mac pro beautiful on the inside.

[MacRumorUser]

Just thought i'd share my love for the inside of the mac pro. Just bought another pioneer 111D for €30 and put it into the machine. Genius how everything slots in and fits elegantly on the inside of the mac pro, much nicer than the powermac G5. well done apple :) :D :)

[Scarlet Fever]

i wish i could endulge in the same joy you are in...

I saw a Mac Pro open at an AppleCentre the other day. They are just about as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside :D

i'd love to stick a camera in there for some macro shots...

[meepm00pmeep]

yah i wish i could buy one, they look amazing both inside and out...

[dmw007]

I just love how Apple pays attention to their systems to make sure that they look nice on both the outside and the inside. Unlike the vast majority of PeeCee manufacturers who make systems that are both ugly on the outside and on the inside. :D :)

[gloss]

i'd love to stick a camera in there for some macro shots...

Geekgasm.

[Dont Hurt Me]

Just thought i'd share my love for the inside of the mac pro. Just bought another pioneer 111D for €30 and put it into the machine. Genius how everything slots in and fits elegantly on the inside of the mac pro, much nicer than the powermac G5. well done apple :) :D :)
Well if your going to sit and brag about it at least you should stick in a few photo's but I have a argument and mine is the Quicksilver has never been surpassed for ease of getting into and doing things. I mean really.:D Apple was at the top of their game with Quicksilver.

[Sesshi]

I pulld one apart. Really well designed, airflow though is less than my Precision 690 and the mobo in there is of dubious superiority to the Dell article.

To look at and to pull apart, love the Mac Pro. To work on and to rely on, prefer the 690.

[PowerMike G5]

It really is a well thought out machine ...

[roland.g]

Yes it is gorgeous, I'd just love to see Apple make a smaller version with a conroe, 2HDD bays, 1 optical drive, 4 so-dimm slots, graphics card and one or two open pci slots. Honestly the Mac Pro is a bit big and overkill for my needs.

Notice I didn't bring up Sleepy Hollow. :D

[Warbrain]

I don't find the Mac Pro to be as sexy as the G5 PowerMacs were. Those machines were something else. I loved how they looked and how it was so unique.

Now it just seems like any other PC when I look at the innards...

[Digidesign]

I don't find the Mac Pro to be as sexy as the G5 PowerMacs were. Those machines were something else. I loved how they looked and how it was so unique.

Now it just seems like any other PC when I look at the innards...

Oh right. Because any other PC has dual riser boards for their FB-DIMMs, Individual hard drive mounting sleds and pull-out sled for their optical drives. (/sarcasm)

You have no idea what you're talking about. The Mac Pro takes everything good about the G5 Powermac and takes it a step farther, with more elegance.

Shot of the inside of a G5 Powermac (http://eshop.asystem.com.tw/images/PMG5-9.jpg)
Shot of the inside of a Mac Pro (http://images.apple.com/macpro/gallery/images/macpro04_20060807.jpg)

[apfhex]

The Mac Pro takes everything good about the G5 Powermac and takes it a step farther, with more elegance.

Shot of the inside of a G5 Powermac (http://eshop.asystem.com.tw/images/PMG5-9.jpg)
Shot of the inside of a Mac Pro (http://images.apple.com/macpro/gallery/images/macpro04_20060807.jpg)
Absolutely. I also love how everything is so nicely colored in blues, purples, and grays... not the hotdog counter that most PCs have inside (green, red, yellow, and neon lights :D)

[robbents99]

Last week I was taking pictures of an old B+W and my Pro to sell and couldn't believe the difference on the inside.

[Latisha]

My RAM shipped out today, I can't wait for it to arrive so can install it.

Thinking of getting a high-speed DVD-ROM drive too just to fill that empty space. And some hard drives. And...gah! My Mac Pro is more addicting than any MMO could ever be!

I can't understand why anybody would buy an iMac when it's so much fun putting stuff into your Mac Pro.

