Mac Pro 2008 to MBP 2011?

Hello everyone, i just wanted to ask everyones opinion on something that i have been thinking about for a very long time. Right now i have a 2008 Mac pro 8 core w/ 8gb ram/ 2tb hd/ nvidia geforce 8800gt. I use my mac pro for normal use but also final cut studio using 1080p video editing.
I also have a MBP 15 inch i think 2007 or 8. It has 2.4ghz dual core w/ 4gb ram. The screen on it is currently broken and i haven't gotten around to replacing it yet because im not sure if it is worth it. I also used my laptop for final cut editing on the go.
With the release of the 2011 MBP and their amazing specs, im wondering if i should sell my current MP and MBP and get the 17' or 15' quad core mac book pros with the 750gb hdd and 1gb vram.
My question is-- IS IT WORTH IT??
Obviously it won't preform as well as my current 2008 mac pro but can it get close. A little less speed is fine but it cant take like 15 minutes more to render something. Thats what im concerned about.
Or should i just stick with my mac pro and get the screen on my MBP fixed? One thing i like about the MBP is portability obviously.

Hello amass121,
Obviously it won't preform as well as my current 2008 mac pro but can it get close.
I don't agree with the above statement!
If you buy the 2011 Apple MacBook Pro 2.3GHz quad-core model, it will outperform your 2008 Mac pro 8-Core, especially if you upgrade its RAM to 8GB.
Don't just take my word for it. Read Lloyd Chambers 24 page review in his Mac Performance Guide:
http://macperformanceguide.com/Reviews-MacBookProFeb2011.html
As you will see from Lloyd's tests, with many applications it outperforms some of the 2010 Mac Pro models, which in turn would outperform your current 2008 Mac pro set-up.
It is now possible to upgrade the 2011 MacBook Pro's RAM to 16GB (2 x 8GB), but at the moment the cost is astronomical and not really justifiable, but the price of 8GB (2 x 4GB) is, in my opinion, very reasonable:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/AppleMacBook_MacBook_Pro/Upgrade/DDR3_1333MHzSDRAM
In your position I would stick with the 2008 Mac Pro, and replace the MBP 15" with a 2011 2.3GHz quad-core model.
That way you will have the best of both worlds, because there is still a lot you can do to upgrade your 2008 Mac Pro in the meantime, until such time as you might decide to move up to a future generation version.
Regards,
Bill
Message was edited by: Biltan-Wales

Similar Messages

  • My Mac pro 2008, not running after the Apple logo, i rebooting and i rebooting

    My Mac Pro 2008 no boot afther the Logo Apple, reboot, reboot and reboot only, and in XP, the graphic is pertubed with bad graphics ... the mémory it's good, and i thinks my card graphic is out. SRY for my english, it's not my language. Help my please, my apple care is finished 10/2011, and i will repared itself. Many thanks. Alain Muno

    Not saying this IS your problem, but … I just went through avery similar problem with Mac Pro3,1. Here is my story.
    On boot of any Mac OP system drive, internal or externalHDD, (Lion or Snow Leopard), original Mac Pro install CD, Snow Leopard CD,nothing.  (Would only go to gray screen,apple logo, spinning gear that would stop spinning after about a minute.)  But, it would boot on XP drive.  However, in XP, on Windows black startupscreen, had alternating columns of two different patters of blue dots and XPgraphics were not as they should be (larger icons on desk top, slow response,different size of desk top (maybe 600x400 when it should have been1024x768).  Supplied hardware test showedno failures.  Took it to shop.  Their better diagnostics showed nofailures.  All peripherals (my drives, myCDs, etc, disconnected.  (NOTE: they didnot try a new video card since they did not have one.)  Still would not start even using their drives(external or internal).  Shop tried a newlogic board.  That did not work and theyput the original one back in.  Shop saidall they could come up with was new processors. This was not a cost effective option and they had none to try.
    After thinking about it more, I figured it could be thevideo card: the original 8800 GT that came with the Mac: that it was so bad itwould not start in Mac OS but would limp along in XP.  I was all set to buy another vid card one-bay just to try.  While doing thatresearch, came across several articles on the Internet that discussed vid cardfailure due to micro-cracks in some solder joints.  These develop due to age/heat cycles.  The proposed fix was to ‘reflow’ the solder.  Figured it was worth a try before spendingthe money on a new vid card.  Found thesedetailed instructions on youtube.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7um_hZYom4  I followed the procedure, put the vid cardback in, and now it works just fine.
    I did not and would not do this until I had ruled outeverything else.  But, it has worked forothers and it did work for me.

