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2008 Mac Pro 2.8ghz 8-core...how does it stand up today?

As always, it depends ; I also have the early '08 MP 2.8 .

The newer MPs are faster, Mhz for Mhz, Ram for Ram, core for core , but there is not nearly the speed gain one got from switching from a G5, to the best of my knowledge .

As I do some 3D rendering, the more recent Quads will be too slow for me, while they would have a bit of an edge in Photoshop .
For a significant upgrade that also covers 3D, I'd have to spend a fortune on a 12 core .

The early 2008 MP runs 64bit apps no problem, supports all software/OSs and most hardware - bummer the Ram is so expensive, I only have 12 GB ...

I'm still waiting for Apple to release an MP that does so many things so well for that kind of money.
 
That computer was, and remains, possibly the best value for money  ever sold in a high-end tower.

Software still hasn't been written to take advantage of it fully; I eagerly await Final Cut Pro X.

It may not be the best computer, or even close to it at this point, but I fully expect to get another six years of good service out of it.

Nine years of solid computer usage is an eternity in this world. Even six is ancient.
 
I love my '08 octo!

I can see using it as my main and still having the power I want/need for another couple of years easy. I'll upgrade the video and put a SSD in there this year to prolong things but this MP still smokes what most people have by a longshot.
 
Heck I've got an 06 and it's still kicking butt! My next MP will be Sandybridge or even Ivybridge.
 
The 2012 Mac Pro would be a great upgrade for those with 2006-2008 and possibly 2009 mac pros, but from a 6-core or 12-core 2010 mac pro - I would think most owners who have those will simply pass up the 2012 and await one with Ivy Bridge or Haswell.
 
My only current limitation with my 08 is hard drive speed. Especially at boot up, which I avoid doing except for software updates.

I should either see about raid 0, or SSD.
 
TheStrudel said:
That computer was, and remains, possibly the best value for money  ever sold in a high-end tower.

Software still hasn't been written to take advantage of it fully; I eagerly await Final Cut Pro X.

It may not be the best computer, or even close to it at this point, but I fully expect to get another six years of good service out of it.

Nine years of solid computer usage is an eternity in this world. Even six is ancient.
Click to expand...
Ok, I'm not here to rain on anyone's parade. Promise!

Its just that these systems are generally made for professional rendering uses, either photo or video. There are quite a few who use them for gaming too. Apple engineers and prices these accordingly which is why they are at the top of the Apple food chain. They are worth it.

My thing is this, if you are a professional and paid serious money for a workstation class computer because you need the performance, why would you than choose to keep it in production for years beyond its time as the performance benchmark. This is doubly true of the Mac Pro since it has excellent resale value.

Now, if you retire it from production and it goes to some lighter duty purpose that makes more sense. But, considering the power these draw from the outlet, over all your ROI would be better trading it for an iMac.

Maybe I'm missing something here, so if I am, please straighten me out. Also, I'm not trying to cause any debate. It just seems to be if you need a high end workstation you shouldn't expect it to remain a viable option for 5-10 years, no matter how much you upgrade it along the way.
 
DustinT said:
Now, if you retire it from production and it goes to some lighter duty purpose that makes more sense. But, considering the power these draw from the outlet, over all your ROI would be better trading it for an iMac.
Click to expand...

...there aren't any iMacs out that are faster than a 2008 8 core. Why would it be a better deal to trade for an iMac?

Plus, the iMac get's mid end graphics performance. It's an entirely different league of machine.
 
I love my 2.8 '08 octo, too! I bought it when the new models were introduced and paid $1800 for it new, the "end of life" price. This was a steal.

It's still going strong, but I'll probably upgrade when the new Mac Pros are introduced later this year (or early next year). I expect to get an excellent price for the '08 as well on CL.
 
goMac said:
...there aren't any iMacs out that are faster than a 2008 8 core. Why would it be a better deal to trade for an iMac?

Plus, the iMac get's mid end graphics performance. It's an entirely different league of machine.
Click to expand...
goMac, the ROI (return on investment) I was referring to is this: In the scenario where the Mac Pro would be retired and used for lighter duties if would make more sense to sell the Mac Pro and replace it with an iMac. This is because a Mac Pro draws a considerable amount of power from the outlet. Hence, over the course of a couple of years you can easily blow hundreds of dollars on power. This isn't to mention the increased failure rates the older hardware would experience.

Does that make any sense?
 
fs454 said:
Dustin, your points will become true maybe two years from now, but for now the 8-core 2008 MP is still up there with the best.
Click to expand...
Thanks for explaining. I'm impressed with the general ton of the Mac Pro subforum. Everyone is so mature. :)
 
Transporteur said:
In all seriousness, where exactly is your problem? :confused:

Please enlighten us!
Click to expand...

Here.. As I said, those with 6 and 12 cores won't benefit greatly by a 2012 refresh.. those with 2006-2008 and possibly 2009 will benefit far more than what they currently have, but keep in mind the 2008 still has EFI64, so any new video card AMD brings out you know AMD will allow them to be run on older macs, because AMD uses EBC firmware which supports both 32/64.

I also say thank God that Apple doesn't own the firmware or can't modify over AMD's commands.

The 2012 Mac Pro would be a great upgrade for those with 2006-2008 and possibly 2009 mac pros, but from a 6-core or 12-core 2010 mac pro - I would think most owners who have those will simply pass up the 2012 and await one with Ivy Bridge or Haswell.
 
