Mac Pro

[JacksonCougAr]

http://www.apple.com/macpro/

Is this worth the price?

Is it a good computer?

if not what would you recommend?

[shadowkhas]

I haven't really looked at price comparisons recently, but I remember that when it came out, it was better for the price than a comparable Dell.
If you're able to get one, I think it'd be a great computer. Your biggest downside will be, as with all Macs, that you don't have the level of expandability that you do with a self-assembled Windows system. I think you don't really need 8 cores, unless you're doing heavy audio or video stuff. Games still aren't really optimized to take advantage of multiple cores.

Here's the two options I'd consider. Choice one is to get the base Mac Pro, but add a different graphics card (nVidia 8800 GT), AirPort Extreme, and iWork '08. The other option is a 24 inch iMac. You can throw in a 750GB drive, iWork '08, and Logic Express (audio program), and still be paying less. And as a rule of thumb for Macs, don't buy RAM from Apple. It's horribly overpriced. Compatible RAM from Newegg, or your other favorite online retailer, should be cheaper by far.

[Kirk]

If you're into gaming, the intel processors still haven't made a mac the ideal machine, though it has definitely been improved upon. It's now not such a crazy thing to talk about. As shadowkhas said, it'd be a GREAT audio/video workstation. Most professional a/v deals use macs for their special effects and such. It'd be a great thing to use if you mainly deal in graphics, and are a casual gamer. Though if you get a pretty nice video card, you will be able to play most recent games fairly well.

If you want to solely play games, build a PC.

[llama_juice]

Yea, like Kirk said... if its for gaming get a PC. Now with Leopard you can run Windows XP on your MacBook amazingly well (or vista if you... want... that... I guess...). I don't use my MacBook for gaming, but my roommate uses his quite a bit for games. Never anything too hardware intensive though... (like... Crysis at minimum settings...)

These are great machines for any kind of actual work though. My college requires that you get a MacBook Pro and... I'm glad they do. This is a neat machine and is definitely worth the cash to me. I'm going to school for computer animation... so obviously if my school forces us to get one, they have to be good for that.

EDIT: Just read your post and realized you were talking about the MacPro and not the MacBook Pro...

Either way... you could duelboot windows on it if you really wanted to so that you could keep everything you already know and love.

[Ragdoll]

Is it a good computer?

>_< It can have 32 gigs of RAM, of course it's a good computer. The question is; is it worth the money? Or do you even need such a powerful machine?

My suggestion would be to just build your own PC. The Mac Pro would be cool to have, but it's just seems so unnecesary.

[SHOUTrvb]

The Mac Pro would be cool to have, but it's just seems so unnecesary.

I disagree, Mac is one of the few computers I trust over the ability to make my own. Gaming is about the only think Mac Pros don't do very well in, but even that will change in a few years. I say go for it.

[JacksonCougAr]

I'm very un-schooled in computers so I guess I have a few more questions.

Can the video card be upgraded to a top-of the line gaming one?

I had this idea in my head that the only thing you needed for gaming was some RAM, a fast CPU, and a really good graphics card

Also what kind of potential does it have, if any, for upgrading sound card, and other things like PCIn cards? or whatever computer parts use nowadays ;p

[Patrickssj6]

This computer is not a gaming PC.

Build a computer yourself or get someone else to do it for you. Hell, go with DELL if you have to.

[bcnipod]

Can the video card be upgraded to a top-of the line gaming one?

No, unless you buy a desktop (not an iMac) i don't believe you can upgrade the graphics

I had this idea in my head that the only thing you needed for gaming was some RAM, a fast CPU, and a really good graphics card

You can upgrade the Ram, up to 32 Gig I think

Also what kind of potential does it have, if any, for upgrading sound card, and other things like PCIn cards? or whatever computer parts use nowadays ;p

the sound card i believe is built-in.

[shadowkhas]

I don't recall any aftermarket sound cards for Macs, but the built in processor is good. It's fully surround sound, and OpenAL is pretty good.
I disagree with Patrickssj6 though...it is a gaming machine, it just wouldn't be one that can be upgraded a lot. The only very interchangeable options are the hard drive, graphics card, and RAM.

It is good if you don't want to tweak it a lot later on. It will last you a long time. My eMac, which was the lowest end of the Mac family, lasted me for 3 years after the purchase date. Around then, I started wanting something faster. A Mac Pro should last you for much longer, if gaming isn't your primary purpose.

[Patrickssj6]

No games use Octa Core...Mac/Win 64-bit? No Cross-Fire/SLi...you can use it for gaming, yes. You could use this as well if you want to...

http://store.nvidia.com/servlet/Control ... D=89884400

But it just doesn't make any real sense.

For gaming you can go with XP 32-bit...get a good Duo or Quad, SLi 8800GTX, even push 3GB if you have to.

Personally I love my Vista 64-bit...you could go with that as well. 4GB Ram and all the other things for a fraction of the price of the MacPro.

It's not really a debate here...shadowkhas and me are probably equally right.

