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Mac Pro or Macbook Pro with $3500?

T

thriii

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 14, 2007
366
0
First, My current computer specs:
Macbook Pro Core 2 Duo
2.33 Ghz
3GB Ram 667Mhz
RadeonX1600

I have around 3500 that I have to spend and I was set on a macbook pro but out of curiosity i went to configure a Mac Pro to see what id be able to get.. now i cant decide :eek:.. I know theres an update coming to the macbook pro so im thinking about waiting on that.. but I dont know much about Mac Pros at all..

I have a CG241W, so im not thinkin about the imac.. for the macbook, this would be my setup.. for the Mac Pro, I'm not too sure what to choose for the Gfx Card(s) but so far I have

Two 2.26GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon
6GB (6x1GB)
640GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
Graphics Card ???
One 18x SuperDrive
AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi Card with 802.11n

everything else would be None or the cheapest option.. I'll be using it for photoshop work.. huge files that cause my current setup to skip and freeze.. is the Mac Pro getting an update? What Gfx Card for the Mac Pro would be good?
 
As you already have a laptop, I would get a Mac Pro. I would get quad core Mac Pro instead of the cheapest octo because apps like Photoshop can't utilize all 8 cores so they will be idling. As for GPU, ATI 4870 should be OK
 
Hellhammer said:
As you already have a laptop, I would get a Mac Pro. I would get quad core Mac Pro instead of the cheapest octo because apps like Photoshop can't utilize all 8 cores so they will be idling. As for GPU, ATI 4870 should be OK
Click to expand...

so theres no possible way it can use all those cores? and thanks!
 
this is the reason why i'm waiting till next year to buy. ATI is making a huge impact with the recently released 5870. 2010 Mac Pro have a chance to adopt it. i don't know about you but i'm playing the waiting game right now. 09 MPs aren't worth it in my eyes.
 
vaderhater245 said:
this is the reason why i'm waiting till next year to buy. ATI is making a huge impact with the recently released 5870. 2010 Mac Pro have a chance to adopt it. i don't know about you but i'm playing the waiting game right now. 09 MPs aren't worth it in my eyes.
Click to expand...

Whatever I get now Ill be getting an upgrade in the next yr.. but I do have to get somethin now since my laptop is slowly breakin down :eek:.. for the price i can get a bigger boost in power, and I can upgrade my macbook pro when the new 1 comes out.. couldnt i just buy the 5870 and slap it in my mac pro? I dont know 2 much about apple desktops but i upgraded my PCs alot
 
i hear ya about the mbp. Mine is slowly dying as well. if the 5870 does in fact come to the 10' MP, apple should have a option to buy it separately like the 4870, GT 120, GTX 285 they have now.

edit: If you must buy now, i recommend the refurb 2.66 Quad for $2149.
 
vaderhater245 said:
i hear ya about the mbp. Mine is slowly dying as well. if the 5870 does in fact come to the 10' MP, apple should have a option to buy it separately like the 4870, GT 120, GTX 285 they have now.
Click to expand...

Hopefully I can, would the 4870 be better than getting any of the other Gfx Cards? and as far as the operating system, would I get that on a disk? When I get a new computer I usually reinstall the OS to wipe everything it comes with.. Do I have to buy snow leopard seperately or does the Mac Pro come with a disk?
 
vaderhater245 said:
SL comes standard now on the disks provided with the system.
Click to expand...

ok great :) I read that I should order the system as bare as possible and add the ram/extra HDs myself.. for the ram im a little confused at the chart, and for the hd im confused as well.. from what i understand i want to place my system/apps on 1 and the my music/pics/data on another HD. I also read something about a scratch drive or somethin like that.. suppose to speed up photoshop.. would this be another drive? or can the music/pics/data be used as this drive? and finally.. SSD drives.. is that only for notebooks?
 
thriii said:
ok great :) I read that I should order the system as bare as possible and add the ram/extra HDs myself.. for the ram im a little confused at the chart, and for the hd im confused as well.. from what i understand i want to place my system/apps on 1 and the my music/pics/data on another HD. I also read something about a scratch drive or somethin like that.. suppose to speed up photoshop.. would this be another drive? or can the music/pics/data be used as this drive? and finally.. SSD drives.. is that only for notebooks?
Click to expand...

Yes, you can have OS and apps in one HD and everything else in other. If you want/need more speed e.g. faster boot up time and app opening time, SSD is the way to go. They are 2.5" but you can get 2.5" SATA to 3.5" SATA adapter.

