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For better or worse the "I need slots" group = T Rex

The nMP needs slots PCIe slots too. It has two of them, they just use proprietary connectors and board design.

I don't understand how preferring industry standard PCIe slots to Apple proprietary PCIe slots makes me a T-Rex, unless a compact form factor is the primary feature desired in a computer.

I don't want to turn another thread into this same old argument, but when you insult 2/3rds of the people here by calling them dinosaurs, it gets personal.
 
I don't understand how preferring industry standard PCIe slots to Apple proprietary PCIe slots makes me a T-Rex, unless a compact form factor is the primary feature desired in a computer.

One, you are making a form factor argument yourself, the function (PCIe connectivity) is the same. Two, T-Rex died off because they failed to adapt. "I need slots because I have always used slots" is indicative of a limited ability to adapt. Likewise the " I need slots because I have sunk costs in PCIe cards". There is a subset of "I need slots because horsepower needed only comes in that specific form factor" but those usually aren't the main argument.



, but when you insult 2/3rds of the people here by calling them dinosaurs, it gets personal.

remains to be seen if it is really 2/3rds.
 
Asteroid strike. Not some failure to adapt in a natural selection process.

No. The strike didn't kill them all. Adjust to nature is natural selection.


The other dinosaurs didn't start using external peripherals and the T-Rex just couldn't follow along.

The T-Rex specific, versus other dinosaurs, has zero relevancy. T-Rex is just giving a nod to being on top of the heap... not that there aren't other enities that can't adapt ( *cough* MBP 17" fixated folks. ).
 
After the asteroid strike, some species were capable to adapt and survive, obviously not the T-rex.
 
Ohhh Macrumors. Never change.


*I like ice cream.


Anxiously awaiting how I will be told I do not, in fact, like ice cream or how even though a tiny percentage of ice cream makers are switching to yogurt that means the entire ice cream industry is doomed to irrelevance so I should adapt to yogurt already.
 
Ohhh Macrumors. Never change.


*I like ice cream.


Anxiously awaiting how I will be told I do not, in fact, like ice cream or how even though a tiny percentage of ice cream makers are switching to yogurt that means the entire ice cream industry is doomed to irrelevance so I should adapt to yogurt already.

It's the grandfatherly omniscient tone that really makes it fun to read. You'll be CRAVING yogurt by the 6th or 7th paragraph of carefully reasoned lists of your total wrongness .
 
One, you are making a form factor argument yourself, the function (PCIe connectivity) is the same.

Yes, so? A proprietary PCIe form factor card enables users to have a more compact case. A non-proprietary PCIe form factor enables users to use a wider range of existing and future cards, brands, memory sizes, low ends, high ends, output connector types, etc.

I can see why people would prefer a smaller case over the enormous real-life advantages of the industry standard, but it's no reason to insult me by calling me a dinosaur.

As for the inability to adapt, that is also incorrect. More like forced to adapt. I'll have to give up a plethora of choice and deal with Apple GPUs (historically expensive and outdated). That's assuming Apple even offers upgrade cards at all. There might also be some sort of Thunderbolt solution, in the future, that might work as well, that might not cost hundreds more, maybe.

In any case, I specifically DIDN'T want to turn this thread into an argument. I'll walk out and you can have the last word if you want.
 
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Yes, so? A proprietary PCIe form factor card enables users to have a more compact case.

There is little to no indications that the custom connector is driven by compactness. It is just as likely, if not more, that it is driven by the need to do more . Minimally to route video output internal to the computer. Perhaps also to route the SSD PCIe traffic through the connector also unless that is switched to trunk down to x16. Neither one of those driven specifically by compactness. The edge connectors and edge plate would be as equally out of place and useless inside new Mac Pro variant that was twice a big.


As for the inability to adapt, that is also incorrect. More like forced to adapt.

Adapting to options you choose isn't adapting to change. Change is driven by the external world. Choosing different options isn't change in the way the word is being used.
 
Thunderbolt is inferior in nearly every way to straight up PCIe. It has less bandwidth (much less). It has a significant cost to the user in getting more equipment to replace what should be perfectly usable equipment. It has a space cost where the user must sacrifice more footprint when they have more than a couple of components that would have been internal previously, as well as more overall power draw (more enclosures = more electronics in addition to said internal components = more power used = higher electricity bills overall).

The upside to Thunderbolt? You can make the case smaller by forcing everything outside. That pretty much puts the nail in the coffin to the argument that form factor isn't the driving force for Thunderbolt being forced on us. And yes, that's Apple's answer to expansion. The mPCIe connector for the SSD is a necessity for this size case. And it limits choices severely in addition to increasing costs tremendously for the end user.

I have eight drives in my Mac Pro right now. Seven are SSDs and one is a HD. Four of those SSDs are in an IcyDock Quad 2.5" to 5.25" enclosure connected to a RAID card. Three SSDs are on the internal slots. My HD is on one of the internal slots as well.

I would need to replace the IcyDock with a brand new enclosure for the four SSDs, as well as get a Thunderbolt to PCIe enclosure for the RAID card. And the bandwidth hit I'd take would make that a loss in overall speed since those ports are currently SATA3/SAS2.

