Small Business - Mac Pros - Video Work

[botounami]

Hey there guys. I'm hoping the experts among us can assist me in a question that I have about the longevity and effectiveness of older (2008) Mac Pros.

I run a small business that has two employees focused on video work (Creative Cloud, Adobe Premier, After Effects, mainly editing with effects). They're currently using their personal equipment. One is on a heavily upgraded 2006 Mac Pro, and the other has a newer PC and Laptop. We're now at a point where we have a little cash flow to get them off of their personal machines and onto company assets.

I have the opportunity to buy 2x 2008 2.8GHz, Quad-Core Xeon Mac Pros for about $1300.

When I saw this, I thought it was quite reasonable that after displays and extra RAM I may be able to get a full upgrade to our video department for $2,000. However, I want to make sure I'm not missing something.

Will these machines last for at least 2 years?

This purchase wouldn't be worth it if I have to replace them with $1-2k machines next year. I need them to last at least 2 years, and do their job well.

How much additional RAM would I need to purchase?

When I look on Crucial, I see 2 4GB sticks at $299. If I need to get both of these machines to 16GB to make them capable, I'm looking at an extra $600 per machine. That's very cost prohibitive.

Any advice or additional concerns would be so excellent to help me inform this decision. I have until the end of the week to pull the trigger.

Thanks!
Steven

 

[wonderspark]

I do exactly what you do with my Mac Pro and laptop - video editing with effects using Adobe.

I would not buy a 2008. Get at least a 2009. The RAM is way cheaper, and the upgrade options and benefits run much deeper.

I'm using a 2009 I bought at the end of 2009 as a single quad CPU, and now it's a single 6-core 3.33MHz with 32GB of RAM, newer GPUs and so on. Having said that, I just built a brand new PC from scratch for my stepson with only $1200, and it's extremely nice. If you're using Adobe, there's not much reason to use a Mac, honestly. The money is better spent on building a PC in my opinion. Not only are things cheaper, such as GPUs, but they just plug and play rather than having to modify stuff to make them work right.

If you only know Macs, I can see why you'd want to stay, but once inside Adobe software, it's all the same.

 

[fuchsdh]

The 3,1 in my sig performs quite capably doing 720p and 1080p editing work; the work 3,1's we have are on lower specs (16GB RAM, Quadro 4000s) and do decently as well. They can definitely last two more years.

As you noted, the RAM is somewhat expensive and that's what would put me off buying them. With 4,1 or newer you'll get more bang for your buck and the upgrades are cheaper and you'll get more out of them too (DDR3 RAM as opposed to DDR2, etc.)

 

[CASLondon]

Hey there guys. I'm hoping the experts among us can assist me in a question that I have about the longevity and effectiveness of older (2008) Mac Pros.

I run a small business that has two employees focused on video work (Creative Cloud, Adobe Premier, After Effects, mainly editing with effects). They're currently using their personal equipment. One is on a heavily upgraded 2006 Mac Pro, and the other has a newer PC and Laptop. We're now at a point where we have a little cash flow to get them off of their personal machines and onto company assets.

I have the opportunity to buy 2x 2008 2.8GHz, Quad-Core Xeon Mac Pros for about $1300.

When I saw this, I thought it was quite reasonable that after displays and extra RAM I may be able to get a full upgrade to our video department for $2,000. However, I want to make sure I'm not missing something.

Will these machines last for at least 2 years?

This purchase wouldn't be worth it if I have to replace them with $1-2k machines next year. I need them to last at least 2 years, and do their job well.

How much additional RAM would I need to purchase?

When I look on Crucial, I see 2 4GB sticks at $299. If I need to get both of these machines to 16GB to make them capable, I'm looking at an extra $600 per machine. That's very cost prohibitive.

Any advice or additional concerns would be so excellent to help me inform this decision. I have until the end of the week to pull the trigger.

Thanks!
Steven

Answer - No

Money spent on these machines is dead money much faster than buying two 2009 machines, for many reasons, as have been discussed in many places on this forum.

Spend a little more on each base 2009 machine, then money spent on (cheaper) ram, and more capable upgrades, will last far longer and stay with the OSX updates for longer, and take more GPU options to run this video software.

Upgraded 2009 machines you could get 3-5 years out of easily

 

[botounami]

I appreciate the help and the definitive answer! I'll look to stretch my budget for the newer models.

Thanks!

 

[CASLondon]

Also, get creative about sourcing for your upgrades.

2009-2012 models take a standard RAM and server CPU type that are going to be coming off lease and all over the place

I looked up server parts dealers in Chicago when I was home, found a nice firm that sold me CPUS for a bit below market value, and I went back to them and asked about RAM, they threw 24g at me for $50.

 

[rueyloon]

I run exactly the same size and type of business. We went off the 2 x 2008 years ago because they were too slow. Even a 2009 iMac was faster.