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Mac Pro now or wait?

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badlydrawnboy

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Oct 20, 2003
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I'm a digital photographer currently using a G5 dual-core 2.0Ghz. I'd like to upgrade to a Mac Pro. I use Photoshop CS3 and Lightroom primarily. No 3D, no video rendering, no gaming. Just 25-250MB digital image files.

I was planning to wait for the rumored Penryn Mac Pro in January. However, in another forum (Mac Gurus, where they write extensively on optimizing Macs for Photoshop use), the moderator said that Photoshop can't really take advantage of 8-cores anyhow, so the speed difference between the current Mac Pros and the Penryn's is likely to be negligible for my usage. He said if I was doing video and 3D, it would be different.

What do you all think of that? One advantage to buying now is that I could get a refurb for a substantial discount, and use the extra $$ to buy more RAM and fast hard drives - which would arguably have a bigger effect on system/Photoshop performance than the new Penryn processor.

Comments?
 
badlydrawnboy said:
I'm a digital photographer currently using a G5 dual-core 2.0Ghz. I'd like to upgrade to a Mac Pro. I use Photoshop CS3 and Lightroom primarily. No 3D, no video rendering, no gaming. Just 25-250MB digital image files.

I was planning to wait for the rumored Penryn Mac Pro in January. However, in another forum (Mac Gurus, where they write extensively on optimizing Macs for Photoshop use), the moderator said that Photoshop can't really take advantage of 8-cores anyhow, so the speed difference between the current Mac Pros and the Penryn's is likely to be negligible for my usage. He said if I was doing video and 3D, it would be different.

What do you all think of that? One advantage to buying now is that I could get a refurb for a substantial discount, and use the extra $$ to buy more RAM and fast hard drives - which would arguably have a bigger effect on system/Photoshop performance than the new Penryn processor.

Comments?
Click to expand...

I think that down the road more programs will be able to take advantage of 8-cores and more advanced processors so I'd say its worth the wait, especially since it is only two months away.
 
If you want it now, and can use it now, and the money isn't going to break the bank, I say do it.

I got my Mac Pro in July, when they were supposed to be released "in august"... well now it's November and my Mac Pro still rocks.

If you can find one used or refurb'd, that's not a bad bet. If you like and can afford the current Mac Pro, why not? What makes you so sure that you're going to like/afford the next revision anyways? Maybe the price is higher, maybe it is missing a feature you want.

Fact is, Mac Pro 2.0 is still 100% Vaporhardware.
 
I couldn't justify a Mac Pro at full price this late into a "cycle" (16 months! I thought Intel was meant to speed everything up), but I suppose if you can get a sizable enough discount and it won't pinch you if a new model unearths itself in the next two months... eh, go nuts.

The computer won't suddenly turn into a steaming piece of crap because the innards got updated.
 
I would wait until January....unless you NEED it now.....there is no harm in waiting to see what comes out. I would highly doubt that it is going to lose a feature you would need. Apple is pretty good about adding features or making the product better not taking them away. You also have to look at the future...right now you might not need the extra power that the penryn can produce but in a year or two you might be glad you have it as apps constantly get bigger and more intensive....however this is just my opinion....
 
I don't absolutely need it now, and I guess if I did wait and still decided to get the "old" Mac Pro model the deals would be even better.
 
olliebraves20 said:
Yeah exactly...so since you don't need it now I really can't think of one reason to get it now...
Click to expand...

I would also wait. Theoretically, the more curent your macpro is, it should be able to keep up with all of the new programs that will eventually come out (up to a certain point). But the more demanding these programs get, at least you will be well equipped. But again, that if you can wait. Good luck with your decision!:apple:
 
I try to buy right after an update happens. That way you get the most out of it.
 
By all means wait! The dual G5 is still a nice setup.

Yes the current quad 2.66 will do more then fine for now.
But in computing terms it's already halfway into it's lifespan.

In a year from now it's gonna be outperformed by the new Quad core (nehalem) iMac. That's not something your gonna be happy about after spending so much cash on a machine

If apple offers 8 core configs at a reasonable price in the next mac pro, i would take em. I agree there is not much use for em now. But in 2 years octo core will be pretty much standard on all performance pc's (maybe even in less time), and software will have addepted. Having 8 cores then will extend the life of your new mac pro by at least a year then.

