MOTUnation.com

Huh? I thought MacPro's could hold a maximum of four hard drives.

Or are you referring to multiple-platter drives, as they can be treated as individual partitions as long as they aren't in certain RAID modes?

At any rate, it's amazing how many of us are stressed out right now about making a Mac buying decision when new ones are around the corner. But maybe that quad-core 2.66 GHz MP isn't as crippled as I thought it was (I considered it a bad buy when it came out, and especially now as it's the same price 16 months later with a new one on the way).

At least a $200 discount or thereabouts can be had on the MP right now (also some good discount on the iMacs).

Each new model has had an Achilles heal that kept me away. With the 2.66 GHz MP last year, it was the RAM limitation (inexcusable for a "pro" machine). The 27" iMac at least initially had the screen problem. And the new Mini Server has its own issues that make it less of a slamp-dunk than it seemed at first. And of course as these lingering issues persist, the bang-for-buck ratio vs. other models begins to deteriorate...

Too bad new MP's probably won't see the light of day until SEP/OCT. I'm holding out hope for an iMac refresh in the next couple of weeks though, as we might get lucky and see a serious redesign like with the Mini, that would make it easier to install two drives, swap in an SSD without too much trouble (or making it a cheap custom option like with the MBP), etc. The 16 GB RAM ceiling on the iMac is already a huge boon, along with i5/i7 chips. maybe even an anti-glare screen option like on the MBP (or via third-party).

At the right price, a 2.66 GHz 2009 MP could still be a good investment. Right now, even at the discounted $2200 price, it gets out-competed in my view by other options. The 2008 Macs, at the right price, might be a better mid-term investment. Probably time to visit that site for historical Mac info, as it's hard to keep track of all the configurations when shopping.

I have seen MP's with 12 HD's using this.
FWIW, the 2009 Nehalem is way faster than the 2008 because there isn't a front side bus talking to the ram... the quick path interconnect (QPI) runs @ 1:1 ratio of the processor speed. This in itself makes it way faster. Plus the SATA bus is faster (SATA 3) and so is the ram (1066 MHz compared to 800 MHz ). They are definetly faster. Sessions that taxed my 2008 quad ran halfway on the nehalem. Roughly almost twice as fast.

Wow, that's pretty exciting about the multi-drive solution from Max Upgrades.

Also, thanks for breaking down the differences between 2008 MP and 2009 MP, as I rarely see people do that like they do with the other Mac models, so I tend to think of the MP upgrades as basically pips to the CPU.

I think you make a good point about 16 GB being enough, and that beyond the 16 GB limit is just rewarding vendors for whom the sky is no limit.

Does someone have a source for this new date of September/October for the new Mac Pros? Makes me glad I got the "interim" machine if that's the case.

James Steele wrote:Does someone have a source for this new date of September/October for the new Mac Pros? Makes me glad I got the "interim" machine if that's the case.

I think August but what do I know... Who knows? LP might come to light and take the industry by storm once again as Apples known for! And with a new pro app line up!

James Steele wrote:Does someone have a source for this new date of September/October for the new Mac Pros? Makes me glad I got the "interim" machine if that's the case.

A few posts back, Mike said he knows people who work for Apple.

I'm really tempted to get an interim machine - except that 'interim' would probably end up stretching out to a couple of years or more because these days I'm not doing any engineering or production work for pay (I haven't been trying to get those kinds of gigs so I can focus on practicing and writing).

If I'd frozen my system a couple of years ago, I'd be fine - my G5 can certainly handle lots of audio tracks and a good number mixing plug-ins. The main reason I need a new computer is that I've bought a bunch of powerful VIs I want to use for writing - all three Spectrasonics instruments, Superior Drummer 2, Arturia synths, large Scarbee keyboard libraries, and Komplete 6, which won't even run on my G5 (requires Intel). Just one instance each of Trillian (with a single bass loaded) and Superior Drummer 2 can slow my box to a crawl (though I'm admittedly low on RAM).

I've been biting my tongue up to this point, but I'm really frustrated with Apple for the long delay in updating the MacPro and for the seemingly endless focus on iPhones and iPads.

Last night I was reading an issue of Keyboard mag from a couple of months ago, and they reviewed a custom-built RokBox PC. For $2,500, they got an 8-core 2.93 Gz Intel Core i7, with 4GB RAM, Firewire (and USB2 of course), two 465 GB internal drives, two swappable drives for OS and program data, and a lean, customized Windows OS installation.

8-core Nehalem Mac Pros start at $3,300. True, even with processors aside, the comparison isn't exactly apples-to-apples (pun not intended), but it still appears that for pro desktop computers, you're paying as much or more of a premium than ever for Macs.

Plus, if there's a shortage of i7 processors, as has been suggested by posts at MacRumors, why are PC makers selling them?

If it weren't for DP and my Metric Halo interfaces, I'd seriously consider jumping to a Windows machine.

Has anyone heard of people running DP on a Hackintosh? When I search Craigslist for used Mac Pros, the results include ads for i7 Hackintoshes which the sellers claim will run both the current Mac OS as well as future updates.

I wouldn't go do a hack. The Macs premium = less headaches. It all subjective, but if your into experimentation, a hack can save you some $$ but in the long run, a mac with apple care will hold it's value when wanting to upgrade. The PC users don't want year old tech, a mac user don't care because they just want integration and ease of use. Just like you with your G5, a G5 is what, 4 to 5 years old? NO PC user would buy (or use) a 5 year old box. Macs have longer life for it's intended use because the box just works. I have a buddy of mine who spent 3k for a Quad 2.5 G5 years ago... he has upgraded his PC 4 times since and each time puts out 2k on each upgrade... 8 grand he has in that PC! The G5 still chugs along great and he hasn't had to do a thing to it. He can still sell it for 7 to $800 but his PC he can't get anything for because nobody wants the old stuff.

newrigel wrote:Just like you with your G5, a G5 is what, 4 to 5 years old?

Next month it'll be SIX years old! And yes, it still works fine.

I agree, the Hackintosh route is risky - I'm not into tinkering, at least not in that realm. I'm looking into used Mac Pros, but I'll probably just wait a little longer and see what the new ones have in store. I've waited this long...

I can't imagine leaving the Mac platform, primarily because of DP, which has been improving at an exponential rate while the only other two viable contenders, Sonar and ProTools, have been getting worse (or at least less stable). Logic has come a long ways and might soon be a viable alternative for maximum workflow, but it's a non-issue since it's Mac-only. So, for better or worse, I'm stuck on Macs (PreSonus StudioOne might eventually become a contender for advanced DAW workflow; we'll see).

Most things drag out longer than I expect due to emergencies, bugs, repairs, etc., but there are nevertheless some drop-dead deadlines in the pipeline, with mid-August being the latest feasible stretch date at my end for final renderings of files targeted for video.

So, I can wait it out a couple of more weeks. Nothing got updated today, but maybe next Tuesday or the Tuesday after, we'll at least see new iMacs. But I suspect new MacPro's will be past my due date, so unless a bargain happens along, I'm going to have to refocus on iMacs and MBP's.