04-27-2010, 10:19 AM

I have been building PC's for years, but even with windows 7, just very frustrated with it.

I am a full time photographer, and do quite a bit of HD video.
Its time to replace one of my workstations, thinking its time to try a Mac Pro.

If I do, all I can afford at this time is this one.

Apple | Mac Pro Desktop Computer Workstation | MB535LL/A | B&H

Do you think its a good idea, I get very busy in two weeks so if I do not make the switch now, will be a year before I can.

I know they may update the mac pro, if they do, can replace another workstation down the road, but no way can I learn a new platform during the summer, just way to busy.

04-27-2010, 10:25 AM

Originally Posted by Denny Kyser

If I do, all I can afford at this time is this one.

Apple | Mac Pro Desktop Computer Workstation | MB535LL/A | B&H

Do you think its a good idea, I get very busy in two weeks so if I do not make the switch now, will be a year before I can.

I know they may update the mac pro, if they do, can replace another workstation down the road, but no way can I learn a new platform during the summer, just way to busy.

Why in the world would you say..."All I can afford at this time is this one..."

The 8-core Mac Pro computer you linked is basically a Top-Of-The-Line computer for over $3000+ dollars!!! If you said all you could afford was a $599 Mac-Mini...then I could understand.

Also...you say that you will be getting very busy in two weeks. Since you're a long time "PC/Windows" person...if you purchased the Mac Pro today...are you sure two weeks is enough time to transition to a Macintosh computer & the Macintosh OS?

Hope this helps,

- Nick

04-27-2010, 10:27 AM

That's a very formidable Mac right there and should fit your needs nicely..when the Mac Pro's do get their updates, the new ones will be even more expensive than that one..so if you're keeping an eye on the budget.this is a good place to start with..

Regards

04-27-2010, 10:35 AM

Originally Posted by pigoo3

Why in the world would you say..."All I can afford at this time is this one..."

The 8-core Mac Pro computer you linked is basically a Top-Of-The-Line computer for over $3000+ dollars!!! If you said all you could afford was a $599 Mac-Mini...then I could understand.

Also...you say that you will be getting very busy in two weeks. Since you're a long time "PC/Windows" person...if you purchased the Mac Pro today...are you sure two weeks is enough time to transition to a Macintosh computer & the Macintosh OS?

Hope this helps,

- Nick

Nick, I noticed on BH website some Mac Pros are around 6 grand, and I was thinking if thats what it takes to get a good Mac, its way out of my range.

I am sure I will not be 100% ready in two weeks, but if I can download my images, process through lightroom will be fine, as they are then sent to a network storage for others to edit. I can always use another workstation if the learning curve slows me down. As long as I feel I can be pretty comfortable with it by mid to late June, I will be set.

Originally Posted by Raz0rEdge

That's a very formidable Mac right there and should fit your needs nicely..when the Mac Pro's do get their updates, the new ones will be even more expensive than that one..so if you're keeping an eye on the budget.this is a good place to start with..

Regards

Thanks, was hoping that was the answer, I did not know if the Mac Pros in this segment were work horses or not.

04-27-2010, 10:52 AM

I've got to say, I think the Mac Pro is the worst value for money of any Mac - even though I have to say if money were no object, I'd buy one in a flash. I consider myself very well off, but I'd find it very hard to justify buying a $3,000 computer that's essentially crippled.

OK, you're getting an 8-core 16/thread monster in the most beautiful case you'll ever see... but from there, it's all downhill. The GT 120 is a joke and even if you're not going to play games, the GPU is important now. It only has 32 CUDA cores (last year's mid-range GT260 has 5 times that number, and the modest 470 has 15 times that amount. It's a terrible GPU, barely better than a 9600m.

The 640GB single drive is also a joke for the price. If you're dealing with HD video you're immediately going to want 3 or possible 4 drives. 2 in RAID 0 to run very quickly and a 3rd or another pair for backup/redundancy (I assume you're a professional if you're looking to spend this cash).

Finally 6GB of RAM will vanish in a heartbeat with HD video.

So rather than drop $3k on a machine that's more than a year old, I would either

a) Get the entry new machine from Apple, upgrade the HDDs via 3rd parties, the RAM and wait for Fermi support on the GPU, or get the 285GTX for Mac (with 240 cores).

b) Get a used machine with the upgrades already in place

I don't think the B&H deal is great to be honest. If you don't have a great display, you might even want to consider the 27 inch iMac with an i7. It actually has a better GPU (if you get the 4850).