[dusanv]

Looks really good but there is one thing I don't like. There are tonnes of capacitors in it and those things have very finite lives. Most other things will live much longer than caps. I sure hope they have put in quality stuff. My old B&W had zero capacitors (OK, maybe the power supply has some but I can't see them) and that was a beautiful sight. BTW, that B&W is still in operation, works like a hoot.

Re: roland.g: I have been bitching about the same thing - I have almost no use for 4 cores and even less for the slow, dumb and expensive FB RAM. But I'm coming around a bit. I went to Dell's site and configured a Conroe with with similar specs and it came out to $2000 (I put a X1900 XT equivalent in it). With discounts, my configuration of Mac Pro comes out to $2600 but it's a quad. So I'm not sure. Apple definitely needs to release a Conroe based upgradeable machine if they want to get people to switch (no, iMac and mini aren't it).

[yojitani]

Mind if I ask why you changed out the burner? I'm very close to selling my set-up now and getting a macpro. The thing is, I put in a 111D not so long ago. If it's better to keep, I can swap it out again before I sell. I was VERY unhappy with the burner that came with my powermac. I wouldn't be too happy if apple put another crappy burner in there!

yt

incidentally - Is the mac pro better for keeping dust out? It looks like most of the insides are pretty well contained.

[MacRumorUser]

Mind if I ask why you changed out the burner? I'm very close to selling my set-up now and getting a macpro. The thing is, I put in a 111D not so long ago. If it's better to keep, I can swap it out again before I sell. I was VERY unhappy with the burner that came with my powermac. I wouldn't be too happy if apple put another crappy burner in there!
.


I assume your directing the question to me ?

Well i didnt change the burner, I simply ordered a macpro with the 1 standard superdrive and ordered a dvd burner elsewhere to add to the machine. Remember the mac pro supports 2 burners.

The cost of adding an additional superdrive from Apple was €99 for me, the cost of buying an additional pioneer 111D and fitting it myself €30

The mac pro ships with either a Pioneer 111D or a Sony drive anyway. Mine shipped with the pioneer, so now I have 2 :D

[yojitani]

I assume your directing the question to me ?

Well i didnt change the burner, I simply ordered a macpro with the 1 standard superdrive and ordered a dvd burner elsewhere to add to the machine. Remember the mac pro supports 2 burners.

The cost of adding an additional superdrive from Apple was €99 for me, the cost of buying an additional pioneer 111D and fitting it myself €30

The mac pro ships with either a Pioneer 111D or a Sony drive anyway. Mine shipped with the pioneer, so now I have 2 :D

Sorry MacRumorUser. That was directed to you. It was late:D .

Anyway: oh yeah! I completely forgot!:o I wish Apple would release support for the 111D pn the PoweMac, though. I can't get max speeds out of it until they do (or until I work out a way to flash it with updated firmware).

Cheers!
yt

[Warbrain]

Oh right. Because any other PC has dual riser boards for their FB-DIMMs, Individual hard drive mounting sleds and pull-out sled for their optical drives. (/sarcasm)

You have no idea what you're talking about. The Mac Pro takes everything good about the G5 Powermac and takes it a step farther, with more elegance.

Shot of the inside of a G5 Powermac (http://eshop.asystem.com.tw/images/PMG5-9.jpg)
Shot of the inside of a Mac Pro (http://images.apple.com/macpro/gallery/images/macpro04_20060807.jpg)

Sure, but there's at mystique that was always around a Mac. You owned something special. It's not that special anymore. Technically, I could build my own Mac now. It wasn't as easy to do so before.

And yes, the PCs I service at my university have individual hard drive mounting sleds and a pull out sled for their optical drives.

[Chone]

Mind if I ask why you changed out the burner? I'm very close to selling my set-up now and getting a macpro. The thing is, I put in a 111D not so long ago. If it's better to keep, I can swap it out again before I sell. I was VERY unhappy with the burner that came with my powermac. I wouldn't be too happy if apple put another crappy burner in there!

yt

incidentally - Is the mac pro better for keeping dust out? It looks like most of the insides are pretty well contained.

In my opinion the stock burner is far too noisy to be usable, if you are going to watch anything while the drive has to read from the disc then don't bother, its too dam noisy you'll have to turn the volume UP. Though its possible there are different optical drives in different mac pros, much like the Seagate/WD drives..

