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Discounted 2009 Mac Pro or 2010?

A

Avenger

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 20, 2007
825
186
I was able to sell my Macbook Pro for a good price. So I am looking at some deals for a $1799 2.66 Quad Core Mac Pro. I can also get the 2.88 Quad Core 2010 model for $2299 through a corporate discount. Is it worth the $500 extra to get the latest model? I know the graphics card is better and the processor is a bit faster. Will I see the benefits of this in day to day tasks with programs like Aperture or Photoshop? I am a fairly light user. And I'll probably wind up putting a small SSD in whichever one I choose.

Also as a side note, if you buy from an Apple authorized reseller, you can still bring the Mac Pro into an Apple Store for repairs under warranty, correct?
 
Avenger said:
I was able to sell my Macbook Pro for a good price. So I am looking at some deals for a $1799 2.66 Quad Core Mac Pro. I can also get the 2.88 Quad Core 2010 model for $2299 through a corporate discount. Is it worth the $500 extra to get the latest model? I know the graphics card is better and the processor is a bit faster. Will I see the benefits of this in day to day tasks with programs like Aperture or Photoshop? I am a fairly light user. And I'll probably wind up putting a small SSD in whichever one I choose.

Also as a side note, if you buy from an Apple authorized reseller, you can still bring the Mac Pro into an Apple Store for repairs under warranty, correct?
Click to expand...

Why not get an iMac? But if you already have a screen and the such. I would go with the 2009 because your needs do not seem that taxing. However, if you decide to future-proof that extra $500 doesn't seem like too much.
 
For the 500 difference you could surpass the 2.8 by buying SSDs and RAM. The 2010 2.8 can be upgraded to a hexacore if you choose, while the 2009 cannot.

I would personally go for the 2009 and put a 5770 or 5870 in if needed.
 
Keep in mind the graphics card difference is immense. GT120 stutters terribly and will most likely give you very bad OpenGL use in CS5 Photoshop.

3dMark06:
5770: 17076
GT120: 5431
 
You problem may be solved by the 2009 model now out of stock..
 
Thanks for all the good advice. I'm going to go for the 2010 model if I can gather the additional $500.
 
2010 vs 2009 has built-in wi-fi, much better video card, larger hard drive, faster CPU, and better CPU upgrade path. Whether or not that's worth $500 is up to you.
 
the GT120 will not be a bottleneck in Photoshop. PS hardly uses the GPU for anything. Aperture only wants VRAM...whether 512MB will be a problem depends on the OP's usage.

the 2010 MP's don't have any more of an "upgrade path" than the 2009's - the socket is dead. sure, you can put a 6-core in a 2010, but how many people actually bother upgrading the CPU? selling and buying a newer model down the road is likely more cost-effective.
 
Are there any suppliers in the US still selling the 2009 for 1799? I see both B&H and Microcenter are out of stock.
 
skiltrip said:
Are there any suppliers in the US still selling the 2009 for 1799? I see both B&H and Microcenter are out of stock.
Click to expand...

I think LA Computer Company has them. Don't know too much about them.


About the Nvidia GT 120 card in the 2009 model. When you say it studders, is that in normal usage of professional applications, web browsing, etc. or is that referring to only games? I don't care too much abt. games since I have a separate PC system with a pretty good video card for that.
 
Avenger said:
I think LA Computer Company has them. Don't know too much about them.


About the Nvidia GT 120 card in the 2009 model. When you say it studders, is that in normal usage of professional applications, web browsing, etc. or is that referring to only games? I don't care too much abt. games since I have a separate PC system with a pretty good video card for that.
Click to expand...

In applications that make heavy use of the GPU, the 5770 is significantly faster than the GT 120. However, I find it hard to believe that even a GT 120 would bottleneck Photoshop. While Photoshop does have GPU acceleration features, it doesn't use the GPU as extensively as say, Maya 3D. There shouldn't be any major problems in Aperture, either. Heck, even the 2600 XTs (total dogs) that shipped as standard with the 2008 MPs handle those particular applications without much of a fuss.

In Photoshop, your biggest bottleneck will be RAM and disk speed. Upgrades in those areas would be far more beneficial than worrying about the video card.

With that said, you'll just have to decide whether $500 is worth the slightly faster CPU, better video card, bigger hard drive and built-in wireless. At least on paper, it is.
 
toxic said:
how many people actually bother upgrading the CPU? selling and buying a newer model down the road is likely more cost-effective.
Click to expand...

1) Some on these forums have done so already, even at current high prices.
2) It's hard to say what's cost-effective without knowing what Westmere CPU prices will be like down the road.
3) It's irrelevant anyway; I stated the differences, which are true, and left it up to the OP to decide whether or not the differences are worth it. If he's the CPU upgrading type, he can take it into account. If he's not, he can ignore it.

toxic said:
the 2010 MP's don't have any more of an "upgrade path" than the 2009's
Click to expand...

2009 cannot take any Westmere chip including the 6-core and others, so yes, 2010 has more of an upgrade path than 2009. Granted, not much more.
 
The GT120 is not going to be all that bad. It will have no affect in Photoshop. You might see some slowdowns in Aperture though, in addition to the GT120 only having 512 megs of VRAM. But it won't be awful.

You can upgrade the GPU later anyway.
 
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