sean_reid Posted January 16, 2009 Share #21 Posted January 16, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) Yes, although to echo the point Guy made a couple of times, you really don't want to skimp on the processors. More memory or disk space can be added as budget allows --- the bays are empty and will wait for you. But whatever you buy in CPU you're stuck with. So I would highly recommend dual processors, and ideally go for the 3.0 or 3.2 GHz. As of Snow Leopard (the next major MacOS X release), the entire OS will be multi-core and multi-processor aware, right down to the kernel level. So the dual processors will be leveraged to an extent we have not yet seen in applications from a whole host of developers. Jeff. It's a matter of perspective, I suppose. I don't think of four cores running at 2.8 as "skimping". Again, it all depends on how much one wants to spend. If the budget allows then, sure, why not buy more processor? Also, though I haven't confirmed this, I suspect that (once one's warranty/Applecare is up) it may not be all that difficult to install two 3.2 (or whichever) quad cores in that motherboard. One would have to get the various covers out of the way but I'm fairly sure all the current Mac Pros are using the same motherboard. So, one may not be stuck if he or she is adventurous (post warranty). Needless to say, I did this often with PCs. That's just my hunch though - haven't tested the idea. Cheers, Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 16, 2009 Posted January 16, 2009 Hi sean_reid, Take a look here Computer for the Leica S2 files???. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
barjohn Posted January 16, 2009 Share #22 Posted January 16, 2009 Sean, The bigger challenge with the Mac may be in changing the motherboards clock to allow one to use the faster processor. Also, if the bus speed to memory is not the faster bus, then you still won't get everything you would with a board designed for the faster processor. This is much easier to do on PC motherboards because just about every third party vendor (not Intel) provides BIOS firmware that lets you change clock speeds even to the point of over-clocking the processor. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
miami91 Posted January 16, 2009 Share #23 Posted January 16, 2009 It's a matter of perspective, I suppose. I don't think of four cores running at 2.8 as "skimping". Again, it all depends on how much one wants to spend. If the budget allows then, sure, why not buy more processor? Fair enough Sean, and point well taken. What I was trying to say, and I expect we agree about, is that if one cannot swallow the entire pill at once (and as you say, one can spend enormous sums of money on a Mac Pro depending on configuration), then processor may be the wisest place to make the initial investment. Adding RAM and hard drives are very easy with a Mac Pro, and doesn't require taking a loss on the initial investment (there are empty bays). And I find that processing power is perhaps the most critical in working with Photoshop, C1, and Aperture --- the wait time for image reading/writing is minimal (even with 7200 rpm drives), I've got plenty of RAM, so no bottleneck there, but some filters/plugins still take 30-60 seconds to process, even with a dual quad-core 3.2 setup. And given the fact that many of the core changes in Snow Leopard are related to processing (multi processor support as well as harnessing the GPU), I think a multi processor investment is a very wise one for the future. Just my $.02. Regards, Jeff. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted January 16, 2009 Share #24 Posted January 16, 2009 Absolutely Ram and Hard drives are after the fact with money to burn, start with at least 2.8 or higher. I have the older 2.66 but I have had to do a lot in the way of hard drive speed to move it faster along and went with 10k . My one point here is i have been able to with the faster hard drives and a ton of Ram is actually skip a generation or two. I'm very fast now but in two years when a new one comes i will move up but i was able to skip this generation and actually save some money from going generation to generation. You want to buy and be able to skip a generation or two. So start with a fast processor than add as money allows but get at least 6gb on a MacPro. I started there and now at 12gb Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean_reid Posted January 16, 2009 Share #25 Posted January 16, 2009 Sean, The bigger challenge with the Mac may be in changing the motherboards clock to allow one to use the faster processor. Also, if the bus speed to memory is not the faster bus, then you still won't get everything you would with a board designed for the faster processor. This is much easier to do on PC motherboards because just about every third party vendor (not Intel) provides BIOS firmware that lets you change clock speeds even to the point of over-clocking the processor. Yes I wondered about Bios and the like. I used to build my own PCs but I like Macs so much better now (came back to where I was prior to 1995). The bus I have is the current fast bus (same as the 3.2 machines) - mine is a 2008 machine. Right now, a 2.8 quad-core is plenty of power for me but after my Applecare expires I'm going to see a guy who lives about 1/2 hour away and who is a real expert with Mac hardware. I think we could simply add another 2.8 quad-core processor or see if the computer can go up to 3.2. I don't have the expertise to do this stuff with Mac (and I like my warranty) but he does - so it could be a fun project in two years. Interestingly when I did my first hardware tests of the Mac (from the CD), before set up, it reported itself as having two processors. I strongly suspect all the current generation Mac Pros are using the same motherboard (mine just has an empty processor slot). My approach was to buy no Apple options. I added tested RAM from OWC and three server grade RE-2 SATA-2 drives in the computer itself. Then I used the hidden SATA plugs to add two more SATA-2 drives externally. Then I used a card to add two more SATA-2 drives as well. By far my favorite computer yet... Cheers, Sean Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
S. Wong Posted January 20, 2009 Share #26 Posted January 20, 2009 For you MAC fans out there who want to bump your processor or RAM: Mac Pro towers all run Intel Xeon server processors, and require FB-Dimms. I don't know what chipset (Northbridge) they are running, but that will determine - max speed (MHz) and quantity (GB) of RAM. - The speed the RAM runs at is independent of the processor's speed, and will run at some timing ratio. - The process to replace and add RAM is very easy. Pull the case open, remove the daughter board, and add ram to the daughter board. The processor will run at whatever speed it is listed at. You shouldn't need to over/underclock your northbridge to make it work... again, assuming Mac hasn't done something fishy. All the hardware in MAC's today are standard Intel server components, with a limited number of peripherals (only certain graphics cards are supported). There are 4 HDD sleds that come with MAC Pro's, and thats all the internal storage you get. I don't know about internal raid, as servers normally offload that to a dedicated chipset separate from either the Northbridge or the Southbridge. If you decide to run a RAID, the most efficient way to survive a 1 disk failure is to run RAID-5. For large file writing, it may be faster to run RAID-3. -Steven Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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