Wait for the next Mac Pro Update..?

[madbeef]

Hi guys, here's a couple of questions:

Q#1:
I have a Mac Pro 2.66 at work and I simply love it.
So now i really want another one at home, but since i´ll be paying myself, im just wondering if it's bad timing... would we be likely to see a Jan/Feb update of the Mac Pro ?
I'll be gaming a bit, so a Gf 8800 option over the 1900XT would be awesome..Or maybe this is highly unlikely..?
I won't actually need the Mac till early febuary, so I could (in theory) wait a while.

Q#2:
Im a total noob here, so bare with me
I would need a medium amount of ram, and Im wondering if this could work: 4x512mb in the first four slots (to get the full bandwith) and then 2x512mb in slots 5 and 6 (or mabye 1gb in slot 5?)..

Thanks in advance

 

[halibutking]

Here is the apple guide for the ram. It is not recommended to just add 1x1gb stick. the ram should be in pairs.

michael

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/MacPro_MemoryDIMM_DIY.pdf

 

[dkoralek]

Hi guys, here's a couple of questions:

Q#1:
I have a Mac Pro 2.66 at work and I simply love it.
So now i really want another one at home, but since i´ll be paying myself, im just wondering if it's bad timing... would we be likely to see a Jan/Feb update of the Mac Pro ?
I'll be gaming a bit, so a Gf 8800 option over the 1900XT would be awesome..Or maybe this is highly unlikely..?
I won't actually need the Mac till early febuary, so I could (in theory) wait a while.

Q#2:
Im a total noob here, so bare with me
I would need a medium amount of ram, and Im wondering if this could work: 4x512mb in the first four slots (to get the full bandwith) and then 2x512mb in slots 5 and 6 (or mabye 1gb in slot 5?)..

Thanks in advance

1) Not sure what the updates might entail other than adding 8-core mac pros to the lineup. Since graphics cards are easy to add later, it might not be worth waiting for a new lineup (unless they beef up the power supply).

2) to get full bandwidth, i assume that you mean you want quad-channel memory access. To do so, you wouldn't want four dimms on one riser, but rather a pair on riser 1 and a pair on riser 2 (or two pairs on each). You must add RAM in pairs (some suggest that even though Apple states that it must be matched pairs, that this isn't necessarilly so and that you could pair a 512 with a 1gb). Nonetheless, you want pairs of RAM.

cheers.

 

[sohaness]

i'm in the same boat as you re. the mac pro purchase.
i think any revision to the mac pro lineup would be announced at macworld, and considering we're only one month away, i'd definitely wait.

steve.

 

[rlove06]

Yup, planning on getting a Mac Pro as well but I'm waiting till Mac World just in case Steve tries to pull a fast one on us.

 

[Cryptography]

Same here...holding out.....1/9/07 can't come fast enough for me!

 

[EGT]

Also holding out for January but I could just as easily go online and order a smoking hot machine right now. Either way is good.

I don't expect much of an update though, probably a price drop somewhere and 8 core models.

 

[chibianh]

was in same boat.. not anymore. Decided to get one anyway. I won't cry, though, if they release updates. The current Mac Pro is a BEAST! (coming from a Power Mac G5 1.6Ghz)

 

[apfhex]

Since you don't need the machine until Feb, there's no harm in waiting another 4 weeks to see what's announced. But let's say they announce 8 core machines, will that really be worth getting? Do the apps you use take full advantage of even your current 4 cores?

Let's also say these new machines either aren't immediately available, or that they (or some of their parts at least) will get backordered quickly.

Assuming there aren't any other big parts getting upgraded (and I *highly* doubt it would be something that couldn't be dropped into the current models), then I think it would be better just to get the current Mac Pro. As a compromise, you could get the 3.0GHz model, although the price : performance isn't as good a deal as the 2.66GHz one.

 

[trainguy77]

....it might not be worth waiting for a new lineup (unless they beef up the power supply).

I don't think they will beef up the power supply it all ready a 12 amp power supply in there. I don't think it would be worth them upgrading that to anything more.