Mac Pro Arrived! Pics Included

[devmage]

Sure they will cost more. But if you need 8 cores, you might need 16. So what's the big hub-bub Bub?

Get in line Satzzz. You're behind me. I've been in the Clovertown queue since about a week after I got my G5 Quad in February. I am writing this on my PowerBook because my Quad is busy crushing video and there is still a queue for more crushing after one of the three copies of Handbrake finishes. If I start the 4th copy now, it will slow down the other three such that inefficiency of speed Vs. Core Capacity is overrun by TOO FEW CORES to run Handbrake as fast as it wants to - up to 2.5 Cores. the three that are running are using about 1.25 cores each. And that's just for yesterday's off-air recordings. NK

Trading off Time Vs. Capacity with only 4 cores is a real pain in the ass Satzzz. My money is definitely on the Dual Clovertown in January - PLUS I may grab another G5 Quad soon as they are very CHEAP for the mean time.

Mac Pro Quad? No help. And VERY Expensive RAM. The problem is a CORE SHORTAGE not a speed deficiency. G5 Quad is only about 15% "slower" than Mac pro with RAM that cost $70/GB IE perceptibly about the same speed. You do the math. Until I can get a Mac with at least 8 Cores I have a bottleneck problem that won't quit.

Keep your powder dry Satzzz. We're gonna get with 8 cores for under $4k in January. It will be worth the wait in GOLD saved now.

I ordered a Mac Pro because it kicks ass and I can boot into Windoze for gaming if I feel like it It would seem that if you believe you could benfity from multiple cores so much you could just use more than one machine with distributed computing. I also highly doubt the 4 core processors are as close as you guys think nor wil the be as cheap as everyone thinks. We'll see though I don't my life on hold for what could be, I bought my rev a G5 and never looked back. I'll do the same with the Mac Pro

 

[kitki83]

I have a question Xean vs WoodCrest(is that correct?)

I mean is this new computer thats coming out, is going to be the higher end mac pro?

I just want to be confident this is the computer i save for 2 years to buy I dont want to turn around and regret it.

I work in Graphic Design >working my way to Graphics and Web. I think this computer is overall good.


Just want to know the new model coming in January.

As in operating system I prefer to get a stabled system and wait for the new one to get patches to fix bugs(nothing is ever perfect).


Thanks

 

[shujin]

I jealous of all of you who have or orded a mac pro.

 

[yellow]

Just want to know the new model coming in January.

I don't think there is a new model coming in January.
Maybe some updates to existing models, but according to Steve Jobs, the transition to intel is complete.

 

[epitaphic]

I don't think there is a new model coming in January.
Maybe some updates to existing models, but according to Steve Jobs, the transition to intel is complete.

That doesn't necessarily mean the lineup with stay stagnant. For reference, Yonah (Core Duo) was completed on late Nov/early Dec '05 and officially announced 5th Jan '06. MacBook Pros had them 5 days later.

If Clovertowns really do get announced sometime December, there's every reason to believe 8 core macs by MW'07. It doesn't necessarily need to be addressed in MW as its a consumer show, but apple could just as easily quietly add Clovertowns to the MacPro lineup (eg sell quads and octos)

For those of you impatiently waiting for these new chips (I'm looking at you MultiMedia), don't get your hopes up too high. Yes the chips will be released soon and yes the 8 core prophecy will come true, but at a cost. Clovertowns are actually a step down because it needs to compromise with two Woodcrests shoved in together. The FSB will be twice saturated and what's worse, the FSB speed will actually be decreased to 1066. Clock speeds will also be nocked down (similar to the move to dual core G5). While you probably will get faster encoding speeds, don't expect it to beat a dual Woodcrest at every benchmark, it'll probably get its *ss kicked in a lot of areas. True ocots are coming only with Tigerton, still some time away.

 

[Sdashiki]

I don't think there is a new model coming in January.
Maybe some updates to existing models, but according to Steve Jobs, the transition to intel is complete.

i think he meant a new update to the line, not a new computer.


to think intel, amd or the like wont come out with quad core chips next is just lame.

eight core then sixteen, its called technology advancement.

 

[yellow]

That doesn't necessarily mean the lineup with stay stagnant.

I didn't say that. Or imply it.

to think intel, amd or the like wont come out with quad core chips next is just lame.

eight core then sixteen, its called technology advancement.

I didn't say or imply that either.

What I said was unlikely that there were new major Mac models coming out. Meaning models of computers, which is what was implied (whether correct or not) by that poster. There will be no Mac Pro Pro, etc.

