build new rig or buy mac pro ?

86JR

86JR

86JR

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Hello

All i use the pc these days is for browsing, listening to music (2TB of FLAC - dac - hifi), utorrent, storage, CAD etc.

I dont game much other than bf2 and its aix mod, and the odd spot of command and conquer red alert 2...

I have an xbox 360 for the latest stuff!

We are doing maya next year and the uni decided to drop the course so with the exception of us (1st years this year) they wont be running any more IT courses. This means that we will be doing maya on c2d machines but no fancy quadro gfx, infact nothing better than onboard with 2gb of ram, and 2 monitors.

This has prompted me to build my own rig for compiling and rendering.

Now with £3k to spend, do i build my own pc rig or just buy a mac pro and then upgrade to 8gb of ram ?

Always fancied OSX but the one button mouse puts me off slightly etc.

Thanks!
 
Buy a Mac Pro. No question.

The one buttoned Mighty Mouse can be easily replaced.

Nothing can be more stable than a Mac Pro, plus, you don't have to worry about potential faults, as it's all covered by warranty. Not only that, it's cheaper than building a Dual CPU/Dual socket motherboard PC yourself.
 
Well actually its not cheaper, but I see your point.
Any more suggestions ? its a lot of money to spend, and if i dont like osx...
 
A mac pro is very reasonable for its spec, you will be hard pushed to get as good a machine for the price.

If you don't get on with OS X then use Bootcamp to install Windows

http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/bootcamp.html

This is also useful if you already have Windows only software. Runs at native speeds and just turned the machine into a dual boot.

The one button mouse has a (rubbish) second button support, but if your spending 3K+ then just get another one.
 
Here we go, 2 quad core processors, 8gb ram, blue ray, 2x9800gx2 gfx cards all on a skull trail :D

either 2tb of storage or raid them for backup or speed :)

then a 32gb SSD for vista :D

2zjgvug.jpg
 
caithomas44 said:
Here we go, 2 quad core processors, 8gb ram, blue ray, 2x9800gx2 gfx cards all on a skull trail :D

either 2tb of storage or raid them for backup or speed :)

then a 32gb SSD for vista :D

2zjgvug.jpg
Click to expand...

No point in spending so much for that, get a Mac Pro plain and simple. With 3 grand you can upgrade to ram too 8GB don't buy from apple they are expensive for ram look else where. You should get a few samsung 1TB drives from overclockers as they are the best 1Tb hard drives available at the minute.

With a Mac Pro you have not got to worry about stability or hardware problems as its all under warranty plus it will handle anything you throw at it. With around £1300 left over after buying the Mac Pro you should be able to get the 8GB ram a couple of 1TB drives and some nice screens along with speakers plus a mouse and keyboard if you don't like apples mouse and keyboard.
 
twoblacklines said:
Well actually its not cheaper, but I see your point.
Click to expand...

It kind of is though. Basically, with a Mac Pro you're spending money on what's needed. Plus, the below system is still clocked lower than a Pro.

caithomas44 said:
Here we go, 2 quad core processors, 8gb ram, blue ray, 2x9800gx2 gfx cards all on a skull trail :D

either 2tb of storage or raid them for backup or speed :)

then a 32gb SSD for vista :D

2zjgvug.jpg
Click to expand...
 
Your rams wrong on that too, skulltraill needs regestered or fully buffered dimms (not normal ddr2) and those alone are pretty irritating to get right.

Plus mac pro comes in a pretty case :)
 
Why does it have to be such an expensive Mac Book Pro?

Just get a laptop with the about the same specifications, much cheaper? You will have some money left which is also good?
 
I think the above system highlights what good value the Macpro really is... Definately dont buy the ram from them, the 2gb 800mhz FBDimms can be had for as little as £75each (i recently bought 4 of them :) ) As others have said get the HDDs from OcUK and youre laughing.

Also, dont forget to mention when buying the Macpro youre a Student and youll save a whacking great lump off the price...
 
Last edited:
caithomas44 said:
That spec would be significantly faster than a mac book ;)

especially with the new 45nm cores and a ssd hard drive :P
Click to expand...

The current Mac Pro uses 45nm cores; PCI-E 2.0, 5400 Seaburg chipset and 800MHz FB-DIMM RAM. An SSD is amazingly fast but Mac Pro's hardly suffer from speed issues. Plus, OSX isn't as bloated as Vista and runs better anyway.
 
Urban Reflex said:
So... how far can you OC a Mac? :)
Click to expand...

But whats the point, a Mac with OS X is very fast and with 8 cores there is nothing it can't handle. If the OP was a hard core PC user which was into overclocking then he would have decided streight away to get a rig which he could overclock.
 
Also too the OP, you may want to go to the Mac part of this forum and give a list of software you use so we can recommend the ones you will be able to use on OS X to replace the ones you run on windows.
 
Thanks a lot!

I do overclock but not for e-penis results, just value for money, current spec is an [email protected], any higher i hit my memory strap at 400mhz fsb, im currently at 399fsb.

geil 2gb ull 6400

gigabyte ds3 F11 patched by me

ati x1950

antec case etc.

I just like the style of the mac pro, the cpu's are faster as skulltrails sucks for overclocking, and i get a big student discount, i believe i can get even more discount if i buy it at uni as im on an IT degree...

I would definetly do bootcamp.

I only use photoshop, macromedia studio cs3, maya (and the other autocad schtuff) audacity lol, some waveform analysers and bf2 with aix mod.

Thanks
 
twoblacklines said:
Thanks a lot!

I do overclock but not for e-penis results, just value for money, current spec is an [email protected], any higher i hit my memory strap at 400mhz fsb, im currently at 399fsb.

geil 2gb ull 6400

gigabyte ds3 F11 patched by me

ati x1950

antec case etc.

I just like the style of the mac pro, the cpu's are faster as skulltrails sucks for overclocking, and i get a big student discount, i believe i can get even more discount if i buy it at uni as im on an IT degree...

I would definetly do bootcamp.

I only use photoshop, macromedia studio cs3, maya (and the other autocad schtuff) audacity lol, some waveform analysers and bf2 with aix mod.

Thanks
Click to expand...

You should be set then, bootcamp with vista 64bit for Battlefield 2. Then use OS X for your CS3 apps ect and any other windows apps which may not be supported in OS X you can always run fusion and use your windows apps in OS X like they are actually apps for OS X. Be sure to have a look at VMware Fusion :).
 
OOOOO, i didnt know IT student got further discounts! It is pretty much the best reason to get a mac of any sorts though (im stil eyeing up my £600 macbook for next year, even if im bringing over my propper desktop on the boat) :)
 
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