Why are YOU buying a nMP?

[Cubemmal]

Maybe it's been asked but a cursory search doesn't show it. Regardless, since we expect (hope!) it goes on sale next week it's worth asking why are you buying one? Succinct summations please ...

• Bluetooth will actually work (unlike my oMP)
• It will be quieter than oMP (I'm a noise freak)
• It will run cooler (I don't use oMP in the summer as it generates too much heat)
• It will idle with low power (I have to be paranoid about keeping oMP asleep when I'm not using it)
• It has USB 3 (oMP has a card I bought also gives me kernel panics)
• It has Thunderbolt (2.0!) (will never be on oMP)

And if you like, add one thing you'd wish it had

• Upgradable GPU's

And also, post what configuration you're going to get

Hex-core, D500 with 32GB BTO (depending on price)

 

[FrankHahn]

I am buying an nMP mainly for the following two reasons:

1. I will be able to perform my numerical work on it;
2. It is a well-built and solid product that is aesthetically attractive.

For this nMP, I will refurnish my study, planning to buy an oak desk, an oak computer chair, and a couple of oak book shelves. I have already placed orders for them.

I will get a 6-core nMP with 16 GB memory, a D500, and a 512 GB flash. If the thunderbolt display is to be updated, I will also get an updated thunderbolt display.

 

[SamTheeGeek]

Main Reasons,

1. Works on a 4K display natively
2. Small design that fits on my tv table
3. Running FCPX faster and better than my i5 Mac mini
4. Ac Wireless
5. there is more i guess but so far thats what i can think of

 

[EDITMAN2411]

1. So that I can cut 4K footage natively in my TL.

2. So that I can cut down on my AE renders by (hopefully) quite a significant margin.

3. So that I can cut down on my C4D renders by (hopefully) quite a significant margin.

But pushing 4K footage natively? That alone is reason enough.

12-Core, 512gb flash, 64gb ram, Dual 700's.

 

[LongSticks]

Still not sure!

Still unsure which way to go oMP - nMP or PC

The things that are making me pause:

• 1tb PCIE and the quoted read/write disk speed - 250gb scratch disc partition.
  
• Fast RAM
  
• Format - on work bench rather than sucking dust from the carpet.
  
• TB2 - definitely the major consideration using Promise 4 bay storage

As an aside and for me TB will probably swing the day, saw this today on techradar - DriveStation Mini Thunderbolt SSD can copy 800MB in 1.3 seconds - 2x 256 or 512gb SSD in Raid0 as an external....really believe that these sorts of speeds will see pro's starting to move from Windows to windows Bootcamp to gain these benefits! Again great scratch disc!

http://www.techradar.com/news/compu...-ports-to-make-lightning-strike-twice-1205627

 

[koban4max]

i'm buying it because it's for pros.

 

[Pistol Peto]

Main reasons...

• Don't want to leave the Mac OS environment
• Learning 3D Modelling/Rendering over the next six months
• Looking to the future with this machine - educated guess that software will make better use of GPU's
• No interested in hackintosh.

I'm really excited to see how this machine (probably 6 core w/D500) runs 3D modelling and rendering.

As a bonus the rest of my workflow should see a slight improvement too!

 

[td2243]

3. Running FCPX faster and better than my i5 Mac mini

2. So that I can cut down on my AE renders by (hopefully) quite a significant margin.

This and this. I edited a 40 minute film on my 2007 MBP. It is painfully slow. Even the low end MP will crush what I am working on now. I am already getting offers to edit for others (for pay) and I want to have a fast machine to edit on. The entry MP is only about $300 more than the maxed out iMac, but I'm guessing it will have significantly better numbers.

True, there are things about it I don't like, but I don't have the knowledge, time, or inclination to build a Hackintosh, nor will I ever pay for a Windows machine again. More power to those who will, but that's not me. I am not a computer builder or programmer. I will pay even more than what I can afford for a computer that works and works well. I'm hoping the MP will be it....for awhile at least.

 

[haravikk]

Well, I'm not 100% sure I'm getting a Mac Pro yet (I'm waiting for the Mac Mini update first before I make my final decision). But the things that interest me most:

• For the hardware in it (all workstation grade components) it's actually pretty good value.
• Compact size will actually suit me a lot better than a giant tower.
• Much better energy consumption (my early 2008 Mac Pro is a real power hog).
• (Probably) much quieter depending upon how Apple's values pan out (16dBA or so, but at "operator distance"), as it could be near silent even under load.
• I'm going to have to move my storage to an external enclosure anyway (and I am doing so at the moment), wether I get the Mac Pro or the Mac Mini.
• Cool factor. I mean come on, it's a pretty important part of why we get Macs, wether you'll admit it or not
• My computer is dying

Wish it had:

• Enough room for at least a single 2.5" drive. The PCIe flash is nice, but room for a 2.5" spinning hard drive would have been a lot better for my capacity needs.