  • Mac Pro 2008 - upgrade to 2010 model or not?

    I have a Mac Pro 2008 2.8 gHz with 12GB RAM. I'm not running Premiere Pro CS5 which is great and seems to love RAM and processor speed. I also recently got a CUDA card to take advantage of it's GPU acceleration.
    My question is: Should I get a new Mac Pro 2010, 6, 8, 12 core or just upgrade my RAM to say, 24GB and perhaps get some SSDs (maybe even in a RAID 0) as my boot drive.
    The RAM upgrade will be in the $650 range, SSDs could be at least that. I'll need RAM anyway for a new model as my old RAM isn't compatible.
    Getting a new model could set me back $5000 (or more) when it's all loaded.
    I'm also a little disappointed in the 2010 Mac Pros, for example my 2008 Mac pro was a no-brainer, but now I'm ambivalent about this upgrade to 2010, thinking there may be new models out this year that fill in all the holes. I kind of feel like the 2010 Mac Pro upgrade was a little like the Final Cut Pro 7 upgrade, it was a stop gap because Apple needed to do something. I could be wrong about this though.
    I know this is kind of a difficult question to answer, but if you have any opinions, please feel free to lend any advice.

    PCIe 3.0
    USB3
    Intel SATA3 6G
    Socket LGA1356
    Socket LGA2011
    3G SSD (by the time 4th Gen SSDs are out, one unit would make out our current SATA channel bandwidth)
    Mid-range Xeon roadmap:
    Socket LGA1356, a direct replacement for the current Socket LGA1366. The parts here are 6-core and 8-core Sandy Bridge single-socket and dual-socket capable but mid-range positioned Sandy Bridge Xeon - and, ultimately, Core i7 - parts with up to 20MB of L3 cache, three DDR3-1600 memory channels just like the existing LGA1366 Westmeres with one memory speed grade higher, and 24 PCIe v3 lanes on-chip.
    The single external QPI v2 link runs at up to 8 gigatransfers/sec, or 32GB/sec bidirectional bandwidth, a 25 per cent speed up over the current generation, but also feeding a third more cores on each socket.
    http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/feature/1811091/2011-intel-xeon-update-holy- socket-trinity
    Intel is set to replace its current high-end socket, LGA1366, when it releases its new 8-cores processors in the Late 2011. This socket is expected to be released alongside Sandy Bridge-EX in Q3 2011, and will support 4 memory channels as well as 40× PCIe 3.0 lanes.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGA_2011

  • Final cut pro x - lion - mbp 2011 2.0 15 - not responding at all since latest update. Can't open or edit projects, loading window that pops us when you click the app (as it loads) does not go away, says loading compressor support.  Have tried reinstalling

    final cut pro x - lion - mbp 2011 2.0 15 - not responding at all since latest update. Can't open or edit projects, loading window that pops us when you click the app (as it loads) does not go away, says loading compressor support, paralyzed.  Have tried reinstalling, default settings etc
    Appreciate suggestion, working on deadline. Thanks.  

