2.9 Dual or 2.3 Quad

Hello i am currently starting to get into Djing & Production as a hobby. But i am looking for a MacBook pro to help with this. I believe i will need around 16GB of RAM & around 1TB of storage. I dont have the money to invest in a Mac with retina so i have already decided on a Non-Retina Model. The main question on my mind is the decision between the 13" and the 15" ? Both are upgradeable to what i need. But one has a Dual Core i7 at 2.9Ghz & the Other 2.3Ghz Quad Core.The only processor in a 15"all i can afford with a £1500 Budget. The 13" is the MacBook Pro onsale on the Website & the 15" is a certified refurbised on the apple site aswell ?
Thankyou, Greg

I disagree. Assuming that the apps you run have some degree of multi-threading support, then more cores is better, as the OS can deal out the threads across the four cores.
There's a reason the MacPros come as 4, 6, 8 or 12 core units. Don't tell me the 2.7 GHz 12-core is slower than the 3.7 GHz 4-core.
However, the real question is: do you need the extra CPU power. If you're just running Garageband and maybe a couple of other apps, then I would maxed RAM is more important.

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Yeah it is soldered. So no upgrade possible. Found here: http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook_pro/macbook-pro-retina-display-faq /macbook-pro-retina-display-processor-ram-expansion-slots.html
Thanks Jon P D !

Dual core vs. Quad

Are there any considerable differences in performance between a Mac G5 Dual 2Gig/2GHz and a new Quad? Is it worth one's while to sell a G5 Dual and purchase a Quad?
Fulvio

Are there any considerable differences in performance
between a Mac G5 Dual 2Gig/2GHz and a new Quad?
Yes.
Is it
worth one's while to sell a G5 Dual and purchase a
Quad?
Depends on what you need and how much extra plugins are worth to you.

Re: CHANGING FROM DUAL CORE TO A QUAD CORE

Im thinking of changing from a dual core to a quad core Intel Xeon on my mac pro.
Is this a case of just changing processors or is there,more involved,motherboards etc?
Please help,excuse the typing ,this is after takin me 15 minutes .

The Mac Pro isn't like a PC. It's much more risk to upgrade processors. It is something I would never do to my Mac Pro.
I wouldn't risk it. But, if you really want 8-cores (and let me tell you, it sure is awesome!), I wouldn't recommend doing it, but I have no other resonable options. I don't think Apple would upgrade it for you.
-benny

Dual Graphics cards in Quad PPC G5?

I have one GeForce 6600, and want to add a second, is this possible?
If not, is there another card model which can be dualed up inside of the PPC G5 Quad?
If not, where can you buy Nvidia graphics card upgrades for the PPC G5 Quad?

Anyone know where you can get one of these upgrades?
NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 graphics card
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2005/oct/19pmg5.html
Malcolm's last link is the Quadro FX 4500. However, unless you have the need for its unique features, the 7800GT (the next to last link in Malcolm's post) is a much better bang for the buck. The 7800 isn't much slower for most things, but costs 1/2 as much as the Quadro.

LE 9.0 performance on Mac Mini (dual core) Vs. iMac (quad core)

I am in the process of evaluating options to replace my 2007 MBP with a faster DAW. I am on a budget so while I am looking for performance improvements over what I have, I don't need overkill either. I am considering the 2011 Mac Mini (2.5 GHz, dual core) and the 2011 iMac (2.5 GHz quad - core). Whichever configuration I choose, I will bump up RAM to 8 GB.
I use LE 9.0 and a Presonus Firestudio Project and would like to know whether what kind of performance improvements I will see between the two options I am considering. I use a lot of plugins, and an external Firewire 800 drive for recording. Obviously with the Mini, I will have to buy an optical drive as well. I already have two monitors, keyboard and mouse.
The only thing that worries me about the Mac Mini is the slower 5400 rpm hard drive. While I plan on using an external drive for recording, I am concerned because of the number of plugins and sample files that need to load during recording / playback.

I am in the process of evaluating options to replace my 2007 MBP with a faster DAW. I am on a budget so while I am looking for performance improvements over what I have, I don't need overkill either. I am considering the 2011 Mac Mini (2.5 GHz, dual core) and the 2011 iMac (2.5 GHz quad - core). Whichever configuration I choose, I will bump up RAM to 8 GB.
I use LE 9.0 and a Presonus Firestudio Project and would like to know whether what kind of performance improvements I will see between the two options I am considering. I use a lot of plugins, and an external Firewire 800 drive for recording. Obviously with the Mini, I will have to buy an optical drive as well. I already have two monitors, keyboard and mouse.
The only thing that worries me about the Mac Mini is the slower 5400 rpm hard drive. While I plan on using an external drive for recording, I am concerned because of the number of plugins and sample files that need to load during recording / playback.

