New Mac Suggestions?

[mazz]

The Quad Core has the capability of addressing 16G of memory, the 8 core, 32G

Quoted from the tech specs on Apple's site:

* 1066MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM
* 8-core: Eight memory slots (four per processor) supporting up to 32GB of main memory using 1GB, 2GB, or 4GB DIMMs
* Quad-core: Four memory slots supporting up to 16GB of main memory using 1GB, 2GB, or 4GB DIMMs

16G is a lot of memory anyway, but just something to keep in mind.

Mazz

[mojobone]

Yeah, sorry. Forgot that addressable memory is per-core.

[orest]

This Mac Pro from 2008 handles 32 gig of ram and has 8 slots as well.
But I don't know if 16 gig ram will be faster on the new version, because this one has DDR2 and the new one DDR3.

http://apple-history.com/

Oh, and don't forget the most important thing: Apple Care

[remmet]

Yeah, I was surprised to see the 16 gig ram limit on the quad cores. But I should probably put this in perspective. For years I've been working with a 2GHz G5 with 3.5 gigs of ram. I'd have to think that even the low end quad cores would be a big improvement, no? In any case, even stretching my budget, I can only afford up to 8 gigs of ram at this point.

Does anyone know if there's much difference between the 2.66 and 2.93 quad core machines?

Thanks for all the helpful replies!!!

Richard

[mazz]

I'd put the money into RAM instead of clock speed. That's what I did and so far so good. That and plenty of hard drive space.

[charlie2]

Craigslist would be another good place to go.


Mazz,

Craigslist sells used stuff. Would a used mac be the way to go?

If so, then maybe I should check it out. I'll be buying a mac down the road.

[remmet]

Although there seems to be a fairly small price difference between a new machine and a reburbished one from Apple, I think I'd prefer getting a refurb from Apple because it comes with a one-year warranty and has gone through Apple's quality control process. If you buy it from Craigslist, can you really be confident about what you're getting?

Richard

[fusilierb]

Much safer to buy the refurb from Apple as they treat it as a brand new machine. So if something does go wrong, its fully warranteed for a year and you can buy extended warranties, just like a brand new machine.

[mazz]

Craigslist is a viable option if one cannot afford a new or refurb mac, I think, always with the caveat about buying anything from something like craigslist or e-bay. At least with craigslist, if you buy locally you can go and check out the computer or whatever. It's no guarantee but at least you're not buying sight unseen like e-bay.

Only you know your own comfort level with this kind of thing.

BTW: If someone is offering Apple Care with their used machine, you can purchase the remaining time left on it, I believe that it's transferable. Check it out first, though, don't take my word for it!

Mazz

[fullbirdmusic]

Great thread here.

FYI - anyone using Alti-Verb? I read they're not even coming out w/ a 64-bit beta version until the summer. Seems like (as of last month, according to what I read) they're not moving very fast. Anyone have any other information about this? I don't know who else uses it, but it's stalling my own upgrade to Snow Leopard.