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Mac Pro waiting on new Thunderbolt?

W

wisty

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 18, 2009
219
0
OK, Intel seems to be slipping on Cactus Ridge thunderbolt. Cactus Ridge should be out anytime soon, has 4 channels (rather than 1 like the MBA, or 2 like the iMac), and may be cheaper.

If the new Mac Pros exist, and are specced to have Cactus Ridge, could that explain the holdup?
 
wisty said:
OK, Intel seems to be slipping on Cactus Ridge thunderbolt. Cactus Ridge should be out anytime soon, has 4 channels (rather than 1 like the MBA, or 2 like the iMac), and may be cheaper.

If the new Mac Pros exist, and are specced to have Cactus Ridge, could that explain the holdup?
Click to expand...

*sigh*

The holdup is due to the CPUs not being readily available or having to be tested in potential prototypes.
 
Last edited:
flatfoot said:
*sigh*

The holdup is due to the CPUs not being readily available or having to be tested in potential prototypes.
Click to expand...

cpu's are available for PC workstations already no?

and one would think that Apple get CPU for prototypes well before consumers get them
 
Cindori said:
cpu's are available for PC workstations already no?

and one would think that Apple get CPU for prototypes well before consumers get them
Click to expand...

Not in mass quantities. Show me a major PC Vendor shipping Workstations with the Sandy Bridge ES processors....
 
Cindori said:
cpu's are available for PC workstations already no?
Click to expand...

Yeah, grammar, punctuation, and uppercase letters are clearly overrated... :rolleyes:

In 2010 (or was it 2009?) it took Apple about one month to release the new Mac Pro after the CPUs had been out. Why should it be any different now?

Cindori said:
and one would think that Apple get CPU for prototypes well before consumers get them
Click to expand...

It's still a good idea to run some final tests with the final product.
 
paulrbeers said:
Not in mass quantities. Show me a major PC Vendor shipping Workstations with the Sandy Bridge ES processors....
Click to expand...

If you can buy them on Newegg, which you can, you can bet Apple has some and have had some for a long time, so long as a new mac pro is actually in works.
 
wallysb01 said:
If you can buy them on Newegg, which you can, you can bet Apple has some and have had some for a long time, so long as a new mac pro is actually in works.
Click to expand...

But neither dell or hp are shipping workstations yet. That is your canary in the coal mine.
 
flatfoot said:
Yeah, grammar, punctuation, and uppercase letters are clearly overrated... :rolleyes:

In 2010 (or was it 2009?) it took Apple about one month to release the new Mac Pro after the CPUs had been out. Why should it be any different now?



It's still a good idea to run some final tests with the final product.
Click to expand...

He's not a native English speaker, I believe he's Finnish. How's your Finnish?
 
Jst0rm said:
But neither dell or hp are shipping workstations yet. That is your canary in the coal mine.
Click to expand...

Right, once someone else starts shipping workstations with SB-E5 we can say Apple is behind, but until then ...
 
GermanyChris said:
He's not a native English speaker, I believe he's Finnish. How's your Finnish?
Click to expand...

I'm not a native English speaker either.

English is the lingua franca of the internet. Finnish is not.

By the way, I wasn't actually questioning his ability to use the language but mainly his (and many other's) laziness when it comes to shift-keys, periods and commas.

EDIT: Another side-note: He's Swedish.
 
flatfoot said:
I'm not a native English speaker either.

English is the lingua franca of the internet. Finnish is not.

By the way, I wasn't actually questioning his ability to use the language but mainly his (and many other's) laziness when it comes to shift-keys, periods and commas.

EDIT: Another side-note: He's Swedish.
Click to expand...

Provided you're on a .com

So why comment at all if it was general gripe?
 
flatfoot said:
I'm not a native English speaker either.

English is the lingua franca of the internet. Finnish is not.

By the way, I wasn't actually questioning his ability to use the language but mainly his (and many other's) laziness when it comes to shift-keys, periods and commas.

EDIT: Another side-note: He's Swedish.
Click to expand...

You may want to read the Forum Rules - Minor Problems. It concerns NOT correcting grammar / spelling / etc. unless it causes confusion.

Perhaps a different type of "laziness" that you have :eek:
 
xgman said:
and then people will find another excuse to claim Apple is not behind.
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It should be obvious, Intel was way late putting out new processor, in turn that made Apple late putting out their new Mac Pro. Not exactly rocket science. Cause and effect, a domino effect.
 
wallysb01 said:
If you can buy them on Newegg, which you can, you can bet Apple has some and have had some for a long time, so long as a new mac pro is actually in works.
Click to expand...

