MacPro...ready to buy but...

[hayduke]

I have a few questions. I'm close to pulling the trigger on a MacPro, but I have a few questions.

1) What Rev are the current ones? Is this still the first rev? I'm a little weary of buying first rev machines, but haven't heard too many complaints.

2) I'll get at least on 500GB internal drive and, of course, I need a back-up drive. Should I get a second internal drive or buy an external? I'm less concerned with cost or speed, but was thinking that if I can unplug the external drive I can keep it off site on occasion and/or completely prevent anyone from hacking it. Thoughts? Is that being too paranoid? (I already *know* *THEY* are out to get me!!! )

3) I think four cores is plenty so I'm not worried about the potentially imminent arrival of 8 core machines, but is there another *really* exciting feature that might appear in the next few months. I know it is all speculation, but if someone had good reason to believe that something "big" was likely I might wait a bit.

4) Are there any configurations to steer clear of? Bad video cards? Bad drives? Anything?

 

[amtctt]

i would wate at this point for the next rev. either way it's a gamble. you could end up waiting 6 months. or you could buy now and the next rev comes out in two weeks. But i would wait. Might have some new/better feature.

 

[aaronw1986]

I have a few questions. I'm close to pulling the trigger on a MacPro, but I have a few questions.

1) What Rev are the current ones? Is this still the first rev? I'm a little weary of buying first rev machines, but haven't heard too many complaints.

2) I'll get at least on 500GB internal drive and, of course, I need a back-up drive. Should I get a second internal drive or buy an external? I'm less concerned with cost or speed, but was thinking that if I can unplug the external drive I can keep it off site on occasion and/or completely prevent anyone from hacking it. Thoughts? Is that being too paranoid? (I already *know* *THEY* are out to get me!!! )

3) I think four cores is plenty so I'm not worried about the potentially imminent arrival of 8 core machines, but is there another *really* exciting feature that might appear in the next few months. I know it is all speculation, but if someone had good reason to believe that something "big" was likely I might wait a bit.

4) Are there any configurations to steer clear of? Bad video cards? Bad drives? Anything?

1. Yes, they are currently on revision A. They came out in August. This means they could come out soon with rev B, or not. I don't think they will wait till summer, as that will be a year before a revision. I think they will come out with Revision B in the next month or two.

2. I would say get an internal for backup, as they are generally faster and cheaper. The Mac Pro can have 4 HD's, so space isn't an issue. The also nice thing is that you can easily pull them out, without messing with any wires. So, you could easily take it off site if you deemed necessary.

3. I don't think anything really big will be out, as what you mean by it. Most likely we will see 8 core, and possibly new video cards. Some people are thinking Blu Ray drives, but I personally don't think we will see them for a while.

4. As far as configs go, it depends on what you will be using the machine for. the 6300's are fine for most people. If you need lots of monitors, you will need more video cards. However, for gaming and maybe graphic intensive things such as Motion, you may want to go with the X1900. I don't really know what you mean by bad configs...if you buy from Apple the hard drives won't be bad or anything. Only if you go buy something yourself, and you buy the cheapest thing, or an incompatible thing would you maybe see problems.

 

[alkanenine]

i would wate at this point for the next rev. either way it's a gamble. you could end up waiting 6 months. or you could buy now and the next rev comes out in two weeks. But i would wait. Might have some new/better feature.

i'm in the exact same boat. i need to replace my g4powerbook pretty badly now but i think ill have to play the waiting game as well. i wish there was more info about the next macpro.

 

[Sun Baked]

The next update will be a speed bump CPU and likely some IO like a video card and Airport update.

We may get a low priced machine if Apple retains a dual core-based machine when they switch to quad cores.

The following machine update may be an architecture change, so it will likely be another Rev. A machine.

Don't know what the changes will be since I haven't really looked at what Intel has for the next Workstation/Server chipset and CPU.

 

[TheBrazilianGuy]

I work with a bunch of MacPros (part of our Beowulf cluster)
and I must say that they are really good.
Macpros can handle anything you throw at them today and
there is no doubt they will have a longest longevity
due all possible internal upgrades.

I personally recommend to buy one if you can.

S.

 

[jamesi]

say buy it, you the upgrades wont be that good to warrant waiting i think. but thats mainly b/c i would just order new processors off of newegg in a couple of years and upgrade my mac pro. plus i figure i can buy a new airport when i have the faster router to go with it.

 

[dmw007]

I am stuck in a similar situation as you find yourself in hayduke, the current revision of the Mac Pro is great- but at this point I think that I will just wait for rev B. I would kick myself if I bought a Mac Pro now and a new ones were released shortly thereafter.

 

[hayduke]

Thanks for all of the replies. I'm leaning toward buying. There is a current need for such a machine at work right now and it seems to be expected that they'll keep the form factor. I think the most likely scenario is a speed and/or core bump and that isn't something that is essential to me. I'll let you know if I pull the trigger!

Any more thoughts about internal vs. external back-up drives?

 

[Umbongo]

Thanks for all of the replies. I'm leaning toward buying. There is a current need for such a machine at work right now and it seems to be expected that they'll keep the form factor. I think the most likely scenario is a speed and/or core bump and that isn't something that is essential to me. I'll let you know if I pull the trigger!

Any more thoughts about internal vs. external back-up drives?

I reccomend you choose an external backup you can take off site. Failed hard drives can sometimes be recovered, but your machine getting stolen, fire, or some other form of destruction most likely can't be. With timemachine comming out it may also be a very reliable and automated process.

As for the other issues with buying now vs. waiting, any real upgrade to the machine is going to cost more whether that be processors or GPU. Quad core isn't going to force down dual-core pricing, I certainly don't believe Intel has any plans to lower pirces and other vendors haven't as far as I am aware.

 

[FFTT]

I love having a second internal drive for storage and as a rescue drive just in case something goes wrong with my primary drive.

I would buy your second drive at NewEgg or even consider a matched pair.

One primary boot drive, one bulk storage/back-up and one squeeky clean default rescue drive loaded with Data Rescue II and maybe Disk Warrior.

Waiting sucks, but this is a major purchase, so if at all possible, I'd consider holding til the next models are announced and then compare your options again.

The new models or a great deal on a closeout of the current models.

Intel is already sneak peeking their new 8 core motherboards, so if your
workflow demands massive amounts of data, it may be work the wait.

 

[M@Q]

Re: MacPro... ready to buy but...

I'm in the same camp. I've lusted after the MacPro for a while now. The thing holding me back right now is the crappy video card options and the nagging feeling that Apple will introduce a new rev the Tuesday after I pull the trigger.

God wouldn't it be great if the next Rev comes with a geForce 8800 card, dual 3Ghz Quad-Core Xeons and a blu-ray drive!? All for a $500 premium to the top of the line model today.

I look to the day when I can run a single hypervisor on my MacPro and dynamically switch between OS X for creating, Vista for gaming, Linux for learning, and Solaris for working. That'll be the day.