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Loyalty4Life · Aug 13, 2006, 05:00 AM

Just a simple question. Perhaps someone could enlighten me.

Why get one now? Specifically, wouldn't it be the better option to wait until Leopard comes out? Then you can buy the machine if you want to, thus saving yourself the price of a new OS system.

If this is the case, then are people just a bit too eager to have the machine, and will fork over the extra dollars when the times comes?

Someone set me straight.

Thanks.

Chuckit · Aug 13, 2006, 05:06 AM

Heck, why not wait three years and buy a computer with whatever the **** comes after Leopard?

I think we can assume people buying a Mac Pro now want a computer in the near future.

Loyalty4Life · Aug 13, 2006, 05:09 AM

Since we're assuming, it'd seem reasonable that most of these Mac Pro buyers could probably wait 6-8 months before buying the computer. Thus, it goes back to my original idea: compulsive buying.

BTW - Your first comment was rude and uncalled for. I had hoped to get a response that was at least somewhat professional.

harrisjamieh · Aug 13, 2006, 05:14 AM

Its a daft question... Leopard is 6-8 months away.... When Leopard comes out, are you going to ask the question 'Why buy a Mac now, the New {insert Mac product here] is coming out in 6-8 months'

I would partly understand where you are coming from if Leopard was merely a month away, but its not, and 6-8 months is ages away!!

If you keep waiting for the next 'big thing', then you will never end up buying a computer!

TiDual · 05:51 AM

Sorry Loyalty, the question really was a bit daft, and I didn't find Chuckit particulary rude ... perhaps a bit glib (you could assume **** ="heck" in his reply).

Many if us have already waited 6-8 months so we would get Intel-based quads, instead of G5s. At somepoint, we have to get on with our work :-). There will always be something to wait for 6-8 months down the road. People buy when they need a machine, and maybe delay that a bit if there's going to be a major upgrade soon. But frankly, 6-8 months "use" of the the Mac Pro in the meantime is worth a lot more that the $100 or so I save getting Leopard for free.

Chuckit · Aug 13, 2006, 05:40 AM

Originally Posted by Loyalty4Life

Since we're assuming, it'd seem reasonable that most of these Mac Pro buyers could probably wait 6-8 months before buying the computer. Thus, it goes back to my original idea: compulsive buying.

The difference in productivity over the next year could easily make up for the $100 Leopard costs. Heck, for many pros, the difference in productivity over the course of a week could make up the difference. The point is, there will always be something around the corner that you could wait for. If I were always holding out for that, I'd still be using my LC II.

Originally Posted by Loyalty4Life

BTW - Your first comment was rude and uncalled for. I had hoped to get a response that was at least somewhat professional.

Your question struck me as cheeky to begin with. I responded in kind. Was this question actually intended to be solemn and professional?

Big Mac · Aug 13, 2006, 06:10 AM

The best course of action is to buy after a refresh so that you enjoy the longest period of time before discontinuation. As to when to buy, you have to make that determination for yourself based on how much you need a new computer. If you believe you would be substantially more productive with one than without one, then you should seriously consider buying now. Otherwise, if you're still essentially satisfied with what you have now, you can afford to hold off.

mac128k-1984 · Aug 13, 2006, 07:28 AM

Originally Posted by Loyalty4Life

Why get one now? Specifically, wouldn't it be the better option to wait until Leopard comes out?

I purchased one now, because I needed one now not 6 months down the road. My current setup is just not supporting how I want to work.

Your making an assumption that most mac users don't need a faster computer now and I don't think that's fair or right.