G5: Should I buy a Dual 2.3 or Quad 2.5?

I have been agonizing over this forever. I am a part-time college student and I am planning to buy a new G5 in about 3 weeks. The Dual 2.3 is within my budget. The Quad is really pushing it. It wouldn't be an issue if the monitor wasn't so expensive.
Here's the deal. I will be using the computer for Internet, music, Microsoft Office/Apple Works, light audio and video, digital imaging and possibly Adobe Photoshop in the future.
If the Quad is MUCH faster than the Dual 2.3 then maybe I should consider other buying options in order to get the Quad. However if the difference in performance is not that much, then maybe I should go with the Dual 2.3. After all, this is my personal computer, not used for business, and time is not money.
I've also heard, that the Quad difference is only noticable when using many high-end Applications at the same time and that for basic applications, the difference is minimal, if anything. Is this true?
Any help will be appreciated.

I have been a PC user for all my life and avoided all MAC products because I felt it was going against the norm in development. I have recently switched my stance on the matter and have bought a PowerMac G5 Dual Core 2.3 Ghz PowerPc.
I am beginning to regret it! I have owned this bulky machine for 10 days and have not been able to get anything to run on it.
I initially bought it to help my frined in his video editing business, and try some freelance work for myself. In the recent years I have done some video presentations for special events like banquests, graduations, and birthday parties and made some good money. However, I felt that it was not "professional Grade" until I step things up a bit.
I felt that if I got a MAC and some "real" editing software, I could make a good part-time income.
This is where my dilemma starts. In the 10 days I have owned this computer I have put in over $4000. The tower, the dvi screen, the virtual pc for windows, the Apple Care program, and nothing has been done. The software I was intending to use Adobe Production Studio/After Effects, is not making MAC software anymore (but I downloaded a trial version for MAC...go figure), the Final Cut Pro 4 my friend let me preview doesn't start (not compatible with PCI express ONLY AGP cards), and nobody can give me a straight answer! Not one "Tech Guy" can solve my dilemma...Is it the hardware or Software that is causing all the trouble? I tried Apple, but they can't help me if I didn't have the serial and apple care plan. I get the plan and enter the info, but it says there is an error in the number and cannot help me. Now I have to make the time to call them and try to work it out.
Don't get me wrong, I really wan this thing to work...but my patience is wearing thin! Can anyone out there give me a heads up on what could possibly be the problem? What software actually RUNS?
I dunno if I can afford to put another $1600 into this project for software. HELP!
I may just return everything, and have a PC custom bult for my needs.
Thanks in advance for the help.
D. Kojima

Performance Difference Between Dual 2.7 and Quad, and Logic Pro

I used to have a G5 DP 2.7 before it went bad and Apple offered me a Quad in exchange. I'd like to understand some details of the specs between these two computers and how they might translate with respect to running Logic Pro (which I'll get to in a minute)...
Listed below are the specs which I believe illustrate the significant differences between these two machines (this info is based on info gleaned from Macworld, since the specific specs of the DP 2.7 no longer appear on Apple's website):
Dual 2.7
(2x) 2.7 GHz, cache = 512K per processor, frontside bus speed = 1.35 GHz per processor
Quad
(4x) 2.5 GHz, cache = 2MB on-chip L2 per chip, frontside bus speed = 1.25 GHz per processor
So here's the link with Logic: it's become apparent of late that Logic Pro is not able to fully utilize the processing power of all 4 cores in the Quad. Reports are that performance tops out at 50% per processor, resulting in approx. 200% possible processing usage from the 4 cores in the Quad.
However, such a limitation in processor usage wasn't present in the DP 2.7.
So based on the information I've learned so far, it seems that the Quad and the DP 2.7 are almost equivalent in terms of processing power when running Logic Pro. Now, this is what I'm surmising, but, is this actually the case? At the end of the day, I'd like to know if the Quad indeed a more powerful computer than the DP 2.7 when running Logic Pro, or, did my exchange of DP 2.7 for the Quad constitute a "downgrade" of any proportion?

