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peejack

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 7, 2007
700
0
Hi guys I hope you can help.

I am currently looking to update my 24" imac for a mac pro as my main studio computer.

Now I have heard via this site that there are rumors of the mac pro being updated very soon. Would it be advisable not to buy one yet?

I was looking at getting the 2.66 quad.

With the update would the prices be likely to go down or up? and how much would it effect me if I did purchase the mac pro now? Is it likely to be a whole new design or just some internal tweaks.

Also what about the cinema displays? an update for them too?

I really need a make a decision now as to what to do and i don't want to be holding on for months but at the same time I don't want to spend all this money now only for the system to be obsolte within a few weeks/months.

Helpppppppp Im confused as to what to do :confused::confused:

Thanks
 

skasol

macrumors 6502
Sep 20, 2007
362
0
there is always gonna be something new coming out, if you need the computer now I will suggest you get it since there is always going to be something new and exciting and you will be playing the waiting game.
 

Jonny427

macrumors regular
Oct 16, 2007
213
0
Orange County, CA
Read the other threads here, your best bet is to wait. There is a possibility that they will update tomorrow, but i'm pretty sure it won't be until MWSF in January.

The updates will be significant, including new Penryn processors/logic boards and the possibility of new graphics cards, more standard ram (2gb of 800mhz vs. 1gb of 667mhz) and hard drive space, blu-ray drive and maybe even a case redesign.
 

peejack

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 7, 2007
700
0
there is always gonna be something new coming out, if you need the computer now I will suggest you get it since there is always going to be something new and exciting and you will be playing the waiting game.

Thats very true :)
 

peejack

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 7, 2007
700
0
Read the other threads here, your best bet is to wait. There is a possibility that they will update tomorrow, but i'm pretty sure it won't be until MWSF in January.

The updates will be significant, including new Penryn processors/logic boards and the possibility of new graphics cards, more standard ram (2gb of 800mhz vs. 1gb of 667mhz) and hard drive space, blu-ray drive and maybe even a case redesign.

So if they don't update tomorrow it won't be until January?
 

Nugget

Contributor
Nov 24, 2002
2,121
1,356
Tejas Hill Country
The current Mac Pros have 14 month old hardware and 14 month old prices. Unless you absolutely desperately need to upgrade right now it makes a lot of sense to wait.
 

Wild-Bill

macrumors 68030
Jan 10, 2007
2,539
617
bleep
The current Mac Pros have 14 month old hardware and 14 month old prices. Unless you absolutely desperately need to upgrade right now it makes a lot of sense to wait.

Actually 15 months and change. ;)

I'd advise waiting. It's just not worth the money as they have never lowered the price to reflect the older hardware, and an update has to be imminent since the Mac Pro hasn't been refreshed since 9 August 2006 (the day it came out).
 

Rowlander

macrumors member
Aug 25, 2007
90
0
That 24" iMac should be more than enough to last you the next two months. Is there a specific reason why you can´t wait?
 

peejack

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 7, 2007
700
0
Ok i have been reading some of the old thread looks like ill be best to wait.

I just hope it's this month or at least before xmas :eek::eek:
 

peejack

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 7, 2007
700
0
Well im keeping my fingers crossed for tomorrow that would just be awesome ;)
 

Voltaic

macrumors regular
Nov 13, 2007
142
0
Hi guys I hope you can help.

I am currently looking to update my 24" imac for a mac pro as my main studio computer.

Now I have heard via this site that there are rumors of the mac pro being updated very soon. Would it be advisable not to buy one yet?

I was looking at getting the 2.66 quad.

With the update would the prices be likely to go down or up? and how much would it effect me if I did purchase the mac pro now? Is it likely to be a whole new design or just some internal tweaks.

Also what about the cinema displays? an update for them too?

I really need a make a decision now as to what to do and i don't want to be holding on for months but at the same time I don't want to spend all this money now only for the system to be obsolte within a few weeks/months.

Helpppppppp Im confused as to what to do :confused::confused:

Thanks

Wait. Current Mac Pros have been around for 16 months, given that they are overpriced. Apple better upgrade them by Macworld in January.
 

peejack

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 7, 2007
700
0
God damn it now I have a buyer for my imac with the cash ready and all I can do is make him wait :(

This sucks :(:(:(
 

Madhawk

macrumors regular
Mar 7, 2007
184
48
Don't do it!!!

Wait until January, don't get ripped off. The Mac Pro is currently overpriced.

