Those tests suggest I should go with 2x2.8. But, what about buyer's guide suggesting to wait for a new Mac Pro, due sometimes soon? Or am I misrepresenting this?
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iMac or G5: Leaving PC behind
- Thread starter djole
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I keep mine for Mac OS 9 and some other things.
The Mac Pro line has not been updated for a while, that is why most figure than an update is due.
If you are in no hurry, it might be worth the wait to see what is offered.
Also, at the time the new models are introduced the old ones will go on sale in many places so you could pick one up for cheaper.
A couple 64 dollar questions:
- How long are you willing to wait for the new models?
- If you bought a current model today, and within a couple of weeks new ones were introduced, would you be upset?
Don't forget MS live cashback...
Well, although you are switching away from MS, you should check out the MS Live cashback option on ebay which gives you 25% cashback up to $200. So that would bring the $1.800 MP down another two hundred, although you get paid back by MS after 60 days.
BTW, I am a Windows user thinking of switching too. But boy I really don't like the "I'm a PC, I'm a Mac..." add campain; it's sooo annoying and petty.
I myself made quite some research on all the currently available macs. One thing to know about the single quad Harpertown offering is that if you later on wish to add the second processor, you not only pay something like $800 for the extra CPU, you also have to buy a heatsink for it, which is harder to find than the CPU itself. So if you can afford it, the sweetest thing about the Mac Pro offering is that it is literally the cheapest workstation offering out there including a DIY workstation PC. Go to Dell, HP or Lenovo, you'll know what I mean: as soon as you upgrade to two Harpertown Xeons, you get way past the $2.800 mark Apple has set for the entry level MP. So if you cannot afford that $2.800 - which I myself can't - I'd recommend going refurbished or going ebay. That being said, a single quad Harpertown CPU is quite a bit stronger than two 2.66 GHz dual core Woodcrest CPU's. If you look at the barefeets benchmark the link for which has been posted above, a single 2.8 quad core Harpertown is as strong as two 3.0 dual core Woodcrest CPU's. So I'd say either a single quad new computer deal from a retailer or Apple refurbished, or if you can find a good price, a dual quad Harpertown off of ebay is the best way to go for the budget conscious switcher... Mind that if you can't find a good deal on those, still the two 2.66 dual core Woodcrest MP is stronger than the G5.
As for Nehalem. Yes it is around the corner. And yes it has been reported the be a real step up from even Harpertown. Some reports show up to 30% performance increase clock per clock. Nehalem will finally bring about an integrated memory controller architecture for Intel, which was AMD's edge during Pentium days. It will also bring back the "notorious" Hyperthreading technology back to the Intel platform. This technology where two threads can be simultaneously processed on one core, was almost totally useless back in the time when end user software titles were 99% incapabale of multi-threading. Now times are different. So a single Nehalem quad will appear to the OS as an octa-core CPU and software world is more ready for this. So yeah, Nehalem is an exciting thing. But as far as I can see when Apple releases a new revision, it keeps prices pretty much around the same level. So if you cannot afford the entry level Harpertown now, you will not be able to take advantage of Nehalem either.
I know that this post has ended up being mostly about CPU power - but hey I'm a PC and thus I'm a geek! That's all I can know anyways
kf.
Well, although you are switching away from MS, you should check out the MS Live cashback option on ebay which gives you 25% cashback up to $200. So that would bring the $1.800 MP down another two hundred, although you get paid back by MS after 60 days.
BTW, I am a Windows user thinking of switching too. But boy I really don't like the "I'm a PC, I'm a Mac..." add campain; it's sooo annoying and petty.
I myself made quite some research on all the currently available macs. One thing to know about the single quad Harpertown offering is that if you later on wish to add the second processor, you not only pay something like $800 for the extra CPU, you also have to buy a heatsink for it, which is harder to find than the CPU itself. So if you can afford it, the sweetest thing about the Mac Pro offering is that it is literally the cheapest workstation offering out there including a DIY workstation PC. Go to Dell, HP or Lenovo, you'll know what I mean: as soon as you upgrade to two Harpertown Xeons, you get way past the $2.800 mark Apple has set for the entry level MP. So if you cannot afford that $2.800 - which I myself can't - I'd recommend going refurbished or going ebay. That being said, a single quad Harpertown CPU is quite a bit stronger than two 2.66 GHz dual core Woodcrest CPU's. If you look at the barefeets benchmark the link for which has been posted above, a single 2.8 quad core Harpertown is as strong as two 3.0 dual core Woodcrest CPU's. So I'd say either a single quad new computer deal from a retailer or Apple refurbished, or if you can find a good price, a dual quad Harpertown off of ebay is the best way to go for the budget conscious switcher... Mind that if you can't find a good deal on those, still the two 2.66 dual core Woodcrest MP is stronger than the G5.
As for Nehalem. Yes it is around the corner. And yes it has been reported the be a real step up from even Harpertown. Some reports show up to 30% performance increase clock per clock. Nehalem will finally bring about an integrated memory controller architecture for Intel, which was AMD's edge during Pentium days. It will also bring back the "notorious" Hyperthreading technology back to the Intel platform. This technology where two threads can be simultaneously processed on one core, was almost totally useless back in the time when end user software titles were 99% incapabale of multi-threading. Now times are different. So a single Nehalem quad will appear to the OS as an octa-core CPU and software world is more ready for this. So yeah, Nehalem is an exciting thing. But as far as I can see when Apple releases a new revision, it keeps prices pretty much around the same level. So if you cannot afford the entry level Harpertown now, you will not be able to take advantage of Nehalem either.
I know that this post has ended up being mostly about CPU power - but hey I'm a PC and thus I'm a geek! That's all I can know anyways
kf.
I woke up this morning only to find hundreds of reviews of Nehalem. It's not that a Nehalem would change much in my workflow as the current 2x2.8 I finally decided to buy last night would do very efficiently. But I have to wonder how much would current MP depreciate once Nehalem is released.... In other words, and based on some historic data, by how much do you expect the price of current MP to drop? Today MacMall sells a 2x2.8 for $2550 after rebate. And that's what I was going to order this morning....
Thanks for this info krofa. I'll look into this. BTW, those commercials do irritate me, too, but I could care less for them. I'm switching based on years of experience with both systems. I use a Mac at work and occasionally my wife's G4 when something goes bad with my PC, which happens often. Just last night one of my backup drives got overwritten because one of the drive letters got changed somehow! Luckily it was a backup drive + I have an off-site copy of everything. Anyway, thanks for your thoughts...
. No seriously, I do need to switch. I can wait but that will cost me a few more $100's. And yes, I'd be pissed if I got it today and on 17th Apple started shipping new MP's. But based on what people say nobody expects to see them out before January.
Thanks for this info krofa. I'll look into this. BTW, those commercials do irritate me, too, but I could care less for them. I'm switching based on years of experience with both systems. I use a Mac at work and occasionally my wife's G4 when something goes bad with my PC, which happens often. Just last night one of my backup drives got overwritten because one of the drive letters got changed somehow! Luckily it was a backup drive + I have an off-site copy of everything. Anyway, thanks for your thoughts...
This is one of those what I want and what I need
. No seriously, I do need to switch. I can wait but that will cost me a few more $100's. And yes, I'd be pissed if I got it today and on 17th Apple started shipping new MP's. But based on what people say nobody expects to see them out before January.