So gents,
I've had this 2006 Mac Pro for 39 months.
She performs as well as the day I bought her. "Multivac", I call her. Same config since day 1 of June 2007, except now instead of the Raptor SATA, there's a OWC SSD as the boot/apps drive.
This thing handles everything I throw at it just fine. I do web development and grand format printing. Photoshop, Indesign, and Illustrator, day in an day out. And then always alt-tabbing to dreamweaver to code or transmit to FTP, or whatever else. It also acts as my AppleTV server with a Terabyte internal drive for storing TV shows and movies.
My question is - For $230, I can add 4 more gigs of ram, bringing me to 9. Then, I could add a Velociraptor as my files drive. At this point, all I Am really limited on is the CPU, and GPU. But I feel like I can still get more performance out of it with Velociraptors and RAM. And then if I want a 2011 Mac Pro, I can just take the SSD and Velociraptors to the new machine.
So, since the drives are transferable, at what point do you say "This 2006 Mac Pro CPU and RAM is too slow!!!"
Would you say to NOT get more ram, but instead save for a new Mac Pro? I really like new computers, but this thing just keeps on trucking.
I am debating on getting a pair of 500gb drives to replace the pair of 320gb drives that I currently use for all my storage. Seems like WD Black or Baracuda 7200.12 are faster than their older counterparts.
Would you say that a 2006 Mac Pro with a SSD boot, and then some WD Blacks for storage, more RAM, and maybe a Velociraptor would max out this machine. I'm not willing to risk a CPU upgrade, unless it was 100% guaranteed.... but them I'm like 1000 dollars in to upgrades I can't transfer to a new Mac Pro like I can the SSD and VRaptors.
It's just theory right now, since I don't have the need or budget for a new Mac Pro when this one works so great. But if I can grab a few new drives and really TURN UP THE JUICE, I might just see if I can get 5 years out of this beast.
Thoughts?
I've had this 2006 Mac Pro for 39 months.
She performs as well as the day I bought her. "Multivac", I call her. Same config since day 1 of June 2007, except now instead of the Raptor SATA, there's a OWC SSD as the boot/apps drive.
This thing handles everything I throw at it just fine. I do web development and grand format printing. Photoshop, Indesign, and Illustrator, day in an day out. And then always alt-tabbing to dreamweaver to code or transmit to FTP, or whatever else. It also acts as my AppleTV server with a Terabyte internal drive for storing TV shows and movies.
My question is - For $230, I can add 4 more gigs of ram, bringing me to 9. Then, I could add a Velociraptor as my files drive. At this point, all I Am really limited on is the CPU, and GPU. But I feel like I can still get more performance out of it with Velociraptors and RAM. And then if I want a 2011 Mac Pro, I can just take the SSD and Velociraptors to the new machine.
So, since the drives are transferable, at what point do you say "This 2006 Mac Pro CPU and RAM is too slow!!!"
Would you say to NOT get more ram, but instead save for a new Mac Pro? I really like new computers, but this thing just keeps on trucking.
I am debating on getting a pair of 500gb drives to replace the pair of 320gb drives that I currently use for all my storage. Seems like WD Black or Baracuda 7200.12 are faster than their older counterparts.
Would you say that a 2006 Mac Pro with a SSD boot, and then some WD Blacks for storage, more RAM, and maybe a Velociraptor would max out this machine. I'm not willing to risk a CPU upgrade, unless it was 100% guaranteed.... but them I'm like 1000 dollars in to upgrades I can't transfer to a new Mac Pro like I can the SSD and VRaptors.
It's just theory right now, since I don't have the need or budget for a new Mac Pro when this one works so great. But if I can grab a few new drives and really TURN UP THE JUICE, I might just see if I can get 5 years out of this beast.
Thoughts?