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Phasing out Nehalem?

D

drakoff

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 3, 2011
11
0
Los Angeles
Any ideas about an upcoming refresh of the Mac Pro processor lineup at the lower end? The rumor mill is quiet here, or I wouldn't bother asking. Seems like we are overdue...

Speed bumps coming soon for the entry level Nehalem 2.8GHZ?

Westmere replacing Nehalem across the board?

I have looked high and low on the rumor forums, and gotten no leads on this.

Do you think the coming announcements from apple will include this? Or would this happen unannounced?

Budget lmited-- want to maximize the longevity of this purchase. Is there something intrinsically more future-proof about Westmere vs nehalem?

Of note, I want the pro for the upgradeability and Internal Drives - not hardcore poweruser work.

Thanks for any advice
//Dr.Dave//

"Westemere vs Nehalem" "update" "mac pro"
 
...you are aware the Westmere Mac Pro upgrade happened last year, right? Apple doesn't ship Nehalem Mac Pros anymore, those were the 2009's.
 
There are only two Westmere CPUs suitable for SP Mac Pro and the cheaper one of them still costs 885$ while the W3530 found in current base model costs 294$
 
goMac said:
Ahhhh didn't know that.

Not a huge issue though, Westmere and Nehalem are pretty close. Nehalem was really the big step.
Click to expand...

They can be considered the same for purpose of comparison and should be compared based on specifications.
 
Bkxmnr said:
I believe the base Mac Pro is still Nehalem.
Click to expand...

the single core base and the upgrade in speed from the base is also still Nehalem. You have to jump up abot $1000 for a single core Westmere.

Would I be able, in the future, to drop a future Westmere into a Nehalem Mac Pro bought today?
 
drakoff said:
the single core base and the upgrade in speed from the base is also still Nehalem. You have to jump up abot $1000 for a single core Westmere.

Would I be able, in the future, to drop a future Westmere into a Nehalem Mac Pro bought today?
Click to expand...

Yes.
 
Bkxmnr said:
I believe the base Mac Pro is still Nehalem.
Click to expand...

the single core base and the upgrade in speed from the base is also still Nehalem. You have to jump up abot $1000 for a single core Westmere.

Would I be able, in the future, to drop a future Westmere into a Nehalem Mac Pro bought today?
 
drakoff said:
the single core base and the upgrade in speed from the base is also still Nehalem. You have to jump up abot $1000 for a single core Westmere.

Would I be able, in the future, to drop a future Westmere into a Nehalem Mac Pro bought today?
Click to expand...

if you buy a 2010 quad 2.8 you can put in a hex 3.33ghz (intel w3680) or a hex 3.46ghz (intel w3690)

either one would be a huge boost for your 2.8 quad

also when the new intel ssd comes out it would also be a big boost for your 2.8 quad
 
Umbongo said:
They can be considered the same for purpose of comparison and should be compared based on specifications.
Click to expand...

I am planning to install RAM, SSD, and HDs on my own. Trying to spend minimum up front now. Don't need crazy power now... budget up front about $3K. Would a 2009 Nehalem DP Mac Pro (CHEAP!) be "upgradeable" by me in the future to a better graphics card and new Westmere in a year or two?

Looking at the specs, a new Nehalem 2.8GHZ SP MacPro eats my budget, but comes with airport, much better graphics card and a "new" nehalem... but the basic mac pro architecture is the same going back to early 2009 , correct?
If I buy the older machine, and upgrade parts over time, I could afford DP 8-core.

I do realize most current software cannot even utlize multi-core... but I am aiming for logevity with this purchase.

THANKS for direction here.
 
Can't put Westmere in the 2009 model. You'd be limited to 4-core processors, top speed of 3.33GHz and a top memory speed of 1066MHz.

I'd go for the quad-core.
 
Umbongo said:
Can't put Westmere in the 2009 model. You'd be limited to 4-core processors, top speed of 3.33GHz and a top memory speed of 1066MHz.

I'd go for the quad-core.
Click to expand...

THANKS,
Do you know if there is a Nehalem 8-core that is "westmere upgradeable" from late 2009 or early 2010? Or is only the 3530 upgradeable to hex-core as discussed above.
 
drakoff said:
THANKS,
Do you know if there is a Nehalem 8-core that is "westmere upgradeable" from late 2009 or early 2010? Or is only the 3530 upgradeable to hex-core as discussed above.
Click to expand...

The 2010's can all accept Westmere CPUs.
 
if you want to keep boosting your new purchase. the practical way is buy a quad 2.8 and in a year or 2 add the hex 3.33 or hex 3.46 . in dollars and cents apple sell 2010 quad 2.8 refurbs for 2149 add on 1333 ram at 50 bucks for a 4gb stick that is 200 bucks for 16gb ram or 150 for 12gb ram. buy a new intel 510 ssd comes out in a month cost is around 280 you are are at 2700 or 2800. buy 2 3tb hdds you are at your 3k limit maybe 3.1k. wait a while for a better gpu say august 2011 wait a while for the better hex core say april 2012. all of the above can be diy the only one that is a little bit hard is the hex core.

if you go out and buy a dual quad or 8 core the base model is slow unless you use all 8 cores the quad 2.8 will beat if for speed. then when you want to go from dual 8 core to dual hex the cpus do not drop in you need new cpu trays so you cost is for 2 new hex cores and 2 cpu trays. much more to upgrade.. in fact I would venture to say that you could buy a 2.8 hold it for 18 months sell it and buy a refurbished dual hex core from apple online and the net cost would be equal to doing an upgrade from a dual quad . Not only would the cost be equal the refurb would have a new warranty.

