Mac noob has some questions!

Greets and welcome to these forums!

A VERY quick response to your questions and then a comment:
6 GB (3x2GB) of RAM minimum (more better), 5770 is plenty fast, SSD's definitely for boot and maybe for scratch (will "wear out" though). All of these questions have been BEAT to death in this forum so you will find plenty of posts about them.

My comment would be to suggest getting a MBA/MBP "starter" machine. You can get one for slightly over $1K which would give you a taste of the Mac atmosphere for a LOT less than a MP. The MP is a beast of a machine ~~~ and should be approached after at least a little experience with OSX. Anyway, that's JMO as a relatively recent mac switcher.

cheers
JohnG

 

If you are running CS5 and multiple VM's at the same time, I think you definitely need more than 8 GB RAM. You can chew up 8 GB on Photoshop CS5 alone if you are using a lot of layers on a large file. You probably need a couple GB per VM as well. I would start with at least 12 GB. You're SOL on the laptops right there - iMac or Mac Pro.

SSD's (at least the ones with Sandforce controllers like the OWC Extreme Pro) are great scratch disks. They may not last for several years due to write limitations on the flash cells, but the small ones are getting pretty cheap, so who cares? Also highly recommended for boot+apps. Put your home directory and other data files on HDD's.

I will defer to someone else on the best setup for dual monitors (I assume that is where you are going with the comment about 2 5770's).

 

I used to run a setup doing just that, running multiple VM's and CS5 suite.

I had 6 gigs for a while and it was simply anemic. 12 or 16 gigs should be your min.

 

They have a good quality panel, but if you don't want the glossy finish, there are other displays that work too. It's not like having a Mac means you need a special monitor. The Dell U2711 is the same size and res as the Apple cinema display, but has a matte finish. It's about the same price, maybe a bit more, but you get more inputs too.

For your stuff, definitely go with the 6-core. The dodecas are really only worth it for those who are doing 3D or scientific computing and have a big budget. (Debatably, the hex is a better deal for 3D as well, especially if you have a few other boxen to help with rendeirng)

 

Definitely 6-core, or even quad would work for you. I don't know that I would get an apple monitor, I'd probably go dell like the above poster said. I believe that monitor might even use the same panel as the apple display.

 

Dell uses the exact same panel, however, combined with CCFL backlight instead of LED and a matte coating instead of the glass cover.

Anyway, for a only a few bucks more you can get a 30" from Dell, or HP.

 

My rig is somewhat an overkill for the CS5 suite, but anyway I have already been as high as 33 gigs of memory use when pushing the apps with heavy loads. That way I'm happy to have 64 gigs totally, but then again that requires a larger budget. Got mine from OWC, btw.

 

12GB RAM, 6 core, 5870. that will be PLENTY. wow/lotr don't require super great graphics cards, and you aren't doing any 3D rendering.

definitely get an SSD drive for system+apps (64GB or 80GB should be plenty), makes a WORLD of difference. not sure if i'd use SSD for scratch though, it's up to you and your budget.

go with someone other than apple for the displays, they are wonderful displays but are overpriced. i'm using 2 24" LCD displays, btw. one ASUS matte finish and one HP glossy finish. this way i have best of both worlds.

also, if you want to save a few hundred bucks, get the RAM and HDD/SDD upgrades from a 3rd party and install them yourself.

you'll be insanely happy with this setup. i have a similar one and it's a dream. not only ultra fast but very reliable. been on now for 43 days, no slow downs, no lags, no issues.

 

pfjellman: 12GB RAM is not plenty at all when working with the CS5 suite, I can promise you that.

 

A good tip for working how much ram you need: Buy the Mac Pro with 6gb to start off with. Then go to your activity monitor and check out your page ins/page outs. If you're getting more page outs than page ins, you need more ram.

 

64 GB is max, I have the 12-core and 8 x 8 GB sticks works like a charm

 

32GB for the single CPU versions, 64GB for the dual CPU versions.

 

And then...? You know you've wasted money on the 6GB? With the few slots of the SP MP that's not a clever tactic. It also mustn't be outs > ins to indicate insufficient RAM. It's bad enough if there's plenty of page-outs.

 

You'll be fine with 32GB as well, but in any case scenario don't order from Apple. www.macsales.com is a recommended dealer.