How Much Longer Can They Do This?

[theSeb]

Yes it's ridiculous, I've got tired of hearing it. People took that Intel launch date to mean that Macs would be imminent, when all it meant was Intel had launched their processor. That Dell haven't listed theirs, Lenovo aren't shipping until June and Apple have said nothing says a lot about Xeon and chipset availability.

End of the day they will come or they won't and a lot of the posts here now are approaching insanity and offer nothing. Nothing is different in Apple's behaviour really.

I actually found a broken web page on Dell's site this morning for the T3600 with a single Sandy Bridge Xeon configuration via Google that listed the E5-1620, 1650 and 1660 as the options , but I couldn't navigate to that page from the main Dell website and, instead, I got an error:

Sorry, but this item is no longer available for purchase online. Please contact your sales representative for details on how to order.

This is the link I used originally. It now says that the page does not even exist and is calling me a liar:

www.dell.com/us/enterprise/p/precision-t3600/pd

So I decided to check out other Dell options for Sandy Bridge E

What about the T5600 then?
http://www.dell.com/us/enterprise/p/precision-t5600/fs

Sorry, but this item is no longer available for purchase online. Please contact your sales representative for details on how to order.

(Remember this was the model that sparked a huge outcry. OMG Dell's Xeon is out, WHERE IS MY MAC PRO etc)

Perhaps I am missing something, but it seems like Dell does not want me to buy these things. Perhaps they are being discontinued and Dell no longer cares about the pro market? I wonder if there are people on the Dell forums that are making similar threads?

Seriously though, does anyone have an idea of what is happening? Any credible reports about Sandy Bridge Xeon availability? As I mentioned, I cannot buy any of the single socket CPUs in the UK right now, and there is only one dual socket CPU available on scan.co.uk. All other options are on pre-order.

 

[goMac]

After reading all the recent hype on new MacBook Pros, and iMac Benchmark scores I am 99.9% certain the Mac Pro is dead. Sadly, I will configure my new HP 820 workstations today.

Everyone knows that because every other PC manufacturer has released their Ivy Bridge machines, the Macbook Pro and iMac are dead.

I mean, Apple never runs a few months late in releasing new machines. Ever. It's a sure sign of deadness.

 

[xgman]

After reading all the recent hype on new MacBook Pros, and iMac Benchmark scores I am 99.9% certain the Mac Pro is dead. Sadly, I will configure my new HP 820 workstations today.

The imac bench wasn't significantly better than the current imac model bench which I take as positive for the MP's continuance. If it had been a blowout it might lead you to think Apple could try to push the imac as a substitute. Still it is only a bench of a random model. Too bad there wasn't a Mac Pro bench though. It';s like the Mac Pro ios the most secret product in the history of the world if it actually is being updated that is.

 

[theSeb]

Everyone knows that because every other PC manufacturer has released their Ivy Bridge machines, the Macbook Pro and iMac are dead.

I mean, Apple never runs a few months late in releasing new machines. Ever. It's a sure sign of deadness.

Unfortunately even though there are rumours of the new MBP and iMac, it's still not enough for the "Pros". Apparently the possible loss of the Ethernet and Firewire ports is a true indication that "Apple no longer cares about Pros". Two thunderbolt ports is just not good enough. Apple gets a C+ for effort.

 

[tony3d]

So your whole company is going to switch to windows, buy all new software, etc? What did you use 4 years ago to animate genius? Is this super slow computer you bought in 2010 crap now but it was the shizzit back then? Come on dude. I was dealing with uncompressed 8-bit on a G4 12 years ago. Sorry your renders are taking you so long. I used to have 3 second pieces take 8 hours. This whole instant gratification thing is moronic. Maybe your company should invest in a render farm...

And PS... IT'S BILLABLE TIME!!!!

PSS... if you stopped posting on the internet maybe you would get some work done.

Your totally laughable, because you obviously have no idea what your talking about when it comes to 3d rendering in Lightwave. Most of my scenes i produce consist of anywhere between 1 million to billions of polygons all fully raytraced using radiocity lighting. My 3 2008 quad cores are no longer fast enough to keep me competative with the type of projects I produce. I will not give Apple the top buck they want for their 2 year old technology, which is why I'm moving to Windows. Something i think i should have done years ago! Already ordered three 16 core machines from HP with top flight graphics cards! You guys have fun waiting for your miracle.

 

[goMac]

My 3 2008 quad cores are no longer fast enough to keep me competative with the type of projects I produce.

It's a shame Apple hasn't released a new Mac Pro since 2008...

I will not give Apple the top buck they want for their 2 year old technology, which is why I'm moving to Windows.

I really don't get this. The only thing HP is shipping today is the same 2 year old technology.

So you're going to order new machines... only to wait another month?

Makes perfect sense to me.

