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Lovin my 2008 MP even more.

Also got the 2008 8-core, and I also noticed that the bang-for-the-buck with every new model has gotten dramatically worse. I would probably buy the same machine for the same price again today and still feel like I'm getting a better deal than the new models. :rolleyes:
 
Not obsolete

Mac Pro '08 was my first mac. Today it now has 18GB of ram and 4TB raid, GTX 285 and LG Bluray writer. I posted raytraycing benchmarks on youtube years ago and its funny how many comments say that its now obsolete after '09 came out. Others agrue about hackintoshes, bang-for-buck, etc.

I primarily use Cinema4D for rendering; when Release 11 came out with improved bucket rendering, it halved the render time, on the same hardware specs. I think this is because of Apple's Grand Central making use of all 8-cores.

I won't be upgrading this for a while. Maybe once 80-cores chip become available.
 
"Yes it's fun telling ourselves that our purchase was a good one. But we are all going to have egg on our face if it turns out the 2008 pro doesn't support the 5870!"

Oh I don't know...at least we KNOW that our '08's WILL support the nVidia Cuda cards (FX, etc)....not so sure about the new models though...looks like the ONLY offerings will be the ATI platforms out of the gate, which...if you've upgraded to the new CS5 production package from Adobe, you're not going to be able to take advantage of some incredible peformance advantages by offloading work to the GPU...

Hopefully Apple will do the same with their pro software development, and the use of GrandCentral with Snow Leopard. However, that's the future...our '08s can handle the nVidia cards today. I do a lot of video and photography work and have been gradually learning Premier and After Effects after many years of only using the FCP suite.

I do love my '08, but I guess I'm not as "put off" by the pricing of the technology in the new MP...in fact, reading some of the (most of the) comments about the new system drives me NUTS!!!! I run a business and we have several Macs that are only for business use. These new machines are incredible!!! If you price the same rigs with Dell (Precision), HP, Alienware, Falcon NW, etc....the pricing is similar, if not more on the Windows side! Who cares about i7 machines? These are server grade Xeon procs and mother boards....as all of us with 08 Pros can attest to, these rigs do NOT have that invevitable Windows machine slow down over the years...Mine is as rock solid and fast as the day I bought it...and in many cases, faster...as I've added 16gigs of RAM as the price has dropped. My 8800gt is still a pretty decent card for most applications...but I do lust after the new Cuda enabled GPUs, so I am ready for an upgrade there....but, honestly, after 20 years of using PCs, and assuming they'd be ready for the trash bin after 3 years of use...I'm ecstatic with the performance of my almost 3 year old Mac Pro.

And...as a business owner and video production company, I wouldn't hesitate to write another $5k check for the new machine...if the work necessitates the purchase.

On the flip side, if I was primarily interested in gaming...I would definitely consider an i7 Windows rig for the flexibility of GPUs and the "Cheap" factor.

This is my first post on the new machine...yesterday, after seeing the announcement on both the iMacs and pros, I was really...really excited. Then, after making my way through a couple of pages of idiotic complaints about "No BluRay" "No USB 3.0" (Card is FREE with the new WD drives:)), "No LightPeak (sp?)", "Too Expensive" (Are you KIDDING ME????)...I had to shut down MacRumors for the day. Absolutely ridiculous. It seems like MR has turned in to a Bill Gates fan site.

There's always a premium for Mac gear...it's always been there. I happily pay for the ability to run a better OS....with better reliability, less maintenance, more efficiency, and incredible ROI (Return On Investment)...

Again...as all of us "Cool Kid '08 MP owners" can attest to...the MacPro is an awesome investment...usable for MANY years to come (I have yet to bring mine to it's knees...) Once you spend the cash, you'll quickly forget about it...as you're the owner of one of the GREATEST pieces of hardware available today at that price.

