Mac Pro behind the corner

[robert blu]

The new Mac Pro is behind the corner. Powerful and expensive...
Is anyone thinking to get it? Any comment or suggestion?
robert
PS: I need to replace my 7 years old (yes, 7 years!) i.mac...

 

[paulfish4570]

but my bride insists i consider getting one; my toshiba needs replacing; and i'd like to try the apple system; she loves her iphone and ipad ...

 

[HuubL]

She'll love the Mac too!

 

[Frank Petronio]

I'd love to get one but a reasonable configuration is probably going to cost twice of what a loaded up iMac will. It should be great for video editing but it remains to be seen how much faster Photoshop will run on it (and what our time is worth).

 

[f16sunshine]

I have a full spec iMac27 on the way (3.5ghz i7, 32G ram, 1Terra SSD).
My use is mostly building lightweight websites, processing RAW files, and building out the occasional time-lapse or Video.
The 32 of RAM and big mature technology SSD will make the most difference for me.
If I get a project that requires for more spec than the machine that is on the way I'll be surprised.
The new pro looks like a killer but for my use it's like using a spaceship to get across a pond !

 

[Grahamb]

I have used a I mac for some years now, a 2 Ghz core 2 duo, 3GB ddr sdram, and have never had a problem with her.

I also have a pc running side by side,

Me i all ways use the mac, some how cleaner to use.

 

[thegman]

Not considering getting one, I found my iMac with 12GB RAM fine for dealing with large medium format scans. It's a cracking machine for those who need/want the specs, but I don't need those graphics cards and the price they entail. The same thing with an option for low end graphics would be pretty sweet. I want the CPU power, RAM capacity and that lovely case, but I'd like the option of cheaping out on some components.

Some people will say it does not make sense to cheap out on some parts of such a pricey machine, but the fact is I write software, I don't edit 3D models, those cards would sit idle for me.

 

[majid]

I have an early 2009 Mac Pro (Nehalem) with 2x2.93GHz processors, 48GB of RAM and an ATI Radeon 5870 video card. I used to have the entry-level GeForce 5200 card but Aperture required a beefier GPU. Even if you don't do 3D, you will still benefit from the GPUs in the Mac Pro as OS X includes OpenCL, which allows offloading heavy computations to the GPUs. Not all image processing programs make use of this yet, but Adobe Photoshop CS6 uses OpenCL for some filters, and Pixelmator does as well.

I will probably upgrade to the new 6-core 3.5GHz Mac Pro (and convert the existing Mac Pro to server duties) once I figure out how to get 2-3TB of SSD storage space for my home directory on the new Mac Pro. Probably using a Promise Pegasus J4 with 4x512GB Samsung 840 Pro SSDs or 4x800GB Intel SSD DC 3500, but I am concerned the J4 requires a custom driver, something which will probably cause compatibility headaches down the road.

The new design is like those computers that get small size by cheating and moving the power supply to a wall-wart. A pro workstation-class machine like the Mac Pro needs expandability, and Thunderbolt options are not quite up to par yet. There are some questionable decisions like having only 4 memory slots, not including 10 gigabit Ethernet, and HDMI 1.4a, while technically giving you 4K capability, only does 4Kp30, not 4Kp60 like HDMI 2.0.

As for the price, pro Macs have a long useful lifetime to amortize on - my previous G5 lasted me 5 years, the Mac Pro will have almost as long, compared to about 1 or 2 years for my HP workstations running UNIX. There are some issues, like one dead USB port, but nothing like the issues that affect my 2010 vintage 27" quad-core i7 iMac at work. The iMac doesn't really have sufficient cooling capacity for the electronics crammed in the rear, and that takes its toll on component lifetime like hard drives.

