferably before they go entirely as to prevent other damage from occurring).

Whether or not it will still be usable for the initial purpose, it's doubtful IMO, given the nature of software bloat that tends to accompany new versions. But it could be re-tasked to something less strenuous. :)
Click to expand...

Solid caps will last much longer.
 
Answer FOUND :)

Hey guys so I contacted a apple rep. and they said for what I do with it and since I will be upgrading it as time progresses, It should last me 5-7 years and most of the time more than 7 years for a mac pro (Of course with upgrading) :)
 
Secret Legend said:
Hey guys so I contacted a apple rep. and they said for what I do with it and since I will be upgrading it as time progresses, It should last me 5-7 years and most of the time more than 7 years for a mac pro (Of course with upgrading) :)
Click to expand...

I'd say that sounds about right if it's a "hobby" machine.... but what do you mean by "upgrading"?
 
What's this 3-year blowup issue I've heard about the intel-based Macs? Any specific issues for models like the iMac, Mac Pro, or laptops, or just random hardware failures?
 
nanofrog said:
Definitely, but it depends on the price point, as to whether or not they're used.

But most importantly, think PSU, which can take other system components with them when they fail. :eek: :(
Click to expand...

They can, but its not really that valid anymore as more and more electronics have built in protection measures against it. For example, most new graphics cards have some form of OV/OC protection. They are also much less prone to static. Even a few years ago, this was much more of an issue.

Most graphics cards and motherboards today incorporate solid caps. PSUs are slowly heading that way as well. Many of the top range PSUs on the market are using hybrid cap designs (as going the all-solid route is still out of the mainstream).
 
Salavat23 said:
They can, but its not really that valid anymore as more and more electronics have built in protection measures against it. For example, most new graphics cards have some form of OV/OC protection. They are also much less prone to static. Even a few years ago, this was much more of an issue.

Most graphics cards and motherboards today incorporate solid caps. PSUs are slowly heading that way as well. Many of the top range PSUs on the market are using hybrid cap designs (as going the all-solid route is still out of the mainstream).
Click to expand...
As far as serious damage as a result of electrolytics, I tend to focus on the PSU primarily, given the large values still used (no solid types available in larger values). The other area that I think of are the minimal budget products (not enough parts budget to allow for solids where they should be utilized if at all possible).

As per PSU's going all solid type, it's going to take time to get the large values available at pricing low enough for manufacturers to be able to fit them into the parts budgets (starting on the high end of course).
 
This machine will be great for years to come. Dont worry about the caps either they will be just fine.

The thing is technology changes so much in just 5 years!

Think about it in 2005 we were still using PowerMac G5's. Which actually still run just fine. :)


Maintenance wise the one thing to do is make sure your macpro is clean of dust. I have seen more than my share of mac's die from dust blocking the cooling fins or fan areas. As long as its on your desk you will be fine but if it is on the floor check it regularly.



Congrats on your purchase!
 
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