Questions on Mac Pro

[UndertheRadar]

Hi,
Just bought a 2.66 Mac Pro without any of the bells and whistles(even though i wish i could.) Before I actually receive my order I was wondering if you guys can offer a bit of advice. Here's my story.

I've been editing an indie feature on my core duo macbook but am finding the need for more power lately.
I have Final Cut Studio and plan on upgrading as soon as humanly possible.

1 Will the 2.66 become a thing of the past once the new version of FCS and the new OS are out?

2 Should I return my 2.66 and get the 3.0? Or the Eight? How much of a difference is their really?

3 If I supe the 2.66 with an additional 4gb of memory would I be better off than the increased chip speed when it comes to FC?

That's about all I can come up with for now, kind of jet lagged. I would greatly appreciate any advice or a helpful hand in pointing me in the right direction.
Thanks

 

[fivetoadsloth]

Hi,
Just bought a 2.66 Mac Pro without any of the bells and whistles(even though i wish i could.) Before I actually receive my order I was wondering if you guys can offer a bit of advice. Here's my story.

I've been editing an indie feature on my core duo macbook but am finding the need for more power lately.
I have Final Cut Studio and plan on upgrading as soon as humanly possible.

1 Will the 2.66 become a thing of the past once the new version of FCS and the new OS are out?

2 Should I return my 2.66 and get the 3.0? Or the Eight? How much of a difference is their really?

3 If I supe the 2.66 with an additional 4gb of memory would I be better off than the increased chip speed when it comes to FC?

That's about all I can come up with for now, kind of jet lagged. I would greatly appreciate any advice or a helpful hand in pointing me in the right direction.
Thanks

1. The 2.66 will not be a thing of the past, it is an AMAZING machine.
2. The difference is there, however If you are going to have one or two final cut preojects open the 2.66 should be enough for you.
3. Increasing the RAM will do miracles, 4 gig is a really nice target and you cna always easily add more.

 

[Lord Flashheart]

The 2.66 will not be a thing of the past. I would up the ram to 4 gigs. You will see a HUGE difference in performance from your Macbook. Keep the 2.66.

 

[volvoben]

1. Nope, the 2.66 is really the best value proposition at this point, the 2.0 doesn't save you enough but the 3.0 and octo don't give enough for their cost.

2. You'd notice the 3.0 quad very little, and the octo would have advantages, but really in everyday use the difference is not enough to make you much less productive. the 3.0 might be 12% faster on a good day, the octo could be 124% faster in theory but that's only when you have all 8 cores maxed, which is not very often. The octo is more likely to be held back by HDDs, ram etc, so unless you can buy it AND lots of ram, a fibrechannel etc, it's not likely to be a big upgrade. You already have the fantastic yet economical option, plus you can get a new one sooner.

3. Indeed, I suggest getting 2x2gb from OWC (as opposed to 4x1gb, the cost difference is negligible if it even exists, and it leaves you with 4 open slots for future upgrades). 1gb is nowhere near enough to run FCP or most other pro applications, but 5gb total will give you some nice speed.

You made the right choice, the 2.66 plus another 2-4gb ram is the best option for most power-hungry users without enormous budgets. Past the 2.66, the price per performance equation becomes much less impressive.

 

[UndertheRadar]

Thanks guys! Kind of had a feeling that'd be the case. I've been doing the research but just wanted to check with you guys. One more thing-do you guys think the stock video card is any good or should i look to upgrade that as well? I plan on using a lot of Motion when the new version comes out.

nice photos volvo and thanks again.

 

[BiikeMike]

Thanks guys! Kind of had a feeling that'd be the case. I've been doing the research but just wanted to check with you guys. One more thing-do you guys think the stock video card is any good or should i look to upgrade that as well? I plan on using a lot of Motion when the new version comes out.

nice photos volvo and thanks again.

If you are going to be using Motion, I would definitely go with the x1900. Its not that much more expensive, and quite worth it!

EDIT:

Not to mention, directly from the Apple Website:

Application-Specific Recommendations
Motion

* One of the following graphics cards is highly recommended:
o ATI Radeon X1900 XT, X850 XT, X800 XT, or X1600
o NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GT, 6800 Ultra DDL, 6800 GT DDL, or Quadro FX 4500
* For 32-bit rendering: a graphics card with 256MB of VRAM or more

Color

* The following graphics card is highly recommended:
o ATI Radeon X1900 XT
* Dual displays with 1920-by-1200 or higher resolution

 

[Lord Flashheart]

Go with the ATI X1900XT if you can afford it. Gives you more versatility and if you are runnung Motion you will need it.