Just ordered a Mac Pro!
 

Argh! feeling kinda funny, haven't spent this much money on one thing since I bought my car!

Just ordered:

Mac Pro - Quad 2.66GHz processors, ATI x1900xt graphics card, 1gb RAM, 250gb HDD, 3yr Applecare, 20" Apple Display (the monitor's not for me though )


...all for the spare-change price of $5,000 AUD! and I haven't even ordered the extra RAM i'm gonna need.


I'm about to pop over to Apple.com to order Final Cut Studio 2 as well (thank god for student discounts!) still, another $1,050 AUD isn't small change either.

Wish me luck, I've got no excuses to stop me from creating zero-budget masterpieces anymore!





....oh yeah, Photoshop and After Effects.... *SIGH*......goodbye bank account, it was nice knowing you.

Smart move on the RAM. I always tell my friends who buy macs that they should let me find and install more memory for them. Additional RAM from the Apple website is way overpriced.

Congrats on your new car, uh, I mean computer. :)

Kingston and some other makers offer RAM for the MacPro-s. Beware of the specifications, not all RAM modules will do the trick in the MacPro that appears to be suitable by the specs.
Look for the proprietary ones specifically designed for the Macpros. There is even difference between the models that fit in the dual core models vs quad!

The prices are way lower even for the above mentioned special modules.

I did my research, because about replacing my G5... :)

Hard drives also overpriced, plus you can never be sure what maker they select.

I will go for Western Digital RAID edition.

My plan is to order 4Gb (2x2Gb) from OWC or DMS (DataMem) in the states. They're both about half the price of anything down here. Does anyone here have any experience with these brands? They seem to be fairly well regarded on the Mac Forums I've visited.

I'm going to order eight-core compatible modules so that I can keep the RAM if I eventually upgrade from my quad-core. The OWC and DMS websites seem to suggest that their eight-core memory is compatible with the quad-core system. Is this right?

Just be aware if you buy an education version of final cut, you're stuck with it...no upgrades allowed

and you can get extra SATA II drives to just slide in - sweet! you will love it.

Hey Guys,

Rocketeer over at the Reduser boards just brought it to my attention that the deal I'm getting ($40 cheaper than Edu price for retail Mac Pro and 20" Display) expires on the 9th of June - 2 days before WWDC starts on the 11th.

Should I take the deal or hold out for WWDC announcements?

For the sake of just $40 savings over buying it at education prices, perhaps I should cancel the order and hold off for another two weeks - if there are no important changes to the Mac Pro/Display, then I'll pick it up for $40 more with my education discount.

What'd you guys think?

With the way apple works, you would kick yourself over 40 bucks after spending 5000+ if they upgrade it immensly for a 100-200 difference. And if they do not upgrade it, was 40$ worth the wait? in my idea yes.

I bought a 12" powerbook g4, 1 month before they came out with the new OS and the new updated MACPROS, i think i kicked myself HARD!.....

you get me?

Wait for WWDC.

Oh well, so much for that idea!

Mind you, if I had kept the order and they'd brought something out I'd be kicking myself, it was only a $40 saving, so I can live with that.

Are there likely to be any more announcements over the course of WWDC? I heard they were gonna update their monitors, would that have simply been announced on the first day? I can wait the extra couple of days, but if there's no point I'll order it tomorrow.

I don't understand the logic in this. When students graduate, I would think Apple would want them to seemlessly migrate over to the full version, rather than sticking it to them.

I could almost understand if they were giving the academic version away, but the full version of the academic suite is the same price as the upgrade for the regular version.

Yes, but the Ed license also restricts use to educational materials only. For example, a teacher cannot buy FCP for school and also use it (legally) for their free lance wedding business (or whatever), so use outside of school is not legal.

Just purchased 3 500GB Seagate/Barracuda 7200 16MB SATAII drives from tigerdirect for $109 a piece.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...sku=TSD-500AS2

Curently running 2.66 Quad MacPro with 250BG and 500Gb hard drives and 6GB of RAM.

Michael: are you editing HDV with that setup? If so, how fast can you export (via compressor) to mpeg2 (roughly)?

Currently still editing SD footage.

I just purchased this system adn Final Cut Studio in preperation for my move to HD in the coming months.