Should I buy Mac Pro Now or Wait a bit?

It all depends on what you do mainly. I would say the only "issues" with the MacPro are true to the entire line of Intel Macs and is the lack of software on Universal Binaries. It gets better everyday but until ADOBE gets on board, Video and Print pros will still be bitter about it.

My macpro works flawless...and very quit

Things keep getting better, the hardware is excellent, you should now be able to run Windows XP or Vista quite well... I'd say the cost of RAM is probably #1 and not likely to change dramatically even in 3 months.

If you wait too long you will have to use 10.5.0. Not sure if that is a good thing or not. I would probably get things in order, and place your order in the next month.

I'd say the cost of RAM is probably #1 and not likely to change dramatically even in 3 months.

Your luck that your in the US b/c you can buy it for like $196 for 4x1GB from newegg if I'm correct (read it here AD) in the UK its extortion: 2x1GB for £298.44 inc. VAT ($561.54) and that's without deleivery.

Anyone interested in sending me some RAM 🙂

I'm not sure I would buy from Newegg. I tend to buy Crucial memory - from Crucial's Memory, what they recommend for Mac Pro, which is $299 for 2x512MB, and $499 for 2 x 1GB.

Not as huge a difference, $499 vs. $561, or about 10%.



Mac Pro 2GHz 2GB WD Raptor/Caviar RE 320 Mac OS X (10.4.7) 2 x APC RS1500s

Not as huge a difference, $499 vs. $561, or about 10%.

Actually when you put it in that way, its not a huge difference, might just buy from Crucial UK

Be aware that by waiting 3-5 months more you're putting yourself in range of thinking "maybe there's another revision coming" and "Leopard should be just around the corner" etc etc. Both of which will have their own issues let alone combinations thereof.

To be honest though, the Mac Pro has been a remarkably problem free release when it comes to the hardware with the vast majority of issues being software related. Sure there are issues although what system doesn't have them?

My question is, are there any known important issues with current Mac Pro? If so, what are those issues? Does anybody here strongly feels that one should wait for 3-4 months before making a Mac Pro purchase, to let it solve its "teething" problems (if any)?

Unlike the Macbook with its heating problem I'm not seeing any teething problems with the MacPro. I have one and its great, no complaints. I don't see any real complaints here. I do see the typical defective computer posts but then that's what this forum is for.

I'd say that there is no real reason to wait unless of course you don't want to spend the money now. I was a little hesitant going with a Rev A machine but right now all of my Macs are revision A and only the MacBook is giving me a little grief (running a tad warm).

Also one thing to keep in mind, is that if you buy a stock configuration, you have the opportunity to return it (less a restocking fee) so that may be a safe avenue for you to buy one.

Mike

It's obviously an individual choice but i am waiting. here are my reasons,

clovertown. i think this could be a dramatically more powerful chip for the mac pro (8-core machine). we already know it works in the current setup (theoretically you could just upgrade it yourself at a later time) but i prefer not to do brain surgery on macs. the upgrade should be in the next 3-6 months.

vista. i use windows quite a bit and i'd like to see the final version of bootcamp out and verify vista works well.

rev a. while it seems the mac pro is a pretty tight machine i've forced myself to avoid machines where it's the first in a serious architectural change. it's served me well and i'm sticking with it.

I am having to "eat crow" because I got slightly burned on my Rev A SE/30 (one of the first sold and last beta-prototype engineering samples probably). So I said, "No rev 1 for me, look at what happened with the B&W."

You don't need BootCamp to install Vista if you put it on its own drive. I just ordered the DVD RC1 (trouble downloading 3.6GB).

Ah-ha! You realize that optimizing anything, takes time? that while OS X does a good job there is a whole lot that goes into actually using MP-DP-8 Core technology? How to schedule threads and tasks, lock cache writes and regions and share memory. So I am not sure it is worth the wait. Even waiting for CS3 isn't a big deal.

I was scared to buy a G5 when they came out and watched as firmware updates, RAM compatibility etc were resolved. And whether it was what the marketing and techno hype said about it.

The Mac Pro has forced some to finally deal with 64-bit, with addressing issues for PCI architecture (the old way the G5 dealt with 4GB address space) so right now ATTO UL5 won't work if there is more than 4GB. Broke.

If I waited for x, then wait for y, also.

If 10.5 is out, then I would have to wait for 10.5.2 or .3 at least. And that could mean mid-2007. And put up with G4?

Mac Pro 2GHz 2GB WD Raptor/Caviar RE 320 Mac OS X (10.4.7) 2 x APC RS1500s

I am only waiting for one thing, then making a final consideration. The one thing I need is to be able to address more than 2gb of memory with a standard Windows installation. When that is all straightened out I will be faced with the "do I care enough about the limiation of graphics cards" consideration. The lack of ability to address more than 2gb of ram in windows is a non-starter for me. My next machine(s) will either be a macpro that can address that issue properly or a pair of machines. The second issue I find troublesome is the lack of graphics cards. I do...err....did want this machine to be capable of serious graphics ie SLI implementation with a high end graphics card, I'm just not sure if it is a non-starter. I know I would be best served by buying a separate Windows box for gaming, but I won't really make up my mind until I'm presented with a MacPro that will fully address at least 4gb of memory in a standard Win installation. The other general nagging concern I have about the graphics is the entire ATI situation and whether they will continue to sell to Apple. If that pipe dries up, what will the Nvidia products sold to Mac look like in the future? How crippled will these machines be for gaming in a year. They could be anything from just fine to really quite poor depending on a variety of issues, but admittedly that can't really come into the equation because it is too nebulous to base a purchase decision on.

To echo the remarks made here, I have had surprising success with this rev.A machine. I was lucky enough to have had a Rev.C PowerBook G4 (problem free) and earlier a June 2000 FW PowerBook G3 that was also wonderful, except for the lack of Mac OS X!

SW is the main concern, a daily improved situation it seems. Can't wait forever for the next best thing, though a friend of mine definitely bought an iMac just days before the Core 2 Duos were announced.

Don't know why only one person mentiones the only reason I have for waiting to buy my Mac Pro.
Clovertown, a 8 core Mac Pro compared to a 4 core one should be much nicer for the same price.
I'm expecting it to come in time for xmas! =)