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OMG! She got me a Mac Pro! What to do?
- Thread starter netdog
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Keep the bloody thing and use your money to max that thing out. Get more RAM, four 1TB hard drives, the best GFX card that Apple offers, and kick @$$ speakers.
And I agree about the returning it will hurt your girl's feelings thing. That would be a slap in the face and you'd be missing the point of the gift all together. She must really love you, so don't look THIS gift horse in the mouth.
If I got a Mac Pro tomorrow from someone I would be happy and stop waiting for Penryn, I'd take my $5000 and go CRAZY on upgrades for it, or grab a new maxed out MacBook Pro to go with my new Mac Pro. Or on of those new Sony HDV camcorders.
And I agree about the returning it will hurt your girl's feelings thing. That would be a slap in the face and you'd be missing the point of the gift all together. She must really love you, so don't look THIS gift horse in the mouth.
If I got a Mac Pro tomorrow from someone I would be happy and stop waiting for Penryn, I'd take my $5000 and go CRAZY on upgrades for it, or grab a new maxed out MacBook Pro to go with my new Mac Pro. Or on of those new Sony HDV camcorders.
What will you do if the MPs aren't upgraded in January? Will you go out and buy it back? Or will you wait....perhaps even a few months for the new model and make her buy it for you then? That will be awkward because it'll be so far away from Christmas.
The Mac Pro is a type of machine that will most likely remain the same except for the processor...I don't think they'll add in any "earth shattering" features - and if they did, would you even need them? The current MP is a beast, and it was a gift. I'd just be happy with it, if i were you (and it looks like you are).
The Mac Pro is a type of machine that will most likely remain the same except for the processor...I don't think they'll add in any "earth shattering" features - and if they did, would you even need them? The current MP is a beast, and it was a gift. I'd just be happy with it, if i were you (and it looks like you are).
Be happy, great machine ... will last you quite awhile with a couple graphics cards updates.
The graphics cards are the point where you will likely notice the big drag for your apps.
The CPUs are still more than capable, the 32-gb RAM limit won't hold you back, and the HDs and Opticals are easily updated.
---
As a gift it is a really really nice gift ... appreciate it damn it.
Or we will beat you up.
Pretty succinct!As a gift it is a really really nice gift ... appreciate it damn it.
Or we will beat you up.
You've been on here quite a while talking about the upcoming Penryn. You never notified family or friends that the new was just weeks away? I say keep it if you don't do heavy designing and just buy an updated graphics card down the road.
AppleStore UK is a little different from AppleStore USA...
The fact being, even if you opened the machine and used it continuously for 14 days and made the return on the 14th day, cause you decide you need something faster or newer, you can still return without any lost of your total value.
Unlike the US Stored, the UK stores won't charge you 10% restocking fee, so long as you keep all your packaging and receipt. Though ultimately I think at the end of the day decision to either keep it or return it is entirely yours. Doesn't really matter if your under use it, for now... slowly you'll grow into it then start abusing the power later!
Enjoy your new friend
Actually, the Mac Pro can easily be completely utilized in graphic design. (In ways in which a MacBook would never come close to being able to handle.) If you are not a professional graphic designer, you should probably not speak on the behalf of graphic designers. The MacBook is far too slow for professional graphic design.
BTW, "a lot" is two words. Common mistake though.
Wait... one thing that just struck me.
Netdog, don't you have a good friend who knows your girlfriend? (Don't take that the wrong way) He would be a much better person to pose this question to than the forum. We don't know her, and can't really answer.
Netdog, don't you have a good friend who knows your girlfriend? (Don't take that the wrong way) He would be a much better person to pose this question to than the forum. We don't know her, and can't really answer.
Thank you!!! I have no idea what the others are on saying he should take it back. Must be an illegal substance for the comments that are being made. The Mac Pro is an awesome machine and lets not forget.... its a gift, he didnt have to pay for it. Keep the machine and just as yeroen said, upgrade the video card and maybe the cpu's later (like much later) if required.
.myk. what the heck is a Mac Pro 2 ? There is no such beast and the Mac Pro's stock are shipped with 2.66, not 2.0 unless you cheapskated and BTO'd the 2.0.
Actually, the Mac Pro can easily be completely utilized in graphic design. (In ways in which a MacBook would never come close to being able to handle.) If you are not a professional graphic designer, you should probably not speak on the behalf of graphic designers. The MacBook is far too slow for professional graphic design.
BTW, "a lot" is two words. Common mistake though.
Yep ... more than enough power for most projects and DIMM slots to burn.
It isn't like this is for a rendering farm where a 15-20% performance increase can shave weeks off a project.
This statement trumps whatever merely technical arguments I and others made for the continuing relevance of the Woodcrest/Clovertown models vice the hypothetical Penryns.
Beautifully said heatmiser
1. No, you will not regret keeping it.
2. No. Your Mac Pro will last the same length of time whether you bought it in august of 2006 or December of 2007. There is no Penryn Mac Pro, so it's lifespan cannot be determined.
3. I don't. Can you link me the annoucement of the new Mac Pro's? I'd love to wait in line the night before on January 13th. Which store will have them?
