Want a Mac Pro, deciding which one & when

[turtlebud]

My Powermac G5 is getting a bit long in the tooth and I'm starting to consider an upgrade to a Mac Pro. My current system is a Dual core 2.0Ghz G5 w/ a 7800GT & 6GB of RAM. I primarily use it for Aperture and am starting to learn FCE4.

I'm looking for a balance between performance and price so I think I'll be perfectly happy with the current line of Mac Pros (I won't need to get the Gainstown when it finally comes out). The only reason I'd want to wait for the Gainstown to come out is that I can hopefully get a better deal on the previous gen (the current ones now) Mac Pros. I know that the Macbook Pros saw heavy discounts on the previous gen Macbook Pros once the new ones came out.

The other thing is that I'd like something that back compatible with all the stuff I have right now (ACD, firewire camcorder, etc.) and I fear that they're going to move the new Mac Pros to the Display Port technology and possibly eliminate FW400. Yes, I know that I can just get an adapter for those, but I'd prefer not to have to.

Right now I've got my eye on the 2.8Ghz 8 core model, which I would upgrade the graphics card to the 8800GT and then buy after market RAM and move my current HDD over. The $2800 price tag is a little steep for me vs. the $2300 is more in my price range, but I don't want to make the mistake of saving the $500 now but then shortening the useful life of the machine.

What are the chances that these current models will be discounted once (and will it be substantial) the new Mac Pros are finally released?

Is there anything glaring that I'm missing in my logic here? Any other words or wisdom that anyone can offer?

Thanks.

 

[Tallest Skil]

Supposing they even actually work with the current models, you could not get the 8800 GT and instead get a card from the Gainestown Mac Pro to put in yours.

Other than that, waiting for Gainestown and then buying Harpertown is a smart thing to do if you don't want 2x the speed.

 

[dabirdwell]

I just ordered the 2.8x8 yesterday.

B&H Photo Video has it shipped for $2589. That was better than I could get through Apple refurb or education store, and I know it will last me for a while. I'm going to spend the $170 to upgrade to 10GB of RAM, which will probably become 16 before too long, so I can get full speed performance out of it. Also trying to figure out a storage solution, but SATA storage is dirt cheap right now.

I might mention though- you should at least consider the ATI Radeon 3870 over the 8800GT. It tends to outperform the Nvidia card in Apple applications and system stuff. If you're using Aperture, Final Cut anything, Motion, etc, it's the better choice.

 

[turtlebud]

n/m my last reply - should have done a quick google search before I responded - found it at OWC for $220 - cheaper than the upgrade kit for the 8800 would have been. thanks for the advice!

 

[dabirdwell]

One other note about the 3870- some people have found their cards to be noisy because of a poorly-thought-out fan design. I think I'm going to add a third-party passive cooler that seems to help it stay silent. The one I'm looking at is here.

There's also a turbo accessory that adds active fan cooling, but I don't plan on OCing it, I just want it to run silently and cool, and last a long time.