Building a Mac Pro, upgradable ram same as the ddr800 in PCs?

[neliconcept]

Im still debating this as this mac is freakin expensive for what im getting in the first place. but since they usually now use the same parts as PC, I want to know if I can get DDR800 from like newegg or tigerdirect and it be workable for this tower.

I need a freakin powerhouse for what im about to do.

for what graphic design I do, I integrate a lot of 3d modeling and rendering to the mix with cinema4d and 3dsmax. and I need something that can handle the render times and not lag on the modeling procedures and what not.

Oh and if anyone has any comments about Mac monitors let me know, for the specs Ive seen IE (450:1 contrast, 16ms res time) is it worth the money or should I get the new samsung 226bw (3000:1 and 2ms )

its dvi but my current samsung 17" LCD is only analog.

Im debating this or building a intel core 2 quad machine with 8gbs of ram and SLI and the works.

but if I got the mac, I could keep it for a while and upgrade things like vid cards and get up to 16gb of ram (if id need it) up to 4 nvidia cards (4 8800GTS would bomb everything)

let me know guys.

[neliconcept]

i built the mac trying to be price oriented

still gettting to about 3400 with the monitor.

built a pc

specs:
bfg sli680 nvidia board that supports ddr800 ram, core 2 extreme, core 2 duo, and core 2 quad processors.
processor: core 2 extreme 6800 quad core.
ram: GEIL 8gb 4x2gb sticks
VGA: 2 x 8600GTS XFX cards
HDD: Seagate 500gb
Thermaltake soprano dx case (subject to change
Lite-on dvdrw drive (i dont even have a dvd rom in my current PC now)

total coming out to 2689

still missing monitor

samsung 226bw at 319 at newegg. so still under 3k?

now we are talkin serious machine compared to a mac pro with only 2gb of ram and quad cores at 2.66

[Good Times]

you can easily buy aftermarket mem from newegg (i've done this a few times myself).

as for the monitors... I don't have any of the new mac monitors, just some cheap dvi monitors (generic ones).

[neliconcept]

you have a Mac Lance? im still debating since I just built a quad core on newegg for just right at 2200 (overdid the harddrives as I dont need 2 terabytes..) but I went with corsair 4x2gb of ram this time (exact same money as GEIL)

i just dont know if I can justity 3200 for 2gb of ram, a overpriced Mac monitor, only 2.66 quad cores when the qx6600 is 2.4 and I can overclock to 3.0 and 7300gt gfx cards? i really want to know how they price this stuff.

I got two 8600GTS cards with my build and its still 1000 cheaper (however im missing a monitor)

Im so confused on what to do. Im not gonna do this just yet (new core 2 quad extremes come out late july)



to stick with topic at hand, ive noticed mac memory is more money?? or is it just me

[Good Times]

I use both a mac and a pc and by far I love using the mac for the ease of use (just used to it) and the OS. Though I've gotta say vista's definitely gettin close to the mac feel it's still not a mac. but that's another story so we'll keep it technical.

Here's what I use:
powerbook g4 from 2002. man it's old but I can still do everything I need. Sad but true.

Also use:
macbook pro 17" (intel)
G5 (two - both non-intel).

Here's the reason why I still use my non-intel stuff.. software. a lot of the graphic/multimedia stuff didn't support/adopt the intel chip so the non-intel software just didn't run fast on the intel box hence the "i'm not upgrading path". though this has changed recently i just don't have the funds to justify purchasing new software and new hardware just for it.

though I am considering upgrading my powerbook so i may end up upgrading all of the software that supports the intel chip.

it all boils down to performance. if it runs faster on a mac then get a mac, otherwise get a pc. unless you're a die-hard fan of mac's I just don't see the point.

though being a mac fan I'd say go mac :) haha

[neliconcept]

right now I have the entire suite of CS3 thanks to Austin and i dont think it would work on the non risk processors aka Intel.

I may even think about looking for a G5 with 4-8gbs of ram and go that path and see what might happen.

would that be worth it? depending on prices and what I can find.

[neliconcept]

http://cgi.ebay.com/APPLE-MAC-PowerMac-DUAL-G5-2-5GHz-4GB-RAM-PCI-X_W0QQitemZ120135471487QQihZ002QQcategoryZ51036QQr dZ1QQcmdZViewItem

i like the interface of OSX better then Windows so thats why im still leaning towards Apples (kinda hate calling it a mac since macs were computers made by apple a while back)

Since you own two G5s, what is upgradble with these, can I put in a PCI E gfx card? like a new 7900gtx or something like that. harddrives?

Im just not that familiar with their hardware.

thanks for all the help Lance!!

[Good Times]

the only things i've added to both g5's are LOTS of memory and an extra HD.

outside of that, the graphic card stayed the same. I'm also using cs1/2 and 3 btw :) good stuff man! (friggin $$$ though) (one for each machine! haha)

[neliconcept]

i think im gonna try and find a dual core g5 machine with 2.5ghz and hopefully the ones that were able to run 16gb of ram and use it. Id rather go with a machine that is solid for multimedia then build one that may eff me over later.

thanks for the help Lance!

[91_4x4runner]

Memory direct from Apple is a huge waste of money. It's nothing special and it just costs more.

When you buy a Mac, it costs more for 3 reasons.
1) You get a custom built computer (ie: you can put a drive in a Mac Pro before you can open the case on most PC's. They're also built as wind tunnels; A dual processor G5 has 9 fans.)
2) You're paying for a 1 year warranty that covers all parts on the computer that fail (this excludes user-done damage, though some apple authorized store will overlook that..)
3) You're getting the Mac OS in all its glory. It's quite reliable, easy to troubleshoot, and friendly to true *nix geeks.


Their monitors are more than decent too. I've been working at an apple authorized service company for almost a year now. I think we've had 2 come in. I have dual 17" apple studio displays in my room as well that are pretty old. Neither have dead pixels and they both have crisp video still.

[neliconcept]

good to know 91_4x4runner, ill def keep that in mind. I am going to get the dual g5 most likely.

still debating on the 23 inch apple monitor though. It looks good but the specs just dont add up to the quality. though ive seen some calibrated monitors that have the same specs and are specifically for the same purpose so i dont know what to go by with these.

[Markduce]

Yeah, I was suprise to see the response time to be so high on all the apple monitors.

I would say if your not getting the 30" just get an off brand 22 widescreen.

[neliconcept]

alright it seems to be that apple monitors are a waste of money.

now, i think im gonna get the mac pro, it has non-ecc mem, i am able to switch vid cards easily, ram and hdds, that was my main concern was upgrading here and there

now i have a question

is it worth 716 bucks to upgrade from dual xeon 2.66ghz processors to dual xeon 3gbz processors? i think thats kinda high imo.

thanks for all the help