I think chuckit hit the nail on the head with his post, there will always be a faster computer coming around the corner. I have a need in the present and I acted on it

WizOSX · Aug 13, 2006, 09:34 AM

I think the main reason why people are jumping quickly and are so excited is that they've been waiting a long time for this. A lot of people, including myself, have held off buying a tower for quite a while and badly need a new one immediately. Buying Leopard in spring for $100 is just not part of the equation. Some of us have been holding on to Quicksilver machines, waiting for the Mac Pro!!

equiraptor · Aug 13, 2006, 09:35 AM

I ordered a Mac Pro the evening of the keynote. My current machine is a home-build AMD system that's not only showing it's age in performance, it's also failing. It crashes in about three different ways. I've done some minor isolation on it, and I've come to the conclusion that it can just die, as long as my Mac Pro gets here first. I'm tired of the Windows UI - I hate the thing. I'm tired of dealing with the quirks of Linux. I want OS X. I want a good machine that's stable and fast. I've been waiting for the Intel replacement of the PowerMac since my machine started crashing regularly.

We have four Macs in the house, purchased at a variety of different times (or at least, we will once my Mac Pro arrives). That means we'll be getting the family license. Going from three to four Apple machines will not increase the cost of upgrading to Leapord. There's no reason to wait for the machine to ship with the new OS if buying the machine now will not increase our household cost of upgrading.

tadd · Aug 13, 2006, 11:02 AM

Why get one now? Specifically, wouldn't it be the better option to wait until Leopard comes out? Then you can buy the machine if you want to, thus saving yourself the price of a new OS system.

If this is the case, then are people just a bit too eager to have the machine, and will fork over the extra dollars when the times comes?

I can see several reasons not to get one now but waiting for Leopard is not one of them. The OS will be cheap compared to the depreciation on the machine over the months before the OS comes out. The reasons I'd wait are that about half the time Apple releases a new machine it has issues that require service. For instance, the Mac Book had a bad touch pad. The iMac G5 had bad caps in the video, the first PowerMac G5 had a bad video card and bad bearings in the power supply. All of these were quickly (and quietly) fixed by Apple but still it is a hastle to deal with the first generation of new products.
The other reason to wait is that we could see much more fancy CPUs from Intel in the next 8 months.
That said, I could easily see myself getting a Mac Pro right now. I have had my dual G5 for nearly 4 years now. I have been lusting for a 30" display since they came out. The 30" is SO much cheaper now than it was then (especially since I don't need to pay for an extra video card with the Mac Pro).
The RAM, DVD, HD, and CPUs are now readily upgradable. The non upgradable parts are the front side bus and memory bus, both of which could see improvement by the time Leopard comes out.
I fully expect Leopard to be backward compatable with older machines. I'd be surprised if it didn't work on G4 machines. G5s are certainly going to be supported. The Pro Mac is a non issue. This is not Dell you are dealing with.

UnixMac · Aug 13, 2006, 11:13 AM

I bought one because I could....

SierraDragon · Aug 13, 2006, 11:51 AM

What TiDual said:

"People buy when they need a machine, and maybe delay that a bit if there's going to be a major upgrade soon." (emphasis mine)

-Allen Wicks

generationfourt · Aug 13, 2006, 03:43 PM

I'm going to buy one when:

-leopard is out
-adobe cs3 is out
-the money shows up in my wallet magically

UnixMac · Aug 13, 2006, 03:48 PM

Originally Posted by generationfourt

I'm going to buy one when:

-leopard is out
-adobe cs3 is out
-the money shows up in my wallet magically

6 months or so for CS3... better start saving!

Off Topic:
I wonder what the "upgrade" policy will be for CS3 if you went from CS to CS2..

Loyalty4Life · Aug 13, 2006, 04:34 PM

I did not want to give the impression that I believed I was automatically correct with my viewpoint mentioned in the first post. I did want my viewpoint to be corrected. It seemed that people should have good reasons for buying the computer now, and I wanted to see what they were and compare them to my previous idea.

Thank you for your guys' answers, and for those of you that responded in a decent manner.

mac128k-1984 · Aug 13, 2006, 05:27 PM

Originally Posted by Loyalty4Life

It seemed that people should have good reasons for buying the computer now

While I'm sure many buyers do have a good reason nobody should have a good reason. I mean its their money isn't it and if they want a mac pro for all of the wrong reasons and have the cash more power to them, they're adults and who are we to say what they can and cannot buy?