Of course there will be updates to existing models.

 

[kitki83]

Hmmm I just want to be like buy my Mac Pro now then in a couple of months something better comes out but then that technology XD well I am going to get mine since I get student discount and free ipod nano.

One question to ask the Nvidia card, is it recomendable to leave default video card or up for a ATI or wait till prices drop?


I lost my tech way T_T

 

[yellow]

Hmmm I just want to be like buy my Mac Pro now then in a couple of months something better comes out but then that technology

Well that's ALWAYS a risk of buying anything technological. And typically it happens to. Particularly in the computer field. So yes, it's likely that it will happen, but there's nothing you can do about it, because you'll be stuck, ALWAYS be waiting for the next best thing before you buy.

Beyond that, not a single person here knows with any assurance what the future will bring from the Mac Pro line. They can all make educated guesses, and some assumptions, but no one actually knows. So MacWorld in January (and everything between now and then) is (more or less) a mystery to us all.

Ultimately, your best bet for the current MP offering to remain top of the line is to buy it right now.

 

[devmage]

I have a question Xean vs WoodCrest(is that correct?)

I mean is this new computer thats coming out, is going to be the higher end mac pro?

I just want to be confident this is the computer i save for 2 years to buy I dont want to turn around and regret it.

I work in Graphic Design >working my way to Graphics and Web. I think this computer is overall good.


Just want to know the new model coming in January.

As in operating system I prefer to get a stabled system and wait for the new one to get patches to fix bugs(nothing is ever perfect).


Thanks

You will love your Mac Pro if you order one and I'm sure it is more than enough for you. Where computers are concerned there is always something new on the horizons but you should never let that stop you from getting what you want and enjoying it now.

Besides I can only find a few references to Clovertown being out remotely soon with dates of Jan 2007/Future on the roadmaps.

One site even said "We don't yet have any word on clock speeds, but Intel is targeting a TDP of 80 W for most Clovertown processors, while the top performance model should come in at 120 W. Clovertown could well be a simple drop-in replacement for Dempsey and Woodcrest, provided that server and motherboard makers make the necessary provisions for power delivery and cooling" however they probably didn't take in account either power or cooling in the Mac pro for those puppies. Since those are both things Apple seems to hold near and dear to their heart will they even bother with the Clovertown?

Guess we'll see.

 

[JoshRtek]

Let's just hope, now that all the Intel Macs are on the market, that the software companies catch up with their Universal Binaries. I'm not much of an Adobe software user, but I DO use Avid to edit video (over Final Cut Pro) and they're taking their sweet time making a Universal Binary version of their software. Looks like I'm going to be switching to FCP for the next few months

 

[jonnymorris]

C-Ray Benchmark please!

I wonder if you would be so kind as to compile and run the benchmark program (attached) and post the results to the c-ray website (instructions for compiling are also there).

http://nuclear.demoscene.gr/crbench/

Should be interesting to see how it compares!

 

[G5isAlive]

you can wait...

I ordered a Mac Pro because it kicks ass and I can boot into Windoze for gaming if I feel like it It would seem that if you believe you could benfity from multiple cores so much you could just use more than one machine with distributed computing. I also highly doubt the 4 core processors are as close as you guys think nor wil the be as cheap as everyone thinks. We'll see though I don't my life on hold for what could be, I bought my rev a G5 and never looked back. I'll do the same with the Mac Pro

Amen. I remember when everyone was laughing at early adopters of the dual 2.0 G5, didn't you hear 3.0 was around the corner?

You can always wait. Why are people throwing cold water on those that do not want to? Shrug.

 

[macenforcer]

Amen. I remember when everyone was laughing at early adopters of the dual 2.0 G5, didn't you hear 3.0 was around the corner?

You can always wait. Why are people throwing cold water on those that do not want to? Shrug.

Thats funny. Rev a buyers of the G5 dual 2ghz were smart. Even the dual 2.7 wasn't that much faster than the dual 2ghz. We got good use out of those Dual 2s. Now I am getting good use out of my quad 2.66ghz as well.

 

[adamfilip]

im really pleased that the CPUs are socketed and nold soldered on the mainboard. make me home that cloverton processor will drop right in without any updates.

 

[Fadl]

im really pleased that the CPUs are socketed and nold soldered on the mainboard. make me home that cloverton processor will drop right in without any updates.

I think it will fit.

