Mac Pro speed vs. ram

[halibutking]

I am getting a new mac pro and I do have a limited budget so I am mostly concerned about where to spend the extra cash. Right now Im considering mp 3gh w/ 2g ram vs 2.66gh w 4/g ram. I think I can get a pretty good deal on the 2.66 GH so Im leaning that way. To spend a premium on the 3.0 may not make sense for me right now. I do mostly photo editing cs2 (3), aperature, lightroom ect. thanks

michael

 

[Fearless Leader]

I am getting a new mac pro and I do have a limited budget so I am mostly concerned about where to spend the extra cash. Right now Im considering mp 3gh w/ 2g ram vs 2.66gh w 4/g ram. I think I can get a pretty good deal on the 2.66 GH so Im leaning that way. To spend a premium on the 3.0 may not make sense for me right now. I do mostly photo editing cs2 (3), aperature, lightroom ect. thanks

michael

if they cost the same go for 3ghz. down the road It's going to be cheaper to upgrade to 4gigs of ram than the 2.66ghz to something better.

 

[cynerjist]

I am getting a new mac pro and I do have a limited budget so I am mostly concerned about where to spend the extra cash. Right now Im considering mp 3gh w/ 2g ram vs 2.66gh w 4/g ram. I think I can get a pretty good deal on the 2.66 GH so Im leaning that way. To spend a premium on the 3.0 may not make sense for me right now. I do mostly photo editing cs2 (3), aperature, lightroom ect. thanks

michael

I was in the same position as you. I ended up opting for the 2.66GHz because I didn't feel the 3.00GHz was worth the extra $800 or so. I took that $800 and bought 4GB (4x1) of RAM from maxupgrades (they use the Samsung chips). I will e-bay the 1GB that comes in the system I bought and maybe I will get 150-200 for it. I feel great about it.

The benchmarks of 2.66 vs. 3.00 will certainly look different, but for what I have in mind RAM is far more valuable than clock cycles.

 

[theblotted]

if they cost the same go for 3ghz. down the road It's going to be cheaper to upgrade to 4gigs of ram than the 2.66ghz to something better.

i completely agree with this.

 

[crazycat]

I would go with the 2,66 GHz and 4GB RAM. I have been using my 2.66 GHZ MacPro for sometimes with 2GB RAM and it was way to slow when doing more then two things at the same time. More RAM = Better Mac, but like Rokem said you could always add more ram later on.

 

[bigandy]

i don't agree with the trend. the difference between the 3.0Ghz and the 2.66Ghz machines are so slim, they aren't worth the extra you'll pay for them.

another 2Gb ram, however, will prove to be far better value for money, in both the short and long term. it'll make far more difference than an extra 340mhz in the apps you're using.

 

[halibutking]

thanks, I went with the 2.66 and 4 gb ram.... now I just sit back and refresh the fedx tracking website!!!!

 

[jmoss]

Most excellent!

The waiting will kill you! ENJOY!

 

[MRU]

The 2.66 is a cracking machine, I upgraded to 4gb and I never get any page outs and the mac is more than capable of keeping up with me, even in CS2 and it isnt even UB yet.

I think this is the first machine where I've felt it's gonna last me for more than a couple of years...

Only thing I'd say additionally is to get the X1900 gpu upgrade, it makes a considerable difference to the stock 7300 that comes with it.

 

[theblotted]

i don't agree with the trend. the difference between the 3.0Ghz and the 2.66Ghz machines are so slim, they aren't worth the extra you'll pay for them.

another 2Gb ram, however, will prove to be far better value for money, in both the short and long term. it'll make far more difference than an extra 340mhz in the apps you're using.

while i know that both 3 and 2.66 make killer machines, some things to remember:

-it's not simply "340mhz", cuz we're talking about Quad processors, not single. so it'll be multiple of 340mhz.

-depending on what kind of work or process you do, the needs will be different. for example, i do audio production with my MacPro. i need extra horsepower for extra # of plugins; as opposed to another audio guy who uses more samplers will benefit more from having more RAM.

honestly both decisions will be very good (compared to a Dell )