Does a student like myself really need a Mac Pro?

[flatfoot]

That statement would only be accurate if we were talking about the mobile i5 SB chips. All desktop SB i5s are quad-core with HyperThreading. The currently available SB i7s have a larger L3 cache (8MB vs. 6MB) aside from slightly faster clock speeds.

Oops, my bad.

 

[Mackilroy]

That statement would only be accurate if we were talking about the mobile i5 SB chips. All desktop SB i5s are quad-core with HyperThreading. The currently available SB i7s have a larger L3 cache (8MB vs. 6MB) aside from slightly faster clock speeds.

That's also wrong. The i5s have Turbo Boost but not HT. They are quad-core, though.

Now for ChitoCrisis to return and tell us what he's going to do…

 

[johnnymg]

I'm studying 3D Graphics and Animation. My MacBook Pro from 2009 is still very good but it's been messing up since I dropped it a few times. For example, the trackpad locks at certain angles and prevents me from clicking or right clicking. It gets annoying. The USB ports and pretty much the other ports have shifted slightly upwards. I can still plug in things but they are no longer functional. This also includes the display port.

snip..........

I would recommend either a highish end iMac or mac-mini. Either of these would be MORE than enough for what you described.

good luck
JohnG

 

[CaptainChunk]

That's also wrong. The i5s have Turbo Boost but not HT. They are quad-core, though.

Now for ChitoCrisis to return and tell us what he's going to do…

Oops. I stand corrected. I always mix up the specs on the mobile (which do have HyperThreading in addition to TurboBoost, but are dual-core only) and desktop variants.

 

[strausd]

I am an Arts and Technology major and the focus is pretty much 100% 3D. Modeling, texturing, lighting, compositing, rigging, animation, motion capture, everything.

I also had a 2009 MBP, but it was getting pretty slow, especially when rendering.

The further along in school you go, the more complex things you will be doing. The more complex, the longer the render times. The more CPU power, the faster the render times.

When rendering animation in a mental ray rendering engine, render times can take a while. So the added CPU power is definitely beneficial.

With all of this in mind, I would say get the best you can afford. I definitely don't consider my MP overkill. Render times can always be quicker. And rendering sequences can still take hours to days.

 

[Digital Skunk]

The MacPro is only overkill if you don't plan on jumping right into your industry after graduation.

Back in the iMac G5 and PowerMac G5 days I thought the same thing. I considered getting a brand spanking new . . . huge 20" iMac and some hard drives and upgrades. The videographer at my internship recommended me getting the new (last revision) PowerMac that had just come out and I did.

I was with me through the rest of my college career and helped me churn out a good deal of freelance work, which gave me more cash for upgrades and such.

The iMac is fantastic in it's current state though, so just remember that it's really only going to be about upgrades vs convenience.

 

[handheldgames]

If you can afford it... Get what you want. While a ford fiesta would work well as a car for a college student, if you dad can afford a camaro, 370Z or GTR...