Great time now to buy a Mac Pro

[David Polich]

Not the forthcoming "trash can" Mac Pro - current Mac Pros that retailers
have to get rid of before the new models arrive. I've seen awesome prices on new 6-core and 12-core Mac Pros everywhere, including Fry's and Best Buy.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Need to check that out :$

[mikehalloran]

I suspect the prices will be een better next month. The current models will move immediately to the Refurb store. Of corse, if you want build to order, ths your last chance.

I priced the new MP with current peripherals in a twin monitor setup with 24G memory and 2T external SSD using my current Time Capsules. I ballparked it at $7K. Not as bad as I thought but more $ than I can justify.

[williemyers]

here's a bit of info from a couple of hours research:
Frys.com has the 12-core 2.4GHZ (w/12GB RAM & 1 TB HD) for $2,599 till Friday.
((but no shipping....you have to pick it up from a Frys store))
BestBuy.com is still showing $3,799.99 for the same machine, *BUT* a phone call to their 1-800 said that they *would* price-match Frys. (and they will ship)
PowerMax has none of them, said they won't get any more new ones and said "go for it"!!

[KarlSutton]

I've been reading that some people are getting better performance out of their 2012 iMac's than 12 core MacPros especially for FCPX.

A brand new iMac with these specs is $2549
3.5GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz
8GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2X4GB
1TB Fusion Drive
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M 4GB GDDR5

Add $200 for 16GB of RAM from OWC.

I know these machines aren't Apples to Apples (ha!) but for FCPX & Digital Performer (the two apps I use the most for work) which one has the most power?

[MIDI Life Crisis]

... and which ones will still be working in 10 years? Mac pros are built like brick out houses and give you the option of upgrading your monitor(s). If you have a backup machine, you just pop that onto your monitor and send the other puppy out and you have multiple internal hard drives. you can also use PCI cards. Yeah, they'll be phased out (perhaps) but they're still here and they still do a lot of good for many of us.

It's not much of an issue, IMO. Mac Pro.

[James Steele]

The refurb MacPro 4,1 that I got recently can be turned into a 6 core with a CPU swap. Cost about $575 today for a 60% boost in speed. I paid $689 for the 4,1. Another $575 and it's a 6 core for $1264. Of course this is plenty of machine for my needs now, and the longer I wait the price of the 6 core chips should go down further. I can't see me needing the new form factor MacPro anytime soon.

[Shooshie]

I think that if you are holding a fairly late model Mac Pro, you've got the equivalent of the Classic 9600 PowerMac. Those were sought for video with Avid systems back in the 90s and even after OS X was introduced, people searched the net for 9600 PowerMacs. Periodically I come across some interview with a dude who is very successful at video, and you still see a 9600 back there.

Some people stop with a system and master it, and are able to do whatever they want with it with very little effort. If you are always upgrading to new versions, within 10 years you're working with something completely different, and often your previous 10 years of skills just don't apply to it. There is some of that in Digital Performer, but MOTU has been great about retro compatibility (I can STILL open MIDI projects from 1986). Ask some Logic users about this, however, and you'll hear quite different stories. Just 10 years ago, Logic was a completely different beast, operating on two platforms. It was anything but easy to use, but some people felt it offered them powerful tools they couldn't get elsewhere. Now it's Garageband Sr., with powerful tools of course, but it's quite different from the old Logic.

Anyway, the Mac Pro's we have now will be around for many years to come, long after Apple no longer supports them. 3rd Party developers and manufacturers will provide parts, updates, and such for them. There will always be a market for them, simply because they are of such an ass-kicking design, and they're freaking powerful with old hard drives and video cards.

The new Mac Pro is going to change everything. Who knows whether it will ever be revered like the 9600 or the current Mac Pro. I wish they'd name the new one something else. Maybe it will be a rip-roaring success. I'm hoping so. I want to see what kind of power it can produce. If it's quiet, amazingly powerful, easy to customize and add lots of drives, and not hot as a space heater, then it may well be the best machine ever made. In any case, I can't wait to see it and to have one, but I'll be keeping both my old Mac Pro's for a long time to come.

