No new Mac Pro - best SH option

[Deepshade]

It looks more and more likely that we're going to be stuck obsolete G5's in a couple of weeks, with no Mac Pro in sight I was wondering about the best value pre nahelam machines (at least we can get them repaired if they go wrong!).

Had a look in the refurb store - that's a joke - only £200 off the brand new price for a second hand machine!.

Suggestions welcome - target use general design, 3D rendering, possible video editing.

 

[DoFoT9]

ebay/craigs lists lol?

the pre-nehalem machines are still monsters, and are cheap as chips! are they on the cards?

 

[Hellhammer]

Do you need a Mac? You could always build a cheapish PC (~500$) with lots of power and use it till new Mac Pro and then sell it or use as a server. Of course if your apps are OS X only, Mac Pro is your only choice so check out eBay and Craigslist as Dofot9 said

 

[Deepshade]

You guys have obviously been around here a while - appreciate the feedback on best value Model/Spec.

Just need a nudge on the best value model with the longest legs. We will need to be installing CS5 (to work with other studios) in a few weeks. And the G5 situation is concerning me.

It doesn't really matter if its a Nehalem machine - I just thought these might be a bit too new to get a bargain!

 

[Hellhammer]

You guys have obviously been around here a while - appreciate the feedback.

Just need a nudge on the best value model with the longest legs. We will need to be installing CS5 (to work with other studios) in a few weeks. And the G5 situation is concerning me.

It doesn't really matter if its a Nehalem machine - I just thought these might be a bit too new to get a bargain!

So, are you getting the 2010 Mac Pro anyway, so would this just be a temporal machine? As I said, a PC as temporal would suit okay for you, just call Adobe and change your license to PC for a small fee and the redo it when you get your Mac Pro.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mac-Pro-2-66g...mputing_Apple_Desktops_CV&hash=item4cef1e2f31
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Apple-Mac-Pro...mputing_Apple_Desktops_CV&hash=item4aa0cfa6ee

 

[DoFoT9]

Wirelessly posted (nokia e63: Mozilla/5.0 (SymbianOS/9.2; U; Series60/3.1 NokiaE63-1/100.21.110; Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 ) AppleWebKit/413 (KHTML, like Gecko) Safari/413)

I vote for previous gen mac pro. They are still great value for money and the savings can be used for ram etc. A dual quad core will last longer but the faster ghz quad core will yield faster results now....

 

[nanofrog]

For pre-Nehalem, I'd look for 2008 systems (don't go any older than that, as they're borderline EOL given they use EFI32 based firmware rather than EFI64, which is only found on '08 and newer models).

If you were in the US, you could get the 3.2GHz Octad for $3300USD (and extended Apple Care can be added). Ideal, as it sounds like you need multiple machines, but I'm not sure what the situation lookes like in the UK. And get your upgrades 3rd party to save on funds per system.

CS5 can be mainly handled by a Quad core system, but the 3D rendering aspect means the more cores the better. Put some time into considering how much time your organization spends on what/where/... and take that into account. Posting it could help us direct you to a better value.

The problem with the Nehalem units, is the base unit only running at 2.26GHz on the Octads. So if you can wait, do so, and see if the 2010 models add any value (i.e. a little more clock speed for the same/similar money).

Also, budget information and the system quantity would help us offer any further information.

 

[tamvly]

I am still thrilled with my '08 8 x 2.8. It's a monster.

I bought this at en end-of-life sale at Apple when the Nehalems became available and saved more than $1000. Suggest you try the same when the new Mac Pros are announced.

Why buy retail ?