Another option to consider is a refurb Mac Pro from Apple:
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/mac_pro

 

[Thardy]

I have an early 2009 Mac Pro (Nehalem) with 2x2.93GHz processors, 48GB of RAM and an ATI Radeon 5870 video card. I used to have the entry-level GeForce 5200 card but Aperture required a beefier GPU. Even if you don't do 3D, you will still benefit from the GPUs in the Mac Pro as OS X includes OpenCL, which allows offloading heavy computations to the GPUs. Not all image processing programs make use of this yet, but Adobe Photoshop CS6 uses OpenCL for some filters, and Pixelmator does as well.

I will probably upgrade to the new 6-core 3.5GHz Mac Pro (and convert the existing Mac Pro to server duties) once I figure out how to get 2-3TB of SSD storage space for my home directory on the new Mac Pro. Probably using a Promise Pegasus J4 with 4x512GB Samsung 840 Pro SSDs or 4x800GB Intel SSD DC 3500, but I am concerned the J4 requires a custom driver, something which will probably cause compatibility headaches down the road.

The new design is like those computers that get small size by cheating and moving the power supply to a wall-wart. A pro workstation-class machine like the Mac Pro needs expandability, and Thunderbolt options are not quite up to par yet. There are some questionable decisions like having only 4 memory slots, not including 10 gigabit Ethernet, and HDMI 1.4a, while technically giving you 4K capability, only does 4Kp30, not 4Kp60 like HDMI 2.0.

As for the price, pro Macs have a long useful lifetime to amortize on - my previous G5 lasted me 5 years, the Mac Pro will have almost as long, compared to about 1 or 2 years for my HP workstations running UNIX. There are some issues, like one dead USB port, but nothing like the issues that affect my 2010 vintage 27" quad-core i7 iMac at work. The iMac doesn't really have sufficient cooling capacity for the electronics crammed in the rear, and that takes its toll on component lifetime like hard drives.

Another option to consider is a refurb Mac Pro from Apple:
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/mac_pro

I'd like one if those refurb Mac Pro. Lots of power plus room for expansion.

 

[paulfish4570]

drank the kool-aid tonight: bought a mac pro 13-inch laptop with retina display. it comes with iphoto, a basic little photo-editing tool. bought an external hard drive with it. this will be a long, slow learning curve for me. reckon i'll need big-boy photo-editing software, but which one? i like things to be SIMPLE as possible ...

 

[michaelwj]

They're pretty drool worthy. I'm currently running a 5 year old iMac, but want to get a different screen. The only options is the Pro or the Mini. Once upon a time (a few months ago) the Pro held everything neatly inside, while the mini had a mess of TB cables and external drives. Not any more, so for me and what I do (photo - no video) the mini is the easier choice. For the price of the base Pro, that is one specced out mini, with tones of TB storage.
I don't understand the new Pro, for all of apples neatness, they expect you to live with a mess of cables and external boxes - kinda ruins the aesthetics of the device really.
Michael

 

[robert blu]

When 7 years ago I bought my current i.mac I upgraded the RAM to 3 G, which in that moment seemed to be an excess. But it was what allowed me to use it for 7 years. I have a similar thinking about the new Pro: now it has more power than I need, but maybe in 3-4 years with new operating systems, new softwares I'll benefit of it.

I tend not to change my devices very oft, which may be is a mistake due to the always improving technology.

Of course beside the Mac itself I have to plan the data storage/backup system and an appropriate monitor...hmmm, expensive times...

As alternative a 27 i.mac could do but I do not like the glossy screen and I think the Pro to be more reliable in the long terms.

robert

 

[gavinlg]

My iMac is 10 years old next year 😉

Still running pretty well. I will probably just upgrade to a newer iMac, depending on where the mac pro sits pricewise. The fact that it is assembled in the US makes me want it more.

 

[johannielscom]

Current kit: Mac Mini Core2Duo 2.26Ghz, 4GB RAM. HP monitor, wireless keyboard and Mighty Mouse.

Just last night cloned the hard drive to an external drive and while typing this I am on a fresh install of Mavericks. All sluggishness is gone, it's as new.

I will be using the cloned drive to run Snow Leopard from, so I can still use the Minolta software that originally came with my ScanDual IV. Never managed to get that software working with Lion, or use VueScan with the ScanDual IV.