I had to put a Lite-On in there for my primary drive.

[BackInTheSaddle]

Sure, but there's at mystique that was always around a Mac. You owned something special. It's not that special anymore. Technically, I could build my own Mac now. It wasn't as easy to do so before.


It IS still special. The Power Macs/Mac Pros are works of art. I love how they look and sound (or more correctly, the lack of annoying sounds). Apple did a great job with the interior design of the new machines. Now it is even easier to upgrade or repair components that with the last generation boxes, all the while having very nice aesthetics. IMHO, the entire experience of owning a Mac is far superior to that of any PC.

[MacRumorUser]

I wish Apple would release support for the 111D pn the PoweMac, though. I can't get max speeds out of it until they do (or until I work out a way to flash it with updated firmware).

Yeah it irritating that pioneer dont supply a flashing utility for macs.

I had to boot into windows via bootcamp and run the firmware updater from there.

Now at 1.29 :)

[hondak24]

Sorry MacRumorUser. That was directed to you. It was late:D .

Anyway: oh yeah! I completely forgot!:o I wish Apple would release support for the 111D pn the PoweMac, though. I can't get max speeds out of it until they do (or until I work out a way to flash it with updated firmware).

Cheers!
yt

Does your PowerMac see the 111D as Superdrive?

[MacRumorUser]

Does your PowerMac see the 111D as Superdrive?

Yes. it sees its as an full apple supported drive.

[FireArse]

Oh right. Because any other PC has dual riser boards for their FB-DIMMs, Individual hard drive mounting sleds and pull-out sled for their optical drives. (/sarcasm)

You have no idea what you're talking about. The Mac Pro takes everything good about the G5 Powermac and takes it a step farther, with more elegance.

Shot of the inside of a G5 Powermac (http://eshop.asystem.com.tw/images/PMG5-9.jpg)
Shot of the inside of a Mac Pro (http://images.apple.com/macpro/gallery/images/macpro04_20060807.jpg)

This is quite silly. I think the poster knows exactly what they're talking about. I happen to agree entirely - the Mac Pro doesn't feel as nicely put together as a Power Mac. When I took the 2.66 out of its box for the first time, I noticed immediately that the build quality and finish was nowhere near as good as that of my old PM 2GHz G5.

Really, the inside of those felt hand crafted and solid. Though the HDD bays are great functionally and aesthetically - they feel flimsy. The mechanism holding the DVD drives are worse, as the cables and the sliding scratches the Aluminium.

Fortunately I found further cosmetic damage on the outside of the case, and I promptly took it back to Apple Brent Cross for another one. Same build quality. Good, but nowehere near as nice as a Power Mac G5.

Not to mention, the name sounds better too.

Thanks,

F

[slughead]

I prefer the mac pro design to my old DP 2.5ghz G5. The case is more efficient and they really crammed as much in there as they could. It's also quiet and doesn't rattle--very well put together.

It's also lighter (which is a plus)

This is quite silly. I think the poster knows exactly what they're talking about. I happen to agree entirely - the Mac Pro doesn't feel as nicely put together as a Power Mac. When I took the 2.66 out of its box for the first time, I noticed immediately that the build quality and finish was nowhere near as good as that of my old PM 2GHz G5.

Really, the inside of those felt hand crafted and solid. Though the HDD bays are great functionally and aesthetically - they feel flimsy. The mechanism holding the DVD drives are worse, as the cables and the sliding scratches the Aluminium.

Fortunately I found further cosmetic damage on the outside of the case, and I promptly took it back to Apple Brent Cross for another one. Same build quality. Good, but nowehere near as nice as a Power Mac G5.

Not to mention, the name sounds better too.

Thanks,

F

[Macinposh]

The case is more efficient and they really crammed as much in there as they could. It's also quiet and doesn't rattle--very well put together.



Have to agree...

Getting the cabling for the 5th HDD to the free cd/dvd space is a real bitch.

There is practically no way to get the 6th connector to use without externalizing the HDD,since you would have to be a Houdini to squeeze the cable up if you would take the internal superdrive off.

