• Apple OS X

  8-core processor vs 4-core

  Posted by David Hurwich on March 11, 2009 at 9:34 pm

  I’m about to buy a Mac Pro and I was wondering, how much better is a 8-quad processor over a four quad. Obvisiously its better, but is it worth the extra money, or is it really diminishing returns?

  As someone who does a lot of video-editing, image-editing, 3D work will I notice a considerable difference between the 8-core and 4-core?

  Natasha O’cconor replied 17 years, 2 months ago 3 Members · 2 Replies
• 2 Replies

• 

  Glenn Fisher

  March 12, 2009 at 3:19 pm

  Additional cores only increase speed when the applications you are running can take advantage of them (or for multitasking, since you could run more programs at the same time).

  I would investigate the applications that you use, and see if they are able to take advantage of multiple cores. If they are, then it is likely that you will see the speed boost, but if not, then there will be no increase in speed unless you are running multiple applications at the same time.

  Are you rendering files and running a lot of compressions on your system? If so, then you will DEFINITELY see a fairly hefty improvement as long as those applications can take advantage of the extra cores. My guess is that your 3d application will be able to utilize the hardware, and an 8-core system would make your 3d renders much faster.

  You might also want to look for comparison charts online. Several different blogs and websites compare the speed of different Apple computers using various software.

  I hope that answers your question,
  Glenn Fisher
• 

  Natasha O’cconor

  March 16, 2009 at 6:59 am

  I have saved up my little pennies for as long as I can remember now but im stuck with the fear of making a mistake!!

  I was set out to get the –
  *Mac Pro
  8 Core 2×2.8GHz Quad-Core Xeon
  2GB memory
  320GB hard drive
  16x double-layer SuperDrive
  NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 512MB = $high 3’s

  which I am very lucky to use at work.
  I run Final Cut, After Effects, DSP, Photoshop +
  It is very fast and reliable.

  Now I am getting confused with the newer versions that are coming out like the

  Quad-Core
  One 2.66GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon “Nehalem” processor
  3GB (three 1GB) memory
  640GB hard drive 1
  18x double-layer SuperDrive
  NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 512M = $middle 4’s

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