IMHO this is THE great advantage of working with a Mac, the option of using external drives as start-up drives and thus running several OS's with the one computer.

I lucked into a site that contained upgrade data for Macs and found out that my model can even take 8GB's of RAM so that's going to be the next stop.

Me, I'm not considering a new Mac at all.😎

 

[Paddy C]

My Mac Pro is just about to turn three years old so I should be at least three years away from having to make a decision.

Apple has a taken a step to completely separate the Mac Pro from the iMac. The Mac Pro is now truly, 100%, for Pros. This is for people doing heavy-duty work. If you don't, Apple is saying just buy an iMac.

If I was buying today I might have difficulty buying a new Mac Pro. The base is now up to $3K ($500 increase from my base Mac Pro) and I would have to buy expensive storage (relative to my Mac Pro). So the total cost of set-up would be a lot more.

 

[philipus]

I guess whether the trashcan is a reason to upgrade depends on one's needs and what one's time is worth. For an amateur the answer will be different than for a professional, methinks.

I have a 2008 Mac Pro which I've added to over the years. It's now with 24GB RAM and various drives inside attached to various points on the logicboard. I do like that this computer is so upgradeable. My latest project is to stripe two SSDs on a Sonnet Tempo Pro to get (rather insane) 6G speeds. But even if that doesn't happen, just running apps from a quick SSD on the 3G ports will likely be fast enough for my Photoshop work, scanning etc. Much of the heavy lifting in Photoshop isn't done by the speed of the drive, but by the processors and the RAM.

Of course, I could sell the computer and various bits and put that money to the base configuration of the trashcan Pro, but I think I'd still need to put in something like 15-1800€. For me as a happy amateur I don't think the performance increase would be worth it.

Plus, since the trashcan doesn't have internal drive bays I'd have to invest in some form of TB box.

If my computer decides to go belly up on me I won't by an iMac because I can't stand glossy screens (and yes I know they glare less today than they used to). Instead I would get a powerful laptop to run my ACD.

 

[Snowbuzz]

Hmm, well I sold my 2010 Mac Pro and switched to a Dell workstation about 2 years ago. It's been smooth sailing so far on Windows 8.1. 3-year standard onsite technical assistance is a real plus if needed: far better than lugging a 65lbs machine to a store if there is a problem (which I had to do with the Mac Pro).

 

[Godfrey]

For what I do (image processing, word processing, very occasional video editing, etc), a Mac mini with i7 quad core, 2.6Ghz, 16G RAM, 1T hard drive + 1T SSD internal storage, an Apple Thunderbolt 27" display, full size wired keyboard, and bluetooth trackpad does the job*well for less than half what a Mac Pro system would go for. I don't find I need the additional power of the Mac Pro.

If I were doing a lot more video, sound, real-time editing, etc ... No question, I'd go for the Pro. ;-)

G

 

[CK Dexter Haven]

I had an early MacPro, with one of those super old 23" monitors — the ones with the transparent bezels! Finally bought a new computer in September — the iMac 27" i7 with an SSD drive. Very happy with the performance and footprint. Even if the new MacPro had been available at the time, i don't think i would have gone that way. It's 'too much.' I'm a photographer and graphic designer, but the iMac i7 is already enough. Seems like they've made the MacPros for a 'higher level' computer user — 3D and rendering folks.

Aside from the price, there's the matter of configuration with the MacPro. It's a stunning piece of design, but it's going to leave all your externals hanging. Wish they had made it a bit bigger, with some bays, but hey — whatever. Just make sure your charwoman doesn't try to empty it.

 

[j j]

drank the kool-aid tonight: bought a mac pro 13-inch laptop with retina display. it comes with iphoto, a basic little photo-editing tool. bought an external hard drive with it. this will be a long, slow learning curve for me. reckon i'll need big-boy photo-editing software, but which one? i like things to be SIMPLE as possible ...

iPhoto is decent but for a surprisingly few $ more Aperture is nice and I think quite simple to use.