Does the Base Model Mac Pro beat my current computer?

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Here are my specs of my current computer that I bought in 2010, note that I have added a 2tb hard drive to the empty slot.

LENOVO: LEN S20 W3680/12GB/500GB/FX3800/XP/W7 Pro + LG: W2286L
22"W LED/2MS/DVI-D/HDMI
Form Factor: Tower
Chipset: Intel X58
Processor: Intel Xeon W3680 Processor (3.33GHz 1333MHz 12MB) - 130W
Memory: 12GB (6x2GB)1333-UDIMM. 0 Memory Slots Empty
ThinkStation S20 supports UDIMM only
Raid Config: No Raid (Requires 3rd Party Raid Controller)
Hard Drive: 500GB SATA 3.5" 7200 rpm. + 1 X LENOVO 1000GB 7200RPM SATA
HDD 1 Hard Drive Bay Empty
Card Reader/Slot: Memory Card Reader
PRODUCT : Lenovo Blu-ray Burner COLOR : Business black INTERFACE : SATA
AVERAGE ACCESS TIME : 150 ms OPTICAL DEVICE : Blu-ray Recordable
OPTICAL DEVICE SPEED : 40X Max RECORDABLE : Yes REMOVABLE DRIVE : Yes
Graphics Card: nVidia FX3800(1GB)
Ethernet: Single Gigabit Ethernet
Warranty: 3/3 Year Warranty
Operating System: Windows XP Pro 32 (W7 Pro 64bit Recovery Media)
BAY 1: 5.25", 1.6" high, access, std optical
BAY 2: 5.25", 1.6" high, access, open
BAY 3: 3.5", 1" high, access, media reader
BAY 4: 3.5", 1" high, internal, std disk
BAY 5: 3.5", 1" high, internal, opt disk
Slot 1: half-length, full-height, PCIe 2.0 x16 (75w max)
Slot 2: half-length, full-height, PCIe 2.0 x1
Slot 3: half-length, full-height, 32-bit PCI 2.3
Slot 4: half-length, full-height, 32-bit PCI 2.3
1 $ 6650.00 $ 6650.00
Total (Ex GST) $ 6650.00
Total (Inc GST) $ 7315.00

My computer is suffering corrosion issues due to living near the sea and I don't think it will last much longer due to components like the ram beginning to die.

Will a Mac Pro base model $3,999 in Australia beat my current computer? Is there a way I can put my 3 internal hard drives in my current computer as well as a 3tb hard drive I've got stored away in the mac pro? If not is there a cheap, compact empty hard drive bay of some sort I can buy to plug into the mac pro?

Also does the cooling system of the mac pro help prolong the life of the computer in situations such as living near the sea with the salt air?
 

pigoo3

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Will a Mac Pro base model $3,999 in Australia beat my current computer?

My question back to you is...Why do you want to make the switch from a Windows computer to the Mac OS?

- Nick
 
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chas_m

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Yes, it beats it. Mainly because you'd be running OS X, which is a vastly superior operating system with hugely greater efficiency and resistance to malware. It wouldn't beat your current machine on every point (it obviously doesn't have multiple drive bays), but it wouldn't be fugly and noisy either, which would make a nice change. And as you've pointed out, it costs (some number between ⅓ and ½) as much.

First lesson in "MacZen" thinking: you're phrasing the question entirely wrongly -- stop asking about point-by-point breakdowns of features, and start asking yourself "will I be happier with a machine that by and large 'just works' and doesn't require micro-management? Will I be more productive and satisfied with a beautiful, efficient, quiet, elegant machine, or do I not care about such things? Am I willing to 'unlearn' some things to learn better things?"

That will give your answer. Not a spec sheet.
 

bobtomay

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15" MBP '06 2.33 C2D 4GB 10.7; 13" MBA '14 1.8 i7 8GB 10.11; 21" iMac '13 2.9 i5 8GB 10.11; 6S
I'll give you a point by point break down:

That CPU from early 2011 is currently ranked # 69 (at 9188) on the Passmark benchmarks.