    Here is the start of the crash report:
    Process:         Final Cut Pro [20568]
    Path:            /Applications/Final Cut Pro.app/Contents/MacOS/Final Cut Pro
    Identifier:      com.apple.FinalCut
    Version:         10.0.1 (185673)
    Build Info:      ProEditor-185670300~1
    App Item ID:     424389933
    App External ID: 4138831
    Code Type:       X86-64 (Native)
    Parent Process:  launchd [102]
    Date/Time:       2011-11-11 20:41:32.201 -0800
    OS Version:      Mac OS X 10.7.2 (11C74)
    Report Version:  9
    Interval Since Last Report:          192058 sec
    Crashes Since Last Report:           14
    Per-App Interval Since Last Report:  157161 sec
    Per-App Crashes Since Last Report:   14
    Anonymous UUID:                      DD542B2F-58A0-482E-AAFA-ECADEC76F562
    Crashed Thread:  0  Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread
    Exception Type:  EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGSEGV)
    Exception Codes: KERN_INVALID_ADDRESS at 0x0000000280000003
    VM Regions Near 0x280000003:
        CG shared images       00000001cbf62000-00000001cc182000 [ 2176K] r--/r-- SM=SHM 
    -->
        STACK GUARD            00007fff5bc00000-00007fff5f400000 [ 56.0M] ---/rwx SM=NUL  stack guard for thread 0
    Application Specific Information:
    objc[20568]: garbage collection is OFF

  • Adding USB 2.0 ports to a Mac Pro 2008

    Hi,
    I love my Mac Pro 2008! Great machine, awesome performance, but I need more ports Who needs only three USB ports in the back, that's a joke!
    Anyways, I just bought 2 StarTech 6-port USB 2.0 PCI cards from an online vendor, but quickly found out that it didn't fit my Mac. The description of the card even says it is compatible with Mac OS X. I suspect that Apple have changed the PCI slots for something else in the Mac Pro 2008. What are they and can we buy USB card that fit those slots? If so where? I am desperate for more ports.

    You may have stumbled upon or checked some of the support pages?
    http://www.apple.com/support/macpro/
    - which has a link to an article titled "about your PCI Express slots"
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304122
    Specs 2008: http://support.apple.com/kb/SP11:
    PCI Express expansion7
    Three open full-length PCI Express expansion slots
    One PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot
    Two PCI Express x4 slots
    And of course support for up to four PCI Express video cards; Fibre Channel; Mac Pro RAID.
    You could install a powered USB hub, or FW/USB2, as long as you have free slots for more. I have FW800, a 1x Sonnet Tempo (couple storage drives), and a 4x Tempo (multiple RAID sets; Port Multiplier card and multi-drive enclosures and 4 channels).

  • I install LION on my mac pro 2008 and it's alway's pop with " there was a problem connecting to the server " Time Capsule" .How can i remove this popup. My Time machine is working fine and also rename it. But the popup keeps on coming with the old name.

    I installed LION on my mac pro 2008 and it's alway's pop with " there was a problem connecting to the server " Time Capsule" .How can i remove this popup. My Time machine is working fine and also rename it with less than 7 karakters. But the popup keeps on coming with the old name.

    I have a BT Infinity router plugged into the Time Capsule, not sure where the radio settings are?
    They are able to use the network settings of the TC i.e. they can connect to the internet via the wifi through the TC but when they try and connect to the AirPort Disk this is where it is not allowing a connection.
    I don;t have the drive shared out at all at the moment, is this necessary?  How do I do this if so?
    I have attached the screen shots of all the settings.
    Thanks again for your help.

  • Hello I am in Afghanistan i searched that in realtek but that told me you coulde not use this sit   I writ again my problem    i installed win 7 32 bit in my mac pro 13-inch, Late 2011  Processor  2.4 GHz Intel Core i5

    On Thu, Jun 14, 2012 at 12:54 PM, mahdi ehsani <[email protected]> wrote:
    On Sun, Jun 10, 2012 at 7:29 PM, Apple Support Communities Updates <[email protected]> wrote:
    Apple Support Communities
    Re: after install windows 7 32 bit there is no sound my mac is os x 10.7.2
    created by The hatter in Boot Camp - View the full discussion
    This solved my question 
    This helped me
    you have RealTek on your workstation and just download the current driver which is easy to findwww.realtek.com
    This solved my question 
    This helped me
    Did this help? Go to the message, sign in, and reply or mark the response as correct or helpful
    Start a new discussion in the same community/choose-container!input.jspa?contentType=1&containerType=14&container=2143&ac_ci d=op123456
    You are receiving this email from Apple Support Communities. You can change your email preferences in your Apple Support Communities Profile.
    © 2012 Apple Inc. 1 Infinite Loop, MS 303-3DM, Cupertino, CA 95014.
    All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy | Apple Support Communities Terms of Use | Apple Support
    hello I am in Afghanistan i searched that in realtek but that told me you coulde not use this sit 
    I writ again my problem  
    i installed win 7 32 bit in my mac pro 13-inch, Late 2011  Processor  2.4 GHz Intel Core i5   Software  Mac OS X Lion 10.7.2 (11C74) 
    but there is no sound in windows 7  please send me a address sit for downoad driver that i can use in Afghanistan 
    believe it is confus me and other friend that bought 5 mac's that are the same and i serched a lot of site without result
    please help us by address site please please .....
    <Edited by Host>