Again, no other major manufacturer is releasing work stations right?!?! Newegg doesn't sell the quantity of Work Station Processors that Apple/HP/Dell/Etc. sell. Most businesses that buy work stations (and these are work station processors) aren't buying parts and "rolling their own"... They have huge contracts with PC manufacturers so that they get volume discounts and FULL warranties (you don't get that when you build your own). So again, just because Newegg can get a hold of a case of processors, doesn't mean PC Manufacturers are able to get 1000's of cases of processors that they need in order to release a product in the mass quantities they want.

Further, yes Apple probably has had engineering samples for awhile for testing but again, having a handful of processors isn't going to fill the need for the Mac Pro orders....
 
paulrbeers said:
Further, yes Apple probably has had engineering samples for awhile for testing but again, having a handful of processors isn't going to fill the need for the Mac Pro orders....
Click to expand...

This is all I was speaking of, sorry if there was any confusion. From what I remember reading, at launch intel was only shipping in the 10's of thousands of units. So yes, for a place like newegg, that's fine. For Dell or Apple, not so much.
 
wallysb01 said:
This is all I was speaking of, sorry if there was any confusion. From what I remember reading, at launch intel was only shipping in the 10's of thousands of units. So yes, for a place like newegg, that's fine. For Dell or Apple, not so much.
Click to expand...

You actually think Apple sells more than 10's of thousands of $3k+ Mac towers a quarter?
zoolander-mugatu-crazy-pills.jpg
 
wisty said:
OK, Intel seems to be slipping on Cactus Ridge thunderbolt. Cactus Ridge should be out anytime soon, has 4 channels (rather than 1 like the MBA, or 2 like the iMac), and may be cheaper.
Click to expand...

Cactus Ridge has the same number of channels as Light Ridge (what is used in most Mac now): 4. This is another technical marketing squishy point that Intel has brought up. The "Channels" come in paired in sockets.
So 4 means can have two sockets (like upper end iMacs.). Two means a single socket (like MBA).

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news...lt-controller-could-broaden-reach-of-spec.ars

Cactus ridge will be a available in larger volumes (since smaller) and likely a bit cheaper ( since smaller and higher volumes ). Aggregate TB bandwidth is still capped at same limits that current versions.

The only thing "new" coming is "Port Ridge" which only has one. (Implicitly that means it won't carry video which should be non-confusing if solely used as a "chain-ender" data device. )


Personally, I doubt Intel would let system vendors put Port Ridge on a person computer device. It promotes user confusion when it won't do video.
However, that is only delayed TB chipset that poses a problem. Given the Mac Pro were probably designed to release last Fall (along with the rest of the huge delayed 2011 motherboard designs) it quite unlikely Apple pegged its released to a chip that wouldn't come out until 6 months later. If the Mac Pro is hung up it is on stuff that was "roadmapped" for Fall Xeon E5's , PCIe-v3.0 GPUs , etc. that has slipped may many months.


If the new Mac Pros exist, and are speced to have Cactus Ridge, could that explain the holdup?
Click to expand...

Not likely since the Mac Pro price point could absorb the costs of even the original LightRidge controller without much of a hiccup.

It is questionable whether there will be TB on the Mac Pro (MP already has PCI-e expansion and multiple display connectors). If not present it would be a complete non issue.
 
MovieCutter said:
You actually think Apple sells more than 10's of thousands of $3k+ Mac towers a quarter? Image
Click to expand...

Uh? Before I explain this to you based on my assumption of what your sarcasm means, do please clarify what you're saying and what you think I'm saying.
 
xgman said:
and then people will find another excuse to claim Apple is not behind.
Click to expand...

That's not true. Free thinking humans will understand that apple is behind if dell and hp are shipping workstations. Thats how adults think. Children think apple is behind already.
 
24Frames said:
Um!

http://shopping1.hp.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/WFS/WW-USSMBPublicStore-Site/en_US/-/USD/ViewStandardCatalog-Browse?CatalogCategoryID=cnEQ7haceUwAAAE2AQ9ObE8C

Maybe we get news from Apple very soon!
Click to expand...

Interesting news, but the estimated ship date is the 19th on those, plus they make the point of putting this nice little disclaimer on it:

3 HP is not responsible for delays outside of our immediate control, including delays related to order processing or unexpected increase in demand. Typically only orders paid for by credit card receive credit approval on the same day the order is placed. Orders delayed due to order processing will default to an Estimated Ship Date 30 days from the date credit is processed and the order is released. Estimated Ship Dates are based on any known extended lead times.
 
MovieCutter said:
You actually think Apple sells more than 10's of thousands of $3k+ Mac towers a quarter? Image
Click to expand...

The 10s of thousands range is actually pretty reasonable. Apple sells 4.89 million Macs a quarter. Only %1 of those being Mac Pros would still be 50k a quarter.

I'd have to be feeling pretty good to take it anywhere above 100k though.
 
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