At the least your gonna get a faster bus and cpu speed which should increase system performance at least by 40% and for another max. 2 months i would even wait for that. But like i said get 8 core if you can ;)

The new mac pro will come somewhere in January, based on the fact that all the other big vendors will be shipping em then. So the supply will be there.
So by all means wait :)
 
badlydrawnboy said:
I don't absolutely need it now, and I guess if I did wait and still decided to get the "old" Mac Pro model the deals would be even better.
Click to expand...

and the 'old' mac pro with CS3 rocks, Granted when the new MP's come out, there wil be plenty of bargains out there on old 2.66's , i could have waited till 2008 before upgrading but i got mine in back May, and hell i'm so glad i didn't wait, it's a fantastic bit of kit, hell i might just treat myself to an 8 core too :D
 
Dont bother waiting.

I am a photog too,using LR and PS.
PS is so poorly optimized atm,that your 8 core wouldnt be of much benefit there.
PS runs on most tasks at 100-150% speed,occasionally at 300% with some filters. That is of 400% of 4 core system...
Next Adobe CS update is over a year away, and there is no clear sign that Adobe can actually change their code to support for 4+ cores.
So,basically,the next CS4 might be as almost as poorly multicore aware as it is today...

So get the computer now,max it out with mem and set up a good interal raid.
That will be a workhorse for the next few years.
 
Does anyone know when the hardware updates will be in January?

Also does anyone know what the likelyhood is of it not happening in January? I can wait till then but any longer and it would be a problem.
 
withuk said:
Does anyone know when the hardware updates will be in January?

Also does anyone know what the likelyhood is of it not happening in January? I can wait till then but any longer and it would be a problem.
Click to expand...

Steve Jobs.
 
withuk said:
Does anyone know when the hardware updates will be in January?

Also does anyone know what the likelyhood is of it not happening in January? I can wait till then but any longer and it would be a problem.
Click to expand...

Well it is very unlikely that they are not upgraded then. All other pc vendors are starting selling/delivering them in january. They can't wait for the next gen intel cpu as that is certainly a year away. And i doubt intel would even keep making the current processors that long for reasonable prices.

So yes they will very likely update at macworld. It makes no sense to not update.
 
Do you think if they are introduced at Macworld 2008, they will make them available in the UK at the same time?
 
I was in your same shoes a couple months ago (2) but I found a sick deal and I jumped on it. there was a mac pro 2.66 with 1gb of ram and a 500gb HD for 999.99 so I got it for that price.

I added 4 more gigs of ram and I have been happy.
bottom line if you want one now, and you could get a great deal go for it.
 
skasol said:
I was in your same shoes a couple months ago (2) but I found a sick deal and I jumped on it. there was a mac pro 2.66 with 1gb of ram and a 500gb HD for 999.99 so I got it for that price.

I added 4 more gigs of ram and I have been happy.
bottom line if you want one now, and you could get a great deal go for it.
Click to expand...

I call bull on this one.
 
the BIGGEST advantage to buying now is you have it now, and you get to use it now.

generally, i follow the philosophy of buying what you need when you need it.

when i was 10 years old, i wanted a specific pair of shoes, but my feet kept growing. so i wore only socks for two months until my feet were big enough to fit into the shoes.

....didn't make sense then, and doesn't now.
 
I'm in a similar sitauation too (basically running most of the CS3 apps / Lightroom), but I've been waiting a lot longer...I had to wait for Leopard (since it was coming out a few months down the line), and now all this news about the new Mac Pro....*argh*

I'm so close to just putting the money on the table and getting one now, but what others have said really struck a nerve with me - I *don't* wanna put all this money into a machine that's so old and is likely to be updated in another month and a half.

But if for some reason it doesn't happen at Macworld, I'm not waiting any longer than that...

-Bryan
 
GoKyu said:
But if for some reason it doesn't happen at Macworld, I'm not waiting any longer than that...

-Bryan
Click to expand...


A Lot of people are depending on macworld, but if it doesn't happen then, are you still willing to wait, and wait, and wait ??
i use cs3 apps and am happy, 8 cores wont make any difference to cs3 apps, Strikes me a lot of people have missed out on Mac Pro's with the promise of updated MP's coming soon, buy now, update later, why miss out, you will always be able to shift a mac pro when the times right :)
 
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