    hello I am in Afghanistan i searched that in realtek but that told me you coulde not use this sit
    I writ again my problem 
    i installed win 7 32 bit in my mac pro 13-inch, Late 2011  Processor  2.4 GHz Intel Core i5   Software  Mac OS X Lion 10.7.2 (11C74)
    but there is no sound in windows 7  please send me a address sit for downoad driver that i can use in Afghanistan
    believe it is confus me and other friend that bought 5 mac's that are the same and i serched a lot of site without result

  • Mac Pro 2008 won't boot from install disc - black screen

    Hello,
    I recently purchased a new hard drive to replace the original that came with my Mac Pro 2008.  I was able to format the new drive using Disk Utility. I am now at the point where I need to install OS X onto the new drive, but the computer refuses to boot from the disc. The disc is recognized by the computer (I can access the disc and am able to use the BootCamp applications, etc.) but I just get a black screen when trying to boot directly from the disc. The computer boots fine otherwise.
    I have tried the following:
    I have tried using both the gray install disc that came with the computer and the Snow Leopard Install DVD disc.
    I have tried booting using the "C" key and the "option" key but still receive a black screen following the chime (I've held these down for several minutes).
    I have tried restarting from either install disc using the Bootcamp Assistant.
    I have tried running the installation software to get it to restart from the disc.
    I have tried a combination of the drives, i.e. trying to boot from the discs with just the new drive installed, just the original drive installed, and with both in bay1 and 2.
    Everything results in the computer starting up, hearing the chime, and then nothing..just black screen. I have the original drive partitioned with BootCamp with OSX Snow Leopard and Windows 7 installed (I don't know that that matters).
    I am at a loss as to what to try next. It doesn't seem like the superdrive because it is recognizing the disc, it just won't boot from it.
    Any help is appreciated, thank you.

    Clone should be a must  and easy to do and learn (learn by doing! 2)
    6800 would 'qualify' as 5x70 series flashed etc and same rule: 10.6.5
    In the past there was 10.4.6, 10.5.6, but not 10.6.6 - even though strong need for such a DVD.
    10.6.8 DVD would  be excellent
    Lion or ML - buy, download, make an installer flash card would be what I would do at this point.
    Then keep both - dual boot as you learn and test and see what ML does and waht you had that required Rosetta to support PowerPC. See www.roaringapps.com about that.
    With Carbon Coyp Cloner - was share, now commercial, great utility been around since 10.2.2 at least - this time 2003. 10 yrs.
    You can clone the system folders, you can even selectively choose. You can skip copy of most of your home account and do that separately to another drive if  you want.
    Clone Windows with Paragon or WinClone and use Windows 7 or 8 DVD to do a system repair (automatic) or to edit the BCD file. It can and should - and all you do is boot Windows 7 DVD w/ only the one drive present and go at it. Piece of cake. But yes, Windows gets fussy if you change or remove or move. BCD to the rescue. A proper program for cloning like Paragon's "Clone OS" meant for going from disk drives to SSDs, knows that and how to do it.
    Back to how to clone etc:
    Clone
    Disk utility has RESTORE which will also clone your system but not the Lion Recovery partition. Oddly  Apple did not 'endorse' making bootable clone of the system which works too but most choose Carbon Copy Cloner - it works more consistently; it allows for smart update of the backup volume. Both can backup to a sparse disk image if desired.
    Using Cloning as a Backup Strategy
    http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/7032/carbon-copy-cloner 
    http://www.bombich.com/software/updates/ccc-3.5.html
    OS X Lion Install to Different Drive
    How to create an OS X Lion installation disc MacFixIt
    Migration Assistant Update for Mac OS X Snow Leopard
    http://www.apple.com/support/lion/installrecovery/
    Create an OS X Lion Install disc
    http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-20080989-263/how-to-create-an-os-x-lion-ins tallation-disc
    How to clone your system:
    http://macperformanceguide.com/Mac-HowToClone-backup.html
    http://macperformanceguide.com/Mac-HowToClone.html
    http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/7032/carbon-copy-cloner
    http://www.macperformanceguide.com/blog/2012/20120711_2-MacPro-internal-clone-ba ckup.html
    The DVD is dependent on your hardware. And your hardware changed. The drivers for the 5780 and 6xxx are bundled in the OS and lacking. Minimum build thing.
    Put the new drive anywhere you want. Does not matter. Can move it later. Can be drive bay 0-3 or a Firewire external or under the DVD drive.
    When you clone pull the old drive and boot from the newly cloned.
    After that keep a backup clone around all the time. Takes less than 10 minutes to do a smart update to copy just the changes to keep it current. So you have working copy of the system. I keep Clone "A" that I keep "as was" the system as of last month or whatever (like 10.7.4 before upgrade to 7.5).
    Comes easier after doing it once and have all your ducks in a row.

