Home > Consumer Reviews > Apple Mac Pro MA356LL/A Desktop (Two 2.66 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon Processors, 1 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, SuperDrive)
Apple Mac Pro MA356LL/A Desktop (Two 2.66 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon Processors, 1 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, SuperDrive)
See it at Amazon.com for $2,639.83Average Customer Rating
(5.0 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First | + Share1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Fast, Easy to Upgrade and the BEST MAC yet!
(5 out of 5) by Adam J. Ouellette on Dec 22, 2007 (Ft Lauderdale, Fl)I own an MacBook Pro and IMac, and have been an Apple convert for 2 years now. When I switched from Windows I never looked back. When I need a computer that could handle more than my IMac I looked at the Mac Pro on Amazon. I saved about $300 by ordering here and upgraded the computer myself with more Ram and HD (it holds 4!). I love this machine! It is super fast, quiet, upgradeable to 16gb of ram! Do yourself a favor and get this machine if the regular Mac is not enough for you. I use it for video editing and photos as well as my business and it is awesome!
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Extraordinary performance and expandability
(5 out of 5) by Photo Buff on Jan 5, 2007 (antelope, ca United States)After adding 4 750GB SATA/300 drives in a Raid 0 and several GB of (expensive) RAM, this is the fastest machine on the block. All it needs is a BLU-Ray drive to complete the package. It is not cheap, or inexpensive, but nothing can touch it for the price. Extremely well-built and well thought out. Impressive!
The best keeps getting better
(5 out of 5) by R. Baker on Oct 11, 2008 (Duluth, GA)I've been using Macs since 1987, with my first Mac being a Mac SE. Apple has come a long way since then and has led the way in innovation and pushing the envelope in product development. I'm probably preaching to the choir here, but for me, it's obvious that Apple's dedication to engineering and creating highly functional and elegant product design continues to improve.
As a graphic designer, I have purchased "desktop" or daily use "workhorse" Macs about one every 4 years, and I have worked with printing companies and web development teams on a wide range of projects, so I have hands-on experience with a number of Macs over the years. I make a living doing high-end graphics and pre-press work, so I am a demanding computer user.
I purchased the Mac Pro as a replacement for my 4+ year old Mac G5. This review is primarily a comparison of the two Macs, and if you are currently using a G4 or G5 Mac, this review should be useful.
With both machines side by side, the cases look the same, but on closer examination there are many differences.
The biggest difference is how quiet and how much cooler the Mac Pro is in comparison to the Mac G5.
I purchased additional RAM for the Mac Pro and when I opened the case, as with the G5, it's very easy to get to the RAM slots and to add cards to the computer if needed.
I especially like the four drive bays (which are now filled) and how simple it is now to slide in an internal drive into it's slot without having to deal with connection cables inside the computer (in the G5 there were only two drive slots and short cables made it hard to change out the drives easily). The simplicity and ease of adding drives with the Mac Pro is huge plus when compared to the G5.
There are also more Firewire connectors on the Mac Pro than the G5, and an extra ethernet connection for connecting a hub, a network device or another Mac.
There is an extra CD/DVD drive bay. This will be of use when Blue Ray drives come down in price and if I need to add it to the computer.
Also, as with the G5, there are expansion slots for adding internal PCI cards. Though we live in a wireless world, I have a lot of USB and Firewire cables running behind my computers and a card or two will help cut down on the clutter.
As with previous desktop computers from Apple, there are plenty of RAM slots inside and room to add more RAM as your needs increase. Personally, I have never maxed out the RAM on any of the "work horse" Mac desktops. But I am sure there are other applications or uses which are more demanding than pre-press.
Like the G5, you can support dual monitors right out of the box. I run a Samsung 22" and a Sony 19" monitor.
As a rule of thumb, I work with about 4x the ram that comes with the computer, and if RAM is cheap at the time, I may add more.
No company is perfect, but I must say that for me, I continue to see Apple's care and attention to detail in every product.
Lastly, I have NEVER purchased any sort of extended warranty or the Apple Care and I have never had any sort of catastrophic failure with any of the Macs I have owned.
Hard drives can and do fail, which are made by various manufacturers, but having a good backup strategy will help you to deal with that, if it should happen.
I am not saying that the Apple Care is not necessary or needed--for some customers, it may be worthwhile.
As a graphic designer, I have purchased "desktop" or daily use "workhorse" Macs about one every 4 years, and I have worked with printing companies and web development teams on a wide range of projects, so I have hands-on experience with a number of Macs over the years. I make a living doing high-end graphics and pre-press work, so I am a demanding computer user.
I purchased the Mac Pro as a replacement for my 4+ year old Mac G5. This review is primarily a comparison of the two Macs, and if you are currently using a G4 or G5 Mac, this review should be useful.
With both machines side by side, the cases look the same, but on closer examination there are many differences.
The biggest difference is how quiet and how much cooler the Mac Pro is in comparison to the Mac G5.
I purchased additional RAM for the Mac Pro and when I opened the case, as with the G5, it's very easy to get to the RAM slots and to add cards to the computer if needed.
I especially like the four drive bays (which are now filled) and how simple it is now to slide in an internal drive into it's slot without having to deal with connection cables inside the computer (in the G5 there were only two drive slots and short cables made it hard to change out the drives easily). The simplicity and ease of adding drives with the Mac Pro is huge plus when compared to the G5.
There are also more Firewire connectors on the Mac Pro than the G5, and an extra ethernet connection for connecting a hub, a network device or another Mac.
There is an extra CD/DVD drive bay. This will be of use when Blue Ray drives come down in price and if I need to add it to the computer.
Also, as with the G5, there are expansion slots for adding internal PCI cards. Though we live in a wireless world, I have a lot of USB and Firewire cables running behind my computers and a card or two will help cut down on the clutter.
As with previous desktop computers from Apple, there are plenty of RAM slots inside and room to add more RAM as your needs increase. Personally, I have never maxed out the RAM on any of the "work horse" Mac desktops. But I am sure there are other applications or uses which are more demanding than pre-press.
Like the G5, you can support dual monitors right out of the box. I run a Samsung 22" and a Sony 19" monitor.
As a rule of thumb, I work with about 4x the ram that comes with the computer, and if RAM is cheap at the time, I may add more.
No company is perfect, but I must say that for me, I continue to see Apple's care and attention to detail in every product.
Lastly, I have NEVER purchased any sort of extended warranty or the Apple Care and I have never had any sort of catastrophic failure with any of the Macs I have owned.
Hard drives can and do fail, which are made by various manufacturers, but having a good backup strategy will help you to deal with that, if it should happen.
I am not saying that the Apple Care is not necessary or needed--for some customers, it may be worthwhile.
Mac Pro 266 GHz
(5 out of 5) by Swissko Kid on Mar 27, 2008I love it, very fast easy to up-grade hard drives and ram and is fairly priced!
A must of professional digital photographers
(5 out of 5) by Bakari on Feb 9, 2008 (Sacramento, CA)The Mac Pro has been an essential work horse computer for me as a digital photographer. I've been getting great speed and efficiency from this computer with only a small amount of upgrades. It has increased my workflow and production by at least 40+ percent. I've had it for over a year now and everything smoothly. It's pretty quiet, seriously easy to upgrade in terms of memory, hard drives, graphic cards, and has plenty of ports for various USB and FireWire devices. The beauty of being able to add up to four additional hard drives is just awesome. This computer will definitely spoil you. Apple has really outdone itself with the MacPro.