Upgrading from G5 to Newer MacPro.....

[drBill]

Hey guys,

I'm finally going to pull the trigger on a PCI-e upgrade for my PCI-x HD3 system.

Barring the purchase of a new mac (still a possibility), what's the best bang for the buck on a used Mac these days that will give me a new lease on life for my HD3 PCIe system.

Quad core? What processor? Thanks. I've been out of the loop on the newer macs in the last couple years. Anything to look out for that's been problematic with PTHD?


THANKS!

bp

[John_Toolbox]

The nehalem mac pro has been out for well over a year, I think it's going to be replaced with the 6-core/12 core models any time now. I would wait for that, as it will drive down the price of used mac pros. I think the current nehalem quad offers the best features for the price, the earlier mac pros seem to hold their value so well that you might as well get the newer one... Check apples website for refurbished mac pros, they can be had for a pretty decent savings. Keep in mind the nehalem quad behaves as 8 cores due to hyperthreading, and can access RAM much faster than the earlier models.

[nst7]

If you can, at least wait until June 7, about 2 weeks. It's the first day of the Apple WWDConference. This is often when new products are announced.

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by nst7

If you can, at least wait until June 7, about 2 weeks. It's the first day of the Apple WWDConference. This is often when new products are announced.

Yes wait - Steve Jobs is giving the opening keynote address and the speculation is he'll do one of his famous "and one more thing..." deals. That in the past has been the delivery vehicle for new hardware.

[drenkrom]

New MacPros have been prepared over the last few months. According to some parts order reports and the usual rumor mill, most of the hardware in them has been nailed down, it seems. The refresh really should be right around the corner, probably at WWDC as hinted earlier, and it seems to be worth it from what we know. The new MacPros would probably be available the day of the reveal.

It's worth holding your breath another two weeks, IMO.

[audiobob]

The only thing about waiting for the new MacPros is that, as history shows, it'll take Avid forever to approve them. If you're not in any hurry then wait..if you want to move now there are great deals on the Apple Refurb Store. My "Harpertown" is 2 years old and runs an HD2 system just fine. There's a quad core Nehalem on there now for $2100.

[drBill]

Thanks for all the tips guys. Keep em coming. I will investigate some of your ideas. MUCH thanks.

bp

[Jeffrey Talbot]

Ditto for waiting...

AND if they are not announced as part of WWDC, then I'd still wait a week or two before I do anything. I've seen times when new gear is announced a week or two AFTER conventions...