Question on new Mac Pro - 6 core vs 8 core

[robsp2000]

I am going to purchase a new mac pro. I normally have gotten about 4 years from each desktop I have bought so it's been a while, Mac Pro in 2009 and G5 in 2005.

I wanted to see if anyone had any recommendations on the configuration I am going to order based on what applications I use the most. I wanted to see which version would be most utilized by the programs I run. I don't want to pay for more than what I will be using.

I run my own small production company and probably put 70 hours a week in on my system. Here is a list of the top programs I use, especially the processor intensive ones:

1) FCP 7 - (Eventually I am going to have to go to FCP X)
2) After Effects CS6
3) Photoshop CS6
4) Quicktime 7 Pro (for video conversions)


I wasn't cure how these programs used the cores or if bumping up the ram is worth it.

Right now I am considering the 3.5GHz 6-core with 16GB ram. The upgrades I am thinking about are:

-3.0 GHz 8-core
-32 GB Ram
-Dual AMD FirePro D700 GPUs

 

[ssls6]

Simple math to at least think about the problem.

6 * 3.5 Ghz = 21 Ghz
8 * 3.0 Ghz = 24 Ghz

So the 8 core has 14% more total processing power when 100% utilized. Now comes the part only you can decide

Speed of use =

% of time using 6 or less cores * 3.5 Ghz

+

(1-%) of time using 8 cores * 3.0 Ghz

So, unless you can keep that 8 core machine 100% utilized 86% of the time, you will have an overall lower "speed of use". This alone doesn't mean much if your usage is wide open followed by periods of problem setup before you're wide open again. It's just a way to think about the problem.

For my usage, the 6core just makes more sense.