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Mac Pro Opinions?

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nickos94

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 2, 2011
25
0
I am finally making the switch to all mac machines (I think), so I had some questions on the Mac Pro.

I am starting to get into audio production (Logic Pro), as well as web design with Fireworks and Photoshop, and I like to play some games. I have a Macbook Pro Early 2011 and it just gets too hot and can't play some games. I really like it for when I'm on the go or doing some light web design, but I need something heavier.

I would also need a good audio card for recording multiple tracks and having multiple speakers hooked up to it. Also being able to update the video card is a must.

My main question is whether I should get a 2009 or 2010 mac pro. Will 2009 mac pros be able to support 2010 xeon processors? How hard is it to swap them? Has there been any confirmation about 2012 mac pros? Thanks!
 
nickos94 said:
I am finally making the switch to all mac machines (I think), so I had some questions on the Mac Pro.

I am starting to get into audio production (Logic Pro), as well as web design with Fireworks and Photoshop, and I like to play some games. I have a Macbook Pro Early 2011 and it just gets too hot and can't play some games. I really like it for when I'm on the go or doing some light web design, but I need something heavier.

I would also need a good audio card for recording multiple tracks and having multiple speakers hooked up to it. Also being able to update the video card is a must.

My main question is whether I should get a 2009 or 2010 mac pro. Will 2009 mac pros be able to support 2010 xeon processors? How hard is it to swap them? Has there been any confirmation about 2012 mac pros? Thanks!
Click to expand...

I always say go with the latest option.
 
nickos94 said:
Will 2009 mac pros be able to support 2010 xeon processors? How hard is it to swap them?
Click to expand...

2009 models support 32nm Westmere processors and t's pretty easy to update them. See here:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1122551/

Has there been any confirmation about 2012 mac pros? Thanks!
Click to expand...

Never get confirmation about any Apple product. The components they will use are out now so it's just a waiting game. From what other companies are saying it'll probably be early April, but they may wait until they can update all the Macs together as the processors for other ones are coming around that time too.
 
nickos94 said:
Has there been any confirmation about 2012 mac pros? Thanks!
Click to expand...

As Umbongo said, there has been no confirmation -- but we've had everything but. New graphics options and most importantly new CPUs are now available for a refresh. It's likely only a matter of weeks before Apple updates, and you couldn't talk me into buying a two-year-old workstation with even the possibility of a refresh on the horizon. I suggest waiting.

*I'm currently waiting on the iMac refresh even though it has now been the longest time between iMac refreshes in Apple's history. Same story. My 2009 iMac can hold out a while longer.
 
We had year end (budget) this month so I had to buy a half dozen Mac Pros.
Old or not, as long as their the latest, you can't go wrong.
These are replacements for Avid and Protools in the studio.
The prev was Mac Pro 1, 1.
That tells you how long they can last for if you take care of em :)
 
Last edited:
Do you think that if I bought a 2010 refurbished model it would last me for 3-4 years?
 
You shouldn't go for the Mac Pro at all, unless your getting it really cheap.. Honestly the Sandy-bridge Core i7 iMac will easily outperform the Mac Pro's in pretty much every scenario..

Although the AMD 6970M isn't as powerful as the Desktop equivalent it still will be sufficient for pretty much all games 1080p at highest settings..

The only area I see Mac Pro (8-Core) outperforming the iMac is in video encoding, but thats about it..
 
Yamcha said:
The only area I see Mac Pro (8-Core) outperforming the iMac is in video encoding, but thats about it..
Click to expand...
well there is scalability. you can upgrade the video card, add more RAM/HD space, then add odd cards that wont fit in an iMac.
True about video tech since there is Thunderbolt but not all options are available to date.
you can slap almost any prosumer to high-end card in an 8core.
Dont forget the fact about the display upgrade options :)
 
Moonjumper said:
I never forget that. The iMac would be the best computer on the market for me, but that glossy screen means I won't buy one.
Click to expand...
I hear yaa we bought two 27inch displays to replace older 24s.
The glare is annoying. I will hang on to my dual 30s till they burn out :)
 
Yamcha said:
You shouldn't go for the Mac Pro at all, unless your getting it really cheap.. Honestly the Sandy-bridge Core i7 iMac will easily outperform the Mac Pro's in pretty much every scenario..
Click to expand...

Not if you need >32gb of ram it won't. And that isn't as far-fetched as it may seem - high end video/audio editing chews RAM. Nor if you need high end video or fault tolerant/high speed storage. Or, hell... easily upgradable/replaceable storage.

For some people, iMacs just aren't appropriate, and processor speed has little to do with it.

For high throughput workloads, a mac pro with a mirrored boot drive, a couple of SSDs in RAID0 for scratch area and a heap of memory will smoke an iMac - and you won't have a 27" paperweight if one of the hard drives fails, until you wait for applecare or someone else to fix it.
 
If money is the issue then sure go with iMac.
The op wants it for Photoshop and audio editing.
But if you can get a decent price on a Mac Pro used then go for it.
 
I was thinking of getting a 2009 Mac Pro on Ebay. I see some for around $1500 which is a pretty good price for me. There's a few reasons why I would get a Mac Pro over an iMac and some of them you mentioned above.

Glossy 27 inch screen? I can't stand glossy screens, they bug the hell out of me! Also 27 inches is really an overkill. I'd prefer an 23 inch 1980x1200 matte screen any day. Also the Mac Pro is very expandable. You can replace the video card, ram, hard drives (which I have quite a few for various things), and I believe you can replace the cpu as well which I would do in the future.

I know that on www.macsales.com they have cpu upgrade options. Do any of you know if they would work in a 2009 Mac Pro ( 4,1 I believe)? On the site it says for 2010 Mac Pros, but I wouldn't see why they wouldn't work in a 2009?
 
No experience in upgrading CPUs.
Didn't even do that in my PC days.
At that point, I would just buy a new computer.
 
I plan to get a Mac Pro in the summer, as I need the extra power for video processing/gaming, and also because my current Macbook won't support Mountain Lion.

Honestly, unless you want to create extra hassle for yourself, buy from Apple, especially when we're talking about the amount of money we're talking about. Luckily for me, I'm off to uni next year, so I will be able to the educational discount. Also, I'll be selling my Macbook, so it should only cost me about $1700.
 
nickos94 said:
Glossy 27 inch screen? I can't stand glossy screens, they bug the hell out of me! Also 27 inches is really an overkill.
Click to expand...

I'm still using my anti-glare 24" 1920x1200 DVI display for exactly that reason. I can't stand glossy screens.
 
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