OT: New Mac Pro (Dual Xeon)

jkrepner wrote on 8/7/2006, 12:29 PM
I'm actually shocked out how cheap these are. $2499 gets you (2) 2.66GHz Dual Core Xeons and $3299 gets you (2) 3.0GHz Dual Core Xeons. By way of comparison, a similarly equipped Dell Precision Xeon workstation is about $1500 more. Of course the Dell (or any PC) can be outfitted with up to a 3.7GHz Xeon, but this isn't bad for starters. With bootcamp, this would make a fine Vegas workstation. Right? My workstation is getting ready to turn 3 (or is it 4) this year.

Would ya?

http://www.apple.com/macpro/

Comments

Coursedesign wrote on 8/7/2006, 2:03 PM
Yes, it would make a rockin' Vegas workstation.

I'm getting one for simultaneous use of Vegas and FCP (which makes it much easier to work with the many people who only use FCP).

Apple's hardware design is really excellent, and you get better support for it than you'd get with a Dell (Dell's workstation support is better than their very bad home user suppport, but it is still no fun, and their parts quality seems to have deteriorated substantially as they are trying to increase profits in the face of increased competition).
FrigidNDEditing wrote on 8/7/2006, 2:51 PM
MAKE SURE it's the 5100 Xeons and not the 5000's if you're doing it - because the 5100's execute some instructions that Vegas uses quite a bit more efficiently.

I'm looking into a single proc Dual Core 5130 or 5140. I know a guy who put the new Core 2 Duo up against his dual dual AMD and a single Core 2 Duo was on par with the Dual Dual AMD, so imagine what a Dual Xeon dual core based on the Core 2 Duo would be able to do :D - The 5100 series are based on the Core 2 Duo the 5000 series are based on the older chipset.

Dave
Coursedesign wrote on 8/7/2006, 3:25 PM
They are 5100s per Apple's release, and they are shipping today.
Logan5 wrote on 8/7/2006, 3:45 PM
nice!
Cliff Etzel wrote on 8/7/2006, 4:05 PM
It's enough to make a man ditch Windows altogether...

And if I could afford - YES I WOULD...
Edward wrote on 8/7/2006, 7:20 PM
is it just me, or is this 'duo/dual/core duo' getting a bit outta hand. the naming i mean. i just got lost in readin' dave's post... or is that just because i went to public school?
FrigidNDEditing wrote on 8/7/2006, 10:12 PM
yes, they are getting a little out of hand with this whole Core Duo, Core 2 Duo, etc... but you could just call them by their codenames. I believe the Xeon 5100's are called woodcrest.

I'm kind of blown away here, but it looks like currently Apple has the cheapest dual dual Xeon machine on the market (with the same graphics card/ram/storage) etc...

Has the whole world gone upside down? Apple was always a company that charged the same or more for the equivilent machine. I'm so confused....

Dave
jkrepner wrote on 8/8/2006, 7:13 AM
Dave, that was my point too. I read a post from the Apple Cult Meeting (not the official name) and I saw a press release that a dual xeon box was shipping for $2499. I went to Dell's site and priced the cheapest dual xeon workstation (@2.66 GHz) with a gig of ram, an okay video card, a 250GB sata drive, etc, and it came out well over $1500 more! I know Dell isn't the cheapest, but I'm not sure how Apple managed to price the new desktop in such a way as to make it seem like a value compared to a comparable PC. The thing that has always, always kept me from the Mac is that it has always been $1000 to $1500 more than a comparable PC. That, coupled with the fact that I'm not 100% on board with OSX and FCP, kept me (and I suspect many others) away. Now, with Bootcamp and a machine that is $1000 cheaper than a PC, it's almost a no brainier to get one of these.

Vegas, Final Cut, Motion, DVD Studio, on one box is a nice thought.