OT: which MacPro to buy for $500

$500 budget to get a macpro.
CL and eBay have a lot to offer but it gets overwhelming:
Too many combinations:
8core, Quad, Ram, processor speed....

What is the most important? number of cores, Ram, proc. speed, other?...

I also don't want to get something that will keep me from updating to the latest IO. It just happened to my friend who bought a 2006 Macpro. He now seems to not be able to install Lion.
So is there a year model below which I shouldn't even look into?

thx in advance

[support.apple.com]



www.strypesinpost.com

thx Strypes

One thing I have to say about machines and modern NLEs like Premiere... Premiere likes GPU for certain effects and you need a card with a minimum of 1GB of VRAM to get OpenCL.



www.strypesinpost.com

Check out this site to see what you should get for your money.
[www.mac2sell.net]
Good luck

strypes Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> . Premiere likes GPU for
> certain effects and you need a card with a minimum
> of 1GB of VRAM to get OpenCL.

where do you find this info in the specs? Or how is it called? I usually see the Ram, the processor(s) speed, the HD capacity, but not the GPU....

would this be the VRAM: NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT 256 MB

thx

If you are running Mountain Lion or Mavericks you can get a PC version of the GTX285 or higher to work with the Mac with no hacking needed anymore. I currently run a GTX580 with 3GB VRAM but you need an external PSU to run it well.



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The GTX285 is a 4 year old card. An iMac from last year would be decent, but I don't think you can get one for under $500. Also not a Mac Pro with a GTX285. What's important? RAM, amount of cores, speed of individual processor, frontside bus, GPU…



www.strypesinpost.com

I would try to get at least a 2008 Mac Pro, that's supported by Mavericks, according to Apple.
MicroCenter was offering some of those aorund the US for 700.00, I think they went quickly. But others will be offering refurbs or even originals.

- Loren

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GTX285 route seems too complicated for me. PCs are unknown territories for me.
2008 MP seems like the way to go then....

thx all

Or just get a PC GPU flashed to Mac from MacVidCards... [www.ebay.co.uk]



For instant answers to more than one hundred common FCP questions, check out the LAFCPUG FAQ Wiki here : [www.lafcpug.org]