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Need Mac Pro recommendation

Noctilux.95

Noctilux.95

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 20, 2010
625
497
LA
I'm finally selling my 2007 Mac Pro 2.66 to make room for a new tower. I noticed how much my current Mac Pro was showing its age when my new iMac 27" with i7 easily kicked its ass!

So now I'm looking for a recommendation for a new Mac Pro.

I'm a full time working photographer who shoots with Canon 1Ds III, and 5D MK II's. Both camera are 21MP and produce large RAW files that tax the computer once adding layers and actions.

My main use of softwares are Photoshop CS5, and Aperture 3, and Photo mechanic. I'm not into gaming, video, or 3d.

Looking for a great value that will be a good match to my new Apple 27" LED display.

Thanks!!!
 
Noctilux.95 said:
I'm finally selling my 2007 Mac Pro 2.66 to make room for a new tower. I noticed how much my current Mac Pro was showing its age when my new iMac 27" with i7 easily kicked its ass!

So now I'm looking for a recommendation for a new Mac Pro.
...
Click to expand...
Great thing about the Mac Pro is no matter what you get (this years or last) itll still be decent.
We just ordered a few 12Cores.
Its overkill for what you need but if you can find an 8Core from last year at lower cost, your golden.
Your case you need a decent video card more than cores :)
We use ours for Motion Design, 3D and soon the Red Rocket for R3D Red RAW files.
So we need the 12Cores ;)
 
CS5 will not begin to make efficient use of 8 or 12 cores. Either the 3.2 quad or 3.33 hex is more than enough for you use. In fact, either will be faster with your software than one of the slower clocked dual processor models.
 
khollister said:
CS5 will not begin to make efficient use of 8 or 12 cores. Either the 3.2 quad or 3.33 hex is more than enough for you use. In fact, either will be faster with your software than one of the slower clocked dual processor models.
Click to expand...



What about a refurbished 2.66 Quad Core selling for $2100 at the Apple site?
 
Noctilux.95 said:
What about a refurbished 2.66 Quad Core selling for $2100 at the Apple site?
Click to expand...

The 2010 base 2.8 quad is A) faster and B) able to take a W3680 3.33 hex core as a drop in upgrade. For $400 difference I would take the new one.

The 2.66 will be slower processor wise than your i7 iMac.
 
good thread

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/998644/

I would say 3.3 6 core or 3.2 quad core
of course only the base system from apple upgrade elsewhere ? :)

memory 24 gigs using 3 8GB sticks that way you can go to 32 if you want ? that large files depending on PS use ? 24 gigs is a nice comfy room start 16 might not cut it ? so go for the 24 gigs

HDD ? well depending on things you can use the 1TB that comes with it
but I would say get some WD 2TB blacks for working and some other HDD for BU
but to know that how many files do you keep around how much storage do you need for your season etc..

for scratch disc for PS I would get a SSD they are cheap enough and the speed is nice when it hits scratch to have :)
I only keep Aperture around to keep used to it ? but not sure how large your library is or how the library acts on SSD ?

I know LR very well and getting the cache on SSD is crucial
also I use C1 and it helps to have the previews etc.. on SSD
so you are kinda on your own to test Aperture with SSD :)

also for boot I say go SSD its a luxury but a nice one to have get a 120 gig size OWC standard you dont need the raid one :)
 
If you have not seen already take a look at mac performance guide by digilloyd as that is from a photographers perspective

I recently converted the AppleScript to Shell script and stalked a 3.33 hexacore refurbished from Apple for good price.

Decide if you need 2 CPUs based on the software you will be running.

There is a lot of useful information at digilloyds site. Look at his MPG workstation.

Honumaui said:
good thread

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/998644/

I would say 3.3 6 core or 3.2 quad core
Aof course only the base system from apple upgrade elsewhere ? :)

memory 24 gigs using 3 8GB sticks that way you can go to 32 if you want ? that large files depending on PS use ? 24 gigs is a nice comfy room start 16 might not cut it ? so go for the 24 gigs

HDD ? well depending on things you can use the 1TB that comes with it
but I would say get some WD 2TB blacks for working and some other HDD for BU
but to know that how many files do you keep around how much storage do you need for your season etc..

for scratch disc for PS I would get a SSD they are cheap enough and the speed is nice when it hits scratch to have :)
I only keep Aperture around to keep used to it ? but not sure how large your library is or how the library acts on SSD ?

I know LR very well and getting the cache on SSD is crucial
also I use C1 and it helps to have the previews etc.. on SSD
so you are kinda on your own to test Aperture with SSD :)

also for boot I say go SSD its a luxury but a nice one to have get a 120 gig size OWC standard you dont need the raid one :)
Click to expand...
 
Lloyd has some rather strange notions - putting the scratch volume on the same drive as the OS+apps and using RAID 0 for data. My somewhat budget approach is:

OWC SSD for boot+apps
HDD 1 for home directory and photos
HDD 2 200 GB partition for scratch + archive volume for non-critical stuff
HDD 3 200 GB partition for scratch + spare volume
HDD 4 Time Machine
external 2.5" RAID 1 mirror for iTunes library (500 GB)
external bare drive dock for volume clone backups (1 on-site, 1 off-site set)

The two scratch volumes are in a RAID 0 stripe set - scratch/cache doesn't have to be reliable.

I run TM against the SSD and home volume only. The iTunes lib and archive volume don't change much, so I just hit those with the backup clones (also clone SSD and home volume). When I download new iTunes material, the RAID 1 ensures I don't lose it due to drive failure before I run the next clone backup. I use CCC for the clones.