DeathMan · Aug 13, 2006, 06:15 PM

Originally Posted by UnixMac

6 months or so for CS3... better start saving!

Off Topic:
I wonder what the "upgrade" policy will be for CS3 if you went from CS to CS2..

It should be the same as the upgrade from CS to CS2. I unfortunately had the "Adobe Design Bundle" or something like that, which is not available for an upgrade.

What I also think is sort of lame, is that Apple won't upgrade you from an educational version to a pro version. Adobe does it (or at least did for me) and I think that is a great practice.

It kind of feels like having to buy the application twice, if technically you're supposed to get out of school and upgrade to the commercial version. I would think it more logical that an upgrade would come out while you're still in school, and you'd upgrade to the commercial version from the edu version, thus getting a legit, appropriate license for when you graduate. Following the rules, you could potentially have to buy the same version of the software twice if a new version failed to come between when you bought last and when you graduate.

The Ancient One · Aug 14, 2006, 07:41 AM

Originally Posted by Loyalty4Life

Just a simple question. Perhaps someone could enlighten me.

Why get one now? Specifically, wouldn't it be the better option to wait until Leopard comes out? Then you can buy the machine if you want to, thus saving yourself the price of a new OS system.

If this is the case, then are people just a bit too eager to have the machine, and will fork over the extra dollars when the times comes?

Someone set me straight.

Thanks.

Ummm... How about my G4 tower died and sharing my wife's MacBook isn't the best recipe for marital harmony? True, but I woulda ordered it anyway - because I could!

Arondale · Aug 15, 2006, 01:35 AM

Chances are, if you are in the market a new mac pro, you need not think about the OS upgrade down the road. A mere $100 in six to eight months from now is not going to set you back... ur a "Pro", right?

The greatest concern all the apps that make you productive. Right now, non-universal apps on intel can run slow. Very slow. On a new intel mac mini, flash pro 8 compiles like a 400MHz cube, despite the 2GB of ram and duo intel chip.

The mac pro, no doubt, will compile much faster. Don't risk your productivity, since that is the main purpose of updating your workstation. Take a USB drive with several files that you might work on.... flash, final cut, logic, dreamweaver, fireworks, photoshop, whatever it may be. Take those files into apple and tell them that you are interested in a mac but don't want the non-univeral apps to slow you down. I realize that some above are now universal, but you get my drift. Test your workflow at apple. Put the machine to the test and see if it will make you more productive. If so, purchase and buy Leopard when that darling comes out.

Arondale
www.pixeltitans.com

Madrag · Aug 15, 2006, 05:04 AM

My only reason for not buying the mac pro now is the software that are not universal...
The mac pro is slower with the non-universal apps compared to the current G5s.

Once the software that I use becomes universal, I'll get one (and chances are that it will coincide with the release of Leopard, win-win!)

Chuckit · Aug 15, 2006, 05:19 AM

Originally Posted by Arondale

The greatest concern all the apps that make you productive. Right now, non-universal apps on intel can run slow. Very slow. On a new intel mac mini, flash pro 8 compiles like a 400MHz cube, despite the 2GB of ram and duo intel chip.

Eh, it depends. My iMac Core Duo at work runs Quark about the same as my Power Mac G4 1 GHz. Not super-speedy, but definitely usable. The new Mac Pros are supposed to be even better.

Madrag · Aug 15, 2006, 07:12 AM

Originally Posted by Chuckit

Eh, it depends. My iMac Core Duo at work runs Quark about the same as my Power Mac G4 1 GHz. (...)

Now isn't that a reason to wait?
unless you're coming from a G4 400...

UnixMac · Aug 15, 2006, 09:39 AM

I use 90% i-apps, and FCP HD, Aperture, and Safari the most often, so I win with a new Pro. My only hit that counts is CS2 and that's going to be a non-issue inside of 8 months or so from what I am being told by a friend at Adobe.

I've also noticed a general slowing of my dual G5 on the OS front, and I am suspicious that this stems from optimizations that are being made to the intel based version at the expense of the PPC version... I feel like Apple isn't pouring their heart into the PPC, which I loved and will miss..