  • Mac Pro 2008 Can't start Windows 7 / 8 Installer

    I'm trying to load Windows 8 (And have previously tried everything with Windows 7) on my Mac Pro early 2008 with Mountain Lion, and cannot get the installers to initiate.
    When I start the bootcamp assistant and reboot, my mac freezes before ever getting to the installer. When I reboot and hold option to manually select the installer, it freezes as soon as I select it. I've tried this from a DVD, USB, and even an install partition i setup on my HD, all with the same freezing results. This is a legitimate copy of Windows 8 system builder I'm working with and have installed it perfectly in Parallels.
    I should note I upgraded my video card a long time ago to a gt 120, so I'm wondering if the video card might be the problem. I've installed Windows 7 with this video card in the past so I'm guessing this is a Mountain Lion/Bootcamp 5 issue.
    Has anyone else with a Mac Pro 2008 succesfully installed Windows 7/8 from Mountain Lion/Bootcamp 5?
    Any input would be immensely appreciated!

    There are no Windows 8 Bootcamp drivers. Windows 8 is not supported.
    Use Parallels or Fusion to install Windows 8. By doing so you eliminate the need for drivers since the virtual machine creates virtual hardware and drivers.
    Once the Windows 8 Bootcamp drivers are developed and released you can then install using Bootcamp Assistant.
    Read this forum. Some people are posting that they had some success with the Bootcamp install. but if you have to rely on your computer then don't take the chance.

  • Hi, i have a A1186 Mac Pro 2008 Tower. Im running windows 7 64Bit on it. Im not sure about what version of bootcamp should i use to get the drivers. Someone please help me.

    Hi, i have a A1186 Mac Pro 2008 Tower. Im running windows 7 64Bit on it. Im not sure about what version of bootcamp should i use to get the drivers. Someone please help me.

    Boot Camp support:
    http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/
    Boot Camp FAQ:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5639?viewlocale=en_US

  • Mac Pro 2008 or iMac 27 i7 ? Which to choose?

    I am looking to upgrade to a faster Mac from my current Macbook Pro and decided either on an iMac 27 inch i7 2.8 GHz 8 Gigs RAM 4870 Video card or buy a used Mac Pro 2008 with 2 x 2.8GHz 4 Core (8 core total) with 10 Gigs RAM and an 8800GT video card.
    Both come to almost the same price. Problem is I don't know which to get. The system will be used mainly for software development, running windows 7 and linux as Virtual Machine, some light gaming, and music (sampling, etc)
    I love the iMac's LED screen and the i7 certainly is fast but love the Mac Pro's expandability in terms of hard drives and memory and I would use it on my 30 inch LCD. That said, would I ever go past the Mac Pro's configuration of 2 TB's of drives (maybe) and more than 10 Gigs RAM (don't know)? You're stuck with the iMac in terms of hard drives forced to add slow external cases.
    The Mac Pro is over 2 years old at this point but I know the Mac Pro is a work horse and the iMac has had issues.
    Anyone have an opinion on this? Might it be worth saving some more cash (although would take another 6 months) and getting a 2009 Mac Pro?
    Let me know...

