Mac Pro vs Custom Built Core i7 PC

gazfocus

gazfocus

gazfocus

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I have had my heart set on getting a Mac Pro but since I am hearing rumours of price increases when they're updated, I decided to work out how much it would cost me to build my own Core i7 PC.

The 2.8GHz Mac Pro would cost me £1536 for the standard config 8 Core 2.8GHz but with the 8800GT and WiFi card.

However, for £1436, I can get the following:
- Intel Core i7 2.93GHz Processor
- Asus P6T X58 Motherboard
- 4GB DDR3 1333MHz Ram
- nVidia 9800GT 1024MB Graphics Card
- 2 x 1TB Samsung F1 Drives
- 2 x Pioneer 20x SATA DVD ReWriters
- Antec Sonata Silent Case
- OCZ ProXStream 1000W Power Supply
- Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64 bit

What would you buy? What would you recommend?

I am a PC user that has had a Macbook Pro for some time and wanting to switch to a fully fledged Mac user. I'm just concerned about the prices increasing.
 
If you ever hypothetically sold the Mac Pro tower, you would probably get a lot more back for you money then if you were selling the parts or whole PC.
 
Same deal as with any comparison, how important is using Mac OS to you? What software do you depend on? Is it Mac based?
 
The Antec case you chose really pales in comparison to the Mac Pro's case and choosing a brand like Lian Li is a much better choice :p

Using a Mac Pro for web development is a bit over the top and I'd say using iMac is more suitable and not to mention, cheaper :)
 
Cybertronic said:
The Antec case you chose really pales in comparison to the Mac Pro's case and choosing a brand like Lian Li is a much better choice :p

Using a Mac Pro for web development is a bit over the top and I'd say using iMac is more suitable and not to mention, cheaper :)
Click to expand...
As is a core i7 He could spend much less on a pc if he chose to do so. My single core athlon pc is perfectly capable of web developement.
 
Depends if the OS means that much to you.

Im buying the new Core i7 based Xeon Mac Pros in early 2009 as my workstation for photography then a partition for windows/CAD/games and a GT260-219 or a HD4870 fills the graphics slot...

Depends on your demands really! But you've posted nothing that your MBP can't handle. Maybe selling that and getting one of the new ones with a newer processor might be more use?

As for the price increasing, i bloody hope not. They are pushing it as it is really (well current tech prices anyway!)
 
Thanks for the comments.

As for applications I use, I use Adobe Creative Suite 3 and I have both Windows and Mac Versions. I also use Microsoft Office (again have both Windows and Mac versions).

As for spec/overkill, my main issue is hard drive capacity. When I say I do web development, I do several projects at once (as a business) and I sometimes deal with large images which I then compress to use in a website. For one website, I also have to take audio recordings from Wav formats and convert them to MP3's, edit short 2-3min videos, etc.

My main issue with the iMac is that the top 24" iMac is only £100 less than the base spec 2.8GHz Mac Pro. Plus I already have a 23" Cinema Display so don't need an integrated screen. Also, I would have to have the hard drive upgraded by Apple and also use a number of external hard drives, whereas with the Mac Pro, I could do it myself and have more internal drives.

As for i7 being overkill, I have been using a Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz clocked to 3.4GHz with 6GB Ram for the past few months and it was noticeably slow on certain things (especially video encoding). Again, I want something that will last and as the i7 is the latest technology, that's what I'd go for if I built a pc.

I've had a Lian Li case before and hated it. Had that exact Antec case before and loved it.
 
Ross1234 said:
What are macs like for web development? I just use notepad and photoshop.
Click to expand...

There's the following applications available which are very good for web development:

  • Coda (One-window editor for web design/development files)
  • Espresso (Unreleased Coda competitor)
  • CSSEdit (CSS editor)
  • TextMate (Text editor)
I previously used Notepad++ on Windows and TextMate, now I'm using Coda. I have to say that Coda made me far more productive than I had hoped for and it may differ for others but it made such a difference for me and couldn't be any happier after I made the switch :)
 
Concorde Rules said:
Depends if the OS means that much to you.

Im buying the new Core i7 based Xeon Mac Pros in early 2009 as my workstation for photography then a partition for windows/CAD/games and a GT260-219 or a HD4870 fills the graphics slot...

Depends on your demands really! But you've posted nothing that your MBP can't handle. Maybe selling that and getting one of the new ones with a newer processor might be more use?

As for the price increasing, i bloody hope not. They are pushing it as it is really (well current tech prices anyway!)
Click to expand...

I have sold my Macbook Pro (which is a C2D 2.16GHz) and will be buying a Aluminium Macbook with the money from that.

I want a desktop solution that will be my 'business machine' whereas my laptop will be my personal machine as I don't want to do both business and personal stuff on just one machine.
 
Either way you'd be insane to buy one of the current Mac Pro's as they're way behind the power curve. Wait for the next Pro if you really want to be a one of the mac crowd.
 
The PC you mentioned you've been using is probably faster than a Mac Pro.

With Macs you really need to leave the wallet issues aside though. :)
For the same money a PC will always kick a Macs arse for raw power.

See what January's Mac show brings, then come back here and post.
 
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yashiro said:
The PC you mentioned you've been using is probably faster than a Mac Pro.

With Macs you really need to leave the wallet issues aside though. :)
For the same money a PC will always kick a Macs arse for raw power.

See what January's Mac show brings, then come back here and post.
Click to expand...

To be honest, I don't think a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo would be faster than an 8 core 2.8GHz Mac Pro do you?

Money isn't a problem at the current prices but if the prices do increase, I'm not sure if it'll be a problem or not.

Also, I've not seen any 8 Core PC's flying around for £1500, but if you have, please point me in their direction :)
 
Under the tasks you mentioned IO is more the limiting factor not really the CPU speed.
Yeah, heh, the Mac would probably be better than a crap end PC but my point is:

PC is faster for the money. You get a Mac for OSX and for it too 'look good'.

See what MWSF brings. If there is no Pro update you'd be better getting an i7.
Assuming performance for your pound is the most important aspect for you and not your desire to own a Mac Pro.
 
yashiro said:
Under the tasks you mentioned IO is more the limiting factor not really the CPU speed.
Yeah, heh, the Mac would probably be better than a crap end PC but my point is:

PC is faster for the money. You get a Mac for OSX and for it too 'look good'.

See what MWSF brings. If there is no Pro update you'd be better getting an i7.
Assuming performance for your pound is the most important aspect for you and not your desire to own a Mac Pro.
Click to expand...

Thanks :)
 
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