New Mac Pro 8 Cores slower than Quad and Old Gen. on Single Threaded Tasks

[25ghosts]

Just as I was fearing and expecting.

The new Macs with slower processors are indeed slower in new benchpress tests compared to the older generation with faster processors. Also, this article and other experts are saying that, as of now with OS X Leopard, still in baby shoes when it comes to multithreading, a Quadcore with almost 3 GHZ is going to perform better than the 2.66 8 core. That might change with Snow Leopard.... But who knows how long it will take the audio industry to catch up with Multi Threading.

And with PT not being able to utilize multi processors, correctly, at all - the choice should be very clear. At least for me: 2,93 Quad Core.

Here is a link that is very interesting

http://www.macrumors.com/2009/03/10/...nd-benchmarks/

[johnnyv]

25, good looking out. The other thing I don't like about the new Pros is the 8Gig RAM limitation in the Quad Core model. About three weeks ago, I bought a harpertown 8-Core on the used market for about a thousand dollars cheaper than the new 8-Core Nehalem, and I'm very glad I did. I think your suggestion about a faster Quad Core is a good one, but having the extra cores *may* have value in the future. But good link, and it's interesting to see the actual benchmarks.

[Mark Dann]

This situation will change over time, with the advantage clearly going to the newer architecture. The disadvantage of the current situation is likely not huge, so if you really want to future-proof your investment, buying the newer Mac Pro is certainly the way to go. Once Snow Leopard and PT catch up, the newer machines will smoke the older ones in all scenarios. I'd give that a year, tops.

[Anibal]

any "real" advantage in getting a 3.2 Harpertown instead of the 2.8?
or save the money...

[roberts]

Hardware has to come out first --> Operating systems catch up --> Host DAW s/w catches up --> Plug-ins catch up. This cycle at best represents 18 - 24 months of development. For example my Stylus was just updated I think my last update was 2006 - that's nearly 3 years!!! Many plug-ins still do not seem to handle multiprocessors to well. ( a few IK Multimedia Plugins).
Plus is you read about the new intel processors the second and 3rd generation will be a lot faster. I would what Snow Leopard is coming plus PT will need to updated and all the Plug-ins. You will not be able to take 'full' advantage until the whole cycle is done. And by then there will be new machines. Anyone who bought a 8 core last year should wait until at least 3 years before updating.
I know several people with HD still on G4's.
Always remember if you want to be a pioneer your are going to have pay extra for that.