Thinking of replaceing PC with Mac Pro have a few questions

[roybfr]

Sorry if some of this is noob stuff.

First the details. I have had a few macs usually as my 2nd computer including G4 1.42 mini and Dual Core MacBook. The mini was a little slow for my taste even at the time but I really like the MacBook, unfortunately it was used for work and I could not get an app I need there to get along with boot camp. My wife who is a graphic artist/web designer had at G4 Quicksilver I bought her college (before we were married, so she could spend more time with me and less at the computer lab ) This past spring I bought her a base Mac Pro as I had been salivating on them for some time. I also gave her 2 Samsung 214T LCD's I was using and bought myself 2 24" ones that did 1080p so I could use one as my part time Xbox 360 monitor. So now I am constantly taunted by her nice Mac Pro. She won't let me put boot camp on it and do all the computer geek things I want to so I figure I should just get my own. I have been dabbling with the whole OS X86 off and on but it is just not a good deal for something you need from a stability/compatibility stand point. So I kind of gave up on ti and bought a new motherboard, ect and build a PC with a Q6600 processor, 7900gtx card, 2gigs ram, and 2 500gig hds and a 1 750gighd. It is running Vista 32. Would have liked Vista 64 so I could up the ram for video/sound editing but it's just not there yet.

So I am thinking about selling all that and getting a Mac Pro instead. So here are a few questions sorry if they are repeats.

From what I read it runs Windows pretty good. Is it safe to assume that Boot Camp should perform at least as well on the Pro as it did on my C2D MB.
I also assume that the 3 hds that I have can be used in the Mac Pro since they are SATA 3gb/s drives.
I am having a hard time deciding between getting a base with the 2.66/7300 for $2500 or getting the 3.0 dual/1900xt. I figure that down the road I could always swap the processors out or get an 1900xt for about $250. The only computer game I play these days is WOW, mostly just play games on the 360.

Oh well just looking for any comments.

 

[crazzyeddie]

I think the Mac Pro would work well for you. You can put your 3 other SATA drives in the machine, it has a total of 4 drive bays. You can upgrade the processor/GPU later, but you would of course void your warranty (or Applecare) if you decided on a new CPU. It might be worthwhile to get the 3.0ghz with the stock graphics card, if you need the CPU power.

Maybe if you could give us some more info on what apps you're going to run, other than WoW, and then we can further advise you on what configuration to get.

 

[roybfr]

Video editing in Pinnacle Studio, don't have an issue moving to something on the Apple like Final Cut Xp HD. Do a little recording and mixing in Cubase. That I then bring over to Studio for back ground music along with songs. This is for personal stuff, from races ect. I do a lot in word and excel for work, figure I would just run that on the PC side under parallels, vmware or boot camp. Also run several sessions of an ERP App for work. This was what I had issues with before but have figured it out, plus this is my home machine so it is not as critical for that.
Surf the web with probably 10-20 tabs going at once, mostly for research of my next project. Listen to itunes, play around with Windows Server/Linux in Vmware. Do a little bit of programming for my Lego robot. So nothing big but always sever things at once. Like I usually play WOW, surf the web and watch a Movie all at once, and may even play the Xbox 360 on the other monitor at the same time. That was the nice thing about the Core Duo's when they came out. I could rip a DVD, listen to iTunes, play WOW and watch Myth Busters on the tuner on my PC without missing a beat. Plus I have an FTP or Torrent going half the time. Call it computer ADHD or what ever. A lot of nothing all at the same time.

 

[krell100]

I'd go with the 2.66 as you get much more bang for your buck. The 3Ghz Octo is VERY pricey and I don't see anything you do that would really use that kind of CPU power. BUT if you've got the cash to burn then, hey, get the octo and enjoy.

Make sure you put LOTS of Ram in it... all those apps at the same time will soak it up... I reckon 3Gb at the very least...

 

[roybfr]

Well I got a 2.66 Pro tonight. Also picked up an XT1900 to put in there. Hope to order some more memory in a few weeks. Thanks for the help.

 

[Mxsix]

Congrats! So how are you liking it so far?

 

[qpid]

Just to clarify you did get your x1900xt from Apple right and not from someone else? Just asking because it was a little vague from your posting and I have heard of a couple of windows users buying non-compatible cards.

 

[miniConvert]

Well I got a 2.66 Pro tonight. Also picked up an XT1900 to put in there. Hope to order some more memory in a few weeks. Thanks for the help.

Good choice. I know the ATI card is getting a little long in the tooth now, but for playing WoW it's just great

 

[roybfr]

Yeah I got he car from Apple, but since I bought it at the store I paid full retail for it, no savings on removal of the stock card as if I had ordered it. I figure the stock card will sell on Ebay to recoup a little.

I have not gotten to play with it yet. Been a busy weekend, trying to get a car ready to go to the track in 2 weeks. Hope to have it up tonight through.

 

[Sean Dempsey]

Yeah I got he car from Apple, but since I bought it at the store I paid full retail for it, no savings on removal of the stock card as if I had ordered it. I figure the stock card will sell on Ebay to recoup a little.

I have not gotten to play with it yet. Been a busy weekend, trying to get a car ready to go to the track in 2 weeks. Hope to have it up tonight through.

You took the 7300 out? Why not keep it, so if you want to have a 3rd and 4th display, you can?

 

[roybfr]

True but honestly 2 24" are enough for me for now. Plus I would rather save for 2 30" then have more 24" 's, and I am anal about all my monitors being the same size so if I ever got 30's I would not use the 24" as well, I would give them to my wife.

 

[roybfr]

Well it is up and running now. Did not plug the power into the Xt1900 at first so had to open it back up to do that. Bought an extra 2 gigs of RAM at CompUSA, should do for now. Also picked up a Kensington wireless keyborad/mouse combo, but I am not liking the keyboard right now, but like the mouse. Other then that just going through that great process of installing and moving files, fun fun

 

[darthraige]

Are you the type that will get upset when the new MacPro comes out in October/November? Where it will be twice as fast as what you got now for the same price?

 

[Sean Dempsey]

Are you the type that will get upset when the new MacPro comes out in October/November? Where it will be twice as fast as what you got now for the same price?

What a loaded question. Are you the type that disguises your disdain and dissatisfaction in the form of innocent questions?

 

[Mr.Noisy]

Are you the type that will get upset when the new MacPro comes out in October/November? Where it will be twice as fast as what you got now for the same price?

Roughly translated : i wish i had bought a Mac Pro when i had the chance, but i'm hoping and praying that there will be an update in October/November, to make waiting Worth it

The truth, i doubt anything will change apart from the graphics cards, so darthraige should have got sorted with a mac pro when he was thinking about it instead of listening to others
& as for roybfr, well now he knows what it's like to own/use a mac pro

The grin will be worn with pride for a long time yet, well done on a great purchase roybfr