How do these specs look for FCPX?

Hi everyone.
i hope someone can give me advice of a setup I am considering buying.
My current imac setup is getting quite slow with FCPX.
A friend of mine is selling a Mac Pro with the following specs for $2000
How do these specs look like for FCPX?
My videos average 5-10 minutes each with lots of transitions and a few effects.
Also, do you think the price is good?

Thanks in advance!

2x 3.2 Quad Core Intel Xeon (8 Core)
10GB (expandable to 32GB) RAM
512GB 7200 RPM HD (OS Drive)
1TB 7200RPM Seagate HD (Media Drive)
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT (upgraded from original video card)
FireWire 800 and 400 ports
USB 2

The price looks ok and the specs are fine but I think you should struggle on until the new MacPro (Or whatever it is, comes out in 9 months) or if you can't wait buy an iMac that runs faster than your current steed.

At least that way you can invest in peripherals that will be relevant to the next crop of machines. e.g. USB 3 and Thunderbolt etc.

The Mac Pro is a dead man walking.

After upgrading my GPU to a 5870, it still outperforms my 15" rMBP by a good bit, even with the rMBP using a T'bolt drive. My Mac Pro still handles several compositing layers of REDOCDE RAW native clips way, way, way better than the rMPB. I personally would not say they are dead.

Didn't say it was slow. Said it was End of Life.

Just thought the OP should know that.

It's not a bad system for $2k, but I'd still hold onto the cash if possible and wait to see what Apple has up its sleeves in the next 6 months. The Mac Pro is simply dated architecture. Can you at least max out the RAM and stick in an SSD on your iMac?

Apple has said there's a new MP model coming this year. That's not EOL. Are the current models dated? Yes. But they're still the most powerful, flexible, expandable Macs on the market when you trick them out. I'd not recommend purchasing one only because new models will be release in 2013, but they're not dead nor EOL.

Fair enough; it's just semantics. But I'd say it's pretty likely that the new model will be radically different enough that it will render the old model (which basically dates to 2006) obsolete. Everything from the processor architecture, to USB 3.0 support, Thunderbolt, graphics options, etc will be light-years ahead of what is available on the current MP.

Plus, FCP X has shown to be remarkably fast on the newest iMacs, even outpacing the best of the Mac Pros (not to mention in configurations that cost far, far more).

Bottom line: it's best to wait. Let's just hope that Apple doesn't think we desperately want thinner Mac Pros...ugh.

Again, I'd never recommend buying a MP at this point because we're too close to new ones. But iMacs do not out perform Mac Pros, the architecture dates back to 2008. Just the engineer in me coming out, that's all.

I've tested first hand, and no iMac can touch, even with T'bolt, the performance of my MP. They can come close, but the far superior GPUs we can still put in MP's far outpace what is in an iMac or laptop, still.

But I am anxious to see the new models. Hope they have a rack mount option, too.

At this point, I'd say upgrade what you have as much as you can now, and wait to see what happens between now and late summer.

Tick-tock, tick-tock...

I know you're keen to defend what you own (who isn't?)...but your instincts are wrong. Incredibly, the new iMacs do beat the Mac Pros nearly across the board. At a significantly lower cost. A testament to just how far along CPU and GPU architecture has evolved since '08.

barefeats.com/imac12p1.html

The new Mac Pros, if Apple gets them right, will be spectacular.

I've not done any testing relating to Mac Pro's at all. But whether they are faster or slower, I'm not sure that's the issue here.

I think it relates more to what is required, the $2000 and what you can get for your money in an iMac.

There are definitely needs for new Mac Pro's for certain works, but if spending $2000 on an iMac setup is going to give a machine that is more than adequate for your needs then that's what I'd be looking at.

From what projects you (OP) talk about, a brand new iMac, possibly + Thunderbolt storage is realistic for around $2000. It would do what you need it to and I'd recon it would have a higher re-sale value than the second hand Mac Pro when/if the time comes to upgrade again.

If the budget can be raised an i7 iMac would make a good difference over an i5, but the non-user upgradable RAM in the cheaper models could be a budget busting problem for getting a decent amount of RAM in there. If you already have FireWire 800 storage, Thunderbolt, or can expand your cost to cover either then spending $2000 on an iMac will give you adequate specs for your needs.

I'd also imagine that a brand new iMac would be better for future proofing the running of future FCPX updates than an older Mac Pro, but I may be wrong.

swester wrote: I know you're keen to defend what you own.

You've not really paid attention, eh? We've done first hand testing, we have both, and a rMBP, and T'bolt drives. All I clearly stated what I've seen first hand. I also stated I'd not recommend a MacPro, but for factual reasons, not hearsay.

What are your iMac specs, out of curiosity? And the MP?

What sucks is that of all the benchmarks/test and what not between imacs/mbp/mp none of them are testing with same amount of RAM, and the same hard drive, wtf.