the next upgrade

mordak

i would appreciate serious advice in this thread, and please dont say buy mac just because we're all apple fanboys rofl.



i have a windows-based desktop i built 5 years ago. it runs very well for being a 5 year old athlon xp +2600, 1 gb ram, radeon 9700pro. actually it runs considerably well. however, the time to upgrade is nigh.



im posting this from my powerbook because i love it so. i also love plugging my powerbook into my monitor and running my desktop and powerbook at the same time and switching between sources on the monitor--games/apps/whatever on the desktop (windows) and safari/mail/messaging on the mac, along with other apps. i use my windows machine more than my powerbook usually, it just seems faster and i get more done.



ive been considering for a month now to build a new windows-based pc since my current one is quite old. ive been waiting for the new intel core duo 2 to come out , and now that it came out today, its benchmarks are exceeding that of the AMD X2's best processor very easily. i would have purchased a $500 intel duo2 and an asus mobo and then a gig of ddr2, a few HDs, maybe some more peripherals. anyways, you get the picture.



however, im confused now. with apple's announcement of the mac pro i dont know if i should build my system or buy this new mac tower and run bootcamp. like i said, i enjoy being able to switch back and forth without having to restart and choose my OS, but thats not a big deal i guess. id like to hear what any power mac g5 owners have to say about their machines and how theyve enjoyed (or not enjoyed) using them, any problems, or any windows/mac combination users who having any advice for me. basically, ill be spending 1800-2500 (a guess) on a windows based desktop, and $2400 on the mac pro (plus $650 for the 20" cinema display that im probably going to get either way). so what do you guys think? this is a big investment for me, since im still in college



my mac pro config;

Both Bluetooth 2.0+EDR and AirPort Extreme

Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse - U.S. English

2 x SuperDrives

Accessory kit

Two 2GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon

1GB (2 x 512MB)

250GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s

Mac OS X - U.S. English

2 x NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256MB

b3ns0n

I'd cut out a superdrive (do you really need two?) and i'd get a dell/nec display too TBH - despite the price cuts, still far cheaper. I'd also take it down to 160GB if I were you, you can always add another drive in any of the four bays far more cheaply later on, and filling up 160b will take some time anyway. You could probably bring it in much closer to the PC budget with these cuts.

placebo

At the risk of being truthful, I'll say that Mac OS X is just so much nicer and more pleasant to use for everything from everyday web browsing etc all the way up to doing graphic design and editing video. It's just so much nicer to use.



For your Mac Pro config, I'd recommend dumping the second Superdrive and putting in something different that you buy on newegg or tigerdirect, like a super-fast DVD-ROM drive or something that actually gives functionality not covered by the first drive.



Also, why the two 7300s? Do you have more than one display?

mordak

you know, this particular upgrade really isnt about the money so much.. its just, do i want a mac pro that can run both, or should i just build an xp machine again? and at this point im not sure what the right answer is, and im hoping for insight. i mean i have a limit but i could easily spend the money on what i have configured.



i chose the two cards so if and when i play games on my mac i wouldnt havnt any problems. the ATI card is still almost $200 more than those 2 cards together.

b3ns0n

Well in that case it's painfully obvious; get the mac. If money is no object, now that bootcamp exists, I'd have a hard time justifying building a windows box when you can get 2-for-the-price-of-1 with a mac.

mordak

so are there any sites out there that have benchmarks for games running on macs running windows? or would they perform the same as any other windows-based system?



also--is the new mac pro's processor, the 'Woodcrest', the same as the new intels that came out today, the Core Duo 2? or at least the same family?

placebo

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mordak


you know, this particular upgrade really isnt about the money so much.. its just, do i want a mac pro that can run both, or should i just build an xp machine again? and at this point im not sure what the right answer is, and im hoping for insight. i mean i have a limit but i could easily spend the money on what i have configured.



i chose the two cards so if and when i play games on my mac i wouldnt havnt any problems. the ATI card is still almost $200 more than those 2 cards together.

Those cards don't work together, and apart are two pretty mediocre cards. I repeat, buying two 7300's is going to have no performance advantage over a single 7300, which, by the way, is probably not gonna blow you away with performance.

mordak

Placebo, what do you suggest then with apple's BTO options?





possibly just select 1 7300 and then buy 2 other cards i want? their BTO options are very limited