What do YOU think ?

[Grenadier]

Is the 3.0GHz Processor choice on the Mac Pro really worth the extra £££ ?
Do you see the 3.0 totally flooring the 2.66 in any task in the future ?

Im not sure wether to take a 2.66 with the MP, or a 3.0.
I do want a future proof machine (Last aound 4-5 years),
but I dont want something that will just be a waste of hundreds of pounds.

Help !

 

[Eraserhead]

Is the 3.0GHz Processor choice on the Mac Pro really worth the extra £££ ?
Do you see the 3.0 totally flooring the 2.66 in any task in the future ?

Im not sure wether to take a 2.66 with the MP, or a 3.0.
I do want a future proof machine (Last aound 4-5 years),
but I dont want something that will just be a waste of hundreds of pounds.

Help !

What do you want to use it for? For some uses the 3Ghz might be useful, TBH mostly the Mac Pro is overkill.

 

[Grenadier]

Mostly gaming (Some work though too (Photoshop, Movie Making (Not sure what software)).
Dont flame me.
"The Mac Pro was not made for gaming...blah blah blah."
I cant live without OSX, and as such, im willing to pay more ££££ to run it.

Ahem, with that out of the way...

 

[itgoesbuzz]

What do you want to use it for? For some uses the 3Ghz might be useful, TBH mostly the Mac Pro is overkill.

what does TBH stand for? it's driving me crazy.

 

[Osarkon]

what does TBH stand for? it's driving me crazy.

TBH = To be honest . Shorthand terms are a bit...silly at times. Perhaps a page should be made with the most common ones listed and what they're shorthand for, might be handy. Or people could just start typing properly.

 

[emptyCup]

what does TBH stand for? it's driving me crazy.

You need this. Don't go online without it.

 

[Eraserhead]

TBH = To be honest . Shorthand terms are a bit...silly at times. Perhaps a page should be made with the most common ones listed and what they're shorthand for, might be handy. Or people could just start typing properly.

Sorry , a page does exist for Shorthand terms already, http://www.urbandictionary.com.

 

[Sun Baked]

Probably find over the long haul that memory and HD space will be far more important to you usage experience than waiting an extra second or two for the speed difference between the 2.66 and 3 GHz machines.

Not everyone updates the graphics cards, but 32GB of memory and TBs of HD storage will be the norm in these current Mac Pro towers in 4-5 years.

 

[dpaanlka]

Get more memory first over the extra 333mhz. I'm already feeling the squeeze on my 2.66 with 1gb (already added second hard drive, though).

 

[Grenadier]

So you guys think I should just basically save my cash, and stay with the 2.66 ?

EDIT_1: Oh, and yeah, im getting 4GB with it anyway, so RAM shouldnt be a problem. ATM, atleast. Its just a matter of saving £540

 

[Umbongo]

You'd need to decide in what regards "worth" is in this sense. For a home user, as you seem to be, wondering if you will benefit in the long run, my answer is probably not worth it unless you are constantly doing CPU intensive tasks and expect to be waiting on the machine for hours each day.

The upgrade costs almost a 3rd of the machine, you'd be better keeping that and investing it in other areas or setting it aside for the future, because in 4-5 years time you won't be thinking "damn this would be much better if I had got 3Ghz", but something more along the lines of "damn I wish I had one of those new Mac pros with 32 cores".

In short: CPU speed upgrades aren't a method to future proof.

 

[dkoralek]

So you guys think I should just basically save my cash, and stay with the 2.66 ?

EDIT_1: Oh, and yeah, im getting 4GB with it anyway, so RAM shouldnt be a problem. ATM, atleast. Its just a matter of saving £540

Yeah, that would be my suggestion, to stick with the 2.66. Buy some after market RAM with some of the money you saved.

cheers.

 

[Grenadier]

Understood. Thank you for your time and advice.
I will opt for a 2.66GHz.

 

[trainguy77]

yeah the 2.66 is the way to go unless you REALLY need the extra power. Buts its normally not worth the price.

 

[slughead]

if you really, REALLY need the extra speed you could wait for 8 core or upgrade your box yourself (thus ninja-chopping your warranty in two)

 

[Grenadier]

if you really, REALLY need the extra speed you could wait for 8 core or upgrade your box yourself (thus ninja-chopping your warranty in two)

Hmm.
Well, Multi Cores will soon be taken advantage of in games, so I suppose the more, the better.
When do you think Apple will release these ? WWDC ?

 

[steve_hill4]

What do you want to use it for? For some uses the 3Ghz might be useful, TBH mostly the Mac Pro is overkill.

The 3GHz is more marketing than anything. Apple being able to say they have the fastest Intel processors in their machines that are available and also that they have a processor faster than the G5 ever reached. Remember Steve saying at WWDC at the launch of the G5 3GHz within a year, never happened. This way they can finally hit that figure and also say they had to switch to intel to get it, justifying the switch to Pro users hanging onto their RISC G3/4/5 machines believing them to be still superior.

 

[slughead]

Hmm.
Well, Multi Cores will soon be taken advantage of in games, so I suppose the more, the better.
When do you think Apple will release these ? WWDC ?

I'm pretty sure it'll be next month.

 

[Grenadier]

Oho ?
Oh, hmm,
then I may aswell wait

 

[zap2]

"The Mac Pro was not made for gaming...blah blah blah."
..

It was more so then any other Mac...
I think with 4Gb of RAM and the 2.66Ghz you'll be fine, if it starts to be to slow for you in a few years, pick up more RAM and you'll be fine

 

[theblotted]

i also agree that unless you really need it (and can swing it), stay.

that said, it's also important to remember that it's cheaper to upgrade RAM later down the road. not to say CPU upgrade is not impossible, but currently not "certified" per se.

also, RAM is helpful when you have apps that will support it, and #s of apps you got running at the same time. if you only use 1 app at a time (for full CPU useage), and it only supports a certain RAM limit; buying more RAM won't help that much.

until Leopard 64bit multi-threaded apps that will support ridiculous amounts of RAM, that is

that's why i went with 3GHz. cuz 1) i need it; 2) i can swing it; 3) i use 1~2 app at a time mostly; 4) Logic only supports 4GB RAM max currently; 5) Leopard/Logic8 drops, all i need to upgrade is RAM... and i won't feel like i need to upgrade my Mac for a long while.