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What system would you buy with $10,000?

I

inxilpro

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 22, 2008
2
0
So, I'm looking to switch to a Mac in style. Here's what I'm currently running (the pertinent info):
  • Dell XPS w/ a 3.2 Ghz Pentium D CPU
  • 2 GB of RAM
  • 500 GB Primary Drive (RAID, mirrored), 250 GB Secondary Drive
  • 7-Format Card Reader
  • Logitech Z-640 5.1 Speaker System
  • Dell 20001FP 20.1 in Digital Monitor (Primary Monitor)
  • Dell E193FP 19 in Analog Monitor (Secondary Monitor)
  • Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000
Here's what I'm currently looking at:
  • Mac Pro w/ Two 3.0GHz CPUs, Mac Pro RAID Card, 2GB RAM, 320GB Drive, NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT ~ $5,000
  • 8.0 GB Netlist / OWC Matched Set (2GB x 4) PC6400 DDR2 ~ $660
  • Four Seagate Barracuda ES ST3750640NS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA Drives ~ $960
  • Two Dell UltraSharp 3007WFP-HC 30-inch ~ $2,100
  • Altec Lansing FX6021 2.1 Speakers ~ $250
Which brings the grand total to about $9,000, putting me pretty close to my $10,000 budget with taxes/shipping.

So here are my questions:
  1. I'm looking at the Dell monitors because I've been happy with my current monitors. Any better monitor suggestions? I could be convinced to go down to 22-24" (I'm considering it anyway to save a few $$). Or should I wait for the new Apple monitors to come out?
  2. Does anyone have a convincing reason to choose a different set of hard drives to install? I've had good luck with Barracudas in the past, but I've heard some iffy things lately.
  3. I'm no audiophile, so the sound quality of my Logitech speakers sounds great to me. My thinking is that I can probably lose the surround sound (I very rarely have any 5.1 audio on my machine) and get slightly better sounding speakers to make up the difference. Any arguments for a different speaker set?
  4. Since my switch 6 months ago I've found that I must have an ergonomic keyboard. Are there any good Mac-friendly versions out there? The only one I've found from a little Googling is the Adesso keyboard, which looks pretty cheap/not necessarily as comfortable.
  5. If I don't go with the Dell monitors (which have card readers built in) I'll have to find a good card reader. Any suggestions that will fit the Mac Pro well?
  6. Should I skip on the hardware RAID? I live in Photoshop and expect to do a lot of video editing in FCP in the near future (one of the reasons I'm switching). I know that I don't need it, but is there a better place to put that $800?
Any other thoughts? What would you do differently? Thanks so much for any advise you can give!
 
1. dell monitors suck compared to other brands now days they use cheap materials. and there constrat ratio is 700:1 is bad... when i switched to a samsung i was a amazed by how much better it was so much that i changed all of my other pcs (5) with samsung monitors.

2. seagates 7200.11 drives are the fastest around they can beat the raptors in most benchmarks now? btw are they the 32mb chace hardrives? you picked?

3. your choice i use logitech g51 5.1 surround it has hardware matrix that converts 2.0 channel audio into 5.1 it does very well at it to.

4. logitech do mac keyboard that very good also razer do there pro line which is white and works well with mac

5. you can get samsung monitors with card readers

6. it could help depends on what raid you going to do.

raid 0 would help you render very large images. Raid0+1/5 would be great for you. its up to you

good luck hope this helps.
 
smogsy said:
1. dell monitors suck compared to other brands now days they use cheap materials. and there constrat ratio is 700:1 is bad... when i switched to a samsung i was a amazed by how much better it was so much that i changed all of my other pcs (5) with samsung monitors.
Click to expand...
The Dell Ultrasharps still use very good components. Its the "E" series displays that really skimp on the components. As for the 24" and 30", they use the same components that Apple does in the iMac and Cinema Displays.
 
Also, Dell's 30" is/was be better than Apple's within the last year.

It's nice to look at specs, but it really depends on what you intend to do with your LCD. My LCD is fantastic for photo editing, but very poor for gaming.
 
If you plan doing Video editing, I'd recommend maybe looking at having an extra 500GB drive.

This can be added on at a later date, but still, it's worth considering. SD files take up space when you have alot of them, and HD will use about 3x more.

I dont know too much about RAID setups, so not sure how they help with editing. I'm used to just using a scratch disc :confused:

Anyway, good luck with your purchase, sounds nice. I keep putting off buying more ram for our MP.. money is being spent elsewhere... better or worse is debatable =)
 
Up until just before christmas, I had been using a Dell Ultrasharp 19" monitor but wanted something bigger so I went out and bought a 22" HP monitor for £229 (alot less than the Dell equivelant), and when I put both monitors side by side, I was amazed at how dull the Dell looked in comparison.

It's worrying that I had gotten use to the Dell and for ages it looked absolutely perfect...until I got my HP. Now I'd never buy a Dell again.

I personally am waiting for the new Apple Cinema Displays to come out, then I will be buying 2. I will use them with a Mac Pro and have a KVM switch on one so I can also use the one with a MBP.
 
I second the 7200.11 32MB Cache 750 Seagates. I have a couple and for $195 from newegg vs. $180 each, I think the extra $15 is worth the 2nd gen. perpendicular recording, and more so the 32MB Cache.
 
So, would everyone agree that the Samsung SyncMaster 245T/275T are some of the better monitors in their price range? That's the feedback that I've been seeing.

@trainguy77 - As for RAID--I figured I'd put the four drives in and do a RAID 5 setup.

@smogsy/roland.g - Thanks for the tip about the 7200.11. I haven't purchased computer parts in a number of years, so I'm out of touch with the latest hardware.
 
topgunn said:
The Dell Ultrasharps still use very good components. Its the "E" series displays that really skimp on the components. As for the 24" and 30", they use the same components that Apple does in the iMac and Cinema Displays.
Click to expand...

TopGunn -- Nice Avitar....HOWDY DAMMIT!
 
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