MAC PRO HELP graphic card vs memory

[DAN212222]

hi guys im currently pricing up a new mac pro..... and am just wonderin if you could help me out with the specification i should go for.....

 

its really going to be used for 3d visualisation and design.

 

im currently wondering how much of a dfference there is between

 

NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256MB (single-link DVI/dual-link DVI)

or

ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512MB (2 x dual-link DVI) [+ £170.00]

 

if i buy the cheaper one it means il have a little spare cash to bump up them memory to 3 gig....... would i be better off with the better graphic card or more memory......

 

cheers guys dan

[AJLynn]

Depends on what you want to optimize - viewport performance vs. everything else. Also, Apple charges a lot for memory, have you looked at prices from 3rd party sellers? When I got my Macbook Pro, Apple wanted $300 for a second 1GB DIMM. I got a Corsair part from Newegg for $90 and installed it myself and it works perfectly.

[lambros]

the ati equivalent of a 7300 is something like a 1400xt. The gforce equivalent of a 1900 is a 7900. There is significant difference in performance, I would go for the ati card

[Macer]

I agree with both the above - go for the better graphics card and pick up cheaper memory upgrade from a 3rd party! You may even want to reduce the amount of memory speced in the inital order so you can afford the ATI card, and then upgrade memory yourself with the money you saved. Just make sure that the memory is compatable with the motherboard.

[fq400]

Your better off getting the graphics card and then getting the RAM later and install it yourself. Its cheaper and saves you time. If you install the RAM your self it will only take 5 minutes. The RAM for the Mac Pro comes in pairs:

2 x 516, 2 x 1G, 2 x 2G.

 

BTW: Macworld Expo Keynote is next week. Maybe the Quad core Mac Pro will be release?