If I had terabytes of photos, I would probably consider an external RAID 5, 6 or 10 array for those ( I only have about 300 GB presently plus a bunch of film I haven't scanned). Once the volume of active data gets too big for a single volume TM, I think it makes more sense to go with some form of redundant RAID and blow off TM and just use the external backup clones.

I run the drive dock on an OWC eSATA card for speed.
 
I ended up buying a new four core 2.66 from Amazon for an amazing $1799!
I payed no tax and shipping was only $30!

I know its not the fastest of the bunch but It should me more than fine specially after adding an SSD and a lot more RAM.

Now what can I get for my current Mac Pro?

I have a dual Core 2.66 (2007) with 7 gigs of memory and a 500 gig HD.
It works flawlessly.

Thanks!
 
Noctilux.95 said:
I ended up buying a new four core 2.66 from Amazon for an amazing $1799!
I payed no tax and shipping was only $30!

I know its not the fastest of the bunch but It should me more than fine specially after adding an SSD and a lot more RAM.

Now what can I get for my current Mac Pro?

I have a dual Core 2.66 (2007) with 7 gigs of memory and a 500 gig HD.
It works flawlessly.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Well, that's certainly a pretty good deal. You can get 24GB of RAM from www.transintl.com for about $680 now. I believe you can put a faster quad CPU in it down the road, however the 2009 models will not take a Westmere 6-core like the 2010's will.
 
Noctilux.95 said:
I ended up buying a new four core 2.66 from Amazon for an amazing $1799!
I payed no tax and shipping was only $30!

I know its not the fastest of the bunch but It should me more than fine specially after adding an SSD and a lot more RAM.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

yes, that IS a heck of a deal - I debated all week on that and wound up buying one myself! I'll get some matched DRAM and I already have a couple of 1gB 'cuda drives to drop in. I'm using OWC external dualDrive cases now for my data (the ones that look like mini macPros) - some Firewire, some USB2 - but I think its time to go to eSATA for the faster data bus ...
 
Just to make sure I understand what this 2009 model would offer me, if I compare it to the current MP base model, available on B&H for $2375 -

Aside from:
1) .14 GHz slower CPU clock
2) video card (GT120 vs. 5770)
3) lack of wireless adapter ($50 on B&H)
4) smaller HDD (640GB vs 1TB)

is this machine otherwise identical in every respect? If so, a price difference of $732 seems pretty compelling.

Are there any hidden gotchas on this? eg, reduced upgrade path or something lack that?

Also does anyone have experience with the vendor? ("Cost Central")
 
downhill racer said:
Just to make sure I understand what this 2009 model would offer me, if I compare it to the current MP base model, available on B&H for $2375 -

Aside from:
1) .14 GHz slower CPU clock
2) video card (GT120 vs. 5770)
3) lack of wireless adapter ($50 on B&H)
4) smaller HDD (640GB vs 1TB)

is this machine otherwise identical in every respect? If so, a price difference of $732 seems pretty compelling.

Are there any hidden gotchas on this? eg, reduced upgrade path or something lack that?

Also does anyone have experience with the vendor? ("Cost Central")
Click to expand...

The 2009 models cannot be upgraded to the W3680 3.33 6 core Westmere CPU - the 2010 model can. Aside from that you about have it covered in your list.
 
downhill racer said:
Just to make sure I understand what this 2009 model would offer me, if I compare it to the current MP base model, available on B&H for $2375 -

Aside from:
1) .14 GHz slower CPU clock
2) video card (GT120 vs. 5770)
3) lack of wireless adapter ($50 on B&H)
4) smaller HDD (640GB vs 1TB)

is this machine otherwise identical in every respect? If so, a price difference of $732 seems pretty compelling.

Are there any hidden gotchas on this? eg, reduced upgrade path or something lack that?

Also does anyone have experience with the vendor? ("Cost Central")
Click to expand...

The video card is the biggest difference straight up, but the 2009 models can't accept the new Westmere CPUs so you do have a reduced upgrade path. The current low end model will allow for a drop-in 3.3GHz hex core.
 
Cost Central

ActionableMango said:
I find this site useful to compare specs across macs:
http://www.everymac.com/ultimate-mac-comparison-chart/?compare=all-intel-macs

I have not personally used Cost Central, but they have decent reseller ratings:
http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Cost_Central
Click to expand...

This is my first post to this forum. I was surfin' for savings on a new Mac Mini last week when I dug up the Cost Central deal for the 2.66 Quad Pro. I called them up and, after verifying that these were NIB and not refurbs, I made the purchase over the phone. Coming out of PA, I figured it would take a week to get to AZ if I was lucky. HA! I was so wrong.

Ordered on the evening of the 10th, picked up by FeDex as a drop ship out of CA on the 11th, and delivered to my door at 9:30 AM on Saturday the 13th. To say I am impressed is an understatement.

Brand new, in the Apple box. I ordered goodies from OWC on Friday that got here today. No dust gathering on that company, either.

I have been reading MacRumors for most of this year. Just registered before this post. I hope to get some help in this subforum over the coming weeks as this is a substantial upgrade for me, and I am waaay behind the tech curve.
 
khollister said:
Contests on the new computer! Well be glad to try and help if you have questions.
Click to expand...

I have just realized with great horror that there is another person posting here as "xWhiplash". As a veteran of the great Usenet flamewars of the 90's, I feel that stealing his name is tantamount to mowing people down in front of the Food Bank on Christmas Eve with a bus stolen from the orphanage. If I can't figure out how to change my nic, this may be the shortest newbie participation on record.
 
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