Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Mac Pro as a main Windows gaming machine?
- Thread starter St. Germain
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I assume that you mean core 2 duo and not core duo. It depends completely on which core 2 duos and which xeons you are talking about. In fact some conroe chips are called xeon and core 2 duo depending on their applications. Between the xeons and core 2 duos that Apple uses, the Xeons are faster chips. Some people have seen, though, that windows boxes using the top of the line conroes (all the core 2 duos that apple uses are the mobile variant, merom, while the desktop variant is conroe), may be faster than some using the woodcrest xeon's that apple for certain applications (faster unbufferred ram, for example). core 2 duos do not support multiple chips like the xeons can (but now you can get four core single chips that are two conroes put together). For some benchmarks of the imac core duo (which should be slightly slower than the newer core 2 duo machines) vs. the mac pro, check out http://www.macintouch.com/reviews/macpro/benchmarks.html . All the core 2 duos and the newer xeons are based off of the same microacrchitecture, but are optimized for different uses (i.e. the mobile core 2 duo uses less power than the other two).
cheers.
Wow. Just been reading up on that new Nvidia 8800 card. It really is a beast ain't it?! I never thought gaming on a 30" screen at native rest at fast speeds would be a reality for a few years yet. I though hardware was still struggling to keep up with 24" native res!
Put that card in the next Mac Pro and my bank account will be as good as emptied already!
Put that card in the next Mac Pro and my bank account will be as good as emptied already!
Wow. Just been reading up on that new Nvidia 8800 card. It really is a beast ain't it?! I never thought gaming on a 30" screen at native rest at fast speeds would be a reality for a few years yet. I though hardware was still struggling to keep up with 24" native res!
Put that card in the next Mac Pro and my bank account will be as good as emptied already!
There's two in my 710H2C
Yeah, it's funny isn't it. Console gaming leaps forward every 5 years or so, then stagnates for the next 5; whereas PC/Mac gaming technology (graphics cards, peripherals, etc) is constantly evolving. So at the start of a console launch cycle the consoles will be way ahead, but will be way behind by the time they're refreshed.
That said, he's pretty much right about Mac gaming. Especially with Boot Camp being released, Mac game sales must have dwindled to near nothing by now. I don't know why Apple treats the gaming market with such disdain..
All this back-and-forth over GPU's. I'm just glad they're upgradable - e.g. we're not stuck with OEM.
So when that 8800 (big fan of nVidia here) comes along for the Mac Pro, we can pop it in...
So when that 8800 (big fan of nVidia here) comes along for the Mac Pro, we can pop it in...
Lets just hope they do release it for the Mac Pro. If Apple didn't sell many Mac Pros with the top end ATI card, then they might give up on the whole top end graphics card concept all together :-S
I am bloody stunned if they didnt break even with the ATI cards...
The cards are quite a lot expensiver that the PC counterparts,while otherways being identical exept for the drivers. If they make 50 profit of every card they would need 2000 cards sold to break even if the developement of the drivers for the cards would have cost 100.000.
And i have a very hard time to think that the developement costs would be tenfold than that... Even with anal testing procedures.
The biggest hindering to the developement is that Apple is nowadays very conservative in "risk" taking or creating something "new".
Even if in such a mundane subject that in providing a game orientated card (wich would very usefull in pro apps too...) seems to be impossible.
And the apples style of anouncing their products is delaying such (rare) releases by months.
Pfft...
But,lets hope that the pea counters manage to convince the upper leadership that by small investments they can actually make a bit profit.
That seems to be the only way to get the products (what ever it might be) to the clients.
Customer needs and satisfaction is secondary in the business nowadays anyway.
My heart goes out to them
They're very happy in a machine that blows the Pro clean away for the purposes of home entertainment
(Not to mention the fact that with the corporate discount, even with a physics coprocessor, X-Fi, 3-year onsite and 10K drives it was a few hundred cheaper than a Pro with a single measly X1900
... and it looks totally badass to boot. Well, except for the plastic on the drive doors.)
I mean if I get a Dell PC with Intel Core 2 Duos, will it be faster then the Mac Pro Intel Xeons?
It depends completely on what you want to do. If you want a gaming system, xeon based systems, whether it is a Dell precision or a mac pro, you're probably better off with a core 2 duo system. A xeon based system will best a core 2 duo system for other applications. It isn't a simple comparison. The decision on what machine you want is entirely dependent on what type of work that you want to do on it. Part of the problem for Apple is that there is no consumer level tower available, and while the mac pro is very well suited (and priced well) for workstation type applications it isn't always the best choice replacement for a pc tower. check out any pc manufacturer, dell for example, and you will see how complex decision making can be (although, in some cases I think there is product overlap). Dell can afford to have such a wide product line because they produce so many pcs. If memory serves me correctly, one of Steve Jobs' first moves when he came back to Apple was to attempt to simplfy the product line. While this may not be the best for every consumer, it is the best for the health of the company, at least until they get their market share up higher). Sorry for such a long winded and ultimately unhelpful response. Maybe if you could say what you intend to use the computer for, it will be easier to give you a better response as to which processor, etc. makes the most sense.
cheers.
They're very happy in a machine that blows the Pro clean away for the purposes of home entertainment
(Not to mention the fact that with the corporate discount, even with a physics coprocessor, X-Fi, 3-year onsite and 10K drives it was a few hundred cheaper than a Pro with a single measly X1900
Keep up the bragging, we haven't noticed.
Seriously though, nice setup. What's the % discount you got @ Dell?
I keep debating whether to buy another machine to play games. But I can't help bu think it would be a waste if I can get a better GPU for my macpro. Instead I bought a Gamecube and Zelda for like 80 bucks and hooked it up to my LCD. All the games I am looking forward too on PC aren't even out yet !
Anyway I live in AUS and PS3 has been delayed till god-knows-when here. By the time it comes out here. Mac Pro's start at 3999 here and the PS3 will be 1099. For 1300-1500 I can get a core2duo intel and a 8800 system, and the games will be a lot cheaper than the PS3....... ah the dilemas
Anyway I live in AUS and PS3 has been delayed till god-knows-when here. By the time it comes out here. Mac Pro's start at 3999 here and the PS3 will be 1099. For 1300-1500 I can get a core2duo intel and a 8800 system, and the games will be a lot cheaper than the PS3....... ah the dilemas