    Asked a lot and the new iMac makes it look better, but not for triple boot unless you stict to VMs most of the time. The freedom of having alternate OSs on their own drives and such.
    AppleInsider gave the high end iMac makes sense if you go that route, and if you would need a monitor as well?
    Barefeats has posted a number of tests of the iMacs
    http://www.barefeats.com
    Even the 2009 $2149 4-core is no slouch and easier to find and work with.
    At that price, you are close to the 2010. So wait another 36 hrs.
    http://www.apple.com/macpro/specs.html
    http://www.barefeats.com/nehal17.html
    Apple Specials change during the day, they disappear quickly.
    http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/mac_pro

  • Hi, I have a mac pro 2008 and I was wondering if it possible to connect to the apple cinema 27'' display

    Hi, I have a mac pro 2008 eand I was wondering if it possible to connect to the apple cinema 27'' display.

    Yes using an apple 5770 video card and a dual link DVI adapter like the Atlona DP400 adapter.
    Look at the hits in this google search for lots of other discussions on this topic.

  • 3 Tb hard drive in Mac Pro 2008?

    Hello
    I've bought a 3Tb Western Digital Caviar Green Hard Drive, put it in a Welland enclosure, formatted it with Windows 7 into three partitions (all exFAT), two just over 1 Tb and the third only 32 Gb. I was hoping that my Mac Pro 2008 would be able to see it, but no. Any hints?
    Cheers
    Morrie K

    anything written about "max drive capacity" was pure nonsense and marketing based on just what was available at the time and meaningless. there are no such limits and it would fly in the face of SATA and GUID
    Apple implemented GPT back in 10.4.6 (earlier but very hard to know and test too)
    You can throw some 4TB drives in there.
    The only product that does not: Apple Pro RAID card! it is limited to 2.2TB drives.

  • Mac Pro 2008 Install Blu-Ray Internal ODD Port?

    Hello everything together I has the LG GGW h 20 L Blu Ray and would like the burner to internal port to attach, but that unfortunately cannot be done. Toast detects the burner however it can only CDs and DVDs burning and no Blu-Ray, I have myself an PCI x Card bought with the SIL 3132 chip record, but
    this does not want to function so correctly. What can I make? Greeting
    from Frankfurt
    My System Mac Pro 2008 2x2,8 2 TB HD end 16 GB Ram

    The PCI card might be causing your issues. There are 2 SATA ports on the Mac Pro's motherboard that you can attach the drive to, but it can be tricky trying to reach them. Also, make sure you have the latest version of Toast. The minimum requirement is version 8, but version 9 is recommended.

  • Mac Pro 2008 - original memory

    My originl memory finally bit the dust on my mac pro 2008. I pulled them and replaced with my other third party ram and back up and running.
    does anyone know if Apple has a lifetime warranty on their ram? I heard they did? Will they replace the bad ones??
    Im running Maverick 10.9.2, that i just downloaded yesterday; not sure how or if it would knock out ram or not.
    I partitioned my hd into 2 segments and am running snow leopard on the other hd2. i booted into it and it also show to be bad ram.

    Goede bron in Europa / EU - Nederland:
    Apple/Mac specialists: www.mac4us.nl - [email protected]
    Mac4us RAM-geheugen zijn echt goedkoper dan in de VS.
    SAMSUNG - HYNIX - MICRON / ELPIDA Factory originele RAM-geheugen, Grade-A.
    RAM geheugen voor Apple Mac Pro3, 1 2008 FBDIMM ECC met HYNIX chips en originele Apple heatsinks met 10 jaar garantie.

Maybe you are looking for