 

[flat five]

main reason: because i need a new computer
i have maybe six months left until one of my main applications won't run on my 1,1.

 

[Rich.Cohen]

main reason: because i need a new computer
i have maybe six months left until one of my main applications won't run on my 1,1.

Ditto, plus I have some non-graphic, computationally intense applications that presently take hours to complete and I think the nMP will cut that dramatically. Finally, I really need a 4K monitor.

 

[VirtualRain]

I'm buying to browse the web quicker and respond to MacRumors posts faster.

Seriously, it's because my current Mac Pro is 5 years old and the new one is significantly faster in every aspect... CPU, GPU, memory, and SSD.

 

[Santabean2000]

I nee a new HTPC...

 

[barmann]

I'm buying it for the new and cheap TB externals , and because there is a hack to run SL on it .
And it's super cheap , too, as Apple has just announced iOS and tablets will be the future of computing (just because Jobs embarrassed himself with that doesn't mean they can't say it again) .


That'll be in 2016 .

 

[iMarvin]

Main computer, for 4k 3d modeling and some bootcamp gaming.

 

[Bones13]

Smaller
Quieter
Thunderbolt at all
Useable USB3.0

My 3.1 does not have anywhere else to go.

I probably will get the Hex/D500/stock 16gig. (I will want to see what increasing the SSD or GPUs will cost on the BTO before getting premade)

Then start looking for a nice 4K display. I have an Apple Displayport Cinema LCD currently.

 

[ytoyoda]

Why are YOU buying a nMP?

I'm going to buy nMP as soon as it is available.

1. It is very quiet yet powerful
2. I am able to reduce the space occupied by computers.
3. I like the concept of nMP.

Let me explain the background.
I currently use two Windows PCs and MacBook Air 13 inch, Mid 2011. One PC, with Core i7 970 (6 core) & Windows 7 is my main PC. When I do some heavy work, such as video editing, I use this PC. The other PC is sub machine and it is little quieter than main PC.

Since I got MBA, I’ve been using MBA mostly for my usual tasks, such as emailing, writing document and programming, because I’ve got to like OSX more , MBA wakes up instantly from sleep and it is very quiet. And same time, I started hating Core i7 970 PC, because that one is extremely noisy compared to MBA. So, I turn it on only when I need that power. On the other hand, my MBA has very limited capability. CPU is Core i7 but just 2 core, RAM is 4GB and SSD is 256 GB.
I want to replace the noisy Windows PC. All of my data are now in 4 NAS ( QNAP TS119 x2, TS121 and TS439 ) and I do not need any internal disk space. I need compact, powerful, quiet machine. Considering this, nMP seems perfect solution for me.

I am planning to get 6 or 8 core, D500, 32GB RAM and 1TB Flash storage.

Number of cores;
I run GreekBench on my Core i7 970 PC. Scores were 2350 / 13812 (32bits).
nMP 4 core model will be faster in Single core but about par in multi core score. When I purchase new computer, I always expect visible performance enhancement. nMP with 6 core will be 132% and 8 core will be 176% of my current PC in multi core score. So, I'll pick 8 core if it is within my budget.

Flash storage;
I use 256 GB storage on my MBA and I know 256 GB is very minimum. I considered to expand internal storage to 500GB and purchase TB storage from WD or LaCie, but I probably do not need more than 500GB of work space. So I decided to expand internal storage to 1TB and will not purchase TB storage at initial.

I hope Apple will support Bootcamp on nMP at when it is shipped.

 

[Rich.Cohen]

I hope Apple will support Bootcamp on nMP at when it is shipped.

You might want to consider VM Fusion or Parallels instead of Bootcamp. I use Fusion. It allows me to run Windows 7 simultaneously with OSX as a window on my Mac desktop. I can drag stuff to and from the Windows environment and print from both environments to the same printers.

I tried bootcamp when it first came out, but I didn't like having to reboot the computer to switch OS and I didn't like not being able to use my Mac tools while working in Windows.