4. Yes. Keep it. There's nothing wrong with it.
and
5. Your usage doesn't sound like it will max out this Mac Pro, so it certainly won't max out the next release. Can you imagine if there was this type of frenzy on any other product? Do you realize what you posted in your original post yet?
I'd keep it, no question. Really, have you (any of you) ever gotten a better gift?
Also, people make a big deal about the likely MP update, but, from a user perspective, it's going to be an incremental performance bump--nice but it's not going to change the way you work or what you can do. The biggest thing is that eight cores is (probably) going to become a lot cheaper but, as a practical point, it's hard to actually make use of that many cores.
The OP can spend the few extra microseconds he has each day thinking about what a lucky duck he is for having such a great wife/girlfriend/whatever. P.S. Hang on to her, and I don't think you will have to worry about upgrading in a few years...
Enjoy!
Also, people make a big deal about the likely MP update, but, from a user perspective, it's going to be an incremental performance bump--nice but it's not going to change the way you work or what you can do. The biggest thing is that eight cores is (probably) going to become a lot cheaper but, as a practical point, it's hard to actually make use of that many cores.
The OP can spend the few extra microseconds he has each day thinking about what a lucky duck he is for having such a great wife/girlfriend/whatever
. P.S. Hang on to her, and I don't think you will have to worry about upgrading in a few years... Enjoy!
You gotta just love people... didn't you read the f!@#$n' post at all?!!! Oh yeah, I forgot, most people have ADD or some other thing/complex/syndrome. The dude said MacPro.
Wow! You just won "Most Out of Proportion Response to a Minor Error in a Post, 2007" Quite an achievement, really--there's quite a lot of competition on these boards!
I'd say keep it. "She" gave you that particular Mac Pro. That's her gift to you. Not any other one. So that's that.
All I can say is... don't spend too much time with it so as to snub her!
(Assuming it's your wife or girlfriend - which is it!?)
irmongoose
All I can say is... don't spend too much time with it so as to snub her!
(Assuming it's your wife or girlfriend - which is it!?)
irmongoose
She is not only the best girlfriend a man could ask for, but she is also an avid Mac user and was well aware of the coming update.
Here is where she sits on it. She is the one who originally convinced me to get the ACD 30", and she watched me go through the process of tethering my MBP to it (I gave her my iMac 24" when I got the display) with its fans howling. Then she saw me get the Mini as a stop-gap and saw the change in resolution (and loss of power) and went through the steps in the wait for Penryn 8-cores (for the price of 4) through the November phantom event.
She knows that the Penryns will probably come in January, and will offer slightly faster 8-cores for the price of the 2.66 4-core, and come with 2GB of RAM and a 500GB drive (which all means less upgrading).
She bought it knowing that we might want to exchange, but just wanted me to have what I wanted.
Now, I am not impressed by a bump to 2.83, and I can drop in drives and RAM. What we are wondering is not if the machine will physically last longer, but whether 8-cores will become more important in a few years and that hence an 8-core machine will have a longer functional lifespan.
I don't think I need a better graphics card. If I do one day, I can always upgrade. I think 16GB of RAM should be enough for a long time, never mind 32GB. But if multi-core support is going to become more prevalent, programmers have a way of requiring users to eat up ever increasing resources, and I do want this machine to last.
On the other hand, I also want to load this baby up and hook it up today!
If anybody has any insight into whether 8-cores would extend the functional like of the machine as a fire-breathing beast, I'd appreciate it. Conversely, I am dying to unleash this beast from its box and start enjoying this great machine.
For those who think me not grateful, trust me, that has nothing to do with it. We are just on the doorstep of Apple doubling the cores for the same price, and that is giving me pause.
Here is where she sits on it. She is the one who originally convinced me to get the ACD 30", and she watched me go through the process of tethering my MBP to it (I gave her my iMac 24" when I got the display) with its fans howling. Then she saw me get the Mini as a stop-gap and saw the change in resolution (and loss of power) and went through the steps in the wait for Penryn 8-cores (for the price of 4) through the November phantom event.
She knows that the Penryns will probably come in January, and will offer slightly faster 8-cores for the price of the 2.66 4-core, and come with 2GB of RAM and a 500GB drive (which all means less upgrading).
She bought it knowing that we might want to exchange, but just wanted me to have what I wanted.
Now, I am not impressed by a bump to 2.83, and I can drop in drives and RAM. What we are wondering is not if the machine will physically last longer, but whether 8-cores will become more important in a few years and that hence an 8-core machine will have a longer functional lifespan.
I don't think I need a better graphics card. If I do one day, I can always upgrade. I think 16GB of RAM should be enough for a long time, never mind 32GB. But if multi-core support is going to become more prevalent, programmers have a way of requiring users to eat up ever increasing resources, and I do want this machine to last.
On the other hand, I also want to load this baby up and hook it up today!
If anybody has any insight into whether 8-cores would extend the functional like of the machine as a fire-breathing beast, I'd appreciate it. Conversely, I am dying to unleash this beast from its box and start enjoying this great machine.
For those who think me not grateful, trust me, that has nothing to do with it. We are just on the doorstep of Apple doubling the cores for the same price, and that is giving me pause.