[X4U] Mac Pro fresh updates?

[Zane H. Healy]

At 1:53 PM -0700 6/16/10, zapcat wrote:
>On Jun 16, 2010, at 1:25 PM, Zane H. Healy wrote:
>
>>Once you start beefing a iMac up to Mac Pro levels of RAM, you might as well
>>have gone with the Mac Pro.
>
>Well, not to disrespect your experience, and as always "YMMV" 
>applies, but a current iMac right out of the box is plenty for most 
>print needs. There is an argument made that the Photoshop Pro 
>requires *the* very latest, most pimped-out rig available, but it 
>doesn't sound like the OP is doing high-end photoshop retouching.

I'll agree on the YMMV, and I think your advice to the OP to stick 
with what he has, or look for a refurbed Mac Mini is a good one.  If 
the Mac Mini had eSATA ports or better yet Multilane port, I'd be 
more tempted by it.  It is very close to what I need, but lacks the 
I/O and RAM.  Even the iMac is very close to what I need.  The screen 
on the 21.5" is lower than what I consider acceptable, and if I were 
to go with the 27", I'd want to max it out at 16GB (I currently have 
7GB and it isn't enough).

>Rather, he said something like "It'd be nice to have some 
>extra-muscle." To my mind, this does not bespeak a mission-critical 
>need to be on the absolute cutting edge.

Agreed, and I have to question any need for more than two monitors. 
My personal experience is that I find 1 monitor to work the best, but 
then this is a serious YMMV type situation.

>and I hate to say it, but while using Photoshop, menu meters shows 
>only 1 of my 16 cores being utilitized most of the time.  I might 
>see little blips and spurts in the other cores, but for the most 
>part, Photoshop does *not* harness my Mac Pro to its potential.

That is depressing.  What about with stuff like Nik or OnOne 
pluggins?  Those are what I need additional horsepower for.  The 
newer video card is also going to be a huge help for me.  My 64MB ATI 
Radeon 9600 prevents me from using all the features of some of my 
Photoshop plugins.

>Blame whoever you want for that, but for my dough, why spend $3K 
>when $1199 will git 'er done just fine?

That Mac Mini for $699 looks almost good enough from where I'm 
sitting...  Though I'd then need to factor in 8GB RAM, Applecare, and 
a larger HD, you're looking at $1450, or $1600 if you also include 
the better CPU.

Even running the numbers on the Mac Pro, if you factor in getting it 
with 16GB RAM, it is *cheaper* to buy the 8-core model!  Here are 
some prices with simply taking the system up to 16GB (doesn't include 
Applecare or anything else).  Remember I'm cramped in 7GB, so 16GB is 
the next logical step.

#1 2.66Ghz 4-core Mac Pro w/16GB RAM $4349 (3GB $2499)
#2 2.26Ghz 8-core Mac Pro w/16GB RAM $3799 (6GB $3299)
#3 2.66Ghz 8-core Mac Pro w/16GB RAM $5199 (6GB $4699)
#4 3.06Ghz 2-core 27" iMac w/16GB RAM $2699 (4GB $1699)
#5 2.66Ghz 4-core 27" iMac w/16GB RAM $2999 (4GB $1999)
#6 2.8Ghz 4-core 27" iMac w/16GB RAM $3199 (4GB $2199)

 From where I'm sitting #2 or #6 is the best bang for the buck.  For 
me #2 wins out for the following reasons:

1. It isn't an All-in-one system
2. 4 more cores
3. 3 more drive bays
4. I don't have to buy a 2nd Drobo (about $400)

Because of the Drobo, I'm looking at a price difference of only $200, 
and I think the extra 4 cores are worth that.

Of course realistically, as my current system is a Rev. 0 dual 2Ghz 
G5 with 7GB RAM, and 2 1TB HD's, even that Mac Mini would be faster, 
except on the I/O.

Zane



-- 
| Zane H. Healy                    | UNIX Systems Administrator |
| healyzh at aracnet.com              | OpenVMS Enthusiast         |
|                                  | Classic Computer Collector |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
|     Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing,    |
|          PDP-10 Emulation and Zane's Computer Museum.         |
|                http://www.aracnet.com/~healyzh/               |