 

[theSeb]

Your totally laughable, because you obviously have no idea what your talking about when it comes to 3d rendering in Lightwave. Most of my scenes i produce consist of anywhere between 1 million to billions of polygons all fully raytraced using radiocity lighting. My 3 2008 quad cores are no longer fast enough to keep me competative with the type of projects I produce. I will not give Apple the top buck they want for their 2 year old technology, which is why I'm moving to Windows. Something i think i should have done years ago! Already ordered three 16 core machines from HP with top flight graphics cards! You guys have fun waiting for your miracle.

Great. I am not sure why you're still here. This is your new forum

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/

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It's a shame Apple hasn't released a new Mac Pro since 2008...



I really don't get this. The only thing HP is shipping today is the same 2 year old technology.

So you're going to order new machines... only to wait another month?

Makes perfect sense to me.

As long as he can order them TODAY, it's ok.

 

[goMac]

Not to mention, it sounds like you're working in clusters. You can add whatever you want to the cluster. You can add 3 2010 Mac Pros and your performance difference will be tiny, and you can keep the existing 2008s.

Heck, you could order the HPs and still keep using Macs if that's what you want. You could run the entire show from a Mac Mini.

I really don't get this whining. Part of being a pro is : gasp : realizing that your workflow depends on third party vendors and not having an emotional breakdown at even their smallest shifts.

 

[theSeb]

Judging by everything we now know I have come to a new conclusion: it's Intel that no longer cares about pros.

This is obvious to me since recently they have only been interested in the consumer market and iToys. All I read about is how they want to move into the mobile space and how Intel should be running Windows tablets, not ARM.

A clear indication, I say.

 

[nanofrog]

Judging by everything we now know I have come to a new conclusion: it's Intel that no longer cares about pros.

This is obvious to me since recently they have only been interested in the consumer market and iToys. All I read about is how they want to move into the mobile space and how Intel should be running Windows tablets, not ARM.

A clear indication, I say.

The Enterprise sector makes up the majority of Intel's income, so they've not abandoned Xeons.

That's not to say they don't want a larger piece of the mobile consumer sector though (they want ARM's piece of the pie).

 

[theSeb]

The Enterprise sector makes up the majority of Intel's income, so they've not abandoned Xeons.

That's not to say they don't want a larger piece of the mobile consumer sector though (they want ARM's piece of the pie).

I was just being sarcastic.

 

[xgman]

Apparently the possible loss of the Ethernet and Firewire ports

Yeah, I found this a bit disheartening. Like wifi would be better than plugging into an ethernet port while at your desk...... not anytime soon, and no firewire might make sense in a year or so when some audio interfaces move over to TB, but as of now, not a one has.

 

[theSeb]

Yeah, I found this a bit disheartening. Like wifi would be better than plugging into an ethernet port while at your desk...... not anytime soon, and no firewire might make sense in a year or so when some audio interfaces move over to TB, but as of now, not a one has.

I am fairly sure that Apple will release the TB --> Firewire and gig Ethernet adaptor without the 27" monitor. £149. Record quarter.

Edit: or you could use the Sonnet TB express card adaptor with a FireWire 3/4 express card.

 

[goMac]

Yeah, I found this a bit disheartening. Like wifi would be better than plugging into an ethernet port while at your desk...... not anytime soon, and no firewire might make sense in a year or so when some audio interfaces move over to TB, but as of now, not a one has.

I think Apple's idea behind this is that your Thunderbolt display at your desk (like their's) would have ethernet.

My issue is the USB adapter they have is 100 megabit. Maybe with USB 3 they can push it up to a gigabit. I'm thinking about buying a Thunderbolt display with my next Macbook Pro, but I still need a gigabit solution when I'm away from my display.

Not sad about Firewire though. I like Firewire, but second Thunderbolt port > Firewire.

 

[WRP]

Your totally laughable, because you obviously have no idea what your talking about when it comes to 3d rendering in Lightwave. Most of my scenes i produce consist of anywhere between 1 million to billions of polygons all fully raytraced using radiocity lighting. My 3 2008 quad cores are no longer fast enough to keep me competative with the type of projects I produce. I will not give Apple the top buck they want for their 2 year old technology, which is why I'm moving to Windows. Something i think i should have done years ago! Already ordered three 16 core machines from HP with top flight graphics cards! You guys have fun waiting for your miracle.

So... you have 4 year old machines, didn't buy a new one in 2010 why? If the 2008's don't work good anymore, what changed? Why didn't you buy in 2010? Go ahead and jump ship for in inferior operating system. You're still going to nee to buy new machines every few years.

And don't worry, it's not only me who is disagreeing with you... everyone is.

So again, just leave. You've ordered your HP's so go. We don't care about your awesome decisions.

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[derbothaus]

Allow me to laugh my ass off when new Pro's are announced AFTER your HP shipment and after they loose 60% of their value by being turned on. It's all a little too premature. If Lightwave is all you care about then yes, jumping ship seems absolutely right for you as OS really does not matter when you are in the heat of creation. Now when any product languishes and looses bragging rights you can just buy the new thing and plop it in. Perfect.

