2010 Mac Pro GPU?

[strausd]

What do you think the next Mac Pro GPU option(s) will be?

[Umbongo]

Seems likely it will be a 5870 or 470/480 on the high end, I'd expect the company who don't get the contract with Apple to put out a Mac version. For a long time now Apple have switched the manufacturer of the high and base cards around every revision, so based on that it seems more likely it'll be an Nvidia 400 series The base card will be some capable mid range low powered card.

[strausd]

You think they will have a decently priced option with 1GB RAM?

[Umbongo]

1GB yes as the high end cards don't come with less, decently priced? No. The suitable cards are $300-$500 and Apple usually add on another $100 over retail.

[Hellhammer]

Probably ATI 5870 1GB (449$) in high-end and then something like ATI 5670 or 5750 (149$] as a standard. Doubt they'll use nVidia as GTX 4xx series isn't available for high demand and GTX 2xx series is old and slow

[Umbongo]

Probably ATI 5870 1GB (449$) in high-end and then something like ATI 5670 or 5750 (149$] as a standard. Doubt they'll use nVidia as GTX 4xx series isn't available for high demand and GTX 2xx series is old and slow

It is very unlikely they will not use cards from both companies and demand may be due to Apple already having purchased them.

[Hellhammer]

It is very unlikely they will not use cards from both companies and demand may be due to Apple already having purchased them.

If we'll see an update soon, there won't be GTX 4xx available. Most manufacturers haven't been able to ship more than 100 GTX 4xx so far.. IMO it's just too new, no time for testing and writing proper drivers etc. I doubt they'll use high-end cards from both companies, it's either ATI 58xx or nVidia GTX 4xx, and in this case, likely ATI. Maybe we can see an ultimate high-end card when dual chip GTX 480 comes.

Apple has been moving away from nVidia due issues in their products like 8600M GT

[DualShock]

I just hope they make said card available for purchase separately, and it works with the 2008 Mac Pro's.

Apple's been known for giving the shaft to owners of older devices.

*cough* 2006 Mac Pro *cough*
*cough* iPhone 2G *cough*

[HSJR]

I will be disappointed if I do not see any of ATI 57XX, 58XX or 59XX cards with less than 1 GB with support for 2008, 2009 model. I wish there is support of 3 screens; it would be gorgeous.
Anyway I am dreaming; I assume ,,,,

[rickvanr]

Unless they start to support CF, it'd be pointless to have the 5970 as an option.

[gfiz]

with the noise, heat and power draw that come from the GTX 400's, I seriously doubt apple would want to put one of those into the MP's.

[Wild-Bill]

The heat, noise, and limited availability make the 480 seem unlikely.

I am seriously hoping to see the 5870, which I will gladly replace my 8800GT with. ATI has better OpenGL performance anyway. And I wouldn't want the 480 hot-boxing my already cool and quiet 2008 Mac Pro. ;)

[nanofrog]

Probably ATI 5870 1GB (449$) in high-end and then something like ATI 5670 or 5750 (149$] as a standard. Doubt they'll use nVidia as GTX 4xx series isn't available for high demand and GTX 2xx series is old and slow
As per the high end ATI, the 5870 is the best we could get, as without Cross Fire support, the 5970 is effectively rendered worthless (half the performance for the increased cost). The 5870 has also been around long enough that Apple's had time to get hold of the reference design, and write/contract out both firmware and drivers for it by the time the new systems release (thorough validation testing in the initial products shipped remains to be seen however). If they stick with what's been done before, ATI would write the drivers and Apple the firmware (for control reasons).

I don't think the new 4xx parts from nVidia will make it to the inititial launch however, as it's a newer card, and there's not been enough time. Not to mention the quantity issue that currently exist means they couldn't meet contract requirements. Later, perhaps (much like the GTX285).

As per the base, the GTX220 is a strong candidate IMO, despite any issues nVidia's products may have caused Apple previously. It has low power draw (can be handled by the PCIe slot alone), and in the end, it comes down to low cost. And nVidia is willing to do that, otherwise their GPU's wouldn't have been used as the base offerings in the past. As per the "old" comment, that's what we tend to get for the base offering. :eek: :p

[strausd]

Right now the upgrade cost is $200, do you think it will be the same with the 2010 MP if there's a 5870?

[Salavat23]

Right now the upgrade cost is $200, do you think it will be the same with the 2010 MP if there's a 5870?

It will be $400-$500 if they offer a 5870.

Historically, the cost of the card upgrade from Apple has been about the same as the cards street value. (Or a bit more).

[strausd]

is it possible that the price of it will go down before the next MP?

[Techhie]

is it possible that the price of it will go down before the next MP?

Recent history says no.

