While I'm a newbie to MacRumors, I've been a Mac user since '88. I am not a technie, but I'm kind of an idiot savant with Macs. More idiot than savant, actally. 
And I need the help and opinions of a today's-world Mac-based tribe to guide me.
l will have to make a decision soon if I can't get get my 2007 Mac Pro 1,1 running smoothly again. If I can't, I'll have to make a quick decision on what route to go. (Running a huge Time Machine, last ditch back-up (1 TB) onto an external now and have already backed client files.)
If I do get her running right again, I'll have bought more time, but I'll still obviously need to upgrade sooner rather than later.
For reference, I do large format, digital print production files. When I say large, I mean pieces that will finish out to anywhere between a few feet to a few hundred feet in length x 2 to twelve in height and have been as large as 16 GB, 2 to 4 GB is an everyday average. I use Illustrator and Photoshop almost exclusively, along with Bridge and Acrobat and sometimes a browser. Often, all of these are needed at once along with email. If things get hairy on a particularly huge file, I'll notify clients that email is shutting down and they'll actually have to make a phone call to reach me, and I'll quit out if Acrobat, then Bridge and/or whatever's next as necessary.
This has been a great machine. I am not looking forward to setting up a new system. With that said, I'm not sure what "new" system is going to give me the same relatively, trouble-free service for the next 10 years. I think my immediate choices, in my price range (Ha!) are: 1) a 6-core Mac Pro w/1 TB storage with additional 3rd party RAM, 2) a souped-up 2010 MP from OWC, or 3) Finding someone local that can rebuild/soup-up my 1,1 in a week or so.
On one hand, I already have a 3 TB G-Drive to hook up to a new trash can, which should hold me for a year or so and an OWC Blue Ray burner. On the other hand, I have two internal drives (3 and 5 TB) that I should be able to pop into an OWC 2010 Mac, plus the externals. And I have no clue if rebuilding my 1,1 will be worth the cost vs. longevity and future OSX/software compatibility. Or if I can even find someone reliable to do it for a reasonable price.
Then there's the software. While I own licenses for everything, most of them are based on the CS3 Creative Suite, then my CS5 and 6 discs are all upgrades. I don't even want to think about that headache, especially if my current issues (and back-up) are software/corruption related.
Am I over thinking this or not thinking things through enough? I need a machine that will take me through the next 10 years of software/hardware upgrades with as few headaches as possible. I need to be up and running no later than the first of November.
Thoughts, opinions, guidance are all welcome!
(I apologize if this is rambling, nonsensical or full of typos, lots of distractions today and I'm reduced to using the iPad which is a toy to me.)
And I need the help and opinions of a today's-world Mac-based tribe to guide me. l will have to make a decision soon if I can't get get my 2007 Mac Pro 1,1 running smoothly again. If I can't, I'll have to make a quick decision on what route to go. (Running a huge Time Machine, last ditch back-up (1 TB) onto an external now and have already backed client files.)
If I do get her running right again, I'll have bought more time, but I'll still obviously need to upgrade sooner rather than later.
For reference, I do large format, digital print production files. When I say large, I mean pieces that will finish out to anywhere between a few feet to a few hundred feet in length x 2 to twelve in height and have been as large as 16 GB, 2 to 4 GB is an everyday average. I use Illustrator and Photoshop almost exclusively, along with Bridge and Acrobat and sometimes a browser. Often, all of these are needed at once along with email. If things get hairy on a particularly huge file, I'll notify clients that email is shutting down and they'll actually have to make a phone call to reach me, and I'll quit out if Acrobat, then Bridge and/or whatever's next as necessary.
This has been a great machine. I am not looking forward to setting up a new system. With that said, I'm not sure what "new" system is going to give me the same relatively, trouble-free service for the next 10 years. I think my immediate choices, in my price range (Ha!) are: 1) a 6-core Mac Pro w/1 TB storage with additional 3rd party RAM, 2) a souped-up 2010 MP from OWC, or 3) Finding someone local that can rebuild/soup-up my 1,1 in a week or so.
On one hand, I already have a 3 TB G-Drive to hook up to a new trash can, which should hold me for a year or so and an OWC Blue Ray burner. On the other hand, I have two internal drives (3 and 5 TB) that I should be able to pop into an OWC 2010 Mac, plus the externals. And I have no clue if rebuilding my 1,1 will be worth the cost vs. longevity and future OSX/software compatibility. Or if I can even find someone reliable to do it for a reasonable price.
Then there's the software. While I own licenses for everything, most of them are based on the CS3 Creative Suite, then my CS5 and 6 discs are all upgrades. I don't even want to think about that headache, especially if my current issues (and back-up) are software/corruption related.
Am I over thinking this or not thinking things through enough? I need a machine that will take me through the next 10 years of software/hardware upgrades with as few headaches as possible. I need to be up and running no later than the first of November.
Thoughts, opinions, guidance are all welcome!
(I apologize if this is rambling, nonsensical or full of typos, lots of distractions today and I'm reduced to using the iPad which is a toy to me.
)