 

[goMac]

My Apple USB Keyboard is 3 years old, and I have not heard a single rumor of any update. Many companies have shipped new keyboards in this time period, but not a peep from Apple. And if this thing breaks, I refuse to pay top dollar for 3 year old keyboard technology.

So I'm ordering an HP keyboard today. If Apple keeps this up, my next mouse will be an HP as well. Let's face it, Apple is all about iOS now and it's fancy touch interfaces. I don't think they care about keyboard and mice.

 

[Wardenski]

Apple charging premium prices for old hardware, surely this cannot be!

Excuse me whilst I await my top hat to return to Earth.

 

[tony3d]

So... you have 4 year old machines, didn't buy a new one in 2010 why? If the 2008's don't work good anymore, what changed? Why didn't you buy in 2010? Go ahead and jump ship for in inferior operating system. You're still going to nee to buy new machines every few years.

And don't worry, it's not only me who is disagreeing with you... everyone is.

So again, just leave. You've ordered your HP's so go. We don't care about your awesome decisions.

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Image

Truth is Mac Is really not looked upon well in the 3D community. Lightwave, and other 3d packages have tons more plugins on Windows compared to the Mac versions, and far better support all around. Plugin = faster project development! Serious 3D houses use Window exclusively for rendering including Pixar, and Blue sky Studios. High End Graphics cards are a joke on the Mac platform when compared to whats available on Windows. Yes, Pixar does not use Mac Pros for final rendering! Sorry , but thats just the way it is. I'm not going to sit here trying to justify this. To each his own. I was a loyal Apple customer since the Apple 2. They just no longer deliver what I need. Simple as that!

 

[goMac]

Truth is Mac Is really not looked upon well in the 3D community. Lightwave, and other 3d packages have tons more plugins on Windows compared to the Mac versions, and far better support all around. Plugin = faster project development! Serious 3D houses use Window exclusively for rendering including Pixar, and Blue sky Studios. High End Graphics cards are a joke on the Mac platform when compared to whats available on Windows.

None of which has anything to do with lack of new Mac Pro hardware.

Dude, if you want to switch to Windows, switch to Windows. Don't drag some imaginary due date for a Mac Pro with technology no one else is shipping into it.

This is what happens every time. You're acting like Apple has a tradition of announcing right when Intel does. They never have.

Yes, Pixar does not use Mac Pros for final rendering! Sorry , but thats just the way it is. I'm not going to sit here trying to justify this.

Duh. They don't use HP or Dell workstations either. What's your point?

(They also don't use Windows for final 3D rendering. They do, however, have Mac clusters for compositing.)

To each his own. I was a loyal Apple customer since the Apple 2. They just no longer deliver what I need. Simple as that!

They deliver the exact same thing everyone else does right now. You're not making any sense.

 

[tony3d]

They deliver the exact same thing everyone else does right now. You're not making any sense.[/QUOTE]

Again, Hp is actually shipping now. The build to orders take about 7-9 days! that miles ahead of where Apple is right now.

 

[derbothaus]

They just no longer deliver what I need. Simple as that!

..and cue the end of discussion. Can't really argue with this.

 

[theSeb]

Again, Hp is actually shipping now. The build to orders take about 7-9 days! that miles ahead of where Apple is right now.

Ok, that's great. You don't have to justify yourself to us. Do you feel the need to save us heathens since you've now found what you believe to be the right path?

 

[tony3d]

Ok, that's great. You don't have to justify yourself to us. Do you feel the need to save us heathens since you've now found what you believe to be the right path?

No, Absolutely not. I just want people to understand the reasons I'm leaving. I really do love Apple products, and if the new machines were out, or even really close to reality, I would jump at them. Fact is it's been nearly two years without so much as a beep, and most everything seems in my opinion to be pointing to EOL. If someone could offer up anything that shows different, I would consider that for sure, but this silence after two years is really getting old. Anyway, good luck to all of you waiting for a new Mac Pro, and I will probably keep one of my 2008 dual quads just for modeling since Lightwave is 100% cross platform compatible.

 

[theSeb]

No, Absolutely not. I just want people to understand the reasons I'm leaving. I really do love Apple products, and if the new machines were out, or even really close to reality, I would jump at them. Fact is it's been nearly two years without so much as a beep, and most everything seems in my opinion to be pointing to EOL. If someone could offer up anything that shows different, I would consider that for sure, but this silence after two years is really getting old. Anyway, good luck to all of you waiting for a new Mac Pro, and I will probably keep one of my 2008 dual quads just for modeling since Lightwave is 100% cross platform compatible.

I think you're stressing yourself out too much over this. I am 100% positive that there will be a 2012 Mac Pro.