MacPro: advice sought (RAM, HD)

[sturob]

Hi there,

OK, so I took the plunge and I ordered a MacPro. I have read (and I appreciate) the comments of many regarding Apple's prices, particularly the Apple Store's high price on RAM. So, I placed an order for a dual-3.2 Pro with 2 gigs and a 500GB hard drive. Its projected shipping date is currently the first week in March; I also went with the nVidia card.

RAM: those of you who watch this market, how are the prices doing? I am working under the assumption that they're going to drop, but is there any evidence for an increase? I was thinking I'd just wait until closer to the arrival date (if not after I get the machine) to order RAM.

HD: am I correct that any 3.5" SATA 3Gb/s drive will work? Is the form factor standardized enough that they'll all fit into those little chassis bays that are built into the MP's case?

I think my impressions are correct; perhaps all I need is a pat on the back.

Stuart

 

[G4DP]

Stuart,

As the New Mac's have only really just started, the RAM for them is extremely expensive and hard to get hold of, as a result prices are very high even if you are not buying from Apple. The prices will remain high for a few months at least due to high demand and lack of supply. If you are desperate for the extra RAM order from OWC they are offering extremely good prices. If not wait it out, eventually prices will drop. It's just a case of being patient and waiting. In 6 months RAM will hopefully be considerably lower in price.

 

[fridgeymonster3]

I can't tell you about the RAM prices specifically; however, OWC's price for 4 x 2GB sticks was $399 soon after the release of the new MP and the price increased slightly. I bought the RAM for $429 a week ago and it's shipping same day now (Don't know how much you need though). Hopefully those prices are steadying out and won't increase further. Also, any 3.5" SATA drive will work. I suggest the Samsung Spinpoing F1 750 GB or 1TB which have a 32MB cache (they use 3-platters instead of 4 or 5). The drive works great for me. Also, WD is coming out with a 640 GB 2-platter drive that should be great, I think it's the 6400AAKS.

 

[sturob]

Any experience with Seagate Barracuda drives?

I was just browsing and found the 7200.11; 1TB with a 32MB cache is $270 at Newegg.

Stuart

 

[fridgeymonster3]

I don't have any personal experience with Seagate HD's just WD and my first samsung. I have heard that you need to have the correct firmware with the Seagate HD's or they might not work correctly. I don't know any specifics but search the forums to find out. There was a past forum here talking about the Seagate Barracuda 1TB vs Samsung Spinpoint F1 1TB not to long ago (2 weeks at most I think).

 

[sturob]

I'll look into it . . . thanks.

I have to say that, as a Mac person from childhood (when I remember my dad buying a 512K Mac), it's kind of interesting to be buying RAM and HDs for a Mac.

I mean, it's not like Macs are historically all that user-upgradeable. At least, not the ones I've owned.

Stuart

 

[mashny]

I also recently ordered a Mac Pro with the NVIDIA card (I haven't received it yet). I ordered 8GB of RAM at www.macsales.com for $429, and two hard drives from www.newegg.com -- the 750GB Western Digital as a second drive, and the 1TB Western Digital for Time Machine. The combined cost of the drives was just over $400, shipping included.

Not sure if this answers your question, but just wanted to let you know that I didn't consider the cost of the RAM or two extra drives all that high. RAM prices will come down--they always do--but the waiting factor (weeks? months?) just to save $50 to $100 on the RAM was not compelling enough to make me wait.

 

[sturob]

Yeah, that's true. Things are nearly ALWAYS going to get cheaper, and, of course, the faster/bigger/whatever model is always about to be introduced.

Vis-à-vis hard drives, though, FridgeyMonster mentioned a couple of drives with fewer platters. Why is fewer better? Simple mechanical issue of fewer parts . . . or . . . ?

I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just wondering why.


Stuart