Advice Please! Buy now or wait for 8 core?

[bearbo]

You arent a very nice person are you? Kind of a smug jerk. You know exactly what I meant. Buy a quad now or wait for the 8 core! Why you dont feel the need to be more helpful and friend to a newbie is beyond me. You having a bad day or just an angry person in general. I was always taught that there are no stupid questions but you like to make people feel otherwise I guess..?

this is no stupid question, but an unnecessary one. as it has been asked many times and no "real" responses, you should assume you won't get them either. what do you think makes you so special?

be glad there are ppl responding to this kind of thread at all.

now be a good boy, say thank you.

 

[alw4416]

this is no stupid question, but an unnecessary one. as it has been asked many times and no "real" responses, you should assume you won't get them either. what do you think makes you so special?

be glad there are ppl responding to this kind of thread at all.

now be a good boy, say thank you.

dont talk to me like that, im not your freaking pet. there are good people on here who have responded politely.

 

[alw4416]

this is no stupid question, but an unnecessary one. as it has been asked many times and no "real" responses, you should assume you won't get them either. what do you think makes you so special?

be glad there are ppl responding to this kind of thread at all.

now be a good boy, say thank you.

im close enough to you maybe we should meet up for a cup of tea!?

 

[bearbo]

im close enough to you maybe we should meet up for a cup of tea!?

i'm more coffee person, but i dont think i'll be having one anytime soon since i just spilled some in my external keyboard (accidentally, but luckily)

 

[psingh01]

I don't need an 8-core, but I want it! Therefore I will wait....I waited for the dual 3ghz G5 afterall.....

 

[SMM]

I realize this Q. has been asked but I haven't seen many opinions. I don't know what to do. This always happens to me. I buy "the latest greatest" machine from Apple and a week later it's replaced at the same freakin price. What is the word on the 8 core? Should I go ahead and buy or wait for the 8 core? If I wait, how long should I wait? What are current MP users thoughts? HELLLPPPPPP!

Hmm. I have read several of these threads. The one thing they have not lacked was opinions. However, if you missed them, here is a summary.

1) Bottomline: The choice is yours and there is no right/wrong answer.

2) If you are mainly concerned with 'protecting your investment, and you believe 8 cores will have better resale value, then wait.

3) If you need the machine now, and you cannot take advantage of the additional cores, buy now.

4) Most applications will not benefit significantly (if at all) with 8 cores. The vast majority of applications do not utilize more than 2 cores. SW is lagging HW by a ever-widening gap.

5) By the time SW is re-engineered to be multi-threaded, there will be a better bus design. It will enhance the systems ability of effectively benefit from all of these CPU's, which is not the case now.

 

[dkoralek]

Well the standard answer is:

If you need a computer now, go and get one.
If you can wait, then wait.

But you'll always be asking:

"Should I buy now, or should I wait?"

This really is the correct answer. Everybody is different. If you need to buy a new computer and you need the power, buy one now. If you don't need to buy a new computer, then you can wait. But like bartleby is correct, there is always something better/cheaper on the horizon, so you can always say you should wait just a bit longer. I needed a new computer. I bought a 2.66 Mac Pro. I'm happy with my purchase. But everyone's circumstances and needs are different.

cheers.

 

[KKP925]

Hmmm....
Reading all of these posts (well most of them) has been a great help in bringing me to my final decision...

I am going to pick up the phone this afternoon and order my new 2.66 Mac Pro!! I realize that for the applications I am running (Photoshop, InDesign, Quark, Acrobat, Aperture, ColorBurst RIP, etc...), the Quad would more be more than sufficient. I know it will be a big step up from my current 2.3 Power PC G5!!!

I'll spend the $$$ I save from not waiting for the 8-core on RAM and a new screen! There comes a time when one must really think about need vs. want. For me, the 8-core is more of a want than a need at this point in time.

Thanks everyone

 

[dkoralek]

Hmmm....
Reading all of these posts (well most of them) has been a great help in bringing me to my final decision...

I am going to pick up the phone this afternoon and order my new 2.66 Mac Pro!! I realize that for the applications I am running (Photoshop, InDesign, Quark, Acrobat, Aperture, ColorBurst RIP, etc...), the Quad would more be more than sufficient. I know it will be a big step up from my current 2.3 Power PC G5!!!

I'll spend the $$$ I save from not waiting for the 8-core on RAM and a new screen! There comes a time when one must really think about need vs. want. For me, the 8-core is more of a want than a need at this point in time.

Thanks everyone

RAM is a good investment. 1 gig certainly won't do it. I got mine with 2 gig from the factory (the joys of grant money), but added a pair of 1 gig sticks to it the first day. Quite an improvement from my old P4 or my iBook G4 (both with 512meg). .

cheers.

 

[psingh01]

Hmmm....
Reading all of these posts (well most of them) has been a great help in bringing me to my final decision...

I am going to pick up the phone this afternoon and order my new 2.66 Mac Pro!! I realize that for the applications I am running (Photoshop, InDesign, Quark, Acrobat, Aperture, ColorBurst RIP, etc...), the Quad would more be more than sufficient. I know it will be a big step up from my current 2.3 Power PC G5!!!

I'll spend the $$$ I save from not waiting for the 8-core on RAM and a new screen! There comes a time when one must really think about need vs. want. For me, the 8-core is more of a want than a need at this point in time.

