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Old 06-07-2019, 09:28 AM
jim1960 jim1960 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KevWind View Post
Good question. Do you mean Apple themselves ?
Yes. Anytime you see a deal for zero percent financing, the avoided interest is being paid by someone other than the lending institution, so the seller or the manufacturer.

The problem Apple will have with this new computer is that it freezes many of us out due to price. With a base price of $6k, by the time you upgrade the system with additional cores, ram, and storage, you're likely looking at $10k or higher. With 48 months no interest financing, that pushes your payment to over $200 a month. I'm guessing, but I think that payment is too high for a lot of customers who might want to buy this computer. If Apple offers 72 months zero interest financing, that brings the cost to under $140 a month and it doesn't quite feel like you're making a car payment anymore.

I'm not sure I'm a buyer for this new computer. I bought a new iMac two years ago. I bought it with the best processor they offered at the time and 32gb of ram. It's adequate for what I do but if I have too many VSTs running, it complains by stopping playback occasionally. Right now that doesn't bother me too much. Restarting playback usually makes the problem go away so it's not a huge inconvenience. But there's no guarantee things keep working this well.

Currently, the most common ITB instruments I run are Superior Drummer 3, Pianoteq, and Trillian Bass. There's no doubt that down the road better software will emerge that will be more cpu intensive and that's what will likely make me consider upgrading my computer. Prior to the iMac, my two previous studio computers were Mac Pros. The thing I dislike about the iMac is that it makes my work area messy with peripherals. I have a box that holds additional harddrives, a cd drive, a back up drive, and a powered usb hub taking up space in front of me. I didn't need all that with my last Mac Pro. Plus with the Mac Pro, the computer could sit out of the way with just the monitor, the mouse, and the keyboard on the desk. Now I have the entire computer system on my desk with a whole bunch of cables hanging off the back and I'm limited to the 27" monitor unless I want to run a second monitor (I used a 32" monitor with my Mac Pro).

I miss my old setup but when I was shopping for a new computer, the trash can version of the Mac Pro seemed like a worse option.

Quote:
Originally Posted by KevWind View Post
As usual this announcement has caused debate and the usual complaints of price BUT
I just found this interesting article about a comparable PC pricing and it appears that the Mac is not really all that overpriced when you factor in all of the design elements and component specs and upgrade potential .
https://www.digitaltrends.com/comput...ro-cost-as-pc/
But the problem is it's really hard to factor all the elements to get and exact direct comparison. But it appears that for total specs , features and upgrade options that the Mac is at a fairly competitive price . And that while in some specific single design elements you can save some money with a PC . in overall total spec for spec, feature for feature, and total upgrade potential, you are going to be close,-at,- or even more, for an equivalent PC

The one advantage of PC is depending on exact needs you configure and to upspec certain elements but then leave out elements or downspec elements you do not really need .
I understand that there's a lot of bang for the buck with this computer, but in some cases it's more bang that needed (for example, I don't need 8 PCIe slots). When the news first came out that the new Mac Pro would be modular, I think a lot of us (certainly myself) thought that might be a way to keep the price down because you wouldn't have to buy what you didn't need. It doesn't look like that's the case.
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Jim
2023 Iris ND-200 maple/adi
2017 Circle Strings 00 bastogne walnut/sinker redwood
2015 Circle Strings Parlor shedua/western red cedar
2009 Bamburg JSB Signature Baritone macassar ebony/carpathian spruce
2004 Taylor XXX-RS indian rosewood/sitka spruce
1988 Martin D-16 mahogany/sitka spruce

along with some electrics, zouks, dulcimers, and banjos.

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