[misdirekted]

Hey everybody,
This is my first post on the boards, and I'm hoping you all can help me out. I am a professional photographer and I am looking for a blazing fast computer to provide me with reliable performance for at least 5 years while remaining cutting edge. I am very much a power computer user. My computers can often have 30+ internet tabs open, as well as multiple Adobe CS3 programs, Dreamweaver, etc. I am hoping for this system to be able to handle incredible load and support 3 or more screens.
I am planning on using two 20" cinema displays, and also a 46" LCD TV for some gaming, but also for videos, photography presentations, HD Cable, blu ray etc. I am also planning on having full surround sound in the office so how good can I expect the sound output quality to be if connected to a 7.1 Harman Kardon surround system?

I am a firm mac user, but also want to be able to run vista or xp at the same time as osx, possibly on one of the screens. I also want to be able to play some games such as the upcoming Starcraft 2.

Here's what I am thinking of so far. Please let me know what you think. Thanks!

Mac Pro - $4,630.00
Features:
Two 2.8 GHz Quad Core Intel Xeon
2GB RAM
1 TB SATA Drive
500 GB SATA Drive
(3) ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB - (Would this be good for gaming? I heard the 8800 is better, but I want to run several screens. Can I have more than one 8800 installed?)
One Super Drive
(2) 20” Monitors
Wireless Mouse
Wireless Keyboard
Protection Plan

Additional 16GB RAM - $1,344.00
(4) Crucial DDR2 PC2-6400

[Mac User #001]

Um. You are quite the power user, aren't you?

18 GB's RAM?

[misdirekted]

Planning for the future. But I'm thinking I'll just go with 8 instead. RAM prices will fall alot over 5 years and I can take it to 32GB then.

[mattyb]

Originally Posted by misdirekted 

I am a firm mac user, but also want to be able to run vista or xp at the same time as osx, possibly on one of the screens. I also want to be able to play some games such as the upcoming Starcraft 2.

Run Vista or XP at the same time as OSX? Only in a virtual machine mate (Paralleles or VMWare). Games in a VM suck (IMHO), some have had luck with Crossover, but not me.

[Bwa]

I have a similar system. Apple has a bug with 3 2600s installed where they make a huge amount of fan noise. 2 installed are quiet. There's no higher temperatures with 3, it's just a bug. I filed the bug in January and they have not fixed it yet, as far as I know--my solution was to locate the Mac pretty far away from where I sit.

I run 6 monitors off the Mac Pro, have 12 GB of RAM, 6 hard disks. 8x2.8, bought it on release day.

You'll be pretty happy with the system.

[Bwa]

I will add though, that I think 2x20" monitors is pretty small for such a system. My 2nd desktop for administrative tasks (invoicing, email, writing documents) is a 24" iMac with a 2nd 24" display. My main system, the Mac Pro, has a 30" main display with 5 additional monitors that stretch 95".

The point being: I would strongly consider getting bigger screens for such a system. 2x20" isn't very big, IMO.

[Mac User #001]

The 2600 won't be an awesome gaming card, but it should be able to run most games. And it should run StarCraft II, but the requirements haven't been released yet as far as I know, so it's just a guess.

[mduell]

Originally Posted by misdirekted 

I am a professional photographer and I am looking for a blazing fast computer to provide me with reliable performance for at least 5 years while remaining cutting edge.

Don't plan on a 5 year cycle; it's unrealistic and not cost effective.
4 years ago we had dual 2.5Ghz G5s and dual 3.6Ghz Xeons; neither of those systems could be on the cutting edge today no matter how much money you threw that them, much less for another year.
Reduce your budget by a third (over the lifetime of the machine) and plan on replacing every 3 years.

Originally Posted by misdirekted 

I am planning on using two 20" cinema displays, and also a 46" LCD TV for some gaming, but also for videos, photography presentations, HD Cable, blu ray etc. I am also planning on having full surround sound in the office so how good can I expect the sound output quality to be if connected to a 7.1 Harman Kardon surround system?

I'd strongly suggest going with a single large display instead of two smaller displays unless you've used both and find that you like the smaller displays. The sound quality in your office won't be limited by the Mac Pro; note the Mac Pro only supports optical multichannel output and you'll need an additional card or box for analog 7.1.

Originally Posted by misdirekted 

I am a firm mac user, but also want to be able to run vista or xp at the same time as osx, possibly on one of the screens. I also want to be able to play some games such as the upcoming Starcraft 2.

To play new games you'll have to reboot into Windows. You can use the same Windows install in either VMware or Parallels to run your non-game Windows apps while in OS X.

Originally Posted by misdirekted 

Mac Pro - $4,630.00
Features:
Two 2.8 GHz Quad Core Intel Xeon
2GB RAM
1 TB SATA Drive
500 GB SATA Drive
(3) ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB - (Would this be good for gaming? I heard the 8800 is better, but I want to run several screens. Can I have more than one 8800 installed?)
One Super Drive
(2) 20” Monitors
Wireless Mouse
Wireless Keyboard
Protection Plan

Additional 16GB RAM - $1,344.00
(4) Crucial DDR2 PC2-6400

Take the stock 320GB drive from Apple; for what they want for the 500GB/1TB combination ($500!) you could buy two 1TB and have $100 left over or a 1TB and a VelociRaptor. For gaming you want the 8800GT; the 2600XT is terrible for today's games. If you do decide to go with a pair of small screens instead of a large screen and need 3 displays, you can add another 8800GT (will block the adjacent slot) or a 2600XT (I think the 3870 is coming soon, a much better option).

[misdirekted]

Thanks a bunch, you guys are great. Based on your input, I think I'll be going with two 24" Screens (I like having multiple screens over one larger one). I think I'd like to go with (2) 8800 video cards, but I can't seem to be able to select that option on the Apple site. Are you sure it's capable of running two? If not, I'll go with 3 of the 2600s. Or can the cards be purchased from a third party? I'll use Parallels to run Vista at the same time as OSX.
Also, is it possible to order the MP without any memory or hard drives? They're a steal from OWC IMO...

[mduell]

Originally Posted by misdirekted 

Thanks a bunch, you guys are great. Based on your input, I think I'll be going with two 24" Screens (I like having multiple screens over one larger one). I think I'd like to go with (2) 8800 video cards, but I can't seem to be able to select that option on the Apple site. Are you sure it's capable of running two? If not, I'll go with 3 of the 2600s. Or can the cards be purchased from a third party? I'll use Parallels to run Vista at the same time as OSX.
Also, is it possible to order the MP without any memory or hard drives? They're a steal from OWC IMO...

You can add another 8800GT to your cart separately at the Apple Store; I can't think of a reason why two wouldn't work.
No, you have to order with 2x1GB RAM and a 320GB hard drive. OWC's prices are a scam for most components, I'd suggest Newegg instead.