MovieCutter · Aug 15, 2006, 10:05 AM

Originally Posted by Loyalty4Life

Just a simple question. Perhaps someone could enlighten me.

Why get one now? Specifically, wouldn't it be the better option to wait until Leopard comes out? Then you can buy the machine if you want to, thus saving yourself the price of a new OS system.

If this is the case, then are people just a bit too eager to have the machine, and will fork over the extra dollars when the times comes?

Someone set me straight.

Thanks.

Here's an idea!!! WE MAKE A LIVING OFF THE FASTEST COMPUTER AVAILABLE!!! Some of us can't afford to wait 6-8 months. Not everyone has your alien patience. And you're just weird. Waiting 6-8 months to buy a $2500+ computer just because you don't want to spend another $129. That's idiotic!!! Do you know how much money I could make off my machine in that 6-8 months? Enough to buy every version of OSX until I turn 40, I'm 22 now. What is it with these people

!!!!

Originally Posted by Loyalty4Life

I did not want to give the impression that I believed I was automatically correct with my viewpoint mentioned in the first post. I did want my viewpoint to be corrected. It seemed that people should have good reasons for buying the computer now, and I wanted to see what they were and compare them to my previous idea.

You're previous idea may make some kind of twisted sense to you...but to the rest of us who actually work on these things for a living, it's just plain stupid.

Originally Posted by Loyalty4Life

Since we're assuming, it'd seem reasonable that most of these Mac Pro buyers could probably wait 6-8 months before buying the computer. Thus, it goes back to my original idea: compulsive buying.

BTW - Your first comment was rude and uncalled for. I had hoped to get a response that was at least somewhat professional.

Toughen up...if you think that's rude, step into the Political forum for 5 minutes, that'll put some hair on your chest.

bbales · Aug 15, 2006, 10:11 AM

Originally Posted by WizOSX

I think the main reason why people are jumping quickly and are so excited is that they've been waiting a long time for this. A lot of people, including myself, have held off buying a tower for quite a while and badly need a new one immediately. Buying Leopard in spring for $100 is just not part of the equation. Some of us have been holding on to Quicksilver machines, waiting for the Mac Pro!!

I'm holding on to my gigabit ethernet G4 (400MZ) which, granted, has been upgraded (900 MZ processor upgrade and SLIGHTLY faster/better video card). My aim all along was to wait for the new towers and buy one this year, for the tax deduction. But now ... I think I'm going to wait a little longer. Originally the price tag was stopping me, but I can downgrade the processors and trim a few other things and still have quite a fine machine. But after a summer of car repairs upon car repairs, plus some other significant other bills, I just need to wait a little longer. I'm quite disappointed... but that's life.

I agree though -- many people have been holding on to aging machines, waiting a year now for the new Intel machines. Of course they bougth right away. I wish I could have.

Chuckit · Aug 15, 2006, 11:06 AM

Originally Posted by Madrag

Now isn't that a reason to wait?
unless you're coming from a G4 400...

Not really. Even if the iMac runs it the same speed, the Mac Pro will run it faster than that, and be able to multitask its brains out.

wr11 · Aug 15, 2006, 01:38 PM

Hell yeah. Just ordered my MacPro 2.66 w/ 2GB of RAM!

I'm upgrading from a G4 400 (sawtooth). That G4 did me well though I upgraded the hell out of it. First I got a 1GHz upgrade from OWC and upped the RAM to 2GB. Then I added a Zalman 300W silent power supply (made an adapter to use it - very easy for the that generation of mac), Radeon 9800 pro, bluetooth, USB 2 and gigabit ethernet.

Who says you can't upgrade a mac! Seriously how many PC's of the same era would really be up to the task of running a modern operating system now?

UnixMac · Aug 15, 2006, 01:42 PM

How funny, my brother in law in New Jersey just walked and and got a 2.66 with 30" and 2GB.. everyone is getting these!

