Westmere Next Mac Pro? [Archive]

bradleykavin

Mar 22, 2009, 12:32 PM

Anyone think that intels Westmere will be the next processor for the mac pro? scheduled release is q4 09 or q1 2010

Tallest Skil

Mar 22, 2009, 12:49 PM

Of freaking course it is. :p

Q2 2010 at the earliest.

shokunin

Mar 22, 2009, 05:00 PM

It's a year away, but that'll be the machine that I upgrade to from my current 2008 MP.

skyline r34

Mar 22, 2009, 06:06 PM

It's a year away, but that'll be the machine that I upgrade to from my current 2008 MP.

i'm going to upgrade my 2008 Mac Pro for the Westmere too, already started putting money away for it.

Anyone think that intels Westmere will be the next processor for the mac pro? scheduled release is q4 09 or q1 2010

I hope so i'm planning to purchase my next Mac Pro next year

Appelflap

Mar 22, 2009, 06:52 PM

Any chance on some minor config and price changes for MP in about 5 or 6 months from now then?

m1stake

Mar 22, 2009, 06:53 PM

Any chance on some minor config and price changes for MP in about 5 or 6 months from now then?

I wouldn't hold your breath.

And so the wait begins anew. :p

Pika

Mar 22, 2009, 06:56 PM

I cannot wait for the next Mac Pro... I have the Nehalem one... but i still want a new outside box design!!! Arrrggg cheese graters :mad:

Appelflap

Mar 22, 2009, 06:59 PM

I wouldn't hold your breath.

And so the wait begins anew. :p

I better don't wait to long then :)

Topper

Mar 22, 2009, 07:18 PM

i'm going to upgrade my 2008 Mac Pro for the Westmere too, already started putting money away for it.

Moi aussi, you'll see me at the front of the line.

Appelflap

Mar 22, 2009, 07:23 PM

I cannot wait for the next Mac Pro... I have the Nehalem one... but i still want a new outside box design!!! Arrrggg cheese graters :mad:

Your new Mac Pro will do fine! Just Enjoy and don't come back here for quite some years, it'll make you crazy. :D You're free now!

Tallest Skil

Mar 22, 2009, 07:31 PM

I cannot wait for the next Mac Pro... I have the Nehalem one... but i still want a new outside box design!!! Arrrggg cheese graters :mad:

Why?

1. What's the point?
2. What would they change it TO?

scaley

Mar 22, 2009, 07:55 PM

I cannot wait for the next Mac Pro... I have the Nehalem one... but i still want a new outside box design!!! Arrrggg cheese graters :mad:

To each their own I guess but I personally think that the case design of the Mac Pro is about the best there is in terms of aesthetics. :) I tell you what I WOULD like to see though is if they added 4 more internal drive bays to total that up to 8. Apple is creative, they can figure that out.

Tallest Skil

Mar 22, 2009, 07:59 PM

Apple is creative, they can figure that out.

But they won't. They cut four RAM slots out of the current model just to fit it in the same case. They don't care about adding expandability.

Pika

Mar 22, 2009, 08:22 PM

Why?

1. What's the point?
2. What would they change it TO?

They should change the grill holes... and make it smaller... like the new unibody MacBook Pro speakers... and for dust proof reasons:

http://gadgetdealsandsteals.com/images/assets/0008/6641/macproconceptnew.jpg

cmaier

Mar 22, 2009, 08:23 PM

that's horrible

Tallest Skil

Mar 22, 2009, 08:23 PM

They should change the grill holes:

I see, so not actually change the cheese grater design whatsoever, just make the holes smaller so that we can't have proper airflow.

Oh, and you can't forget those laptop ODDs!

There are about seven other things wrong with that mockup, too.

JesterJJZ

Mar 22, 2009, 08:32 PM

Bigger is better. Make it bigger!!! :D

Pika

Mar 22, 2009, 08:49 PM

I see, so not actually change the cheese grater design whatsoever, just make the holes smaller so that we can't have proper airflow.

Ok. the "cheese grater" design should stay but i think those holes don't match the unibody MacBook Pro speaker grills.

MCHR

Mar 22, 2009, 09:45 PM

It's a year away, but that'll be the machine that I upgrade to from my current 2008 MP.

Do you guys even try to run a cost analysis of Mac Pro purchases if you're swapping them every year or 18 months?

"If" you got a deal on your 2008 MP, that's $2000+ accessories. In 2010, you'll be dropping at least $2500+ accessories on the Westmere.

Changing your box that often means you're spending about $1000+ accessories per year. Hey, maybe it's a write off and all, but I'm thinking there are smarter ways to purchase and amortize hardware.

My 2 pesos is keep that '08 for another year, drop your yearlies down to about $600, unless you're billing every last 15 minutes from a 40 hour work week.

Play4keeps

Mar 22, 2009, 09:46 PM

It's a year away, but that'll be the machine that I upgrade to from my current 2008 MP.

Same Here:cool:

Pika

Mar 22, 2009, 10:12 PM

Do you guys even try to run a cost analysis of Mac Pro purchases if you're swapping them every year or 18 months?

