. Any Mac Pro pre 2.x PCI standard is a bastard child of Apple. - So much for long term upgrade-ability.
PCI v 2.0 came out in 1993 more than a decade before any model with the label 'Mac Pro' ever appeared, so I'm going to assume you are trying to talk about PCI-e v2.0 ( circa 2008 models). All system vendors who built PCI-e 1.0-1.1 workstation have limited long term upgrade-ability. Frankly, most Windows PCs from that era have BIOS which means they can't even deal with 3TB hard drives. So narrowing this down to Apple is suspect.
Does the MP really need a Xeon and buffered RAM?
The current MP (since 2009 ) doesn't have buffered RAM. Again perhaps talking about ECC but ...
Chances are the typical MP user doesn't need these features just the horsepower.
Not really. The more RAM you have the more likely there will be an error. If you have 4 HDDs and go to 8 HDDs the likelihood that one of those will fail goes up. Same is true with RAM locations. Go from single digits to mid-high double digit or low triple digit GB RAM sizes and the probability of an error is going up.
It also depends on how valuable the data is. If individual bits of data are practically worthless then it probably doesn't pay to protect them if it doesn't make a difference to anyone.
There are counterpart systems that are fairly powerful that are 2/3 the size and have the slots and place for drives.
It isn't really a counterpart if significantly changing the "horsepower". Part of the size difference is from the power dissipation needs that are higher.
Is OSX the latest and greatest OS? No. Remember, OSX is based on a Unix variant and Unix is decades old.
Perhaps mean decades older or more accurately over a decade older? At this point, Windows is decades old. (the kernels and libraries for all of these have significantly changed over the years which is what really matters. )
However, Unix IS for the most part an effective operating system and certainly does well compared to Windows.
Yes, as the competitive pressures Microsoft feels from Android and iOS attest.
Lets just hope the next MP includes Tbolt and USB3, perhaps superior graphics and audio and stop going on the cheap on certain facets of their hardware.
The next MP probably has core chipset Intel audio; just like other Macs have transitioned to. There are PCI-e card, USB , and FW options for those who are highly selective about their audio processing.
Btw - for those that blast those who have built systems you really do yourself a dis-service. The very best systems I have seen were "home built" and usually by gamers.
The "best" is typically not the same criteria as to what Apple bounds the Mac Pro. Typically this is an "Apples versus Oranges" comparision where the home built crowd claim have an equivalent when it is not . The other subset is those who are making the case for a product that Apple doesn't sell. (xMac , gamer niche box , etc. )
Since I am not a fan of the iPad on steroids iMac, I'll continue on with the Mini (16g RAM and 2xSSD) and wait for the next Mac Pro with a touch of distrust.
There is no way the iPad is in a similar class as an iMac. Battery powered vs. not. Size not even close. Touch screen vs. not (if get a bundled trackpad can touch but it is not the screen ). single I/O port versus several. RAM soldered to motherboard vs. not. limited to relatively smaller flash smaller sizes vs. high end HDD class storage size.
The "form over function" arguments are weak when used in same context as "best performance".
in fact I'm thinking of switching over to a Windows based workstation myself. I just found your post slightly disingenuous. Perhaps I misjudged what you were trying to say maybe your experience differs from mine. I have no issues with software/system updates on my Mac computers, I find they are few and far between.