The only logical answer to Why Intels do and PPC don't is:
Apple want everybody to transition to their Intel boxes. The only way to do this is offer better performance in software tweaks for one system over the another, which begs the question what else will Apple do to software for PPC owners?
Having bought a Mac Pro, primerily for testing out certain software apz under Rosetta, I did a real time test between my 8GB RAM G5 Quad and my stock Mac Pro upgraded to 2GB RAM, batch processing 204 Canon 1DsMKII RAW files into 16-Bitt TIFFs. I put a thread on the Mac Pro forum here:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=627916&tstart=15
I so wanted my Quad to squash the Intel invaded Mac, but results speak for themselves. The Mac Pro flattened the G5 Quad by over 23 minutes (it worked out as 1.7 times faster than the G5Quad).
If that's how it performs with 2GB RAM it's gonna really fly when I max it out. So, for musicians, I would imagine with the Quad core support for Intel Macs in Logic 7.2.2 makes a fairly straight forward decision. . .buy a Mac Pro and sell your PowerMac. More time composing less time waiting for renders (never used music software so if it doesn't render your composition place whatever it does do into the 'renders' slot )
P.S I hated, really hated having to say the Mac Pro toasted my G5 Quad, I so wanted the Intel to fall flat on it's aluminium as$, but it didn't. It's a quick machine. A very quick machine which toasted my Quad in real time tests using a universal Pro app from a 3rd Party (who would have no incentive to dumb down the PPC version as they sell their product to Windows, PPC OS X and Intel OS X)

Is there a noticeable difference between Dual Core i7 and Quad Core i7?

Hi everyone.
I'm going to be a college freshman this fall. I'm looking at 13" MacBook with Retina Display with dual core i7. I'm also looking at the 15" MacBook Pro with Retina Display with Quad Core i7. I want to major in science and have a concentration in photography, which means that I will run programs like Excel, PowerPoint (or keynote), and Photoshop.
Anyways, will there be a noticeable difference between a Dual Core i7 processor and a Quad i7 processor?
Thanks!

Ceteris Paribus, the quad-core will be twice as fast as the dual-core.

Processor for graphic design application: dual-core i5 or quad core i7?

I am planning on buying a MacBookPro, and I am comparing the processor options. Using the MacBook for graphic design – Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign – will I see a significant difference in performance between the 2.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, and the 2.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i7? I will typically need multiple files open at once, but I will not be doing any video editing or gaming. If going with the dual-core i5 won’t be too slow, I’d like to save that money! Thanks.

Thanks for answer!
That means I should take the Dual Core (i5),because I don't play games very often.
But Portal 2 should work?!
At the moment I have a PC with 2,4 Ghz Core 2 Quad and it works fine
Please explain with more information

FYI--Compressing times of a dual 450 vs dual 1.25 vs Quad

Just got my quad and after some hoops to jump thru I have fcp 4.5/compressor 1.2 running fine now.....
Now these times are not 100% accurate....off by a few minutes here and there but this is what i've got from going from two g4's dual 450 and dual 1.25 to a G5 Quad.....
This project is 1 hour and 40 minutes with a fair bit of colour correction, a third of it time remapped, and a third of it with a widescreen matte...
dual 450 - just the video compress --approx. 15 hours
dual 1.25 - just video --approx. 10 hours
Quad - just video compress---under 1 hour and 30 minutes....
All I have to say is holy crap batman!!
For me getting the quad now certainly makes a lot of financial sense as I will be able to finish projects a lot faster. I have a back log of about a dozen projects. Can now ship off my slowest mac to a friend who can work for me as well.....:)
The Upgrade is coming in the next week or two and I should see a bit of a difference there as well.....
WOW WOW WOW.......
rob
Dual 450/1.25 G4 1.12/1.75 gigs of ram Mac OS X (10.4.2)

I just use the qmaster startup automator someone created
and shared on this forum a while back.
I put it in my Startup Items, and after a couple of clicks,
and my admin password, its up and runs fine.
My only probelm is I have a bit of an audio problem,
but I've created a work around for that, and all is well
under tiger on my Dual 1DDR.

Mac mini (Late 2012): Dual- or Quad-Core?