...and to the complainers about the "Design Change"....Ridiculous! Hands down, again...after decades of using the PC platform and their inability to build a clean case (internally), with decent upgradability...the MP is a God-Send. The HDD trays, easy accessibility to RAM, cards and drives is AWESOME! I know some boutique manufacturers of PCs do the same...but again, you WILL pay!!!!

J
 
The six core has me curious though in regards to price. And adc discount is no longer working is that correct?
 
While I have a 2009 Mac Pro, I don't feel like mine is in any way obsolete. I'm sure most mac pro users feel that way. Its more like a long time investment.
 
Totally agree with the OP - my dual 2.8 2008 still rocks!. Replaced an equally good value dual 1.25 G4 mirror door...

Haven't seen anything since that has made me want to upgrade. After 15 years buying Macs, where for the majority of the time you got significantly faster processors every year for the same, if not less money, combined with significant enhancements in build and connectivity, that all seemed to stop after 2008. In 2009, the processors appeared slower (at least the clock speed was) for a lot more cash!

Quite pleased the new Pros have the same case etc - still nothing to be envious about yet. Can't see myself upgrading again until there's a case redesign and some significant connectivity developments - lightpeak etc

Maybe room for some more RAM and a new graphics card though - was also possibly interested in a new monitor but I can't do glossy and the competition are all FUGLY so can't do them either...my 2 23" ACDs still have some life left in them - maybe next year...
 
Agreed.

I agree with the OP. My 2008 Octo-Mac is doing just fine, with plenty of storage, 14 gigs of RAM.... And I am fully satisfied with the price I paid for it back in Jan. 2008.

The only thing she needs is a shiny new ATI Radeon 5870xt. And that she will have..... soon..... :D
 
I am feeling lucky in 2009 and now luckier in 2010 as an owner of a refurbished 08 mac pro ... which warranty will expire in as late as Mar 2012!
 
2.8 defo!

Yeap 2.8 octo is just the biz. Just rinsed a load of massive Cad files and vectors in AI, photoshop, indesign, Music, internet, mail, bridge, compressing PDFs. Been happily purring away for the last 2 days.

Ram usage about 60% / processor never above 40% which means crappy adobe needs to get their act together for multithreading. Need to try CS5 properly with it.

Just need a ace Vid card to make it a machine for the next 3/4 years. Would love to get a couple of Nvidia Tesla Cards in there, but a long shot I think, nobody is doing any flashing of those are they\?

Anyone else doing CAD / Renders? 285 or 5870? Which is the beast? Anyone got cuda running renders through maxwell?
 
I realize that this is something of a mutual congratulation society right now, but I couldn't agree more about the '08 octo's. My 2.8 octo has been able to handle everything I've thrown at it, and I didn't think I was being taken advantage of even THEN wrt price. It's been a colossally good value. I was actually a little afraid that I'd be tempted to upgrade, but the performance boost for the 2010's just doesn't even get close to justifying the price bump for me.

yay I actually got something that has held its value!!!

Now if you could say the same about some of my other electronics...:eek:
 
NOD said:
... I didn't think I was being taken advantage of even THEN wrt price.
Click to expand...

Agreed. The 2008 prices were very reasonable and, after seeing the 2009 prices and now 2010's, it was a really good value.

Maybe Apple will get the hint when the 2010's don't sell as well as the 2009's, or the 2008's for that matter. I hope their spies are reading the Mac Pro forum here so someone at Apple can get a freakin' clue.

If the 2011 is way overpriced and missing features, my 2008 upgrade will be a Hackintosh. ;)
 
ventro said:
Yes it's fun telling ourselves that our purchase was a good one.
Click to expand...

It sure is!

But still, I think some of us dont mind spending a few thousands bucks on a really good comp and are a bit sad we don't get any good reasons to... :D
 
You know, I was thinking about upgrading to a 2010 from 2008, but I think I am going to stick with my Octo 2.8.
 
Another vote for the 2008's here. Best workstation I have ever owned and I'm not tempted at all by the 2010 models. All I want is a GPU upgrade but everything else is still rocking.