In that sense,a bit more open layout would have been nice.But obviously that would be only to a small margin of users.

And other very biatchy thing is how they have hidden the screw(s) to the heatsink, just to make it difficult for user replacement of the processors.

That,I have to say, is a bit evil on Apples behalf. Tsooch, apple. Bad boy.




It's also lighter (which is a plus)

Dude, hit the gym. You are spending too much time with computers and exercisizing too little...;)

I mean,apart from very,very,very minor group of people that has to have a workstation class computer on-location (well,some video/cinematographers have used it) there is little to no reason to move it around.
Occasional HDD changes (how many has several 4-packs off hdds around,just to swap them?) are tolerable.


But on all other parts,I have to say that the comp is a beauty.
Dead quiet (with 4hdd in raid 10 and 1 extra) and i cant hear it from 40cm away. But i can hear my old G4 that is about 20 feet away...

I like.

[kylepro88]

Before I even plugged mine in, the first thing I did is open it. After that I plugged her in and let the drool flow, it was my first mac so I had good reason to.

- Kyle

[theblotted]

i too like the MP design, tho i understand about the "flimsy" comments.

my concern is, how are they cooling the HDs with MP? in G5's, there's a dedicated fan for HD, MP doesn't.

i also agree that getting the cable routed for 5th HD is a major PITA. how're you managing Macinposh? thru the tiny little hole in the corner?

[Kendall015]

I set up a mac pro for my gf's dad, and it was amazing on the inside. I've got to say, though, the Mac Pro is REALLY HEAVY. Shipping weight was something like 70lbs, and since I had to move it a couple times, I definitely believe that it weighs that much. It's not like it's meant to be portable though.

[synth3tik]

It is truly a work of art.



My quicksliver was nice but it was a pain to install hard drives, and RAM was also a bit of a pain, not to mention I lost a couple of screws for the PCI covers.....

[slughead]

Dude, hit the gym. You are spending too much time with computers and exercisizing too little...;)

I can bench 400, doesn't mean weight doesn't matter.

The old G5 weighed about 55-65 pounds. I used to have a home-built PC with a cheap case.. the G5 bent it irreparably on the car ride when I moved. I thought that was ironic.

When it weighs that much, things you set it on while it's on its side can really scratch it up. Most of the weight in the G5 was the stupid water-cooler.

Also, when I sold my G5 to my dad (so I could buy this Mac Pro), he took it in for service and nearly had a second heart attack hauling it from the parking lot to the shop.


A lot of people have been talking about the 5th hard drive thing so I thought I'd re-post my article (http://www.tenthousandpercent.com/index.php?article=65&section=other) about it. It has pictures, of course.

I'm moving my 5th hard drive outside the case pretty soon though.:(

[pengu]

Sure, but there's at mystique that was always around a Mac. You owned something special. It's not that special anymore. Technically, I could build my own Mac now. It wasn't as easy to do so before.

And yes, the PCs I service at my university have individual hard drive mounting sleds and a pull out sled for their optical drives.

Right.. so you found a store selling MacPro aluminium cases, and Apple spec motherboards with the EFI and Apple ROM, and all that jazz? Wow. oh wait. you meant because they use ONE MORE component the same (CPU) that they are no different to PCs now.

[NATO]

Looks really good but there is one thing I don't like. There are tonnes of capacitors in it and those things have very finite lives. Most other things will live much longer than caps. I sure hope they have put in quality stuff. My old B&W had zero capacitors (OK, maybe the power supply has some but I can't see them) and that was a beautiful sight. BTW, that B&W is still in operation, works like a hoot.

You know capacitors are a crucial element for pretty much all modern electronics? Just because they're not readily apparent doesn't mean they're not there. There'll be capacitors in the Mac Pro, the iMac, the Mac mini etc etc, its not just the Mac Pro that uses them.

Even the electrolytic capacitors you're worried about (the big ones that look like little AA batteries sticking up) are very reliable these days and will likely outlast the useful life of the computer so I really, REALLY, wouldn't let that put you off the Mac Pro.

