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elias4444 · Mar 4, 2007, 05:07 PM

OK... due to an extraordinary number of circumstances (which will probably never happen again), I have the opportunity to purchase whatever new computer system I want. At my last job, I fell in love with using my MacBook Pro (my first Mac ever) and switched over to the Mac OSX world. I develop games for a living (I do the openGL programming, 3D modeling and pre-rendering). The Mac Pro seems like a dream machine for someone like me.

One problem though: I'm hearing rumors that the Mac Pro is about to be refreshed, and that the current model won't support some of the future graphic card upgrade options (it's very important that I be able to upgrade the video card in order to keep up-to-date with the industry - this will of course be a few years down the road).

If I buy the current model now, will the decision come back to haunt me in a few months? Should I just wait another couple of months for the refresh to come out (assuming it's really coming)? Will there actually be graphic card upgrades available for the Mac Pro in the future (both for the current model and future models)?

Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

brokenjago · Mar 4, 2007, 06:01 PM

As always, the answer is this:

If you can wait, wait. If you can't, buy now.

I personally think that the whole "new graphics cards won't fit in current Mac Pro" is nonsense. They're awesome machines. I love mine.

SirCastor · Mar 5, 2007, 08:33 PM

The upgrade myth is a bit silly. There is too much of an established user base to purchase new cards for the industry to stop producing them in light of newer hardware.

DigitalEl · Mar 5, 2007, 09:43 PM

Originally Posted by elias4444

(it's very important that I be able to upgrade the video card in order to keep up-to-date with the industry - this will of course be a few years down the road).

If your new Mac is for professional use, I'd think you'd be getting a new one "a few years down the road" anyway. How long is a computer supposed to last in your business? Certainly no PC on the other platforms would be viable longer.

Cadaver · Mar 5, 2007, 11:22 PM

I'd suspect that since there is no replacement for PCI express on the horizon, any future graphics cards should work theoretically on the Mac. Unlike the change from AGP to PCIe, we're set with PCIe for the next many years.

And while AGP Macs top out at the Radeon X850XT, for the PC at least there are some modern AGP-based alternatives (there are AGP versions of the Radeon X1950 Pro and X1650XT believe it or not). I'm thinking about putting a 512MB dual-link DVI nVidia GeForce 7600GS/OC in my AthlonXP-based PC so I can connect it to my 30" cinema display.

skacoreimplore · Mar 5, 2007, 11:30 PM

i would wait till they start coming with leopard loaded

BigBadBiologist · Mar 6, 2007, 12:01 AM

As PCIe 16x is PCIe 16x and that's not going to change for a while, newer video cards will probably technically work in the "older" Mac Pros. The issue will probably be the power supplies. The next gen Mac Pros are slated to have the ATI R600 chip and from what I've read, the video card itself will consume 300w (and it's freaking huge). Apple probably isn't guaranteeing backwards compatibility because they're not sure if the power supplies in the older systems can withstand such a draw. (this is all purely speculation on my part)

If a good video card is what you want, I would say wait just to be safe.

Big Mac · Mar 6, 2007, 01:26 AM

Don't count on having GPU upgrade options available in the Mac world. Things are a little better with the Mactels if only due to the fact that cards don't need to be hacked with Mac firmware anymore, but the officially supported upgrade paths will still be constrained.

SierraDragon · Mar 6, 2007, 11:37 AM

Originally Posted by elias4444

OK... due to an extraordinary number of circumstances (which will probably never happen again), I have the opportunity to purchase whatever new computer system I want. ...I develop games for a living (I do the openGL programming, 3D modeling and pre-rendering). ...Should I just wait another couple of months for the refresh to come out (assuming it's really coming)?

Wait! For such a one-time purchase for heavy graphics work you want the strongest and most current setup going forward.

The release of new Mac Pros is fairly imminent, May at the latest but probably much sooner IMO. Throughput will increase very substantially, especially as regards graphics activities including games.

-Allen Wicks

-Q- · Mar 6, 2007, 12:35 PM

Yeah, I'd hold off for a month at least. See what the launch date is for Leopard, and see if some new machines might come along with the new OS.

olePigeon · Mar 6, 2007, 01:39 PM

I'd hold out until April 14th. Apple's expected to make an announcement there at the NAB convention. All rumors point to support for a new nVidia card and possibly Leopard. If that doesn't happen by April, then I'd say buy the computer then and there.

mduell · Mar 7, 2007, 10:31 AM

The Mac Pro is overdue for an upgrade... quad core CPUs and better graphics cards (>50% faster) have been out for months.

CIA · Mar 9, 2007, 12:11 AM

Just one small thing to remember... Just because Apple announces a new hardware product doesn't mean it will ship ASAP. I ordered my Quad G5 the day it was announced, but had to cancel, then re-order when they announced the better graphics card option. (in my case the 7800 ultra)
Anyway, Apple announces new dual quad core machines a NaB, maybe if you are lucky some stock machines will ship within a week or so, but any custom order machines take longer. Since the graphics card was the reason for my extra 1 month wait, be aware that it might happen to you also.
Time is the issue, how long can you stall? New MacPro's are certainly coming soon.... They are overdue.