Mac Pro: Now or Later???

[ixoye25]

I have been flirting with the idea of picking up a used 8 core 2.8 Xenon machine. I have found prices ranging from 1700 to 3000 for these machines depending on ram and etc... As far as I can tell 2K seems to be fair for one of these boxes. What do you think?

I am also wondering if I would be better off buying a 4 core nethalem machine (refurb) instead?

Its intended use is photoshop and video editing. Home video editing and semi-professional photoshop use.

Thanks in advance for you comments.

I currently have a 2.6(?) Core 2 duo 17' Macbook Pro.

 

[Little Endian]

Do you already have a monitor to use with the Mac pro? If not I would suggest that a quad core i7 imac is a better buy.

 

[ixoye25]

Do you already have a monitor to use with the Mac pro? If not I would suggest that a quad core i7 imac is a better buy.

Yup. Thanks to my lovely wife I am the proud owner of an NEC LCD2690WUXI2 monitor.

 

[DJ Dilbert]

I agree that the iMac would be a better fit right now. But remember that with the Mac Pro you have more options on expanding the power of the machine over time. However when it comes to chip sets, the next gen sounds promising too. If you can, I'd wait until that happens which should be soon since the iPad was already released. If you can't wait, I'd still go with a MP. Just my opinion.

 

[Umbongo]

The 2.8GHz 8 cores are great machines for that sort of price and are a perfectly good option instead of the current line.

 

[ixoye25]

The 2.8GHz 8 cores are great machines for that sort of price and are a perfectly good option instead of the current line.

Do you think the current lines 4 core setup even compares to the 8 core 2.8?

 

[DJ Dilbert]

Do you think the current lines 4 core setup even compares to the 8 core 2.8?

I am currently using the current model with 2.66 GHz quad-core with 6GB RAM. I use it for my job in graphic/web design but also some video here and there and it flies (considering the POS Dell I was using prior). It is definitely a good machine and I am very picky when it comes to performance.

 

[JNickyJJ]

Have you not considered an i7 27" iMac?

very nice computers and will easily do what you need them for, my 21.5 doesnt struggle with HD final cut pro video editing and photo editing i have never had a problem with (although my skills are very limited)

 

[Umbongo]

Do you think the current lines 4 core setup even compares to the 8 core 2.8?

The 2009 quad cores are going to be overall slightly faster unless you are constantly maxing out all the processing cores and can use the 8 found in the 2008 models often. The 2010 quad models will probably be a minor speed bump on the low and middle and two more cores on the high end.

Have you not considered an i7 27" iMac?

very nice computers and will easily do what you need them for, my 21.5 doesnt struggle with HD final cut pro video editing and photo editing i have never had a problem with (although my skills are very limited)

His current display is arguably better than that of the iMac.

 

[ixoye25]

Thanks for the input everyone. I think if I can snag a decent 2008 machine for 2K I will get it. Otherwise, I will get a 2008 four core model if I decide I can not wait for the refresh. The time period being when CS5 becomes available in 64 bit!

Thanks Everyone!

PMR