I am getting ready to transfer to a state university from a community college (CS-Math Major-Minor). Before the fall term starts I am going to purchase a new computer. I am considering a Mac Pro. I know there are a few developers on these boards that use Macs. I would be greatfull if anyone could answer a few questions for me, as this purchase is going to drain my savings ($2700-$3000 price range). 1. Can I upgrade the processor, or is it required I have a tech to this. 2. Is there any quality ram that is cheeper then apples. 3. Are there any major draw backs to developing on a mac. 4. Any factory configuration suggestions? Thanks...

1. Don't know about the warranty implications.

2. Yes: because it's Intel chipset, any quality RAM will work. Try newegg.com.

3. Besides having a market size 1/20th that of a Windows system, not really.

4. User upgrades as much as possible to save memory.

You may want some money for other things in college, too, though. If you would consider a Windows or Linux machine, save the money.

1. Don't know.

2. Definitely.

3. The Java language implementation lags a bit behind the versions Sun is offering. While Java 1.6 (1.7 as a DR) is available for win32/linux from Sun, Apple still provides Java 1.5 (1.6 as a DR, but perhaps 1.6 will be standard w/ upcoming leopard). May or may not be a drawback for you.

4. As less RAM as possible ;)


BTW: My brother (a graphics designer) has a Mac Pro @ 3GHz. Definitely a fine machine. However, bear in mind that 2GB RAM is a minimum to work with; less RAM is no fun, more is even better ;)

Thanks for the replies.

I think I will go with the standard config and upgrade as much as possible from third party vendors. Considering I have been working on an old Sun Ultra 60 for the past 4 years, any upgrade will be a huge improvement.

As for Java... It should not effect me that much. Most of my upper division classes require the use of C++.

Quote: Original post by smc
I am getting ready to transfer to a state university from a community college (CS-Math Major-Minor). Before the fall term starts I am going to purchase a new computer. I am considering a Mac Pro. I know there are a few developers on these boards that use Macs. I would be greatfull if anyone could answer a few questions for me, as this purchase is going to drain my savings ($2700-$3000 price range).

1. Can I upgrade the processor, or is it required I have a tech to this.

2. Is there any quality ram that is cheeper then apples.

3. Are there any major draw backs to developing on a mac.

4. Any factory configuration suggestions?


Thanks...

1. Yes, some people had already put the quad core Xeon processors in before apple did.

2. look at mushkin I have used it before works great or try crucial

3. not with the ability now to use XP or Vista on mac

4. get the ATI card not the nvidia card unless you get the quadro. and get 2GB of RAM OSX wants at least 512/1024 megs.

$3000 seems awfully steep for a student computer.

Given that you can get a reasonable computer for $300 and a downright luxurious machine for under $1000 nowadays, is there really something about the Mac Pro that you absolutely must have, or are you just getting it because it's currently the shiniest computer on the block?

Heck, for $3000, you could get a desktop AND a laptop and still have a grand left over to buy software.

Quote: Original post by MARS_999
1. Yes, some people had already put the quad core Xeon processors in before apple did.

This is good to know. It will be nice in a year or so to swap out the dual core chips for the quad cores.

Thanks for the ram suggestions. Now im just hoping apple will configure a system with 2gig in 1gig pairs. Otherwize I'll have to go with the stock 1gig config, and upgrade the ram via one of these suggestions.

Quote: Original post by johnhattan
$3000 seems awfully steep for a student computer.

Given that you can get a reasonable computer for $300 and a downright luxurious machine for under $1000 nowadays, is there really something about the Mac Pro that you absolutely must have, or are you just getting it because it's currently the shiniest computer on the block?

Heck, for $3000, you could get a desktop AND a laptop and still have a grand left over to buy software.

I have spent some time thinking about this. I would realy like to have a workstation class computer for the last two years of study. I am not your average student with respect to age/experience. I already spent my twenties working as a tech / in house programmer (No advancement opertunities without a solid mathmatical and fundimental CS background).

No the pretty case is not 'that much' of an influence on me. My main reasons for choosing the Mac is the switch to intel. If they were still using PPC then I would go with something else. I considered purchasing a Sun workstation, but they are way out of my price range. From what research I have done, the Mac is competitvly priced for what it offers. As a bonus I also get to use OS-X.

My main focus will be graphics and AI with the graphics side leaning more toward ray tracing.

A new laptop would be nice... maybe next year.

Quote: From what research I have done, the Mac is competitvly priced for what it offers.

Compare that to this:

Dell XPS 710

With a Core 2 Duo E6700, 4 GB of RAM, two 250 GB SATA drives, a GeForce 7900 GS and a 24 inch digital flat panel, it's $2,900. That includes Windows Vista (although you can easily run some Linux or BSD variant on it if you want UNIX).

[Edited by - hplus0603 on April 12, 2007 6:25:10 PM]

Quote: Original post by hplus0603

Quote: From what research I have done, the Mac is competitvly priced for what it offers.

Compare that to this:

Dell XPS 710

With a Core 2 Duo E6700, 4 GB of RAM, two 250 GB SATA drives, a GeForce 7900 GS and a 24 inch digital flat panel, it's $2,900. That includes Windows Vista (although you can easily run some Linux or BSD variant on it if you want UNIX).

Very nice for the price. I will take a closer look at core 2 system before I make a final decision. I did check out dell, but instead of their xps series I was looking at their Precision 690.