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Just bought: Mac Pro, Now Upgrades

T

thelongmorrow

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 12, 2009
64
0
Upstate, NY
I ordered myself a mac pro last night and now im looking to purchase upgrades. Let me know what you think, or if you seen anything cheaper or different product selections. I have spent some time researching everything.

Mac Pro Ordered:
One 2.66GHz Quad-Core Intel Xe
3GB (3x1GB)
ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB
640GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb
One 18x SuperDrive
AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi Card
Apple Mighty Mouse
APPLE KB (NUM)& USER GD
Country Kit Mac Pro <-- What is this anyway?????

Tentative Upgrades:
8gb ram (4x2gb) $155.48 from OWC including shipping
WD 1TB HD 7200 rpm (WD1001FALS) $103.99 from Amazon
Apple LED cinema display 24'' $863.92 including tax and EDU discount from Apple
Windows XP home edition full SP3 $89.59 from Ebay OR Vista Home prem. 64-bit for $128.00

Let me know what you think!
 
After talking to a friend he mentioned that Windows XP will work but he heard that I need the 64 bit professional or vista so it could use all my ram.... is this true? can someone clarify this?

PS the only reason I need XP is for occasional gaming and my fiance needs to run some windows only software for her classes.
 
thelongmorrow said:
After talking to a friend he mentioned that Windows XP will work but he heard that I need the 64 bit professional or vista so it could use all my ram.... is this true? can someone clarify this?
Click to expand...

Yup, it's true.


PS the only reason I need XP is for occasional gaming and my fiance needs to run some windows only software for her classes.
Click to expand...

Then you probably don't need the 64-bit OS. You can still have more RAM installed. It's just that a 32-bit OS won't be able to use more than 3 gigs - probably enough for any/all games. Check the game boxes for min. requirements. :)
 
thelongmorrow said:
After talking to a friend he mentioned that Windows XP will work but he heard that I need the 64 bit professional or vista so it could use all my ram.... is this true? can someone clarify this?

PS the only reason I need XP is for occasional gaming and my fiance needs to run some windows only software for her classes.
Click to expand...

For the amount of RAM you will have in your Mac Pro, you will need a 64 bit version of Windows, however, as far as I am aware, Windows XP 64 bit is not supported so you would need to go for Vista.
 
gazfocus said:
For the amount of RAM you will have in your Mac Pro, you will need a 64 bit version of Windows, however, as far as I am aware, Windows XP 64 bit is not supported so you would need to go for Vista.
Click to expand...

No. Not true.

He can run any windows he wants. It just won't see the extra RAM is all. I run 32-bit windows (and 64) on a machine with 12 gigs! Works fine.
 
I just ordered a WD 1TB Black Edition HDD for my new 2.26 GHz Mac Pro - can't go wrong with the extra storage. :)

As far as the 24" ACD goes, it is an awesome monitor. If you want/need a new display to go along with your Mac Pro, then go for it! :) :apple:
 
dmw007 said:
I just ordered a WD 1TB Black Edition HDD for my new 2.26 GHz Mac Pro - can't go wrong with the extra storage. :)

As far as the 24" ACD goes, it is an awesome monitor. If you want/need a new display to go along with your Mac Pro, then go for it! :) :apple:
Click to expand...

Yea I figure hey, Apple charges $100 to upgrade from the 640GB to the 1TB when you can just get the 640 and BUY another 1TB for $104! And they charge $250 to upgrade to 8GB ram when you can spend $150 at OWC for the upgrade AND trade in the old stock RAM. But we all know this about apple.

As far as the monitor, I have 2 19" POS Westinghouse LCD's.... I was in the apple store and fell in love with the 24", Apple must build some hypnotic device in their products. But I have to put it off for another month or so because I have to pay my NY taxes :mad: and its my fiances bday is in a few weeks. :p
 
Just to add on to the idea of using a 64-bit Windows; while there is a 64-bit version of XP, it is not very stable or usable so if you really want/need to use 64 bit windows, vista really is the best as it is just better than XP(speaking specifically about 64 bit usability)
 
So I am ready to buy windows. I am going to go with Vista Home premium 64 bit for $128. I don't feel like spending $200 for ultimate because its windows... period. Everything should be fine with this version correct? as far as recognizing RAM and playing games ect. I haven't ever used vista. I switched to OS X during XP days, and my Job still uses XP professional.

EDIT: I will be using Bootcamp. The Ebay page says: "Your computer system MUST have 64-Bit Processor / CPU to operate 64-Bit Vista! If you plan to install Vista with Apple Mac Parallels Desktop and Boot Camp, it will ONLY support Vista 32-Bit! "

IS THIS TRUE? Bootcamp only supports 32 bit?

EDIT 2: FROM THE APPLE SITE:
Run Windows at native speed.

Boot Camp supports the most popular 32-bit releases of Windows XP and Windows Vista. When you use either operating system on your Mac, your Windows applications will run at native speed. Windows applications have full access to multiple processors and multiple cores, accelerated 3D graphics, and high-speed connections like USB, FireWire, Wi-Fi, and Gigabit Ethernet.
 
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