Sorry for this hassling post because I'm in hurry, so PM me or add my MSN (kriz_u_93@hotmail.com) if you need more info
 
vaderhater245 said:
with 09' Mac Pros you want to install ram in 3s. nehalem runs in triple channel for best results. Your question about hdds is a little confusing. this is my plan for a hard drive setup.

SSD- Boot/Applications Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167016

1TB Black- Data drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284

Stock drive- Bootcamp into Win7.
Click to expand...

this looks like what im lookin for.. can the stock drive be used for win7 and a scratch disk for photoshop? or does the scratch disk have to be empty?
 
Hellhammer said:
As you already have a laptop, I would get a Mac Pro. I would get quad core Mac Pro instead of the cheapest octo because apps like Photoshop can't utilize all 8 cores so they will be idling. As for GPU, ATI 4870 should be OK
Click to expand...

Thats why we have Grand Central Dispatch. xD
 
If its a must i believe you could partition it that way. My suggestion if your spending this much already, grab another 1TB black for scratch. I would prefer the Win7 disk have nothing else on it in case something happens.
 
Buy whatever Mac Pro covers your needs right now. You can always sell the current graphics card when something fancier comes out.

That is much harder to do with a MBP.
 
vaderhater245 said:
If its a must i believe you could partition it that way. My suggestion if your spending this much already, grab another 1TB black for scratch. I would prefer the Win7 disk have nothing else on it in case something happens.
Click to expand...

didnt think of that.. ill do that then! as far as the SSD and the 1TB HDs, can they be installed like PCs or do i have to buy anything extra? is the SSD/1TB the best choices for the setup? and what would be the best RAM to get?

Grimace said:
Buy whatever Mac Pro covers your needs right now. You can always sell the current graphics card when something fancier comes out.

That is much harder to do with a MBP.
Click to expand...

Im not sure what would cover my needs as far as the Gfx card.. havent dealt with pickin 1 in yrs since you cant really choose with MBPs.. i see alot of ppl are getting the 4870.. r there any advantages over the 2x GT 120?
 
thriii said:
Im not sure what would cover my needs as far as the Gfx card.. havent dealt with pickin 1 in yrs since you cant really choose with MBPs.. i see alot of ppl are getting the 4870.. r there any advantages over the 2x GT 120?
Click to expand...

Buy the 4870, it's a much much better card. Unless you need more than two monitors, there would be no need for 2x the GT120. For photoshop and Lightroom, the 4870 will be more than enough. The bottleneck is not likely to be the graphics card.
 
Grimace said:
Buy the 4870, it's a much much better card. Unless you need more than two monitors, there would be no need for 2x the GT120. For photoshop and Lightroom, the 4870 will be more than enough. The bottleneck is not likely to be the graphics card.
Click to expand...

it would be the CPU wouldnt it? 2.66ghz or 2.93ghz? i could save alot with the 2.66.. but dont know how much of a hit to performance that really is
 
thriii said:
it would be the CPU wouldnt it? 2.66ghz or 2.93ghz? i could save alot with the 2.66.. but dont know how much of a hit to performance that really is
Click to expand...

The software itself is the bottleneck. You could have a 2.26 or 2.93 system and they would perform the same on those programs.

2.26ghz (save yourself the money!)
16GB RAM from DataMemorySystems.com
4870 GPU
1GB+1GB+1GB hard drives (for backups) from NewEgg.com

Again, the software will be the bottleneck for performance on this type of machine for a while. On a laptop, the hardware will be the bottleneck because of the GPU, CPU, RAM, and hard drive speed. If you feel the need to use up that extra $1400 that you would have saved from going with the 2.26 config, buy a DroboPro for your Timemachine and photo library backups! It's amazing, and it may save your bacon!

drobopro.jpg
 
Grimace said:
The software itself is the bottleneck. You could have a 2.26 or 2.93 system and they would perform the same on those programs.

2.26ghz (save yourself the money!)
16GB RAM from DataMemorySystems.com
4870 GPU
1GB+1GB+1GB hard drives (for backups) from NewEgg.com

Again, the software will be the bottleneck for performance on this type of machine for a while. On a laptop, the hardware will be the bottleneck because of the GPU, CPU, RAM, and hard drive speed. If you feel the need to use up that extra $1400 that you would have saved from going with the 2.26 config, buy a DroboPro for your Timemachine and photo library backups! It's amazing, and it may save your bacon!

data-robotics-drobopro-angle-small.jpg
Click to expand...


im a little confused.. y would the software be the bottleneck ?:confused: and what is that thing!?

just noticed ur sig.. all those Pretty Ls.. let me borrow some :eek:.. and the 5DmkII :p
 
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