Thanks everyone

are any of these programs universal binaries yet? if not will you see any improvements with them running under rosetta?

 

[KKP925]

are any of these programs universal binaries yet? if not will you see any improvements with them running under rosetta?

I am actually running these programs at home on my Intel Based iMac as well as my office G5. Aperture is Universal, so no problems! The Adobe applications are not and they run quite well under rosetta. At my office, I have Photoshop CS3 (Beta), as a member of Adobe Solutions Network, so it won't be a problem. I'm quite confident that the CS3 (Universal) version of the Adobe apps will be released this spring. I can "chug" along in the meantime!

 

[Peligro]

I bought

I waited until Macworld and of course nothing was released. I couldn't wait any longer, I went ahead bought mine a day or two after the Stevenote. It should be here in a couple of days. The suspense is killing me!!!!

 

[trainguy77]

I don't think the price will drop much for the current mac pros if any. But the Quad core will be more expensive.

 

[KKP925]

Interesting...
After calling 4 or 5 local Mac stores, no one has the 2.66 Mac Pro in stock! They check their suppliers and can't get delivery dates for stock, so, I haven't ordered my new system yet.... I called the Apple store and CAN order it from them, but didn't.

The last time I tried to order a "stock" system from one of my local suppliers and they were out of stock with no estimated delivery date, a new model came out a short time later (iMac). It may be interesting to wait a week or so and see if they announce the new Quad Cores. If not, I may end up ordering from the Apple store.

Tick....Tick....Tick....

 

[kbonnel]

this is getting a little crazy. I have a 2.66 mac pro, and I don't even come close to using the full power of it. The thought of an 8 cpu mac pro makes my head spin.

If you need a computer now, then get the default mac pro and enjoy the power that it has. Unless you are really going to use all 8 of those cores, and have programs that can utilize all of them, I would not worry too much about it. The downside right now is if a new mac pro model comes out soon with the same price range. If you are worried about that, then wait for a refurb, or buy a used mac pro with applecare. Then you will not pay the full price for an "old" mac pro.

Really though, the only person who can answer this question is yourself. If you have a worry in the back of your head, it isn't going to go away.

Kimo

 

[sushi]

Personally, I am waiting for the 64 Core CPUs!

I say get what you need today. Hardware changes very quickly and prices are dropping. However, software updates lag behind the new hardware advantages.

Bottom line is that you can wait forever the next greatest thing or use something great that exists today.

 

[iEdd]

I'd say that the fact you made this thread is because you *can* wait, otherwise you would've already purchased a Mac Pro. So wait.
Go here for now

 

[cynerjist]

Hardware changes very quickly and prices are dropping. However, software updates lag behind the new hardware advantages.

Exactly. Give us the software, already!

 

[synth3tik]

I get all excited when reading up on the quad core XEONs, but when it comes down to it. I can barely hit 50% of my dual cores, with peaks at 75% or so.


I keep telling myself that even though it would be really cool having an octa-core system, I simply don't need it (now).

with 10.5 and the 64bit it may help.


one advatage about waiting for the 8 core would be getting the quad on clearance.

 

[Gurutech]

I really think that Bartelby already gave you a nice advice.
But, since you desire direct answer...
buy it

why not? lol

 

[Tangerine]

Buy now! Games now don't even support the 4 Cores yet. It will be awhile when applications and games take advantage of the 8 Cores.

 

[Old Smuggler]

Buy now! Games now don't even support the 4 Cores yet. It will be awhile when applications and games take advantage of the 8 Cores.

well my opinion is (if it actually matters)

if someone is going to spend three grand on a Mac Pro just to play video games you be better off buying a PS3 or XBOX and use the other two grand to buy a really plush tv

if you are using the system for actual work purposes then it might be a valid purchase

 

[alkanenine]

I was going to wait for the next rev. macpro, but I ended up buying the current one. I am still super happy with it. I needed to replace my 1ghz powerbook and well this is a huge step. Even if the next macpros come out next week or something, I won't be too sad. I needed a computer now, and the current 2.66ghz is perfect enough for me. The money that I was going to keep on saving for the octocore, I'll save up and get a new gfx card cause the 7300 isn't that great but good enough for at least another 2 years for me.

 

[KKP925]

Ordered 2.66

Ordered my new Mac Pro yesterday from Apple. After reading this (long) thread, I decided it will be quite a while before I could even think of taking advantage of 8 cores! Now, the wait is on....

Here is the config I ordered, and I also ordered another 4 gig WinTec RAM to give me a total of 6

Custom configuration
2.66 GHz Quad Xeon
2GB 667 DDR2 FB DIMM ECC-4x512
ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512MB
250GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s drive
500GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s drive
2x16x SuperDrive DL
Apple Keyboard & Mighty Mse
Mac OS X
Country Kit

Ships by: Jan 19 - Jan 23
Delivers by: Jan 29 - Feb 2

 

[alkanenine]

I went to the apple store on tuesday during my lunch break and I picked mine up after work same day.

2.66ghz DualCore Xeon
1GB Ram (I ordered another 1GB from OWC)
nVidia 7300 :/
250 GB sata hdd
500 GB sata hdd (ordered from OWC as well)
Airport + Bluetooth
16x Superdrive
Plus Sony DRU 810 DVDdrive that I had in an external case
Plus my 3-320Gb external firewire400 drives from when I was using my powerbook

All of this makes me a super happy camper Now I can't wait for Adobe Creative Suite to be UB .