ALL the current gen desktop Core i7 chips beat that Xeon.

Not only does the chip in the current Mac Pro beat that one, but every single i7 chip found in the current gen iMacs beat that chip - including the 21.5" model that can be upgraded to the 3.1 Ghz i7 (current rank of # 54) and be bought for only $1699 and the 27" model starting at $1999.

The overall rank of your video card is sitting at # 214 (with a paltry score of 834).

Meanwhile the mobile CPU in that $1699 iMac comes in at # 122 (with a score of 1526).

I would guess that you could find an off the shelf Windows computer that can trounce that system in benchmarks pretty handily for maybe $1200-1500.

ANY SSD is going to beat the HD in your system.

It always has been, and likely will be for the foreseeable future, to easily find a computer that can trounce the top of the line 2 year old computer on specs.

So, back to the points made above - why considering the move to OS X vs Windows?

And what do you do with a computer that you feel the need to spend $4-6,000 on one?
(We always recommend buying the best you can afford - so if that's the only reason, that's ok.)

edit:
The above are U.S. dollars.
 
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Thanks for the info bobtomay,

I'm not actually quite a mac fan myself... I've only bought an iPhone, iPod, iPad, MacBook white and soon a mac pro... Eh, well... yea.

Anyway I run the OSFirstTimer youtube channel and with our latest videos (not our old ones) a lot of 5 layered video editing with chroma keying is required. I also develop software, use a few adobe programs Rendering and compressing on my current computer takes 3 hours for a 30 minute video and editing becomes somewhat unresponsive the more complicated and cut up the videos get. I use sony Vegas pro to edit my videos.

Anyway my current desktop is starting to wear out and die. I'm looking for a new one but I want something slightly more powerful yet much smaller so it can fit on my desk. I've had a lot of dust and corrosion problems with my current computer. How is the mac pro with that kind of thing?

Also are there any issues running boot camp. The fact that this computer can run OSX is a bonus but I'd mostly use windows and Linux sometimes. As you know I'm OSFirstTimer... I practically use a different OS every week.
 
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bobtomay

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15" MBP '06 2.33 C2D 4GB 10.7; 13" MBA '14 1.8 i7 8GB 10.11; 21" iMac '13 2.9 i5 8GB 10.11; 6S
Nice channel - I've watched several of your mom's trials - the Win 8 one was pretty hilarious..

You def want to get the most CPU you can afford to cut the render times.
Check Geekbench for some benchmark scoring of the various Macs - here.

Everymac.com is a tool you will want to take advantage of.
You'll find the specific CPU being used in each machine along with all the tech specs you'll want.
On each machine, check the 'Tech Specs' tab and scroll down to the 'Processor Speed' section. With most of them you will find a How much faster link in the last paragraph which will take you to a page showing speeds, percentages faster than previous gen models and links to MacWorld, BareFeats, Anand, Ars and others that have done specific benchmarking of games, video rendering, etc. to check them out. With the amount of rendering you're doing, would definitely recommend you spend some time camparison shopping prior to jumping in.

Edit:
When your mom gets tired of trying them out, you could try out new OSs with my wife - not sure if they'd be as funny - but she'd be even more frustrated.

Edit2:
Shouldn't have any problems bootcamping Windows - realizing that it has to be installed on the internal primary drive. you may want to consider a 512MB SSD.
I've not triple booted anything on my Macs - another learning process there - have run a couple of Linux variants in VMWare Fusion once in awhile.
 
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dtravis7


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One point either I missed or that was not addressed, your older Hard Drives would have to go into an enclosure that supports Thunderbolt or USB 3.
 

pigoo3

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One point either I missed or that was not addressed, your older Hard Drives would have to go into an enclosure that supports Thunderbolt or USB 3.

Good catch! No internal bays for HD's in the new Mac Pro.

- Nick
 

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