Mac Pro vs Custom Built Core i7 PC

gazfocus · 29 Dec 2008 at 19:17

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.

gazfocus · 29 Dec 2008 at 19:32

Justin said:
Well, the main thing is what do you want to use it for?

If it's gaming, forget the Mac.

It will be for web development mainly, but it will be my main computer and I design flyers/posted, cd's, etc.

gazfocus · 29 Dec 2008 at 20:10

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.

gazfocus · 29 Dec 2008 at 20:15

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!)

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.

gazfocus · 29 Dec 2008 at 22:50

Yeah I will be looking at buying the updated Mac Pro which is why I am concerned that the prices will go up

gazfocus · 30 Dec 2008 at 00:02

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.

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

gazfocus · 30 Dec 2008 at 00:27

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.

Thanks

gazfocus · 30 Dec 2008 at 01:07

Panzerbjorn said:
To be honest a Mac Pro would far exceed your needs. If you want OSX and a good looking desktop, get an iMac. If you'd rather save some pennies and you can put up with Windows then get a PC.

Simple as really.

Panzer

I've already mentioned my reasons for dismissing the iMac. It lacks expandability and I would have to get the internal hard drive upgraded by Apple at a high premium, plus I don't want the glossy panel it uses.

gazfocus · 30 Dec 2008 at 01:48

yashiro said:
What would be the downsides of using your Macbook Pro for all of this?

I've actually just sold my Macbook Pro to fund the purchase of a new aluminium Macbook but the main 2 drawbacks with both is 1) I need/want dual displays and 2) I would prefer to keep my Work and Personal stuff separate if possible.

Panzerbjorn said:
In which case a Mac Mini is probably better suited to you.

Honestly for what you want it for you really don't need a Mac Pro.

If you have the money and want the bragging rights then by all means go for it - don't let me convince you otherwise - it sounds like you've half made up your mind anyway.

If it were me I would get a Mac Pro because I would want the best specced machine I could afford running OSX. However, our needs are different and I'm sure our circumstances are too so it's hard for me to say.

Panzer

As above, I want to move to a dual display setup. I've already got a 23" Apple Cinema Display and I'm looking at buying a Samsung TN display to use just for text. I guess an iMac would save me the expense of a 2nd display though.

gazfocus · 2 Jan 2009 at 13:33

Thanks for the interesting comments. While I appreciate the feedback and suggestions of other (lower cost) machines, this is between a PC and the Mac Pro for the following reasons:

1. The Core 2 Duo - I built a computer 2 years ago with a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo processor in and had it overclocked to 3.4GHz for most of the time. I don't want to be replacing that Core 2 Duo computer with a less spec'd mac mini or a similar spec'd iMac.

2. The Mac mini and iMac are both not expandable enough for me - They both use laptop parts and therefore are very limited in what can be upgraded, and how much those upgrades cost would be far higher than other options.

3. The need for dual displays - The adapters on the Apple website are called 'Dual Link DVI' which are for using 30" Displays which currently require this type of connector and it's not to be mistaken for 2 seperate DVI connectors. (The only other option would be a Matrox DualHead2Go but not keen on that idea).

4. The screen on the iMac is glossy! (enough said about that one

)

5. With the Mac Pro I can house a number of hard drives in the case itself which saves having several external hard drives lying around. I will then only need 1 external for 'emergency use'.

However, I think the lure of OSX is going to win but as it doesn't look like the Mac Pro is going to be updated until March/April time, I am going to wait and see what Macworld brings, then if no Mac Pro, I have decided to buy either a Mac Mini or an iMac which will be used as the business 'office admin' computer and wait it out for the new Mac Pros.