[X4U] Mac Pro fresh updates?

[zapcat]

On Jun 17, 2010, at 9:16 AM, Joe Sporleder wrote:

> Any thoughts on RAM from OWC as far as quality/reliability? How  
> about the NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 that is the standard OEM card for  
> the MacPro - should I consider a different card for the 2nd video  
> card (I realize each card has connectors to drive 2 monitors), or  
> just order an extra one from Apple (at $149US)? In adding an extra  
> hard drive, any manufacturers I should avoid? I'm not necessarily  
> looking for the cheapest price for my upgrades - just the best  
> value (I define "best value" as a good balance between price and  
> quality).
>
> Joe

I myself can't speak to the video card issue, but I have bought RAM  
from OWC several times with no issues. I also bought 2 Hitachi  
"Jupiter" internal drives, 7200 RPM..I got the 1TB size, and I  
believe 2TB is offered as well. Happy with them, but I'll have to see  
3+ years down the road if they're still with me...the past 3 years  
have not been great for me with Hard drives; I'm really hoping these  
Hitachi internals can last 5+ years.

My views on drives is this: the larger each drive is, the more you  
have to scramble in the event of a HD failure. So, backing up a 500  
Gig drive is not usually a crisis. However, backing up a 2-TB  
drive...or a pair of them..or 3 of them...THAT can be a real problem.

You either have to have an equal amount of replacement storage at the  
ready, or you start making unpleasant choices about which files to  
sacrifice and I hate being in a spot like that.

Industry trends are such that, whereas 500GB used to be the standard  
size, now 1 and 2 TB are standard, so your choices are limited by that.

If you have the option of going with a couple of 500s or even 750s,  
I'd do it.


zc