I have three monitors - large, medium and small. When using fusion, I put it full screen on one of the monitors, usually the largest, and keep email, my calendar other other things open in the Mac environment on the other two monitors. For me Fusion has been a much more productive approach than bootcamp. Of course, bootcamp is free.

I also run Fusion on my 17" MacBook Pro 6,1, but it's a bit slow on that machine.

 

[Cubemmal]

You might want to consider VM Fusion or Parallels instead of Bootcamp. I use Fusion. It allows me to run Windows 7 simultaneously with OSX as a window on my Mac desktop. I can drag stuff to and from the Windows environment and print from both environments to the same printers.

I tried bootcamp when it first came out, but I didn't like having to reboot the computer to switch OS and I didn't like not being able to use my Mac tools while working in Windows.

I use Bootcamp and VMWare, the former is necessary if you want to play games and some other programs. I hope/expect they'll support Bootcamp too as I'll set that up just to see how it performs in Windows.

 

[ytoyoda]

You might want to consider VM Fusion or Parallels instead of Bootcamp. I use Fusion.

Thank you.
I am actually using VMWare Fusion on MBA and found it very useful. On Mac Pro, I am planning to use VM Fusion as well. However, VM Fusion does not support Fire Wire interface on my TB Display. Bootcamp supports Fire Wire.
I occasionally need Fire Wire to capture video from my VCRs.
I've already tested this and found that by Bootcamp, I captured video from VCR through Fire Wire on Windows.

So, on MP, I usually use VM Fusion in case I need to use tools on Windows and sometime use Bootcamp to access full resources on the hardware.
An alternative is to purchase an OSX software to do capturing work.

 

[motegi]

Because when I BTO specced a new 27" iMac ($4500~ AUD) I found a 6-core nMP+TB Display to be only 30% more expensive ($6400~ AUD) but has more than 30% improvement in performance.

 

[matoch]

I'm buying one because I've been in a holding pattern with my Mac Pro 1,1.

I've been waiting for a Mac that can drive thee displays and has Thunderbolt for expansion. This meets that requirement.

I actually don't have any complaint about the new design. The video cards aren't interchangeable with consumer cards but really that's not much different from today as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Lesser Evets]

I am NOT buying the nMP because:

• It is a first generation design, which means it will not be close to optimal
• It is an unknown quantity until people get it and test it and report on it
• Too much cash for an unknown quantity that is first gen.

Why I wish I was buying the nMP:

• Undoubtably will be productively fast
• Reduces the footprint of computer space
• Quieter than the oMP
• Up to date/advanced interfaces for speed
• Less heat output than oMPs

I can understand why professionals need and want the machine, but it will almost certainly be heavily improved in 2014/2015 when the revision comes along to improve on all the yet-unseen errors in the first generation design.

 

[iBug2]

I am NOT buying the nMP because:

• It is a first generation design, which means it will not be close to optimal
• It is an unknown quantity until people get it and test it and report on it
• Too much cash for an unknown quantity that is first gen.

Those are good reasons not to buy at day 1. They are not good reasons not to buy a month later if reviews pour in and they are positive. Sure, each generation will add/fix stuff compared to the previous generation. But I don't think it makes sense to skip a generation if you need this. Read the reviews and see if the issues are going to effect you, or not.

 

[Cubemmal]

Those are good reasons not to buy at day 1. They are not good reasons not to buy a month later if reviews pour in and they are positive. Sure, each generation will add/fix stuff compared to the previous generation. But I don't think it makes sense to skip a generation if you need this. Read the reviews and see if the issues are going to effect you, or not.

I've considered this, however ...

• Initial reviews may or may not cover your use case. For example, I use link aggregation with Cisco 300 switches, maybe the MP would have a issue with that, or some other piece of equipment I use. So waiting for other reviews isn't a guarantee of anything. Plus you are the only one testing your computer. Many problems aren't systematic, but individual to the device.
• However Apple has a 30 day return policy
• Therefore I can be my own reviewer, and just plan on thoroughly testing it the first month.

The ideal time to buy a device is late in the cycle, right before refresh. However that is when Apple devices are the worst value, they are the best value when just released.

Regardless giving it a month or two before buying isn't a bad idea. I've gotten burned by that too by the way, I bought a 2011 MBP a month or two in and it still had a hardware problem that didn't really blow up until a few years later. Guess what though? I got the motherboard replaced for only $225 - Apple does have a fantastic repair system.

All together I'm likely to buy one at the gate because I need and want it.