mFC_ Posted March 24, 2007 Share Posted March 24, 2007 After procrastinating for a little while, I've finally decided to write my review for the Mac Pro. I'm going to fashion this review in a simlar respect to saxondale's macbook pro review since it has such a great outline. The Decision For the past year or two, I've felt that my computer (XP-M 2500+, 1GB) was struggling a little too much with multiple tasks going at once. This is also my development machine, so I would find myself writing less and less code and creating fewer designs since I just don't feel like working on an aging computer anymore. After weighing my options between getting a Mac Pro, a Dell OptiPlex, building my own computer or simply upgrading my memory and hoping for the best, I decided to get a Mac Pro. The Purchase This would be my fourth Mac (I know) and since I don't believe I'm currently eligable for an education discount, I decided to go down the refurbished route. Although I'm usually apprehensive regarding refurbished products, I've heard from quite a few people that they have never had a problem with their refurbs. I decided to get the standard Quad 2.66GHz Mac Pro, which retails for $2499, for a more convenient price of $2199. With the money I had saved, I decided to pick up an extra GB of FB-DIMM memory and a 320GB hard drive. I had it sent via UPS Ground since it was free and it probably took a week for it to arrive on my doorstep. First Impressions/Packaging The first thing I had noticed about the Mac Pro, most notably by carrying it from the doorstep to my room, is that is much heavier than I thought. I was expecting a weight similar to perhaps a steel ATX case, but it weighs in at around 42lbs, or ~19kg for those who don't live in the same country as Jack Bauer. Unless you have a habit of benchpressing your computers, I doubt this really matters to anyone. The case itself, as I'm sure anyone who has visited an Apple Store knows, is simply beautiful. Also packaged with my Mac were the standard USB keyboard and a USB mighty mouse. I'm not the biggest fan of the mighty mouse, so I am continuing to use my Logitech MX1000. Of course, there are also your OSX discs. Upgrading Since my memory and hard disk came in the mail from Newegg the same day, I decided to install them before turning my machine on for the first time. I was impressed with how simple this was. The case was designed to use as few screws as possible. There is a latch which opens the side of the case, the memory riser cards also slide out for easy upgrades. The only thing you need to use screws for are installing hard drives since you need to place it in the cage. Easy to follow instructions and no visible cables make upgrading simple for the inexperienced user who might be feeling a little brave. Issues Although I'm pretty happy with my purchase, there are a few lingering problems, some of which I may be able to resolve on my own. Hard disk cage resonance After installing my secondary hard drive, I noticed after a day or two that the hard drive seems to be resonating rather loudly against the case itself. This is probably something I can fix on my own, but I just haven't had time lately. Also given that the drives are set to spin down when they're inactive, this is not as much of a nuisance as it may seem. Memory temperature I installed iStat Pro to monitor a few things on my system, and I have noticed that my memory, which have heatsinks, usually runs anywhere in between 67-73C. Yes, Celsius. I had read that fully buffered DIMMs have a tendency of running hotter than conventional DIMMs, but I was initially very concerned about the stability of my system. After a few days, I simply stopped caring since everything seems to be working fine. Rosetta Although more and more applications are becoming PowerPC and Intel friendly, there are still a few out there that require the Rosetta emulation layer. The biggest culprit for me would be the Adobe CS2 applications. Although obviously with the raw power of two dual core processors, there is not much that feels very sluggish. That being said, it could run faster. I can put up with this since CS3 is around the corner hopefully. No Photo Booth or Front Row The Mac Pro does not come with an iSight camera nor does it have an IR receiver, so you're out of luck in these departments. Of course, this shouldn't matter much because if you're looking for this kind of functionality, the iMac or MacBook seems like a more reasonable choice. Features Noise! Or, a lack thereof. I've been accustomed to my PCs making my room a little noisy from all of the 80mm fans and hard drives and such. The Mac Pro has four 120mm fans, which always run between 500-600rpm. As a result, I simply cannot tell if the Mac is running unless the power light is on! Power! This thing is fast and offers lots of room for internal and external expansion. Since it comes with so much standard, the only thing I could see myself upgrading would be memory. Fully buffered DIMMs are expensive though, so that's not really a top priority. Cool! In terms of temperature, too! With the already noted exception of memory, everything runs at a fairly low temperature. Each processor usually idles a little over ambient temperature and fluctuates another 5C under load. You really don't have to worry about your Mac Pro doubling as a space heater or putting a dent in your electric bill. Pictures! These were taken with my Sony Ericsson K800i under less than optimal lighting conditions, so quality isn't that great. I'll post some new ones under daylight. Conclusion For the user that wants a fast and stylish machine capable of handing professional applications, media production, design and development, or anything else you could think of, the Mac Pro is certainly capable of handling it. However, this is a fairly expensive machine, so if you feel like you can get the same kind of functionality out of a