There's no logical reason why the 08's shouldn't stay contemporary for quite a long time yet, since there's very little truly multi threaded software about at the moment. Even when there is, the 08's should still run like champs. The only thing that could be the death knell for them is if Apple deliberately make them obsolete in some way, by not supporting them in future OS's or with GPU upgrades.

But Apple never do stuff like that, do they??:):)
 
I'm loving my 2006 Mac Pro Quad 3ghz, and I got it as a refurbished for only us$2000.

Still as fast as it is today compared to day 1. I figure it should still be able to last another 5-10 years.

But the wifi card broke down on my months after warranty. Got to send it in tomorrow. I hope it's just the card and nothing else.
 
Gomff said:
Another vote for the 2008's here. Best workstation I have ever owned and I'm not tempted at all by the 2010 models. All I want is a GPU upgrade but everything else is still rocking.

There's no logical reason why the 08's shouldn't stay contemporary for quite a long time yet, since there's very little truly multi threaded software about at the moment. Even when there is, the 08's should still run like champs. The only thing that could be the death knell for them is if Apple deliberately make them obsolete in some way, by not supporting them in future OS's or with GPU upgrades.

But Apple never do stuff like that, do they??:):)
Click to expand...

Seconded.

The 2008s should be good for a while, as will the 2009s.

Chassis and overall build quality is fantastic - the pros do far more than just outweigh any cons (multiple high-end video cards without separate PSU and don't allow Crossfire (though the 5870 on its own is quite formidable on its own so that's moot), and the occasional optical drive noise that doesn't go away when the drive is replaced). The chassis is solid, the hard drive bays are fab, no extra cables to muck up everything... and a great OS overall... and runs Windows very nicely when needed too. :D
 
Hopefully the new GPU's will work in our 2008 Mac pro's as I will get one, provided they are not outrageously priced. But, do the slots in our 2008 handle the power requirements of the GPU? I think they should but want to be sure. A new GPU and a SSD OS drive and our 2008 Mac pro's will chime right along. :D
 
The OP has it right...!

I'm another who loves his 8-core 2.8 2008 MP - I was daft enough to sell my original machine to help fund a 27" iMac...after 2 replacements (yellow screens - and ultimately a full refund) I went back to the Mac Pro and bought a used model from eBay... Best thing I ever did...! Long live the 2008 models!! :)
 
Why upgrade

I'm using a 2008 octo and would like to upgrade but see no reason why yet. My main objection is that software -- I mostly want the power for using Soundtrack Pro -- can't really make use of the faster machine. But even so the machine ain't *that* much faster.

I'm what you might call a "prosumer," not using the machine for professional purposes but I value my time and want faster processing. The 2010 Mac Pro doesn't cut it.

Steve Jobs: pay attention! We want an economically reasonable Mac Pro!!!
 
wesk702 said:
The 2008’s were probably the best value in my opinion and each upgrade since then makes like it even more.
The new 2010’s are definitely sick, but the prices are too much.

I kinda like how the case is still the same cause it doesn’t make my computer feel old.

Too all the people that are getting the 12 cores, congrats. I’m gonna wait once again for the next major upgrade. My wife will not approve this model.:(

and yes, posting this makes me feel better.

Anybody else share this view?
Click to expand...
I agree.
My 2008 2.8 8-core Mac Pro is still more powerful than the software available for it.
I have put 16 gb of ram and 4 7200 rpm hard drives and a gtx 285 video card and it works great for me.
And it was a great price when I bought it new. As a teacher, I got it for
If I upgrade to an ssd when the prices come down, I'll get yet another performance boost.
And if the software makers ever get around to using the ram and cores and operating systems that we already have then it will be time to upgrade.
 
My two cents ... I bought a new 2008 2 x 2.8 shortly after the new MacPros were available - and saved over $1000 off list. It's still a fabulous system and with the addition of an SSD as a boot drive, even better than new.

Maybe I'll upgrade in 2012 ...
 
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