"If" you got a deal on your 2008 MP, that's $2000+ accessories. In 2010, you'll be dropping at least $2500+ accessories on the Westmere.

Changing your box that often means you're spending about $1000+ accessories per year. Hey, maybe it's a write off and all, but I'm thinking there are smarter ways to purchase and amortize hardware.

My 2 pesos is keep that '08 for another year, drop your yearlies down to about $600, unless you're billing every last 15 minutes from a 40 hour work week.

Money is not an issue for me.

Use it for 12 months. Sell it, buy another.

dr. shdw

Mar 22, 2009, 11:28 PM

But they won't. They cut four RAM slots out of the current model just to fit it in the same case. They don't care about adding expandability.

Same amount of memory slots as the outgoing model.. Eight..

iMacmatician

Mar 22, 2009, 11:34 PM

Bigger is better. Make it bigger!!! :D<Yoda>Size matters not.</Yoda>

:p

Same amount of memory slots as the outgoing model.. Eight..I think he meant that Gainestown boards are supposed to have 12 memory slots, but Apple took out 4 for space reasons.

Topper

Mar 23, 2009, 12:05 AM

Do you guys even try to run a cost analysis of Mac Pro purchases if you're swapping them every year or 18 months?

Nope, got to have the power!

If Snow Leopard really is some kind of miracle worker, maybe I'll keep my 2008 Mac Pro a little longer.

On second thought, if Snow Leopard can make my Mac Pro into a super computer, just think what it will do for a Westmere Mac Pro.

dr. shdw

Mar 23, 2009, 12:10 AM

<Yoda>Size matters not.</Yoda>

:p

I think he meant that Gainestown boards are supposed to have 12 memory slots, but Apple took out 4 for space reasons.

Ah, I don't think you can even fit 12 without going eATX.

Tallest Skil

Mar 23, 2009, 07:09 AM

Same amount of memory slots as the outgoing model.. Eight..

I think he meant that Gainestown boards are supposed to have 12 memory slots, but Apple took out 4 for space reasons.

Bingo.

Ah, I don't think you can even fit 12 without going eATX.

That doesn't matter. The fact that it could have had twelve means that it SHOULD have had twelve.

dr. shdw

Mar 23, 2009, 08:48 AM

Bingo.

That doesn't matter. The fact that it could have had twelve means that it SHOULD have had twelve.

Not really, if the form factor doesn't support it, why would they?

http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12405&Itemid=37

ASUS Skulltrail Gainestown Motherboard. 6 Slots. :rolleyes:

It's probably able to support up to 12 slots, but it doesn't have to. I doubt the motherboard spec Intel puts out requires 12 slots.

Tallest Skil

Mar 23, 2009, 08:51 AM

Not really, if the form factor doesn't support it, why would they?

The point I'm trying to make is that they should have changed the form factor to do so, then, right?

Had they made it JUST a little longer, they could have put all twelve RAM slots on the daughterboard front to back between the CPU heatsinks.

They could have then left the quad-core case as it was (to get rid of that size of case) and had their restrictive hardware throttling with just that.

dr. shdw

Mar 23, 2009, 09:03 AM

The point I'm trying to make is that they should have changed the form factor to do so, then, right?

Had they made it JUST a little longer, they could have put all twelve RAM slots on the daughterboard front to back between the CPU heatsinks.

They could have then left the quad-core case as it was (to get rid of that size of case) and had their restrictive hardware throttling with just that.

They could have, but nothing in the spec requires them to.

iMacmatician

Mar 23, 2009, 09:24 AM

dr. shdw

Mar 23, 2009, 09:34 AM

The Mac Pro could have been so much better, but it isn't.

The lack of RAM slots is only the start. It doesn't matter that they don't have to have 12, would people be satisfied with 3 or 4? ;)

And filling up all the RAM slots means a loss of 3-channel RAM.

This is true, it could have been better.

What else is bad about it? Most single core boards have 3-4 memory slots, maybe the spec for a single Xeon doesn't allow for more slots, who knows. I'm sure we'll find out by the end of the month..

And yes, tri-channel of course is needed in triples.

Tallest Skil

Mar 23, 2009, 10:24 AM

Most single core boards have 3-4 memory slots, maybe the spec for a single Xeon doesn't allow for more slots, who knows. I'm sure we'll find out by the end of the month..

Single allows for six, it has four. Dual allows for twelve, it has eight.

iMacmatician

Mar 23, 2009, 10:26 AM

What else is bad about it? Compared to the previous Mac Pro? Let's see…

Lack of Quadro
Lack of 3.2 GHz CPU
Only 2.27 GHz CPU in low-end octo-core
4-core Mac Pro even more crippled
Lack of certain hard drive options
Low-end GPU as default instead of midrange

Most single core boards have 3-4 memory slots, I was talking about dual-CPU.

efxgraphx

Mar 23, 2009, 11:34 AM

They should change the grill holes... and make it smaller... like the new unibody MacBook Pro speakers... and for dust proof reasons:

http://gadgetdealsandsteals.com/images/assets/0008/6641/macproconceptnew.jpg

My kittens wouldnt like smaller grill holes =)