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Mac Pro 3.0 Dual or 2.8 quad?

Masher500

Masher500

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 12, 2006
68
0
Dana Point
So in the refurb section @ apple they have a quad 3.0 for like 3200 or something like that.. anyways, do you guys think i should go with that or get the base level 8 core that comes out when ever Apple decides?? I really dont need it right now, but i want it right now. Is it that much more processing power im missin out on?? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
 
darthraige said:
Think about what 3200 will get you when the new MacPros come out. You might even be able to get the 8-Core 3.2ghz for that price. Ya never know. Just wait.
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Or the worst case scenario being that the current 8-core Mac Pro will be even cheaper in the Refurbished store :D
 
NewbieNerd said:
Go for the 8 core my friend....Safari SCREAMS on it.
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Are applications like Safari multi processor aware? Threading over all 8 cores? Or does OS X keeps Safari just running in a single core because there is no need to utilise all 8 cores for a mere web browser? I'm not trying to be sarcastic, I think it is a valid cocern to discuss with multi-core machines sprouting like mushrooms lately.
 
GoodWatch said:
Are applications like Safari multi processor aware? Threading over all 8 cores? Or does OS X keeps Safari just running in a single core because there is no need to utilise all 8 cores for a mere web browser? I'm not trying to be sarcastic, I think it is a valid cocern to discuss with multi-core machines sprouting like mushrooms lately.
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Chances are that if you need a 8-core machine it is not for web browsing ;)

But to the best of my knowledge (and using the Activity Monitor) I can see that Safari does use more than one core when accessing sites, especially if they have flash ads etc. Not sure if that makes it multithreaded at all though ;)
 
Pressure said:
Chances are that if you need a 8-core machine it is not for web browsing ;)

But to the best of my knowledge (and using the Activity Monitor) I can see that Safari does use more than one core when accessing sites, especially if they have flash ads etc. Not sure if that makes it multithreaded at all though ;)
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How do I do this? I can see the number of threads, the % of CPU load, memory occupied but NOT the number of cores utilised :confused: (It makes no difference if you have a 2 or 8 core machine)
 
thanks for the great comments!

I mostly encode videos, and surf the web a bunch...... haha j/k


Yeah i think i might just wait. I do mostly video editing and motion stuff. so im hoping that i can cut down render times compared to my MBP, which im pretty confident on. Plus i use compressor a BUNCH so im looking forward to see what this 8 core machine can do for me.:D

Hopefully 4300 bucks will be enough to buy my Mac+HDDs+Ram.. you guys think 6 gigs of ram is enough for this machine?
 
GoodWatch said:
How do I do this? I can see the number of threads, the % of CPU load, memory occupied but NOT the number of cores utilised :confused: (It makes no difference if you have a 2 or 8 core machine)
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You can basically see the load on each core with Activity Monitor :)
 
GoodWatch said:
Yeeeeeees, but how do I see that e.g. Safari uses x cores? I don't see this.
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You need to look at the "% CPU" column for the program. If it's above 100% then it's using more than one CPU. Then go to an animation-heavy site and watch it.

If you want to watch your CPU use as you work, I would right-click the Activity Monitor dock icon, select "Dock Icon" and then select "Show CPU history".
 
How likely is it that the next base-model mac pro will be 8-core?
I´m just wondering if they can stay at a 2.500 $ starting price with an 8-core configuration and 2 gigs of RAM. I´m not planning on spending much more than that. Unless I have to. :eek:

Personally, I could use 8 cores for several video-rendering tasks but I can understand if some people don´t get excited over it.
 
They have no excuses for raising the cost.

Rowlander. Apple have no justification if they increase the cost of the Mac Pro systems.

The Quad chips cost the same as the Dual chip did when they were released last year. Ram prices have dropped through the floor, HD prices have also fallen like a lead ballon. The graphics cards are also similar prices. If anythig they should be slightly cheaper, but given Apples history I doubt there will be a price reduction.

The rest of the world might see a small reduction in price, but the cost to you guys in the US will stay the same.
 
G4DP said:
If anythig they should be slightly cheaper, but given Apples history I doubt there will be a price reduction.
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They should be, but I would say that Apple would rather stuff a few more goodies in their and keep it at $2499 than to drop the price. The MP was a great value when it first came out. I'd say/hope that the next upgrade will be a great value as well.


....I'm buying one regardless, so I hope it's a good deal.
 
bigbossbmb said:
They should be, but I would say that Apple would rather stuff a few more goodies in their and keep it at $2499 than to drop the price. The MP was a great value when it first came out. I'd say/hope that the next upgrade will be a great value as well.


....I'm buying one regardless, so I hope it's a good deal.
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I wish I could share your optimism, but they make us pay for Bluetooth and wireless, yet all other models have it as standard, so i'm not getting my hopes up either. IT was great value, but that was a long long time ago in a galaxy far away.

Riad, I can do without, I don't do Video crunching, and I rmember to back up my work onto disk every week, or if I complete something important, but there are features that we should expect to see. Bigger HD than the iMac for one, at least 2GBRAM if not 4GB as this is a pro workstation. Not overly fussed about the video cards as long as they are less than a year old it'll be an improvement.

I will also be buying one in Jan, just need to know which ram is going in the bloody thing, so I can either buy it now as "GB sticks are dirt cheap, or save some money back for a few months later when the new RAM drops in price.
 
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