iMac or a PC, go for it. Of course, if I think of anything else to put in here or if you feel I should add or change something, please let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasterC Posted March 24, 2007 Share Posted March 24, 2007 Great review! I've been thinking of picking up a refurb Mac Pro for college, and this put me one step closer (T) And I might've missed this, but how much RAM do you have in it now? And did it come with a keyboard and mouse? Thanks in advance :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFC_ Posted March 24, 2007 Author Share Posted March 24, 2007 it comes with 1gb of ram stock, but i bought a pair of 1gb sticks on newegg so i'll have room to expand up to 8gb you also get the basic mac keyboard and a usb mighty mouse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Detroit Posted March 24, 2007 Share Posted March 24, 2007 Damn, wouldn't this machine be a tad overkill for college?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasterC Posted March 24, 2007 Share Posted March 24, 2007 it comes with 1gb of ram stock, but i bought a pair of 1gb sticks on newegg so i'll have room to expand up to 8gbyou also get the basic mac keyboard and a usb mighty mouse Ok, thanks for that! Damn, wouldn't this machine be a tad overkill for college?? Well, I'm going to be doing Interactive Media Design, so I need a powerful computer ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Detroit Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 Ah, sick, I'm wishing the best :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windam Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 great review! I like how the Mac Pro is right beside the 360 ^^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasterC Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 Ah, sick, I'm wishing the best :) Thanks :happy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NienorGT Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 Something clarly don't fit in your review... Memory temperatureI installed iStat Pro to monitor a few things on my system, and I have noticed that my memory, which have heatsinks, usually runs anywhere in between 67-73C. Yes, Celsius. I had read that fully buffered DIMMs have a tendency of running hotter than conventional DIMMs, but I was initially very concerned about the stability of my system. After a few days, I simply stopped caring since everything seems to be working fine. Cool! In terms of temperature, too! With the already noted exception of memory, everything runs at a fairly low temperature. Each processor usually idles a little over ambient temperature and fluctuates another 5C under load. You really don't have to worry about your Mac Pro doubling as a space heater or putting a dent in your electric bill. How can you call it cool if your ram heat more than my PentiumD that is NON-cool ? :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFC_ Posted March 25, 2007 Author Share Posted March 25, 2007 Something clarly don't fit in your review...How can you call it cool if your ram heat more than my PentiumD that is NON-cool ? :/ the ram is the only real exception. considering how cool everything else runs, one could come to the conclusion that the fb-dimms are running as cool as they'll probably ever get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NienorGT Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 That weird, can you open the case without braking your warranty and sense if the RAM area is that hot? (Don't touch it directly...) In case that it would be bad sensor or something blocking the air ventilation. Btw, I envy you, I would love so mush to have a Mac if I would have the money... Too bad they don't do single core 2 duo Mac Pro.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John S. Veteran Posted March 25, 2007 Veteran Share Posted March 25, 2007 Great review man...thanks for taking the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFC_ Posted April 6, 2007 Author Share Posted April 6, 2007 in case anyone was wondering... the resonating drives issue is resolved. i just opened the case and tried pushing the drives in a little more and that did the trick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mujjuman Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 very nice review. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyjr Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 (edited) I have a similar Mac Pro. I have upgraded the memory and added an extra 500GB hard drive. Comparing it to when I first got it, the temps are still the same in iStat, but I notice my room gets a little bit hotter than it used to when I have my door closed for a few hours. I alos notice the annoying hard drive against the case noise, but as you said it doesn't really make much of a difference. Below are screenshots of various stuff: Edited September 19, 2008 by tonyjr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisalem Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 Mac Pro's need some bad-ass graphics card. I mean c'mon, they've got lots of cards to choose from, why stick with crappy ones? (Not talking about Quadros). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unto Darkness Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 You can put your own graphics card in it right? Damn Mac Pros are so expensive... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cormier6083 Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 Great review. I always go and worship the Mac Pro when I go to Apple Temple. :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Des Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 ^ haha same here.. they are so freaking great. I'm hoping to magically find one sitting on the sidewalk one day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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