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Macpro: Quad or Octo

I

Intranut

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 8, 2007
12
0
Looking for a little advice, or a nudge in the right direction ....

Ready to spring for a new mac, coming from a 12" Powerbook G4, this is going to be a big leap forward.

Here's what I'd be doing ....

Normal day to day stuff, surfing, emails, Microsoft Office
Working with RAW files from camera, Photoshop, Aperture possibly
Home movies (still have to make our wedding video)
Using a EYETV Hybrid, so recording TV, encoding for ipod etc

I'm sure the single quad would fit these needs perfectly, there's isnt much software out there anyways that uses all the cores.

BUT

Is getting an Octo future proofing my macpro to some extent? I'm sure the next big thing is around the corner, but I have a tendency to hold onto technology for a while and would look at keeping this one atleast 5 years if not longer.

I'm buying with an employee discount so the difference between the quad and octo works out to $460 Canadian.

$460 could go to a second display and more RAM.

Considered the imac, but the expandibility of the macpro is more appealing. Memory will go a long way in keeping a mac fresh!

I'm thinking single quad with the 8800, but the octo is in the back of my mind.

Opinions? I'm ready to push the "Buy" button.

Thanks :D
 
How much ram would you get with each set up? I just got the octo 2.8 and I have 14GB of ram (I added 6x2gb to the stock 2x1gb). I've seen all of the ram get used up when using photoshop cs3 and lightroom (photoshop can utilize ram as scratch I think). I haven't been able to get all the processors cranking anywhere near full yet but I haven't done anything with video. I thought I'd be running lightroom and photoshop together but lightroom is done with anything I throw at it in less than a minute.
For what it's worth, I don't regret getting the octo for the future proofing purposes that you mentioned.
Either way you'll probably be happy if you don't skimp on ram. My ram from otherworldcomputing.com is working great.
 
8 cores of love

Without question, go the full 8.

You sound like the kind of soul who holds onto their 'puters for a while, (as people should). Buy the best that you can afford at the time and go from there - upgrade bits and pieces later, as required.

The processor would be a mission upgrade, prob. one that you woldn't bother with.

Go 8, you won't look back.
 
Go 8 - This was my very first Mac (and won't be the last!) but I had the same decision...certainly 4 would hold me for several years, but if I went 8, that would add a few years, and a LOT more resale value when it's time (in, oh 7 or 8 years) to trade up for a new machine.

Go 8, you won't regret it....I didn't!

-Bryan
 
Its official

I've gone octo!
Now just gotta wait till the 25th! The wait is on

Thanks all for the assist.
 
Santabean2000 said:
Without question, go the full 8.

You sound like the kind of soul who holds onto their 'puters for a while, (as people should). Buy the best that you can afford at the time and go from there - upgrade bits and pieces later, as required.

The processor would be a mission upgrade, prob. one that you woldn't bother with.

Go 8, you won't look back.
Click to expand...

True, the processor would be one of the harder more expensive pieces to upgrade later. Get the octo and have fun with it.:p
 
Went with the standard config

Let me see the usage I get out of the ATI, might consider the NVIDIA later on.

THe 8800 would have pushed me past my ceiling on what I wanted to spend.
 
Take Your Pick

Everyone who's replied so far are Octos, I'm a quad. I have no complaints, my use is more in lien with your proposed use, though I moved up from an 800mhz iMac. The Mac Pro really is geared toward professional use. The question is whether you need all the resources that the Octo offers. I have found that the Quad is amazingly fast compared to my iMac and I suspect that you will find the same speed increase in your ordinary processing use. as to more demanding uses, such as movie authoriing, the question is how time sensitive it is. I had already bought a Vizio 32" HDTV for $420 from NewEgg to use as a monitor while waiting for the Mac Pro, so that is basically the difference in the price right there. It hooks up nicely through VGA and while the Vizio is not perfect as a monitor, it is light years ahead of my old iMac for screen size and visibility.

Bottom line: if it really is just for personal use, you can't go wrong either way.:D
 
Yeah I really scratched my head on this one, read a lot of threads on Macrumors.

Basically I figure that I'm going to keep it for a while (wife agrees with me on this one), then with what I'm paying after taxes for it (13% Canadian), its working out to $430 bucks a year for 7 years. Not bad in my mind.

Not super concerned with time sensitivity, but its nice to have all that CPU power at your fingertips.

If I was using it profesionally or its what my paycheck came from, for sure, the octo, there wouldnt have been even a doubt.
 
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