[whiteking]

Apple products are always ahead of other similar products. Therefore, we can venture to estimate.:D

[Techhie]

Apple products are always ahead of other similar products. Therefore, we can venture to estimate.:D

Um, false? Mac Pro GPUs have been traditionally far behind what is considered recent hardware. :eek:

[Mackilroy]

I think he means price, not availability. ;)

[nanofrog]

Apple products are always ahead of other similar products. Therefore, we can venture to estimate.:D
Back during the PPC era, that would have been a valid statement. But not these days, especially with graphics cards (only one professional card - Quadro 4800, and the other offerings are late compared to the PC release dates - so long in fact, newer products are soon released by the time the Apple variants tend to ship).

But if you look at the recent history, they're behind over-all as well. Just look at graphics cards in further detail (not just old, but lack features such as HDMI or full size DisplayPort), and lack of BluRay for example. Other vendors have had these out for some time now.

And then you can get into such details as access to firmware (which Apple used to do pre Intel, but no longer), and lack of value added features that are included on other boards such as eSATA, additional SATA ports, SAS ports, built-in RAID (via a hardware controller chip), or more PCIe slots). And this can/does apply to some workstation boards, not just those meant for high end desktops, such as gaming rigs.

Mackilroy, you may be right, but it seemed that it was tech based, not cost to me as well.

[fearoftigers]

Does anyone have an inkling of when the new Mac Pros will be released.

The current 4 model core seems a bit outdated compared to imac.

[strausd]

Does anyone have an inkling of when the new Mac Pros will be released.

The current 4 model core seems a bit outdated compared to imac.

Some rumors have suggested that the next update will be in June but with Apple you never know for sure.

[Wild-Bill]

Some rumors have suggested that the next update will be in June but with Apple you never know for sure.

June??? There were rumors out when Intel launched the new Xeons that they'd be out shortly after that. Not June. I can't fathom a single reason for them to wait until June, other than laziness, or perhaps that the Mac Pro team was diverted along with the OSX team to work on some consumer iGadgetry / iPad nonsense.

[Umbongo]

June??? There were rumors out when Intel launched the new Xeons that they'd be out shortly after that. Not June. I can't fathom a single reason for them to wait until June, other than laziness, or perhaps that the Mac Pro team was diverted along with the OSX team to work on some consumer iGadgetry / iPad nonsense.

It doesn't have anything to do with being lazy. It will be a strategic decision of when to release them, most likely combined with being able to get processors in the quantities they want them. Bare in mind Apple has a different business model to how everyone else sells Xeon systems and they only use a few models, they may also get a discount for waiting for others to be supplied first. Intel's 32nm supply is certainly constrained. It may also be that they are waiting for the graphics cards they are going to use hardware or drivers or clearing old inventory still.

[strausd]

They just need to hurry up so I can get my 12-core machine :)

[Wild-Bill]

Always the optimist.......

Well, my laziness claim was based on Apple's past behavior with the older Xeons that came out, and Apple actually had them earlier than everyone else.
Also, considering the fact that they have never offered the latest and greatest video cards, that the likely mid-range candidate would be the ATI 5870XT. The low offering I imagine would be something nVidia related, and perhaps the high-end would be one of the new FireGL's.

If they are waiting for volume availability of the nVidia 480's, I would be most disappointed. Their performance isn't much higher than that of the 5870, and the power draw and thermal profile is off the scales.

[slughead]

My 8800 is starting to fail, despite running the PCI bay fans at 2x speed.

Obviously I can bake it like others have done, but I also just want a new card without paying $350 for it.

Too bad I have a 2006 mac pro.

[Umbongo]

Always the optimist.......

Well, my laziness claim was based on Apple's past behavior with the older Xeons that came out, and Apple actually had them earlier than everyone else.

That only happened once out of three chipset/architecture changes and two additional processor additions. Also the only time prices were ridiculous ;)

If they are waiting for volume availability of the nVidia 480's, I would be most disappointed. Their performance isn't much higher than that of the 5870, and the power draw and thermal profile is off the scales.

I agree it will be disappointing if the 5870 isn't the official high end card option. Having looked at current card offerings over the past few days if you base it on Apple's past behaviour it seems the most likely candidate is probably the 470.

[strausd]

Would the 470 be better than the 5870 for 3D rendering?

[Umbongo]

Would the 470 be better than the 5870 for 3D rendering?

The 5870 has slightly better hardware performance, but for viewport rendering it will come down to the quality of the drivers.

[Spacedust]

NO for nVidia
YES for ATI

ATI is better, lower power consumption, better performance, less noise, up to 6 screens with one card.

[Wild-Bill]

NO for nVidia
YES for ATI

ATI is better, lower power consumption, better performance, less noise, up to 6 screens with one card.

Yeah. The PC version of the Eyefinity 6 5870XT are out already, with six mini displayports to drive up to 6 displays on one card. I'd rather have the dual-dvi version but hey, if it says 5870 I'm buying it.

[strausd]

Does powering more displays with one card make the GPU slower at all?

[RebootD]

As someone with an 09 with the stock GT120 I'd give an eyebrow for a decent $200-300 upgrade. You know, one that isn't a $90 card being sold for $399?