Purchasing a new MacPro (8-core)

Bryan

Bryan

Well-known member
Greetings folks! I'm getting ready to purchase one of those brand new shiny Mac Pros, with 8-core woo! My first Mac.

I'm not editing HD yet, but I figure this machine will certainly support my needs when I do make the leap. My question is.... I was just going to go with Apple's standard configuration. 2.8ghz, 2gb ram, 320gb hdd (I have other SATA drives already), etc.

Are there any upgrades you definitely think I should include, or is this OK? Thanks for the advice.
 
I think the stock config is fine, though I would upgrade the graphics card to the mid-range 8800 GT. RAM and HDs are all best sourced from other vendors.

One thing i added to my MacPro is the NewerTech SATA cable that adds two eSATA connectors by connecting to the "extra" SATA connections in the MacPro. It takes a bit of work, but I love having access to two extra eSATA ports.

--SM
 
I'm not a Mac guy but everybody always says to buy your RAM from a 3rd party seller.

edit - and extra HDDs
 
Drew Ott said:
I'm not a Mac guy but everybody always says to buy your RAM from a 3rd party seller.

edit - and extra HDDs
Click to expand...

Agreed, Newegg.com has Mac Pro ram and its a whole lot cheaper than the stuff they sell at Apple. You can get 4gb for $120, pair of 2GB sticks. I am purchasing a Mac Pro soon the only upgrade I am getting from Apple is the 8800GT video card.
 
20% off the Mac Pro would be just around the $500 is would cost the join the Developer's connection. How does that make sense?

Anywho, I get an Apple discount from work already. 8% off, not bad.
 
Is the video card upgrade really helpful? I mean, what would it do... make rendering faster in FCS?



I don't plan on playing video games on OSX/WinXP.
 
Well, without having the specs in front of me, the more video RAM your card delivers, the better your renders and other background processing will be. The difference in my MacPro with the upgraded card isn't massive, but let me tell you, every little bit helps.

--SM
 
Bryan said:
20% off the Mac Pro would be just around the $500 is would cost the join the Developer's connection. How does that make sense?

Anywho, I get an Apple discount from work already. 8% off, not bad.
Click to expand...

It doesn't save you anything until you add on some stuff like video card upgrade, monitor etc. There's a configurator in the ADC store so you could price it out before buying the membership.

Sales tax can be a factor. Check your state film commission to see if they have any incentives such as waiver of sales tax or other tax credits.
 
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