[HPDarkness]

Mac Pro is not for gaming. If you don't know a lot about computers. Buy a prebuilt gaming PC, you can customize things such as lighting, and it will probably be cheaper.

IbuyPower.com

[Cuda]

Yeah, seriously. If you want a gaming computer with longevity, go for a online bought piece-by-piece machine. If you know where to look, you can most likely cut the cost in half, yet still get the same machine in the end.

[Ombre]

Yea, like Kirk said... if its for gaming get a PC. Now with Leopard you can run Windows XP on your MacBook amazingly well (or vista if you... want... that... I guess...). I don't use my MacBook for gaming, but my roommate uses his quite a bit for games. Never anything too hardware intensive though... (like... Crysis at minimum settings...)

These are great machines for any kind of actual work though. My college requires that you get a MacBook Pro and... I'm glad they do. This is a neat machine and is definitely worth the cash to me. I'm going to school for computer animation... so obviously if my school forces us to get one, they have to be good for that.

EDIT: Just read your post and realized you were talking about the MacPro and not the MacBook Pro...

Either way... you could duelboot windows on it if you really wanted to so that you could keep everything you already know and love.

That isn't necessarily true. Apple has worked hard to put forth the image that the Mac is the best computer for media work. Don't you think they want to keep that image? From what I see all the high-end media tools people use on Mac's are also available on Windows; professionals don't use GarageBand.

[Cuda]

Yea, like Kirk said... if its for gaming get a PC. Now with Leopard you can run Windows XP on your MacBook amazingly well (or vista if you... want... that... I guess...). I don't use my MacBook for gaming, but my roommate uses his quite a bit for games. Never anything too hardware intensive though... (like... Crysis at minimum settings...)

These are great machines for any kind of actual work though. My college requires that you get a MacBook Pro and... I'm glad they do. This is a neat machine and is definitely worth the cash to me. I'm going to school for computer animation... so obviously if my school forces us to get one, they have to be good for that.

EDIT: Just read your post and realized you were talking about the MacPro and not the MacBook Pro...

Either way... you could duelboot windows on it if you really wanted to so that you could keep everything you already know and love.

That isn't necessarily true. Apple has worked hard to put forth the image that the Mac is the best computer for media work. Don't you think they want to keep that image? From what I see all the high-end media tools people use on Mac's are also available on Windows; professionals don't use GarageBand.

Final Cut isn't.

[Kirk]

Ombre you're looking at consumer-based programs.

Professionals use Logic Pro (pro Garageband), Shake, Final Cut, and others, all which are solely for the Mac OS. Obviously some others are dual platform, but those are some major ones.

But the big point is, it does seem like all you want is games, so build a PC. Mac Pro's are expensive, and as others have said, a lot of it is overkill and doesn't even apply to current games. The ONLY reason I'd shell out that much for a mac pro is if you're serious in working with heavy A/V and graphics work.

On the up-side, I've had my PowerMac G5 going on 5 years now and I am serious when I say I've yet to have any sort of hardware or software problem with it. It's not like you don't get what you pay for. If I had upgraded the video card as newer ones came out (I got a Radeon 9600XT with it, bit outdated now) but the one I got with it shined brilliantly for a looong time.

The fact of the matter is that computers are constantly being upgraded and you can never win the battle... So do you really want to dish out that much money for something that'll be seriously outdated in a few years, as is the deal with all computers?

[MoDFox]

if you're serious in working with heavy A/V and graphics work.

Thats me woohoo for 50+ mb photos and 5-20gb videos. Wish I was getting a mac pro. Dad has one at work and I'm jealous. We're getting ourselves a shiny new iMac though. 24 inch 4GB Ram 1TB hard drive. But yea, if you are into some serious business a mac pro is where its at, if its just for a computer to surf the net and stuff its best off going for something cheaper. Also, not totally related but excellent for getting your mac up-to-date if you aren't happy with your process power of your old mac and you don't want a new one would be Macsales. They have reasonable prices and a large variety. I think I boosted my old G4 up to near today standards with it. (2GHz, 1GB ram, 500GB hard drive, and shiny new graphics) for about 700-800 (Note this includes $200+ graphics and $400 processor. I didn't actually upgrade it yet.

My Mac (G4 Quicksilver) still provides me with quick and easy access to what I need, and most things run fairly well for its age. (2002)

[ScottyGEE]

Other than gaming, what are youyr needs?
Are you actually wanting to be portable? Or you just dislike PC towers?

@Modfox, I woudn't say that that is heavy a/v and graphoics work ;p I'm sure people have more than that on their ipods alone ;p

[shadowkhas]

@Modfox, I woudn't say that that is heavy a/v and graphoics work ;p I'm sure people have more than that on their ipods alone ;p

He might mean 50 MB single photos. ;P
RAW ftw.

Kirk is right, though. If you really do want games, just go for a Windows computer.

[MoDFox]

He might mean 50 MB single photos. ;P
RAW ftw.

Indeed I did