DustinT said:
Ok, I'm not here to rain on anyone's parade. Promise!

Its just that these systems are generally made for professional rendering uses, either photo or video. ...

My thing is this, if you are a professional and paid serious money for a workstation class computer because you need the performance, why would you than choose to keep it in production for years beyond its time as the performance benchmark. This is doubly true of the Mac Pro since it has excellent resale value.
...
Maybe I'm missing something here, so if I am, please straighten me out. Also, I'm not trying to cause any debate. It just seems to be if you need a high end workstation you shouldn't expect it to remain a viable option for 5-10 years, no matter how much you upgrade it along the way.
Click to expand...

Hello Dustin

Good points. I use my 2008 octo for Photoshop, primarily, and then the other things that go with it (Lightroom, email, business apps). When I bought the MP, I knew it was overpowered for what I would doing with it - but I wanted something that I could grow into, and something that could be upgraded as necessary when I started pushing it.

For what I do, it's still got lots of unused capabilities (I tend to work on fewer files, but I combine them into really big images). Add some more RAM, and an SSD disk (just been too busy lazy to get around to it) and I've got a machine that will be "as good as new" for me. I'm still waiting for Apple and Adobe to fully implement Grand Central Dispatch. Once that happens, it'll be like another new machine.

I'm not happy that initial reports are that Thunderbolt won't be available as a drop-in card. It may be technically possible to do it, but Apple won't - and they might be able to pressure Intel into not releasing TB to a 3rd party card developer. I'm sure USB3 will be a drop-in card. Oh hey, just like a new system! Again!

Short story - I bought my for longevity - and it's been a dream.

Shortly after I got by octo, I was reading a blog at ZDNet, by George Ou (iirc). He was not an Apple fan - his constantly blogged about how he could put together better HW from the other vendors for less $$. He couldn't match the 2008 octos from Apple, and he declared them the best workstation systems for the money at the time. period. I doubt we'll ever see such a good value from Apple again in the MPs. They sold lots, and now we are all hanging onto them for way longer than Apple would like.

Cheers
 
Love my 2008 2.8 Octo!!!

Seems quite a lot of guys in this thread still have not bothered putting in a SSD!!! Well it is one hell of a upgrade, like having a new computer - do it!!!!!! :)
 
kultschar said:
Love my 2008 2.8 Octo!!!

Seems quite a lot of guys in this thread still have not bothered putting in a SSD!!! Well it is one hell of a upgrade, like having a new computer - do it!!!!!! :)
Click to expand...

I'm one of those with a 2008 (Quad) who has not put in an SSD. Which one did you go with? Thanks! :)
 
Squonk said:
I'm one of those with a 2008 (Quad) who has not put in an SSD. Which one did you go with? Thanks! :)
Click to expand...

I went with a Vertex 2 120GB

I upgraded mine as follows:

Swapped DVD drive for Blu Ray drive (I rip blu rays for my ATV)

Put the SDD in the second optical bay. The SDD is only used for the OS and apps

Was paranoid about SDD performance so I put my Home folder on one of my 2TB SATA drives (I was dubious of this as read people ran into problems however mine has not run into a single problem). This way the SDD rarely gets written to except for new application installs, all my data (emails, docs, audio and video projects etc) are written to my Home folder.

I was paranoid that 120GB was too small but ive installed everything I need and still have 80GB SDD free!!

loved the idea of using the 2nd spare optical drive slot as I still keep all 4 sata sleds for my "data" storage drives!
 
I just got a Mac Pro I bought a used 2008 2.8 octo with 10 gigs of Ram and 4x 1TB semi crappy HDDs for $950! couldn't be happier since i sold my aluminum '08 iMac 24" for $1000!
 
aramosc said:
I just got a Mac Pro I bought a used 2008 2.8 octo with 10 gigs of Ram and 4x 1TB semi crappy HDDs for $950! couldn't be happier since i sold my aluminum '08 iMac 24" for $1000!
Click to expand...

Awesome dude - I went from a 2008 iMac also (now in my office)

I actually whacked in a 8GB RAM upgrade today to put mine to 10GB also

Highly recommend splashing out on a SSD for booting the OS and apps, it is awesome snappy and I cant see myself needing to upgrade for years to come
 
kultschar said:
I went with a Vertex 2 120GB

Swapped DVD drive for Blu Ray drive (I rip blu rays for my ATV)

Put the SDD in the second optical bay. The SDD is only used for the OS and apps

Was paranoid about SDD performance so I put my Home folder on one of my 2TB SATA drives (I was dubious of this as read people ran into problems however mine has not run into a single problem). This way the SDD rarely gets written to except for new application installs, all my data (emails, docs, audio and video projects etc) are written to my Home folder.
Click to expand...

When I pull the trigger, I plan to configure similarly with respect to optibay install and relocation of the home folders. Thanks!
 
My 2.8 8-core 2008 mp is still waiting for the software and operating systems to catch up with what it can do. Maybe the new FCP will exploit it better, or the upcoming Photoshop. Even OSX could exploit it better, but I fear that Lion will be a step backward.
Meanwhile, I have upgraded my video card to a gtx 285 and the ram to 16gb and all the hard drive bays are full.
I plan to add an ssd boot drive next year after prices come down more, but it's still a beast after three years, with no sign of getting old.
 
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