I purchased a quad 2.8 with a discount and I may drop in a hex core this summer or I may just sell the quad core and buy a refurbished hex core. One positive about macs are the high resale value.
 
philipma1957 said:
if you want to keep boosting your new purchase. the practical way is buy a quad 2.8 and in a year or 2 add the hex 3.33 or hex 3.46 . in dollars and cents apple sell 2010 quad 2.8 refurbs for 2149 add on 1333 ram at 50 bucks for a 4gb stick that is 200 bucks for 16gb ram or 150 for 12gb ram. buy a new intel 510 ssd comes out in a month cost is around 280 you are are at 2700 or 2800. buy 2 3tb hdds you are at your 3k limit maybe 3.1k. wait a while for a better gpu say august 2011 wait a while for the better hex core say april 2012. all of the above can be diy the only one that is a little bit hard is the hex core.

THANKS, PhilipMa - I'm going to run that play.
As for the purchase, rather than refurb, I'll buy online from amazon or another retailer, based on the Priceguide at Appleinsider. $2349, no tax (CA sales tax is ~10%!), no shipping, Applecare is discounted too, though of course, invalidated if I put in my own RAM and hexacore. Much obliged.
Click to expand...
 
drakoff said:
Applecare is discounted too, though of course, invalidated if I put in my own RAM and hexacore. Much obliged.
Click to expand...

RAM doesn't invalidate Applecare. Neither should the processor unless they can prove that is the issue, which is unlikely if you install it correctly.
 
Umbongo said:
RAM doesn't invalidate Applecare. Neither should the processor unless they can prove that is the issue, which is unlikely if you install it correctly.
Click to expand...

here in the usa

ram hdds and pcie cards won't alter applecare unless apple can prove the ram the hdd or the pcie cards did the damage.

cpu swap out may void warranty.
 
Just read the Mac Pro manual -

While the Mac Pro has user-serviceable parts, any damage caused as the result of a hardware change done by a non-apple person will not be covered by Apple Care.
 
philipma1957 said:
if you want to keep boosting your new purchase. the practical way is buy a quad 2.8 and in a year or 2 add the hex 3.33 or hex 3.46 . in dollars and cents apple sell 2010 quad 2.8 refurbs for 2149 add on 1333 ram at 50 bucks for a 4gb stick that is 200 bucks for 16gb ram or 150 for 12gb ram. buy a new intel 510 ssd comes out in a month cost is around 280 you are are at 2700 or 2800. buy 2 3tb hdds you are at your 3k limit maybe 3.1k. wait a while for a better gpu say august 2011 wait a while for the better hex core say april 2012. all of the above can be diy the only one that is a little bit hard is the hex core.
.
Click to expand...

Given the planned upgrade path, Can I purchase DDR3 1333 RAM now and use it with the Nehalem that specs for 1066 RAM, and thus avoid re-purchasing new RAM when I upgrade to a Westmere in a few years? Would the 3530 function with that higher spec Ram?
 
Vylen said:
Just read the Mac Pro manual -

While the Mac Pro has user-serviceable parts, any damage caused as the result of a hardware change done by a non-apple person will not be covered by Apple Care.
Click to expand...

Vylen -
Your signature tag show 24GB of RAm on a hexacore. This implies 8GBx3 or 6GBx4, correct? Is this a scenario where the Mac will accept the RAM but apple does not claim capacity that high? Apple I believe lists the ceiling at 16GB for a quad or hexacore.
 
Last edited:
drakoff said:
Vylen -
Your signature tag show 24GB of RAm on a hexacore. This implies 8GBx3 or 6GBx4, correct? Is this a scenario where the Mac will accept the RAM but apple does not claim capacity that high? Apple I believe lists the ceiling at 16GB for a quad or hexacore.
Click to expand...

8GBx3

Apple does indeed state a maximum of 16GB's of RAM. This is because the Mac Pro is specified to use Unbuffered ECC RAM - the maximum of which these types of modules can be are 4GB's.

But nothing stops a person from putting Buffered/Registered ECC RAM into their Mac Pro, of which can reach at least 8GB's in size.
 
Vylen said:
8GBx3

Apple does indeed state a maximum of 16GB's of RAM. This is because the Mac Pro is specified to use Unbuffered ECC RAM - the maximum of which these types of modules can be are 4GB's.

But nothing stops a person from putting Buffered/Registered ECC RAM into their Mac Pro, of which can reach at least 8GB's in size.
Click to expand...
Samsung has released an 8GB UDIMM (here), so it would even be possible to run 32GB per CPU using UDIMM now.
 
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