I'm upgrading from a MacBook (2006) and - as a frequent iPad user - am thinking of just getting a Mac mini. I'm not sure though as wether to get the i5 dual-core or i7 quad-core version.
What I'll be using it for (none of these on a professional level, prosumer at most ;)):
Photo editing (iPhoto, thinking of switching to Aperture)
Web development (Coda, Espresso, local test server)
Designing (Sketch 2)
Full-HD video editing
Web, office, social media, ...
Can I expect a signifcant performance boost at these tasks from the quad-core model or will the differences be barely noticable (also considering most of these applications will be running simultaneously)?
I'll be maxing out RAM from a third party vendor in both cases, HDD capacity is not important and I'm not going to upgrade to SSD or Fusion Drive.
What do you think? Any thoughts appreciated!

Thanks for your insights! My inital goal was being cost-efficient; Fusion Drive is only an option on the quad-core model thus making it 1080 Euros were I live. That's almost an entire new Mac mini which I could buy in 2-3 years. I don't mind CPU intensive tasks taking longer (e.g. rendering final movie) as long as the actual "creative process" runs smoothly (e.g. cutting the movie).
As you both said finding out how/if apps take advantage of multiple cores is not that easy. I guess I'll have a closer look at all the benchmark tests and reviews that will be showing up in the coming weeks.
I think Fusion Drive on a dual-core might boost performance more than just going quad-core, unfortunately this is not an option for the lower end model. Also I want to wait a little to see if Fusion Drive is proprietary Apple hardware or just implemented software-wise (which would mean I could fix a broken drive myself after warranty has expired).
By the way, any guesses on Black Friday sale options (as far as I could find out the Mac mini wasn't included last year)?

Dual core versus quad core?

Is there a noticeable difference in speed when comparing a dual core versus a quad core iMac where the advertised speeds are essentially the same, say -- 2.7 ghz CPUs, both running the latest Mac OS 10.82, and iLife, iWork, or MS Office suite programs for MAC?

Chances are for the type of work you're doing an i7 iMac would be a complete waste of money. Where you may benefit is 5 years from now if your work flow changes a lot where you use apps that draw on the power of an i7. However none of can look into a crystal ball and decide today what we will need years down the road so if you want to bet safe, buy as much as you can afford.

HELP: Can't Get G5 Quad to Share Internet of Dual Gigabit Interface

I just got (yesterday) a G5 Quad with the dual Gigabit ethernet connections and I am trying to share my network connection through the Quad (no more ports available on my switch).
- I am connecting the Quad (en0) directly to a Gigabit Switch and get ip 192.168.2.191
- I connect a G4 Dual 500 to the Quad (en1).
In Network utility, the Quad on en1 and the G4 show ip 192.168.2.1 (which is the IP of my router)
When I try to connect to the internet via the G4, Safari just sits there. No error page, just the spinning lollypop.
When I connect the G4 directly to the switch, instant access.
My settings on the Quad are as follows:
Sharing/Services:
Personal File Sharing, Personal Web Sharing checked, all others not checked.
Sharing/Internet:
Share your computer connection from: Built-in Ethernet 1
To computes using: Built-in Ethernet 1 not checked, Built-in Ethernet 2 checked;
Unfortunately, I have no available spots on the switch, and was hoping I could use the secondary port on the Quad to File/web share one more Mac.
Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Dual G5 2GHz, 2.5 GB RAM, 360 GB HDD Mac OS X (10.4.2)

Did you happen to allow enough time for a power recycle when switching the router connected to your DSL modem?
Modem/Router Power ReCycling
- Power-off the DSL/Cable modem, Internet Router, & computer(s). (Wait at least 30 minutes. If possible, leave the modem off overnight.)
- Power-on the DSL/Cable modem; Wait at least 30 minutes.
- Power-on the Internet Router; Wait at least 5 minutes.
- Power-on the computer(s)

Quad versus dual core

Will I see an advantage in Photoshop CS5 (32 bit) if I upgrade my existing dual core processor to quad core? (Clock speed slightly lower on the quad core - 2.66GHz as opposed to 3.00GHz on the dual)

Part of the answer depends on the cache specs.
A processor must access programs and data in main memory. The more cores you have, coupled with sufficient cache space, will get more processing done in general. Many things in Photoshop and Windows in general are multi-threaded, and if all the processors can get data from RAM into the cache, then spend some time (in parallel) working on it, you will have gained. On the other hand, if each processor is just chunking through RAM then the single bus from the processor (set) to RAM will be a bottleneck and you may actually see the system get less done.
Very generally speaking, more cores are better, so your computing experience may well seem nicer (smoother) with a 4 core processor. Oh, and enable Hyperthreading if you can.
-Noel

2.9 Dual or 2.3 Quad

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