Upgrade 2008 Octacore MP or buy new one?

[berndkiltz]

Hey Guys,

I'm thinking about upgrading my MacPro 3,1 Late 2008.
It has the 2,8 XEON x2, 8 GB of Ram (4x2), the Nvidia 8800 GT (modified with Zalman Cooler) a Raptor 300 GB HD and a Raid0 (2x 640 GB WD 7200) for Video editing.

I use it for Video editing, rendering (Adobe media encoder, son FCP X I hope)
A little Gaming (only Starcraft)

I was thinking about upgrading when I switch ti Lion:
- Get the 5870 Graphics OR the Quadro 4000 (if Final cut X benefits from it which remains to be seen)
- Intel 320 SSD 300 GB for Boot and Programs
- Upgrading the Ram to 16 GB

Do You think this would boost the machine enough for the next 2-3 Years, or shold I sell it and get a new one (6core Nehalem MacPro with same Specs)

I'm asking because it seems the Octacore 2,8 gets al lot of Money on Ebay, so buying the new one would only cost like 1000 euros more.
Worth the Money?

And most important: Do you guys have any Links to Benchmarks between the different MacPros (2008, 2009, 2010, Quadcore Hexacore etc...)
Would be very interested in that.

THX a lot for your thoughts and help
Bernd

 

[bearcatrp]

Sell it while you can get a descent price for it. Sold mine with 24GB ram about 5 months ago. If you can, get a westmere system. Will serve you for a good 5 yrs. Buy the cheapest dual processor available, then upgrade the processors later when the price drops. I just purchased a X5670 for 1 grand used. New they run almost 1500 bucks. Doubt the new mac pros comming out will be any lesser than whats currently available but the westmere systems should drop. Keep an eye out for a refurb too. Same warranty as new.