 

[ampd]

I've been waiting to finally switch and now that I have bought the new Mac Pro I hate waiting for it to finally get here...Sept. 15th is a long ways off....well to me at least...

 

[damado]

This is all great info =)

Hopefully someone will soon confirm the PC vid card part so I know whether to order the ATI or not =)

 

[mwswami]

im really pleased that the CPUs are socketed and nold soldered on the mainboard. make me home that cloverton processor will drop right in without any updates.

Clovertown uses the same socket (LGA 771, I believe) as Woodcrest. You will be able to drop in Clovertown in existing Mac Pros if the Mac Pro's thermal (power supply and cooling) design can handle additional load. It's 65-80W for Woodcrest vs 80-120W (expected) for Clovertown. Mac Pro should be able to handle that but maybe not if it is fully loaded (4 graphics cards, 8 FB-DIMMs, 4 hard drives, 2 optical drives). I don't know how much headroom it has. Does anyone know Mac Pro's power supply rating?

 

[hadleydb]

This is all great info =)

Hopefully someone will soon confirm the PC vid card part so I know whether to order the ATI or not =)

I agree! I want to order one and I even have a 7900GTX ready to pop in if they do work.

 

[Half Glass]

So what does the Prosumer purchase?

I like to be a guy with the big toys, but given that I am in need of a new monitor and a new CPU does one wait until Paris Expo to see if there are new announcements or purchase the expensive but impressive MacPro?

My pricing (thanks to wife's job @ Duke and edu benefits):

MacPro: 2 GHz/160GB 1 GB RAM: $1962 + (LCD**) $329= $2291
MacPro: 2.66 (stock) $2299.00 + (LCD**) $329 = $2628

iMac 20 inch: 2GHz (Yonah) 1GB 250GB: $1689 [hopefully pricing will be similar with forthcoming upgrade]


Is it worth $602 or $939 respectively to hop up to MacPro when a Conroe or Merom upgrade to the iMac may be <add grain of salt> *soon* </salt>?

I don't make my living on my Mac, so the idea of 4 cores sounds amazing but overkill? I would say I am a prosumer. I use FCP and Aperture. Of course a mid-tower would fit, but I am starting to think Apple will not do that for marketing reasons.

One last thing, it does appear that we are in a new cycle of constantly improving processors, so what is THE time to buy? Woodcrest oh, but before years end ..., then early next year ... etc.

Go easy on me, but what do you think?

Thanks!
--Half Glass

**Refers to Referb Dell LCD 20 inch widescreen

 

[yellow]

I like to be a guy with the big toys, but given that I am in need of a new monitor and a new CPU does one wait until Paris Expo to see if there are new announcements or purchase the expensive but impressive MacPro?

If only the Duke Computer store actually had deals.

To answer:

Well that's ALWAYS a risk of buying anything technological. And typically it happens to. Particularly in the computer field. So yes, it's likely that it will happen, but there's nothing you can do about it, because you'll be stuck, ALWAYS be waiting for the next best thing before you buy.

Beyond that, not a single person here knows with any assurance what the future will bring from the Mac Pro line. They can all make educated guesses, and some assumptions, but no one actually knows. So MacWorld in January (and everything between now and then) is (more or less) a mystery to us all.

Ultimately, your best bet for the current MP offering to remain top of the line is to buy it right now.

The Mac Pro is 4 days old. It'll almost never be as new and up to date as it is right now.

 

[isgoed]

Its not a mic port its a line in port so it probably isn't powered either like the G5s. Just buy a little USB mic input.

ive been looking for something like that without luck
any suggestions (links?)

Much cheaper then the iMic is this product. "UltraPortable Audio Card USB SL-8850" http://www.speed-link.de/prod.php?lang=en&sys_id=8&pb_id=62 . I got it myself. I got it for €12.50 allthough it is mostly supplied in Europe (and you still have to buy a standard (€5,-) microphone. edit: Oh and maybe you can consider buying a (mac compatible, can try PC-only, but you have to do some testing) webcam with built in USB-microphone.

 

[Half Glass]

If only the Duke Computer store actually had deals.

I'm sure I'm missing the point here, but thankfully we can purchase hardware at the Apple store or online with her ID. The store does have or can order the Edu software which is a great deal.

BTW, the Apple Store at Southpoint does have the stock 2.66 MacPros, but not on display yet.

--HG

 

[shongohan]

First Rosetta game benchmark

http://www.macworld.com/2006/08/firstlooks/macprobench/index.php

No need Universal game or Bootcamp game benchmark!!!