Questions about purchasing my first Mac Pro

[Lifeguy]

I’m getting close to pulling the trigger on a new Mac Pro and just have a few questions before I make my purchase. I’ll be using this as my main desktop at home and plan on doing a bit of work with CS5 and maybe a few other programs. I'm not a professional by any means but would like to have a powerful Mac desktop that will give me some flexibility for upgrades in the future. I also plan on playing a few games (StarCraft 2 and FFXIV once it’s released) via boot camp. Both games are pretty graphic intensive, especially FFXIV, so I plan on upgrading to the 5870. I was considering a custom PC but would prefer to buy a Mac as my primary home computer.

So now I’m trying to figure out which Mac Pro would best suite my needs, assuming I purchase one. Right now I’m thinking of getting the base model and just upgrading the video card. I would probably throw another 1GB stick of RAM in there too.

2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon Nehalem
3GB DDR3 SDRAM
1TB 7200 RPM HD
ATI Radeon HD5870 1GB

What are people’s thoughts on the base model with the 2.8GHz processor? Would I benefit much from the 3.2GHz or is the difference not very noticeable? Also do all the new models use 1333GHz RAM?

Thanks in advance

 

[dissolve]

Can't answer all of your questions, but the Nehalems do not use 1333 Mhz RAM. Only the Westmere (6, 8, 12 core) do. My understanding is if you put the higher clocked RAM in the quad, it will just down-clock it to 1066.

I'm interested in other's opinions on the graphics card upgrade because I'm making a similar decision.

 

[Ravich]

Pretty sure even the 8 core westmere only supports 1066MHz

 

[skiffx]

Get more RAM from owc or transintl
Otherwise 2.8 should be fine for your needs, especially if you decide to throw an ssd in later on

 

[apolloa]

I'd of maybe thought about the 6 core model? Upgrade the graphics card and then upgrade the ram later? I think the 6 core will last longer in performance terms.

 

[TheBritishBloke]

When you're buying something like that, the answer is buy the best you can afford.

 

[dissolve]

Pretty sure even the 8 core westmere only supports 1066MHz

You're right. Any idea why? Are the 8 core Westmeres on the same board as the previous 8-core Nehalems?

 

[Chupa Chupa]

What are people’s thoughts on the base model with the 2.8GHz processor? Would I benefit much from the 3.2GHz or is the difference not very noticeable? Also do all the new models use 1333GHz RAM?

Thanks in advance

Really depends on your budget. If you have the ability to spend more $ then faster proc & more RAM is always going to be desirable, but the 2.8 is no slouch either, especially for the hobbyist/"prosumer." Take a look at the MacWorld and barefeats.com benchmarks from the '09s. They should give you a fair idea of the power of each of the QCs.

Personally, as a so-called "prosumer," I've been going back and fourth and have "settled" on the stock 2.8 QC and will put in 6GB RAM myself. I'd like to buy more, but I have other hobbies, and need to save some $ to upgrade my D90 in Sept too. Total compromise, but then again, not a bad one to have to make.

 

[strausd]

Get more RAM from owc or transintl
Otherwise 2.8 should be fine for your needs, especially if you decide to throw an ssd in later on

And if you do decide to get an SSD and use it as your boot drive, your games and apps will load much faster.

 

[telequest]

Also do all the new models use 1333GHz RAM?

No. RAM specs for all the new models are on Apple's Mac Pro tech specs page.
http://www.apple.com/macpro/specs.html

Dual-processor systems
2.4GHz system: 1066MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM (the 8-core)
2.66GHz and 2.93GHz systems: 1333MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM (12-core models)
Eight memory slots (four per processor) supporting up to 32GB of main memory using 1GB, 2GB, or 4GB DIMMs

Single-processor systems
2.8GHz and 3.2GHz systems: 1066MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM (quads)
3.33GHz system: 1333MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM (6-core)
Four memory slots supporting up to 16GB of main memory using 1GB, 2GB, or 4GB DIMMs​

8GB DIMMs likely to work as well (from 3rd party vendors like OWC, don't buy from Apple). My understanding is that OWC will test and confirm once they get their hands on 2010 Mac Pros.

 

[Lifeguy]

Thanks for the feedback. Anyone else?