New Mac Suggestions?

[elser]

Mac Pro's went on sale at Mac Mall today and I've been seeing lots of new ones for sale on ebay. Makes me thinks Apple is just about to release the next version. They're probably timing it with our tax returns me thinks. I'm gonna wait and see what kind of new and miraculous technology they've dreamed up this time and if it's affordable. If not I'll probably go for a Quad core Nehalem.

[remmet]

It seems the latest rumor put the release of the new Mac Pros all the way into June.

http://www.macrumors.com/

Wait? Buy? Wait? Buy?

Choices.

R

[mojobone]

You wait long enough, you can always get a better deal, but how long is that?

[remmet]

My fiancée asked me: "Do you need it, or do you just want it?"

Hmmm . . . "YES!"

R

[elser]

It's also interesting that it says they're sticking with the Xeon processors making me think it might not be all that different from the current line up. I've seen some good deals go down on ebay for both new and slightly used computers. Just might be the time to pull the trigger.

And yes, with regard to the software that I use, it is something I need.

[remmet]

Well, 3 months have gone by, the Apple show came and went, and still no new Macs. Nice job, Jobs!

So it may be time to go shopping for a refurb. I'm leaning toward an 8-core. But, golly, so much $$$$!

Richard

[kclements]

well, you know - as soon as you buy one, they will come out with the new ones.

[mojobone]

Well, 3 months have gone by, the Apple show came and went, and still no new Macs. Nice job, Jobs!

So it may be time to go shopping for a refurb. I'm leaning toward an 8-core. But, golly, so much $$$$!

Richard

You'll thank yourself later, when the next batch of VI updates arrive.

[remmet]

Okay, now I really am ready to buy a new Mac. World media, take notice!

For the tech experts here, I have one last question:

What's a better choice - a single quad core 2.66 Mac Pro, or a dual quad core (i.e., 8 core) 2.26 Mac Pro? Would the single quad core's slightly faster processor give it any performance advantage over the 8 core? Or are the processor speeds less significant than other factors?

Some of the prior comments lead me to believe the 8 core is the way to go, but the 2.26 configuration is at the top of my budget.

Thanks as always for any insight on this.

Richard

[rlcmusic]

Hi Richard!

I'm afraid I don't have the answer to your question but I feel sorry for you! and thought I'd let you know that I gave up waiting over a month ago when my system went down completely. Having thought about exactly what I need, I ended up with something I hadn't really considered before and that's the 27" 2.8GHz iMac Quad Core i7. I can get away with the ports it offers, I've put 8GB RAM in it with a 2TB hard drive (samples on an external drive via firewire). I've only really been working on 1 piece recently but it does have a fair amount of East/West Play stuff in it and so far so good..... Here's a review but of course you may well need extra ports or expansion etc...... (http://www.macworld.com/article/143998/ ... acpro.html) I just felt that this is definitely enough for quite a few years for me and it's not going to totally break the bank which I'm sure one of the "yet to be released" mac pros would have done.

Anyway, just thought I'd let you know my pain is over - good luck!

Rachel