[Macinposh]

i also agree that getting the cable routed for 5th HD is a major PITA. how're you managing Macinposh? thru the tiny little hole in the corner?

Yup.

90´ connector on the mobo side and straight on the drive side.
then by using nose-pliers i connected it to the mobo,routed it through the hole,and used the same pliers to drag it visible again. then the same pliers to connect it to the drive.
I have nimble fingers,but I couldnt manage to do things right with them...
So I had to resort to tools..way,way easier.

[Doraemon]

Yes. it sees its as an full apple supported drive.

Does the 111D also work with a G5? I'm kind of confused with your first post in this thread. Is it only about how nice the insides of Mac Pro are, or is it a real issue with installing a new drive?

Did you have to flash the drive (I read something about it on xlr8yourmac.com)?

I was looking into getting a new SuperDrive for my G5, so I'd appreciate your input. :)

[Edit] Will PatchBurn work? http://www.patchburn.de/index.html

[theblotted]

Yup.

90´ connector on the mobo side and straight on the drive side.
then by using nose-pliers i connected it to the mobo,routed it through the hole,and used the same pliers to drag it visible again. then the same pliers to connect it to the drive.
I have nimble fingers,but I couldnt manage to do things right with them...
So I had to resort to tools..way,way easier.

good for you. i'm actually using SCSI drive in the optical drive bracket, and since the SCSI cable doesn't fit thru that tiny hole, i have to route it thru the optical drive bracket handles.

it was a lot easier to route the cable in G5 (thru the back between HD and PCI spacer). oh well, MP and SCSI is working so i can't complain too much.

[BiikeMike]

Sure, its pretty on the inside, but does it collect a ton of dust like all my other desktops do?

[SMM]

I pulld one apart. Really well designed, airflow though is less than my Precision 690 and the mobo in there is of dubious superiority to the Dell article.

To look at and to pull apart, love the Mac Pro. To work on and to rely on, prefer the 690.

You sir, have got to be joking. Please tell me this is a joke.

[QCassidy352]

I saw a Mac Pro open at an AppleCentre the other day. They are just about as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside :D

ooh, don't say that. They look like industrial cheese graters on the outside. :p The innards are extremely well done though. :)

[synth3tik]

When comparing the Mac Pro to the G5 I must point out something important at least to me.


Being able to get inside and upgrade the thing. The G5 is a really nice computer and if not for Apples hardware engineers would have been a fireball, but it is just so crowded in there. and there really is no space for any thing else. 2HD, 1 optical drive, and your video card has to take up 2 PCIe slots.



The G5 design was awsome, but Apple just perfected it with the Mac Pro.

I have also come to adore the Air Conditioner aura it has.:D

[Sesshi]

You sir, have got to be joking. Please tell me this is a joke.

Funny you should say that. I didn't expect to be, but I was proven very right recently.

[daveporter]

I have been building and maintaining computers used as Digital Audio Workstations (DAW) for many years.

Since 1995, 100% of my work had been with PCs for all the reasons I'm sure you are already aware of.

Then came the Intel Macs and, specifically the Mac Pro. Now I have switched my own studio over to Mac Pros and do everything I can to switch my outside clients (other studios) to the Mac Pro as well.

I have never found a computer easier to work on then the Mac Pro. Period. The engineering design and layout is the best that I have ever seen. The build quailty is also the best that I have experienced in any PC or Mac. OS X is also about as good an operating system as there is for DAW use and is just about bullet-proof.

As far as "real world" raw audio processing power goes, nothing touches the Mac Pro in my experience.

Last, but not least, the cost of the Mac Pro, even with the standard configuration, is very reasonable and appears to be lower then that possible to obtain with any PC of similar specification, quality and construction.

Is the Mac Pro perfect? No, but I think that it comes as close as it is humanly possible to acheive.

Just my thoughts.

Dave

[dpaanlka]

People seem to really be impressed when they see the inside of my Mac Pro... even those who aren't "into" computers.

[drake]

After reading all this, I went to the local Apple retailer and had a look. In the pics, the Mac Pro looks very solid, at the store, it look and felt plasticly. It appeared to be a plastic case painted to look like metal. What do that make that case out of? I never did have a look at the inside.