04-27-2010, 10:52 AM

Originally Posted by Denny Kyser

Nick, I noticed on BH website some Mac Pros are around 6 grand, and I was thinking if thats what it takes to get a good Mac, its way out of my range.

ANY Mac Pro is pretty much a top of the line computer. Sure you can spend more money upgrading the ram, hard drives, and video cards...but a $3000+ dollar 8-core Mac Pro is a very high end Macintosh computer!!!

If you visit the Apple website...you can actually custom configure a $12,849 dollar Mac Pro....that still doesn't mean that a $3000+ Mac Pro is low-end...for us "poor-people"!

If you compare the cost of a $3000+ 8-core Mac Pro to a:

- $599 Mac-Mini
- $999 MacBook
- $1199 MacBook Pro
- $1199 iMac

You can see how saying "All I can afford at this time is this one..." seems a bit out of place!

It's kind of like saying to a hungry homeless person..."All I can afford is a T-bone steak, lobster tails, caviar, and French wine"! Or something like that.

Good luck,

- Nick

04-27-2010, 11:17 AM

Thanks for the advice, and I see your points.

Unless upgrading is much harder than with PC machines that is not a problem, I have been building PC's from scratch for years.

Hd size does not bother me, I have a 4tb drobo, and a 4tb Network storage device and 3 1TB HD's I will install that have just been used as backups. Storage is not an issue.

I am not a gamer at all, strictly a business machine.

Is the ram incredibly difficult to install, my current machine I have is a major pain.

04-27-2010, 11:21 AM

Originally Posted by Denny Kyser

Thanks for the advice, and I see your points.

Unless upgrading is much harder than with PC machines that is not a problem, I have been building PC's from scratch for years.

Is the ram incredibly difficult to install, my current machine I have is a major pain.

Upgrading the ram, hard drives, and video cards is very very easy in a Mac Pro!!! If your current machine is a pain to upgrade the ram...a Mac pro is a dream!!!

Go to You-Tube and check out some of the Mac Pro ram upgrade videos...you will see what I mean.

Hope this helps...good luck with your purchase,

- Nick

04-27-2010, 11:38 AM

Originally Posted by Denny Kyser

Thanks for the advice, and I see your points.

Unless upgrading is much harder than with PC machines that is not a problem, I have been building PC's from scratch for years.

Hd size does not bother me, I have a 4tb drobo, and a 4tb Network storage device and 3 1TB HD's I will install that have just been used as backups. Storage is not an issue.

I am not a gamer at all, strictly a business machine.

Is the ram incredibly difficult to install, my current machine I have is a major pain.

Hang on there. I wasn't talking about storage, it's about transfer speed. A single 7200rpm SATA drive is a bit 2005, for HD video editing, 2 drives are needed for data transfer, even if it's two small drives. Even better an SSD.

I mentioned the GPU not for gaming, but for encoding/decoding and even CS5 uses a lot of GPU grunt. When a $600 PC can apply a filter quicker than your $3,100 Mac Pro, because it doesn't have a GPU from the 2007 bargain bin, it's a real smack in the mouth. RAM should be easy to install - in fact the Mac Pro is a joy for upgrades... very easy.

I'm not trying to put you off, but I find it frustrating that such a high-end machine has such a terrible GPU when so many things make use of it.

04-27-2010, 02:05 PM

Thanks for the advice everyone, I just ordered a Mac Pro, I may rebuild one of my PC's also, just have got to try something. Every year I build the biggest, baddest PC I can, using specs that video pros claim to be the best and still shortly after its built issue after issue, a year later its just about junk, for what I use them for. I know the people who use them (systems I build) for personal PC's they love them and they last for years. They just do not hold up for every day graphics work.

Will let you know what I think

04-27-2010, 03:02 PM

Good luck with your Mac Pro purchase.
I would have offered the i7 imac option for you. But since you are so bent on getting a Mac Pro I don't think anything will change your mind. I just hope it is everything you want it to be. Because it's so expensive.

But just check out some of the benchmarks i7 imac vs latest Mac Pro. You'll be surprised how well the i7 stacks up to it. And in some tests the i7 is actually better. But since you already made your purchase the question is moot.

Hope you like your Mac Pro.