Hi folks, I am currently considering purchasing an Apple for the first time and was looking at getting a Mac Pro. I have been waiting to see if Apple are going to announce a Blu-Ray drive option or any other major configuration changes. Anyone have any thoughts on should I wait for a few months due to some new options being introduced on the Mac Pro ? Would appreciate any insights. Thanks, Kieran, Ireland.
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Any major additions coming in Mac Pro - about to purchase !
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OK, here is a piece my wisdom: If you're not in a hurry, wait; otherwise buy now! You can always add a BR drive at some point in the future, and you know Apple will charge an arm & 2 legs for a built-in option, especially in the first gen.
Definitely buy now. It just got bumped. There might be a design update and one more bump for the rest of the year. Blue ray drives are still really expensive. Chances are it will be cheaper to upgrade it later.
Like any computer, if you need one now, buy it. If you can wait, wait. There will always be better/cheaper options in the near future. I, for one, couldn't wait, and am glad I bought one in December.
As for blu ray, you can buy blu ray burners now that toast will burn to. The big catch right now is that there isn't any support for playback (that I know of), and none of the Apple software will burn to it. My assumption is that blu ray support is waiting for Leopard. In any case, I would find it hard to believe that a Blu Ray drive option by Apple will be cost effective compared to a second party source. While it won't be as easy to install as a new hard drive on the Mac Pro (which is insanely easy), adding a second optical drive to the Mac Pro should be realtively (and instructions are available from the Apple support page). Basically, you have to make sure that the new drive is set for cable select (if it is PATA/EIDE), carefully pull the optical drive cage out of the computer, screw the new drive in (after removing the front bezel of the tray so that it will open through the slot on the MP), attach the power and interface cables, and put the cage back in. I believe that if you go the SATA route you may have to thread the cable behind the cage (it may be possible that windows won't recognize a sata drive on the optical drive connectors since I have read reports of people not being able to see hard drives on those ports in windows).
cheers.
you can add a blu-ray burner NOW. There is no reason to wait at all. Mac Pro's are highly upgradable. If new components become available, you will be able to integrate them along the way. If you find performance lacking at all in a few months, you can easily add ram, faster disks, or even a faster processor (depending on what you start with). Go for it! You won't be disappointed.