©öñFü$íóÑ · Aug 15, 2006, 02:44 PM

This isn't targeted at anyone in particular, but take it at face value:

If you're rich, then this isn't an issue.

Otherwise, if you need it now, buy it now and make the most out of it. Don't waste your money buying the latest and greatest just to show off if you already know you can't afford it.

If the computer meets your current and most FREQUENT needs, then go for it.

If you want a computer to serve -ALL- of your -FUTURE- needs, i laugh at you.... especially these days when you already know that any computer you buy will be obsolete like 6-8 months after you buy it.

SirCastor · Aug 15, 2006, 06:12 PM

I am one of those who actually do plan on waiting for Leopard, but that's because I feel like by the time I get the money to buy a Mac Pro, I'm going to be a month or two away from Leopard's release anyway. I think I would be robbing myself of the extra $129 ($80 as a student). So I can wait, but I've also been with my machine for the past 6.5 years. It's not an issue for me to wait a few more months.

SierraDragon · Aug 15, 2006, 07:24 PM

If you want a computer to serve -ALL- of your -FUTURE- needs, i laugh at you.... especially these days when you already know that any computer you buy will be obsolete like 6-8 months after you buy it.

I could not disagree more. I am a graphics pro, and thoughtful purchasing of a high end graphics box 5 years ago has gotten me to 2006 before needing to upgrade. The fact that newer/better boxes are always coming out (IMO a great thing) does not make older boxes instantly obsolete.

Thoughtful purchasing can postpone obsolescence. I can be virtually certain that a properly configured Mac Pro box bought next week will serve well throughout 2007/2008 and probably longer. And that (as a consequence of thoughtfully selecting an upgradable box) I can add RAM, hard drives, graphics, as future needs dictate. As an opposite example, I could forego forethought and buy an iMac.

drift1492 · Aug 15, 2006, 08:01 PM

You "WAITERS" are crazy. When leopard comes around you're all gonna wait for the first update. By then, we'll be looking at an update to the Mac Pro and so on and so forth. Twenty years from now you'll wish you just bought a Mac Pro now.

joking

wr11 · Aug 15, 2006, 08:24 PM

Yes - if you need one now buy one now. If you don't need it right now then wait until you need it. I always expect an iMac type machine to last 2-3 years and a tower to last 3-4 given the upgrade options available.... and always buy the best you can afford - get the most bang for your buck upfront.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say these new intel machines will be the "most" upgradeable macs to-date. Don't expect to upgrade your CPU to the latest and greatest after about 1-2 years though, but we'll all be able to take advantage of good deals on older quad core 3-5Ghz chips by that time anyways.

bossep · Aug 16, 2006, 05:29 AM

My problem as a digital photographer is that Photoshop is not optimized for Intel yet if it was I would buy a Mac Pro straight away. Mind you I am working on a G4.

UnixMac · Aug 16, 2006, 10:19 AM

Originally Posted by bossep

My problem as a digital photographer is that Photoshop is not optimized for Intel yet if it was I would buy a Mac Pro straight away. Mind you I am working on a G4.

we have a similar problem in that my wife does on-sight family photo part time, and uses CS2 all the time, but the benchmark I just saw on Barefeats shows a Quad G5 up against a Pro 3.0 and they are neck and neck on CS2.... and since I have a Dual G5, I'm sure it's going to be faster on my Pro... and in your case an order of magnitude fastesr, so waiting for CS3 made no sense..

Landos Mustache · Aug 16, 2006, 11:36 AM

Waiting to buy a $2500 computer to save $150 8 months from now sounds like all kinds of stupid to me.

That said I am not getting a Mac Pro until Photoshop is native.

jclarkv · Aug 16, 2006, 03:32 PM

I agree. No reason to buy one now. I've weaned myself (at long last) from buying the day it's announced. I'll wait for several (inevitable) revisions of the logic boards, software updates, etc, and for the graphics card I'd want to be available. I write this on my (mooing) macbook, btw.

Waiting for Leopard is NOT a reason for me since I'll have to buy the retail version for all my other macs, too.