Shooshie

[HCMarkus]

For DP, which is highly multi-threaded, the Mac Pro 12-core will out-perform the iMac by a considerable margin. I would suspect the iMac's newer GPU (which, unlike the MP's, cannot be upgraded) helps the iMac when running FInal Cut.

That said, the iMac is a great machine for DP, too. What each user needs in a computer is dictated by the type of project and approach. I keep my Mac in a machine room, so the all-in-one approach wouldn't work for me.

I did what James mentions in his post earlier in this thread and am loving my hex 3.33 faux 5,1 Mac Pro. The upgrade was super easy to accomplish. So far, I have yet to hit a project that caused the machine to break a sweat. Do keep in mind you will probably want to upgrade your GPU if you go with a (2009) 4,1. Lots of options these days, as ML and Mavericks support a large number of video cards.

[mikehalloran]

Although recent OS and DP updates have reduced the load on my 3 year old iMac, I'm feeling the desire for faster boot and load times - this means SSDs.

Unfortunately, no Thunderbolt unlike the 2011, I have limited choices. I may have the internal updated and go with an eSATA external since I had OWC install the port when I got it new. But that's a chunk of change to spend on a 3 year old piece of hardware so, I don't know. Decisions... fortunately, I am in no hurry.

[James Steele]

I did what James mentions in his post earlier in this thread and am loving my hex 3.33 faux 5,1 Mac Pro. The upgrade was super easy to accomplish. So far, I have yet to hit a project that caused the machine to break a sweat. Do keep in mind you will probably want to upgrade your GPU if you go with a (2009) 4,1. Lots of options these days, as ML and Mavericks support a large number of video cards.

I have an ATI 5770, so I'm good there. So happy with this machine. Thanks HC for hipping me to that sale on the refurbed 4,1!

[frankf]

There are several 4,1s up at OWC, but for more $ than you paid. www.macsales.com


Frank Ferrucci

[HCMarkus]

Just an FYI... stocks of new Xeon 3680 (3.33 Westmere) and 3690 (a tad faster) appear to have pretty much dried up. Apparently, Intel stopped production in September. According to folks who were monitoring it, Provantage's inventory (which had been about 50 pieces until last week) just disappeared one day. They are gone at Newegg, too.

These CPUs are still available used on EBay. As time goes on prices on used should decline, but right now, they have pushed up. New 3680s and 90s are going to be harder to find. I saw one new 3680 on EBay for $985. I also noted slightly slower 3670 Xeons (3.2) for about $300, but did not confirm the stepping is compatible with 2009 Mac Pros. Before buying, I'd check in at Macrumors and get some feedback.

I also noted a guy selling replacement CPU trays with the 3680 installed (no trade-in required) for $999, and another guy offering a CPU replacement service for the same price. Methinks they may be the folk who gobbled up all the inventory.

[James Steele]

Just an FYI... stocks of new Xeon 3680 (3.33 Westmere) and 3690 (a tad faster) appear to have pretty much dried up. Apparently, Intel stopped production in September. According to folks who were monitoring it, Provantage's inventory (which had been about 50 pieces until last week) just disappeared one day. They are gone at Newegg, too.

These CPUs are still available used on EBay. As time goes on prices on used should decline, but right now, they have pushed up. New 3680s and 90s are going to be harder to find. I saw one new 3680 on EBay for $985. I also noted slightly slower 3670 Xeons (3.2) for about $300, but did not confirm the stepping is compatible with 2009 Mac Pros. Before buying, I'd check in at Macrumors and get some feedback.

I also noted a guy selling replacement CPU trays with the 3680 installed (no trade-in required) for $999, and another guy offering a CPU replacement service for the same price. Methinks they may be the folk who gobbled up all the inventory.

Well that blows. So no more $575 chip upgrade now? That would suck if people knew they were sought after and it got stupid. Bummer.

[James Steele]

also noted a guy selling replacement CPU trays with the 3680 installed (no trade-in required) for $999, and another guy offering a CPU replacement service for the same price. Methinks they may be the folk who gobbled up all the inventory.

I have a word for those people. I better not use it.