Hi:
Like many here, I'm hoping for a MacPro update at Mac World, ideally a powerful Penryn without too great a price jump.
I've been browsing threads here & elsewhere trying to get a handle on what benefits this wait would entail vs. buying now. I'd like to run it by you guys & see what we're hoping for. Some of this is buried in other threads amidst a lot of technical discussion, so I'm aiming for a streamlined, simple version.
I'm a home user planning to run Leopard & Parallels/VISTA Home Premium for general use & I've got a new Sony HD camcorder so I hope to do some HD video editing under Windows or Mac (iMovie or, on Windows, Pinnacle Studio Plus, not high-end stuff). So I want plenty of raw power.
From what I've gleaned, a move to Penryn might give:
1.) 5-10% performance increase. That's not much. But it can handle specialized instructions that, if future software is written to take advantage, might speed some things along a good deal, including video processing. Wonder how good?
2.) Lower power, cooler running chip. Maybe the system stays cooler so fans stay quieter? But I'm reading current MacPros are already pretty quiet.
3.) Perhaps most important of all, a powerful new mainstream ATI or inVidia video card option so you don't need to buy a MacPro with the lowest end, chunk it (a waste) & replace it with one you then 'flash' (I'm not up on this) if you want powerful, current power.
Which raises the question of how much impact these powerful gaming cards actually have on working with HD video, as opposed to running high-end games & doing scientific 3-D modeling.
I may have some gross misunderstandings here, for which I apologize in advance, but I'm trying to learn as I go.
So, given that some people are waiting months to get the next generation MacPro instead of settling for the much-loved current version, what benefits do you realistically hope to get in return?
Richard.
P.S.: Also advance apologies to those who may think the topic's been done to death. I've read in other threads & they go into such depth in places I get lost.
Like many here, I'm hoping for a MacPro update at Mac World, ideally a powerful Penryn without too great a price jump.
I've been browsing threads here & elsewhere trying to get a handle on what benefits this wait would entail vs. buying now. I'd like to run it by you guys & see what we're hoping for. Some of this is buried in other threads amidst a lot of technical discussion, so I'm aiming for a streamlined, simple version.
I'm a home user planning to run Leopard & Parallels/VISTA Home Premium for general use & I've got a new Sony HD camcorder so I hope to do some HD video editing under Windows or Mac (iMovie or, on Windows, Pinnacle Studio Plus, not high-end stuff). So I want plenty of raw power.
From what I've gleaned, a move to Penryn might give:
1.) 5-10% performance increase. That's not much. But it can handle specialized instructions that, if future software is written to take advantage, might speed some things along a good deal, including video processing. Wonder how good?
2.) Lower power, cooler running chip. Maybe the system stays cooler so fans stay quieter? But I'm reading current MacPros are already pretty quiet.
3.) Perhaps most important of all, a powerful new mainstream ATI or inVidia video card option so you don't need to buy a MacPro with the lowest end, chunk it (a waste) & replace it with one you then 'flash' (I'm not up on this) if you want powerful, current power.
Which raises the question of how much impact these powerful gaming cards actually have on working with HD video, as opposed to running high-end games & doing scientific 3-D modeling.
I may have some gross misunderstandings here, for which I apologize in advance, but I'm trying to learn as I go.
So, given that some people are waiting months to get the next generation MacPro instead of settling for the much-loved current version, what benefits do you realistically hope to get in return?
Richard.
P.S.: Also advance apologies to those who may think the topic's been done to death. I've read in other threads & they go into such depth in places I get lost.
