03-20-2009, 11:16 AM

Hi Everyone, I'm buying my first mac and it will be used for photo processing, audio recording, and general multitasking. I've narrowed it down to two choices which will be about the same price (roughly $2000). Which would you choose?

2.8ghz 8-Core
500GB HD, 4GB DDR2 800mhz
ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB
Used, about a year old with 2 years of warranty left

or

New 2.66ghz Nehalem Quad Core
640GB, 3GB DDR3 1066mhz
NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 512MB GDDR3
Full warranty that I could extend to 3 years.

I'm sure both will work fine for my needs but which will have the better performance now and which do you think will have the better resale after 2 years? Any other factors that I should consider? Thanks in advance for your help.

03-20-2009, 11:35 AM

Better performance - well, that'll be tough - based on everything I've seen, a single quad core 2.66 Nehalem won't necessarily outperform the 8 core '08 machine like the one you listed. One of the things you left out was the graphics card in each.

Better resale after 2 years - probably the nehalem as prices on the '08 models are dropping fast. I bought mine <month before the release of the new models, and the value of mine as dropped probably about $600 (well, maybe $400, because I already got a decent deal for the configuration).

They are both under warranty, so that's nice
They are both upgradeable
I don't know on the new motherboard, but you may not be able to add a second CPU, which means if you buy a single cpu version of the new mac, you may be stuck with single cpu for the life of the machine.
You might want to check with other people here who have more experience with audio, but it *sounds* like with what you are saying you want to do, you can probably get an imac or a mac mini that will suit your needs just fine without the uber expense of a mac pro - I guess it'll all come down to what accessories you require and what type of audio recording you're referencing.

Good luck. I know I love my mac pro, and although the new ones can outperform mine in a similar configuration, I'm keeping what I have as I'm happy with it, and I don't need the new processors. (I do video editing, photo work, surfing, general applications, transcoding (ie: camcorder records in a format not compatible with my editor), games (both in osx and windows via bootcamp)).

03-20-2009, 12:02 PM

Thanks for the reply. I added the Graphics info. I think I read that the new 2.66 only has a single processor slot but I'll try to find out for sure. That would be good to know.

03-20-2009, 12:19 PM

Originally Posted by nomotivs

Hi Everyone, I'm buying my first mac and it will be used for photo processing, audio recording, and general multitasking. I've narrowed it down to two choices which will be about the same price (roughly $2000).

Just checking...are we talking about $2000 in U.S. dollars?

Are you getting a student discount or some sort of other discount?

I just checked the Apple Store, and the new 2.66 Quad Core Mac Pro you mentioned starts at $2499 + tax.

Just wondering in case you found a "super source" for cheaper new Pac Pro's!

Thanks,

- Nick

03-20-2009, 12:21 PM

Yes, $2000 US. I do get a discount but its not a "super source" that I can share. Sorry!

03-20-2009, 12:29 PM

Originally Posted by nomotivs

Yes, $2000 US. I do get a discount but its not a "super source" that I can share. Sorry!

Good for you! Given the two computers you are choosing from...in either case your a winner! For $2000 you will be ending up with a GREAT computer!!!

- Nick

03-20-2009, 01:53 PM

With the kind of deal you're working there, you might want to see if you can get the 8 core version of the Nehalem model which will guarantee a higher resale value (assuming some super bad thing about that chip doesn't appear out of nowhere), and provide a longer use life compared to the single processor model

in terms of the video cards, the GT120 is a far superior card to the 2600xt. Granted, it's the "equivilant level" of card (ie: it's a more midrange card in the current video card lineup, the same way the 2600xt was when it came out) - but the technology and the capability (and the ram) are an improvement over the older 2600xt.

With either system, I'm sure you'd be happy, but I would see what kind of price you could get on the 8 core, and see if you could dig a little deeper and get that for a longer use life out of the system.

03-20-2009, 02:50 PM

I'd love to but thats really the max for my budget so its between those two systems.

03-20-2009, 02:59 PM

Originally Posted by nomotivs

I'd love to but thats really the max for my budget so its between those two systems.

Well since you mentioned your budget...you do know that for $750-$1000 you could get a very good used Mac that will definitely do what you mentioned in your original post.

Just wanted to mention that just in case.

- Nick

03-20-2009, 03:50 PM

Thanks but I've done my research and its really between those two.

03-20-2009, 04:36 PM

Originally Posted by nomotivs

Thanks but I've done my research and its really between those two.

I only mentioned it just in case spending less money was attractive.

I purchased a used Quad Core 2.66 ghz Mac Pro (earlier model) a few months ago for $1050.

- Nick

03-22-2009, 05:38 AM

on the topic of cheap mac pro prices, does anyone know if any Mac Pro quad core 2.8ghz 2008 models are being sold? my budget is AU$2000 (roughly US$1400, so if you see a decent price anywhere, would you mind pm-ing me? thanks..