[dpaanlka]

Uhh... did you touch it? It's clearly aluminum. Try flicking it with your fingernail.

[BurtonCCC]

Yeah, it's so incredibly obviously made of metal.

Daniel.

[theblotted]

yeah, never been to THAT apple store.

[Digidesign]

After reading all this, I went to the local Apple retailer and had a look. In the pics, the Mac Pro looks very solid, at the store, it look and felt plasticly. It appeared to be a plastic case painted to look like metal. What do that make that case out of? I never did have a look at the inside.

This guy's a troll. Do yourselves a favor and don't feed him.

[drake]

Uhh... did you touch it? It's clearly aluminum. Try flicking it with your fingernail.

Yeah, I did. Appeared to be plastic made to appear to be metal. I've built lots of PCs since the early 90s, and this wasn't like any metal case I've dealt with.

[drake]

This guy's a troll. Do yourselves a favor and don't feed him.

And how I'm a a troll for pointing out that the case appears to be plastic?

[pengu]

well i dont know about a macpro, but i have a g5 powermac, and i dont really know how you could think these cases are plastic? looks like metal. feels like metal. just because it isnt black with holes and plexi windows in the side or dented/warped because it doesnt actually fit properly doesn't mean it isnt metal.

[Macinposh]

And how I'm a a troll for pointing out that the case appears to be plastic?


http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Land/4801/Mr_Mackey.jpg

[MacRumorUser]

ok I think this thread can finally be closed.

[dpaanlka]

Yeah, I did. Appeared to be plastic made to appear to be metal. I've built lots of PCs since the early 90s, and this wasn't like any metal case I've dealt with.

And unlike those PC cases made out of extremely thin metal, the Mac Pro case is made out of relatively thick aluminum.

There is no way anybody can mistake it for plastic though. It's cold, it's hard, it's heavy, it's thick, it's not flexible... etc etc

If you actually believe it's plastic, then I guess you're going to just have to take our (or Apple's) word for it that almost the entire thing (save for drive doors) is made of metal.

And how I'm a a troll for pointing out that the case appears to be plastic?

Because that observation is just stupid and makes us believe you probably never actually saw it.

[psycho bob]

Having dropped a G5 on my foot and also taken a nick out of one dropping, ironically, a PC on the top front handle I can vouch it is very much metal. Nobody in a month of Sundays could mistake it for plastic. Just feel the thing they are always cold. I actually put my original 1.6GHz unit in to storage for a while outside, the thing condensed up and made a great fridge.

Another clear indicator it is metal can be seen on the inside. The frame for the door is riveted and there are no stress marks showing externally. The unfortunate thing about the inside appears to be the use of non anodized aluminium that reacts badly to moisture and the oils secreted by human skin. It corrodes the surface turning it cloudy white; even lighter fluid won't remove it.

A US mac service centre was selling empty G5 cases for around $500 a year or so ago. That would make it about the most expensive non server case available. I bought an aluminium case in the UK for a custom PC project, it cost me around £100. Compared to the G5/Macpro it appeared to be made out of tin cans, it rattled, warped and felt like paper. It was light though! Always trade offs in these things :)

[MacBass]

Yes it is gorgeous, I'd just love to see Apple make a smaller version with a conroe, 2HDD bays, 1 optical drive, 4 so-dimm slots, graphics card and one or two open pci slots. Honestly the Mac Pro is a bit big and overkill for my needs.

Notice I didn't bring up Sleepy Hollow. :D

I would love a machine like that, but alas, I'll probably end up getting a mini, solely because I can't afford anything else. :(

[Counter]

I agree with this note on a flickr picture (http://www.flickr.com/photos/34962649@N00/339975450/) regarding the internal wiring, a bit of a rats nest. A few others agree. (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=%22mac+pro%22+%22rats+nest%22)

Is there not an abundance of the same capacitors in G3's and G4's? Computers which last until they are only good for converting into a drinks machine?

Edit...

Good break down here (http://www.powermax.com/articles_reviews/article.php?id=32).