Then I'd have to get an external enclosure for my other SSDs, as well as my Blu-Ray drive. I don't have any free spaces on my power conditioner as it is. What am I supposed to do, get another conditioner in addition to all the money I just spent on the enclosures, and then pay more each month in electrical bills? It all adds up you know.

All in the name of making the computer "smaller" to "save space". Yeah, some space savings there. And I'm still going to be dealing with a machine that is virtually guaranteed to be thermally inhibited. Sticking a modern GPU, CPU, and other electronics in such a confined space with minimal cooling capability is just begging for the CPU and GPU to throttle themselves.

You can forget gaming on that kind of machine, that's for sure. And unless they've added another fan for a push-pull configuration, god help you if the fan fails, since that means the machine will either fry itself or not boot at all (hopefully the latter since the former destroys your investment in short order).

I would end up spending nearly $1500 on new equipment, which includes a Thunderbolt or USB audio interface to replace the built in S/PDIF I have now on top of paying what is slated to be around $2800 for the low end version of the machine (based on sourcing the components at the best price I can find them at).

So I can "adapt" for well over $4k. Yeah, that's pretty much pricing any user with more than a drive or two out of the market there.

Instead, I got myself a nice rig that will let me put however much I need into it for less than $2k. It consists of the following:

Cosmos II Case
Core i7-4770K
Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD5H Motherboard
32 GB DDR3 RAM
Sapphire R9 280X Toxic Edition
The drives from my current Mac Pro
Noctua NH-D14 CPU Cooler (this alone cools better than the TrashCan Pro's HS/F)
Noctua NF-F12 PWM x2
Noctua NF-P12 PWM X3
Noctua NF-A14 (taken from NH-D14)
Noctua NF-P12 (taken from NH-D14)
Cooler Master 200mm MegaFlow x2 (Front Intake, Top Exhaust)
Thermaltake Tough Power Grand 1200W PSU

Number of power cords from computer with all components installed? One.

More power than any configuration of the TrashCan Pro outside of multicore transcoding at ≥6 cores? Oh hells yes.

Better cooling than the TrashCan Pro? Phenominally yes.

Room for me to grow without it costing me an arm and a leg and still taking only a single power cord? Yep.

Multiple audio/video paths and a fallback GPU should the main GPU fail? Yup.

Something that isn't going to get knocked around by the slightest touch on my desk? That goes without saying.

Ease of transferring drives to another computer when or if the need arises (I do client work for other people on occasion that requires this)? Yep. No futzing around removing drives from TB enclosures here or hoping the client has TB on their motherboard. Nosiree.

Enough money left over to actually take a vacation with? You better fscking believe it.

So do please tell me, what's this grand, all encompassing reason for me to "adapt" again?
 
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I'm still looking for a date or timeframe. Nobody on here has posted anything definite. Does anybody actually know anything outside of Apple?

I had read the rumors somewhere said mid November (like the 17th or something, maybe 19th). It was before Thanksgiving though. Honestly the way the new iMac was rolled out last year, I wouldn't be surprised if it was December 24th.
 
My definite answer is that it will be released this Tuesday. Apple has had more than enough time to build the mac pro for mass consumption since they spat out the initial hype.
 
My definite answer is that it will be released this Tuesday. Apple has had more than enough time to build the mac pro for mass consumption since they spat out the initial hype.
I'm optimistic. I'm also aware that Apple continually disappoints expectations.
 
My definite answer is that it will be released this Tuesday. Apple has had more than enough time to build the mac pro for mass consumption since they spat out the initial hype.

The Mac Pro could show up in the Apple store with the rest of the story. Available to ship time could be frustrating.
 
http://www.macramdirect.com/macpro.html

I was trying to price out ram for the nMP, and trying to see if it was PC14900 or PC 15000.. and stumbled upon this interesting page.

Not sure how accurate, but details I had not seen before.

While the memory specs of the next machine are no mystery, its standard 1866Mhz ECC after all, I'd not put a ton of confidence in any site the shows the new Mac Pro as sporting Sandy Bridge.

Unless that is Apple has decided to continue its tradition of only offering 2 year old CPU's in its Mac Pro line.
 
So do please tell me, what's this grand, all encompassing reason for me to "adapt" again?

Does Apple have a gun to your head?;)

In the end, Apple is banking on guys like me ("prosumer" who just wants everything to run a bit faster in a slick package) to pick up the slack for the disgruntled/abandoned "Pro" users.

But there is a BIG caveat...if they don't price it right then guys like me melt away, the "Pros" don't bite, and the whole thing becomes an epic fail. Guess we'll see tomorrow :D
 
http://www.macramdirect.com/macpro.html

I was trying to price out ram for the nMP, and trying to see if it was PC14900 or PC 15000.. and stumbled upon this interesting page.

Not sure how accurate, but details I had not seen before.

Yes Sir. I just bought a $250 24GB kit from them (3 pieces 8GB DDR3-1333) for my 12 Core MP and couldn't be happier. Added to my previous 24GB MRD purchase. I'm happy as hell and have no plans to buy the new Ivy machines when they arrive. My 12 Core machine has got plenty of life left in her, especially due to the expansion possibilities that the new machine will never have.
 
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