new to mac pros is this a good deal?

[Sossity]

I have found this on ebay; http://cgi.ebay.com/Mac-Pro-3-0GHz-Quad-Core-Xeon-4G-1TB-1900xt-BT-Extreme-/250797330309?pt=Apple_Desktops&hash=item3a64af8f85

I am looking for a powerful machine that would last me as long as possible, at least 3 years, as I am a student & cannot afford to buy or replace a computer every year, I read a little about the mac pros & they seem to be tough machines, with their industrial chassis, & slots to easily replace parts.

I have done a little video editing, but it was in standard def, with .mpg movie files I shot with my movie enabled digital still camera.

would this work if I got a high def (full 1080p) camcorder & edited the video from it? I want something/a computer that can do it with no problems, not something that can barely do it.

right now, I mostly do photo editing, have the Adobe CS5 design premium suite, wich I would run.

 

[Joshuarocks]

I have found this on ebay; http://cgi.ebay.com/Mac-Pro-3-0GHz-Quad-Core-Xeon-4G-1TB-1900xt-BT-Extreme-/250797330309?pt=Apple_Desktops&hash=item3a64af8f85

I am looking for a powerful machine that would last me as long as possible, at least 3 years, as I am a student & cannot afford to buy or replace a computer every year, I read a little about the mac pros & they seem to be tough machines, with their industrial chassis, & slots to easily replace parts.

I have done a little video editing, but it was in standard def, with .mpg movie files I shot with my movie enabled digital still camera.

would this work if I got a high def (full 1080p) camcorder & edited the video from it? I want something/a computer that can do it with no problems, not something that can barely do it.

right now, I mostly do photo editing, have the Adobe CS5 design premium suite, wich I would run.

If you can, try to find the 2008 model mac pro.. in either 2.8/3.0/ or 3.2 harpertown X54xx series.. the 2006 woodcrest is not that great of a machine.. its quite old and it has problems with making use of the 64 bit kernel of snow leopard.

Also, the 2008 mac pros use EFI64 which means any new video card which comes out will work in the 08 mac pro.. the 06-07 have limited compatibility with newer video cards.. Thats another point I wanted to bring up.

 

[bizzle]

The number of Mac Pro Early 2008's on the market are much much lower than 1,1's and often sell at nearly the cost of a new unit.

 

[AngryRedTicTac]

That price is a bit steep, at this point I wouldn't pay over 1000 for a machine with those specs. A Woodcrest machine has no problems chewing through HD editing, I do quite a bit on my 2.66 1,1. it's a bit slow transcoding into AIC if you have to do that, but stay with .mts and it will move quite nicely. Either way, it smokes my friends 3.06 iMac and barely spins up the fans doing it. If you are looking at moderate 1080 editing, the Pro and CS5 will do nicely! There is a finite limit to 1,1s continued relevance, but with an SSD boot, a good chunk of RAM and maybe a 5770 you're looking at a good couple years, and a processor swap might just stretch that out a bit beyond that.

 

[Joshuarocks]

That price is a bit steep, at this point I wouldn't pay over 1000 for a machine with those specs. A Woodcrest machine has no problems chewing through HD editing, I do quite a bit on my 2.66 1,1. it's a bit slow transcoding into AIC if you have to do that, but stay with .mts and it will move quite nicely. Either way, it smokes my friends 3.06 iMac and barely spins up the fans doing it. If you are looking at moderate 1080 editing, the Pro and CS5 will do nicely! There is a finite limit to 1,1s continued relevance, but with an SSD boot, a good chunk of RAM and maybe a 5770 you're looking at a good couple years, and a processor swap might just stretch that out a bit beyond that.

Yes, but I wonder if the is concerned about video card upgrade paths + windows 7 bootcamp? The 2008 has EFI64 which right there would indicate that the machine will do what the op wants it to do. I am not saying for him to get the 3.2 or 3.0 harpertown, but the 2.8's aren't too high in price either.

 

[minifridge1138]

It's not a horrible deal, but it isn't what I'd do with $1400.

For that price you could get a new iMac that would perform as well or better. It would last 3 years (if you get the extended warranty, then it would have a warranty for 3 years). You could also sell it in 3 years and get some of your money back. In 3 years that mac pro will be 9 years old. How much of the $1400 do you think you'll get for a decade old computer?

Of course, an iMac has its own drawbacks (limited upgrade options).

 

[Sossity]

If you can, try to find the 2008 model mac pro.. in either 2.8/3.0/ or 3.2 harpertown X54xx series.. the 2006 woodcrest is not that great of a machine.. its quite old and it has problems with making use of the 64 bit kernel of snow leopard.

Also, the 2008 mac pros use EFI64 which means any new video card which comes out will work in the 08 mac pro.. the 06-07 have limited compatibility with newer video cards.. Thats another point I wanted to bring up.

thanks for this, as the woodcrest one I linked to was very tempting, but I though I would get the opinion of more experienced users here. I definately do not want to make a blunder purchase.

I will also want to run parallels with windows xp & 7 pro on the macpro as well.

are the mac pros you referred to 8 core mac pros? I tried to do an ebay search for mac pro 2008, & not much came up, just parts for it or service manuals. I found this; http://cgi.ebay.com/Apple-Mac-Pro-2-8GHz-8-Core-ATI-5770-12GB-RAM-2TB-HD-/140530063463?pt=Apple_Desktops&hash=item20b83e9867 is this more of what to look for? or could you link me to a model that is not too steep, it would be nice to keep it under $2,000.000

Also, with Lion on the way in the summer, would it be possible that more 8 core or other mac pros with snowleopard will turn up used on ebay, amazon etc, as there will be people who want to upgrade to the latest? I know you cant see into the future or tell for sure, just seeking an experienced opinion/advice. In light of this, would it be good to wait & look a little later in the year? as well as now?

 

[AngryRedTicTac]

If you are actually ready to drop almost 2k on a machine, a 1,1 is absolutely the wrong place to start. That 8 core machine you linked to in your last post is very nice, and right down the road from me, I wish I could scrape together enough to put up a bid.

I have seen multiple good condition 1,1s sell locally for 800 dollars for 2.66 and 2.0 machines. Those are a nice buy as a cheap way to get into a pro, and are cheap enough to justify upgrading, but even a quad 2.8 at 1500 is a much better buy.

 

[Joshuarocks]

If you are actually ready to drop almost 2k on a machine, a 1,1 is absolutely the wrong place to start. That 8 core machine you linked to in your last post is very nice, and right down the road from me, I wish I could scrape together enough to put up a bid.

I have seen multiple good condition 1,1s sell locally for 800 dollars for 2.66 and 2.0 machines. Those are a nice buy as a cheap way to get into a pro, and are cheap enough to justify upgrading, but even a quad 2.8 at 1500 is a much better buy.

Still think the op should get a 2008 mac pro; better quality overall and a work horse still..

 

[VanneDC]

*hugs his 2008 Oct 2.8*

if you can strech it for a 2008, you will love it soooo much more >