Mac Pro - How Upgradable?

[Josh Kahane]

Hi

So I currently own an early 2008 iMac, 24.GHz 20" etc. I am looking at getting a Mac Pro. But how upgradable are Mac Pros? I know you can change RAM, grpahics cards, HDDs and stuff. But can you do processors and more?

Also, compared to my iMac, if I bought a current Mac Pro, how long would it live till it was out of date or become too slow for things roughly?

Thanks.

 

[cmaier]

Hi

So I currently own an early 2008 iMac, 24.GHz 20" etc. I am looking at getting a Mac Pro. But how upgradable are Mac Pros? I know you can change RAM, grpahics cards, HDDs and stuff. But can you do processors and more?

Also, compared to my iMac, if I bought a current Mac Pro, how long would it live till it was out of date or become too slow for things roughly?

Thanks.

Processors can be upgraded (assuming there is an appropriate upgrade), but more easily in the 2008 MP's than in the 2009's. (There's a thread where someone did an upgrade on the 2009, with some trouble, but it worked).

The MP would last a lot longer before it gets "too slow," as most mac software is optimized to the point where it runs fairly well on a mid-range mac (e.g.: imac, mbp), and runs passably on lower end macs. If it will run on an imac passably well, it will run very well on an MP. It will be awhile before the average imac is as fast as the current MP.

 

[RatVega]

Hi

So I currently own an early 2008 iMac, 24.GHz 20" etc. I am looking at getting a Mac Pro. But how upgradable are Mac Pros? I know you can change RAM, grpahics cards, HDDs and stuff. But can you do processors and more?

Also, compared to my iMac, if I bought a current Mac Pro, how long would it live till it was out of date or become too slow for things roughly?

Thanks.

The old "conventional wisdom" is no longer applicable with the newest generations of Macs. Forget about CPU upgrading and focus on things you need to do.

Given that you currently have an iMac and that it was a fair choice when you got it, I'll assume you're not a high-end video editor, edge-of-the-envelope audio freak, or full-on 3D animator. Those are about the only guys who can actually consume all the power in a new MacPro. For everyone else, just focus on getting enough RAM and HDD to keep you happy and adequate I/O to cover your needs.

Between the fact that you'll have 4x as many processors (all faster than the iMac) and RAM/Disk expansion beyond the pale, it may never be "too slow".

I am a gonzo video editor an I expect my soon-to-be-purchased Nehalem to last at least 4-5 years.

 

[Genghis Khan]

Upgradablilty
Optical Drives - including Blu-Ray in the Nehalem machines.
Hard Drives - easy.
Wireless Card - You can install your own mini-pci wireless card.
PCI Cards - including graphics cards. There's two PCI 2.0 slots and two PCI slots in the two most recent Mac Pros.
Processors - This gets more difficult than it is on a PC, but it still possible.
RAM - easy.

Longevity
Only buy a Mac Pro if you'll use the power TODAY. Otherwise, it's cheaper to get BETTER performance in the long run by buying a new iMac every couple of years.

 

[XnavxeMiyyep]

Upgradablilty
Optical Drives - including Blu-Ray in the Nehalem machines.
Hard Drives - easy.
Wireless Card - You can install your own mini-pci wireless card.
PCI Cards - including graphics cards. There's two PCI 2.0 slots and two PCI slots in the two most recent Mac Pros.
Processors - This gets more difficult than it is on a PC, but it still possible.
RAM - easy.

Longevity
Only buy a Mac Pro if you'll use the power TODAY. Otherwise, it's cheaper to get BETTER performance in the long run by buying a new iMac every couple of years.

I don't know about the longevity thing. The 2006 Mac Pro ( http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_pro/stats/mac-pro-quad-2.66-specs.html ) is probably as good as today's iMacs, which are still only dual cores.