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Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
11/14/09
10/15/09
10/15/09
I'm thinking they'll release new iMacs to coincide with Windows 7. #macpro
10/15/09
Sometimes I wish I actually had a need for a workstation like this. I also wish I had a magic wand so I could just turn my aging Powermac MDD G4 into this. #macpro
10/15/09
C'mon... Until awesome games similar to the PC comes to the MAC, this would be futile.
Also, I can't think how much this would cost... x3 of what it would be if it was a PC?
Not being biased or PC-sided, but I was just wondering and thinking of the use and cost for this configuration. If there was really a good use for this (with a fairly good price), I would definitely buy this. #macpro
10/15/09
10/15/09
C'mon... Until awesome games similar to the PC comes to the MAC, this would be futile.
Also, I can't think how much this would cost... x3 of what it would be if it was a PC?
Not being biased or PC-sided, but I was just wondering and thinking of the use and cost for this configuration. If there was really a good use for this (with a fairly good price), I would definitely buy this. #macpro
10/15/09
As it is, musicians often supplement host-based software with PCI cards for extra horsepower. Having this kind of power built in means you can record and process more tracks with better effects that put a heavy load on the CPU, use more virtual instruments, etc. without buying additional hardware. #macpro
10/15/09
ahahaha, I was thinking this was somewhat for general public type of mac until I posted this comment... and I was lazy enough to correct myself. But anyways, I see more uses for this MAC powerhouse as a work machine, based on your replies, than what I have actually thought of.
Now, I see this as something that's really helpful at more points than what I thought of. #macpro
10/15/09
10/15/09
10/16/09
03/21/09
Heck my Core i7 system with an overclocked Nvidia 285 was only 2,100!
WTF man?
03/20/09
03/20/09
03/21/09
03/20/09
03/20/09
03/21/09
My 4runner can run on the very same race track as any vehicle though at 45mph versus 200mph for a car specifically made to race on said track.
03/20/09
My homemade gaming rig with 3X the power: $1200
Using my gaming rig for "everyday use" and still blowing Apple out of the water in a price/performance evaluation: Priceless.
03/21/09
Sure. FInal Cut Pro. YOU LOSE!
03/23/09
If FCP is all Mac has going for it in a flame war, that's pretty sad. While Mac Pro has a lot of great media creation and editing apps, it's certainly not the end-all be-all of the digital content creation world. In terms of cost-benefit, many studios do go with Mac, but as many also decide to go with Windows, Linux, or other platforms.
None is inherently better, but rather geared toward different production and rendering needs. It's not so much about which platform is better, but which is more suitable to the task at hand and offers the most ways to optimize the production pipelines. In many cases Linux or Windows is more flexible simply because it has a broader install base, wider hardware support base, and offers more content creation tools.
No currently available platform trumps all others in every contest. Even things such as rendering speed, and transcoding times are going to vary widely depending upon hardware configuration and the content being worked on. If you are doing professional editing for the film industry you are likely using the same (or very similar) external hardware anyway, which turns the decision into one of OS comfort and flexibility. The computer you are using is just a workstation then, farming out the real duties to dedicated hardware, which most often runs neither OSX nor Windows.
The fanboy argument of "FCP/Maya!! is not only silly, but also completely unfounded. There will always be fanboys who jump in claiming the work at/run/own some sort of studio, shouting how many Mac/Win/Linux platforms they run exclusively, as though that ends the argument. It doesn't. For every studio running all macs, there's another running Windows. I've worked in both OSX (on Mac Pros) and Windows (my laptop primarily) doing Photoshop work, and honestly,once I'm inside the application, there's little difference, in terms of speed and capability. I just don't use OSX often enough and I find the general style of it cumbersome because of my familiarity with Windows.
It comes down to comfort, familiarity with the platform and, most importantly, whether the oerson working the hardware has the brains, talent and enthusiasm to get the job done.
03/20/09
03/20/09
03/20/09
03/20/09
03/21/09
03/20/09
03/20/09
03/20/09
Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition 965 Nehalem 3.2GHz - $999
MSI X58 Pro LGA 1366 Intel X58 Motherboard - $190
G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 - $89
SAMSUNG 1TB DRIVE - $89
Decent Case: $100
BluRay Burner - $189
Radeon 4870 X2 - $399
That all totals to approximately 2000, with room for upgrading to a second 4870x2, or 6 Gigs more RAM, or other such upgrades... the beauty of the PC is the fact that you CHOOSE WHAT YOU WANT!!!
Say you don't need the 3.2 GHz Processor... you'd be fine with a 2.93 GHz and would save $400 dollars...
Add On 4 more Terabyte drives with the money you save or buy yourself a whole lot of lap dances... you chose...
Macs are good for artists(where it is actually useful) and people who like to fool themselves into thinking they're safer behind a mac...
Oh and for about 300 bucks more from the build above you could probably get EFiX and OS X running on that machine if you really must have it...
03/20/09
03/21/09
03/20/09
*hides*
03/21/09
While Apple has never really pushed Gaming on their computers, possibly deterring devs from giving it their all, and due to the fact that there is more money to be had in the PC market with games having multi-million dollar movie-like budgets, very few games are made specifically for the Mac.
While it should be a bit easier with their Intel processors now (as this was a major factor for PPCs), the games are built from the ground up (or using a previous model/engine that was) for Windows the games are then eventually ported over to the Mac OS and as such can never truly be optimized for it (or you could say that because of tech like Direct X it just makes it that much better).
While it rarely happens, when companies put the extra effort into the Mac system (and then, even if it is eventually ported) to make it take advantage of the Macs features (or lack thereof) you end up with games like WoW (and every other Blizzard game) that run just as well, if not better, on the Mac OS.
03/21/09