Best Mac Pro for DP?

[EdouardB]

Hello all,

After waiting since March for 2010 Mac Pros to come out, I can’t really hold off any longer and will have to purchase a new computer soon (my Quad G5 is killing my productivity now).

What MP would be most appropriate to work with DP? Do DP/Grand Central address all 8 cores of a dual processor MP, or should I look into a 4 core machine that has a higher clock speed per core?

I see that the refurb store has 2008 3.2 octo processor computers. Would I benefit from the higher clock speed over a 2.26 octo Nehalem?

I’m doing mostly orchestral simulations using Play and K3.5, and use Spectrasonics STEAM products quite a bit, too.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Edouard

[Phil O]

The only question I can answer for you is regarding 8 cores. I can confirm that DP does indeed use all 8 cores on my 8 core machine. In fact, if you watch the background processing window, it will do 8 tasks at a time when there are 8 or more to be done.

Phil

[EdouardB]

Thanks Phil!

[James Steele]

Short answer: the fastest and usually most expensive one you can buy.

Longer answer: Depending on where your coming from, any Intel machine is a drastic improvement. I had a dual 2.3 Ghz G5. I bought a used MacPro 1,1 as a "tide-me-over" machine until the 2010 Mac Pros finally drop. I thought it might be an incremental sort of upgrade. I was completely blown away by how much better the first Mac Pro was. Projects that choked my G5 are now running about 20% CPU on DP's Audio Performance window. It's crazy.

My only problem now is figuring out how I'm going to need to justify buying the latest Mac Pro when they DO come out, now that things are working so much better with the one I now have!!

[newrigel]

Well, the newer 6 cores will spank an 8 core so really, the amount of cores is cool, but for the $$... a new 6 core will beat out an older 8 core. If you do go with a Mac Pro, wait for the new 6 core machines because DSP for DSP, the newer MP's are going to give you more bang for the buck. Plus, if you use SSD's, it is a huge difference regardless of how many cores you use... and if you go RAID 0, it's even faster. The Nehalems 3Gb/s and the to be released Gulftowns 6Gb/s are a bit brisker because they utilize the newer SATA controller protocols and will give room for USB3 and Lightpeak speeds... so in turn, the I/O won't get saturated as easily as the older machines. The ram speed is better too on the newest machines because the 1,1 and 2,1 iterations of MP's use 667 Mhz ram compared to the newest Nehalem 4,1 speed of 1066 Mhz. The 2010 6 cores will be running 1600 Mhz ram. There's quite a bit of a difference all the way around within each iteration that most don't acknowledge besides the obvious processor architectures!

[EdouardB]

James: I'm upgrading from a QUAD G5. I finally bit the bullet and ordered an octo 2.93. I expect this to be bloody fast. The Fedex Fairy should knock at my door tomorrow!

Newrigel: yes, I know that an update is around the corner. However, there is very little information about when new Mac Pros will actually come out, and I need a new machine now. Current Mac Pros are indeed pricey, but their design work. If Lightpeak and USB3 are to be included in the upcoming generation, it is very likely that Apple will have to redesign the motherboard and/or the case. I can honestly say I'm glad to skip the rev A of the new iteration of Mac Pros.

Thanks for chiming in!

Edouard

[newrigel]

I can honestly say I'm glad to skip the rev A of the new iteration of Mac Pros.

I'm cool with that but as soon as they come out, I'm in because every iteration of the Mac Pros have been a Rev "A" as you state instead of the first run 2,1 which was the second run of the first iteration of Mac Pros.
For the price of a 2.66 Quad... the entry level 6 core will be faster than your 8 core machine you just purchased. I think the $$ would be better spent on a current model than get something a year old because now, it's over a year old... it's one of those things you deal with when you come into the cycle so late. But I just want to be clear that every model of Mac Pro's have been a REV A except the 2,1 models and I have never had an issue with any of them considering I have installed about 30 last year.

[James Steele]

Yeah... I hope they hurry up and get here soon though...

[remmet]

It's a couple of months later and the new MP's still haven't come out. So I'm in the same position - I don't want to wait any longer.

Is there a consensus as to what's a better choice - a single quad core 2.66, or an 8 core 2.26? 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?

If I'm reading Apple's prices right, to get an 8 core that's faster than 2.26, the price jumps at least another $1200. What the heck? So the 2.26 is at the top of my budget.

I was looking into refurbs, but they seem to be very scarce these days.

Richard

[HCMarkus]

My son, who has a friend at Apple, assures me the new Power Macs are coming soon...

[remmet]

My son, who has a friend at Apple, assures me the new Power Macs are coming soon...

Ah, but the concept of "soon" is open to interpretation. Are we talking "soon" in an evolutionary context, or "soon" as in next week?

R