2 more months to go, you can do it!!!:eek:
 

ocbo41

macrumors regular
Sep 8, 2007
244
0
No im just desperate for a mac pro :( lol :p

What kind of work will you be doing on it? If the iMac can hold you over I would wait. When my last machine broke down (dead PSU) I waited 2 days and ordered a 2.66 on the 15th....and it flies compared to my last rig. The current mac pro wont be obsolete just not the fastest. Everyone can say hold off but if the imac is limiting your work, buy the current MP.
 

SirOmega

macrumors 6502a
Apr 17, 2006
715
6
Las Vegas
Yea, another vote to wait.

Although I will say depending on what software you use, you could consider buying now. If your software isn't multithreaded and doesn't take advantage of more than one core, then you might as well buy now since going from 4-core to 8-core wont result in some huge performance increase (its likely that the new MacPros will all be 8-core machines, no 4-core units at all).

Personally I've given up my fevered dream for an xMac (1-socket Mac with replacable graphics card) and have come to the conclusion that I might as well just buy a cheap Mac Pro (likely a 2.5Ghz 8-core unit with either an ATI 3850 or nVidia 8800GT) when they get revised in January, throw some more RAM in and then dual boot XP and OSX.

One of the other positives about waiting until January is the vastly reduced power consumption of the new CPUs going into the Mac Pro - there was a review at the Tech Report that showed that the new 3Ghz Quad Core Penryn uses LESS power than an C2D E6700, despite the increased clock frequency and that it has four cores instead of two. This would also make any Mac built around them consume less power as well as being quieter.
 

SpaceJello

macrumors 6502
Dec 2, 2006
441
83
Are we so sure that the Mac Pro will be updated at Macworld? I have a feeling that we may not till NAB where Apple has been doing its pro updating at times.
 

termina3

macrumors 65816
Jul 16, 2007
1,078
1
TX
God damn it now I have a buyer for my imac with the cash ready and all I can do is make him wait :(

This sucks :(:(:(

I'd look into short term leases, or an inferior machine that you can use for 2 months while you wait (the new machine won't take as big a hit on depreciation as the iMac). It's important that you get rid of that machine–you don't want to lose your buyer.
 

peejack

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 7, 2007
700
0
I'd look into short term leases, or an inferior machine that you can use for 2 months while you wait (the new machine won't take as big a hit on depreciation as the iMac). It's important that you get rid of that machine–you don't want to lose your buyer.

Yeh very true.

As I am in education I can get the current 2.66 mac pro for £1427 instead of £1699. If I did go for that when the 'new' mac pros come out would this machine lose it's value less than that???

It's really hard to know what to do, cause to be honest a 2.66 quad will be more than i could want for my studio and music, it's just i don't want a new macpro to surface and make these ones looks ****. Do you reakon they are likely to be less than £1700 when they come out??

Why can't apple just announce there new stuff at least I could plan :(
 

Sun Baked

macrumors G5
May 19, 2002
14,937
157
New 5400 Workstation chipset upgrading the old 5000 chipset, new GPU choices, and the next generation CPU with a faster FSB/bigger cache/improved cache snooping.
 

ocbo41

macrumors regular
Sep 8, 2007
244
0
I think you would lose more on a lease, (or at least in my area). I was in a similar position, I needed a machine but couldn't wait. I bought a refurb for $2200 ($100 cheaper than student discount) and bought 4GB of ram for 150, and a 500GB drive for $100....so for $2450 I have a strong machine and I expect to get at least $2000 for it if I sell it the day of macworld. (Surprisingly a lot of people don't pay attention to release dates) Though I might just keep it until the Nehalem upgrade as it's pretty swift for me. (using it for photoshop)

To give you a rough example of an ebay resale...I bought a $2000 MBP 2.0ghz, 80GB drive and upgraded to 2GB ram for $150. After 13 or 14 months I sold it on ebay for $1500 plus shipping, which covered most of the ebay fee's. It also sold in 3 days via buy it now. I only lost $600 after 14 months and a lot of refreshment cycles in the MBP line.

Hope this helps.
 

Sun Baked

macrumors G5
May 19, 2002
14,937
157
and that means???

A quad core CPU (8-total) may be 10-25% faster in benchmarks, and $1500 cheaper.

The improved CPU cache snooping, bigger cache, and improved memory bandwidth may do it for you.

For the $2-2.5k price points you may double the number of cores, going from dual core CPU to quad core CPUs, making the performance gain even more at the lower price points.

If you use pro apps, this can mean quite a bit of a cut to the rendering times if you can take advantage of a total of 8-cores.
 
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