Mac Pro Recommendations for Graphic Arts Dept.

[vicious7]

Right, so I've recently switched to Apple from PC and I am completely happy with the decision. I will now be replacing all the PCs in my art department and I would like some recommendations from the pros.

My line of business involves heavy Adobe Suite work and now that I am going into broadcast, quite a bit of Final Cut Pro work. I would like to have 3 Mac Pros that will each run Adobe, FCP and various other media related software. What would you recommend, specs-wise as a good starting point to have a smooth running dept. FYI, each MP will be driving a pair of 30" screens (haven't decided whether to go ACD or Dell, yet).

TIA for you comments.

 

[flappo]

it's generally accepted the pro sweetspot is the 2.66 + radeon x1900

just max out the ram ( say MINIMUM 4 gigs per mac ) and the 750 HD gig option wouldn't hurt

 

[MIDI_EVIL]

The 2.66 Processor works out as best value/performance for money, 4 - 6 GB RAM, Radeon X1900 for dual 30's, and a secondary harddrive is essential!

I think I would get the Dell monitors, and put the money you saved back into the specs of the Mac Pros.

Good luck with the transition, sounds exciting.

Rich.

 

[sdhollman]

Good choice man, why were you on PC's in the first place?

 

[termina3]

it's generally accepted the pro sweetspot is the 2.66 + radeon x1900

just max out the ram ( say MINIMUM 4 gigs per mac ) and the 750 HD gig option wouldn't hurt

Agreed on the specs. But PLEASE!!! get your RAM and Hard Drives 3rd-party. Apple charges way too much.

For the Hard Drives, I would suggest a light (<200GB) boot drive and a big (>=500gb) data drive. You can also configure another data drive to mirror that original data drive for data security. Of course if your department already has a server use that.

Go with Dell for the screens--again, Apple charges too much for style.

 

[vicious7]

Good choice man, why were you on PC's in the first place?

I was just starting my business and they were cheap - plus, I had some software. And now that business is going well, I wanted to spend some money on my art guys. I think they've suffered enough crashes, viruses and slow equipment. This will also reduce the time it takes to complete projects.

One of my associates, who is a video editor, invited me to his home office where I first saw his rig. He was editing a movie on FCP, listening to iTunes, prepping images on PS and downloading something. It was as if the computer was only working on one app, it was so fast.

Also, I recently picked up a MBP 2.2 for myself. I need to be able to edit and/or manipulate images and video on location and I've been quite impressed by this low end MBP. My time with it has confirmed my choice to purchase the MPs.

 

[flappo]

"One of my associates, who is a video editor, invited me to his home office where I first saw his rig. He was editing a movie on FCP, listening to iTunes, prepping images on PS and downloading something. It was as if the computer was only working on one app, it was so fast."

ahh , i'm sure we can all recall our first taste of the TRUE power of the mac



something to savor...

 

[sdhollman]

I was just starting my business and they were cheap - plus, I had some software. And now that business is going well, I wanted to spend some money on my art guys. I think they've suffered enough crashes, viruses and slow equipment. This will also reduce the time it takes to complete projects.

One of my associates, who is a video editor, invited me to his home office where I first saw his rig. He was editing a movie on FCP, listening to iTunes, prepping images on PS and downloading something. It was as if the computer was only working on one app, it was so fast.

Also, I recently picked up a MBP 2.2 for myself. I need to be able to edit and/or manipulate images and video on location and I've been quite impressed by this low end MBP. My time with it has confirmed my choice to purchase the MPs.

Wow you sound like a great boss,you should talk to mine. Their philosophy is that if it is cheap we should get it no matter how slow or buggy it may be, the up side is we saved some money.

BTW are you hiring? ;P

 

[vicious7]

Wow you sound like a great boss,you should talk to mine. Their philosophy is that if it is cheap we should get it no matter how slow or buggy it may be, the up side is we saved some money.

BTW are you hiring? ;P

lol..I'd like to think I'm a cool boss. And I'm of the belief that if your staff doesn't have the right tools, they can't provide the quality expected in our line of business.

I see you're in T-dot. Send me a PM. I'm always open to keeping my options open.

 

[LeviG]

Personally depending on your budget I would get 1 eight core and 2/3 quad core mac pro's. I'd even look into maybe having a dedicated machine (eight core) for the rendering in FCP etc, this would allow you to carry on working on the other machines. The rest of the spec would be the same for all of them. Base level hard drive and ram and then upgrade from non apple sources to save money. I think I would go with the sweet spot 2.6 and 1900 too for the non eight core rigs too.

 

[vicious7]

Personally depending on your budget I would get 1 eight core and 2/3 quad core mac pro's. I'd even look into maybe having a dedicated machine (eight core) for the rendering in FCP etc, this would allow you to carry on working on the other machines. The rest of the spec would be the same for all of them. Base level hard drive and ram and then upgrade from non apple sources to save money. I think I would go with the sweet spot 2.6 and 1900 too for the non eight core rigs too.

I agree that 2.6/1900 may be the way to go. And its a smart idea to tap the aftermarket for upgrades when needed. I'm glad you mentioned a dedicated machine for FCP. That was my intent since I only have one video editor I did read somewhere here that the eight core is not truly an eight core, although there is some plans for Apple to actually build a pro machine that does not have old tech on it.

Thanks so far for everyone's input. This is making a difficult decision much easier.

 

[LeviG]

I did read somewhere here that the eight core is not truly an eight core, although there is some plans for Apple to actually build a pro machine that does not have old tech on it.

As there is an announcement in a few days atleast wait till thats gone to make sure theres no upgrades

As to the eight core, its technically 2x 2+2 chips as the current quad core cpu's are 2 dual cores bolted together with a built in bridge as such.

Currently no company is (mainstream) producing a true quad (let alone a true eight core) cpu that works with x86/x64 hardware. Phenom (amd) is supposed to come out october time which will be a true quad according to all the current info, although I doubt apple will be using amd anytime soon