Mac Pro Update Now Possible with New Xeon E5 Chips Next Week

[yonis]

Can't wait to finally upgrade from my 2006 Mac Pro.

[mysticalos]

How is this even remotely a good thing? do we really want a mac pro refresh with this and NOT ivy bridge? that's a huge stab in my opinion, because they would not refresh with this and then again with ivy bridge in 3 months, it'd be either or, and it better be ivy bridge. because if we get a refresh of a revised LAST gen cpu, the see the rest of the macs get ivy bridge, it's just going to make me mad, because i've been waiting for a mac pro refresh for a new mac. But THIS is not what i'm waiting for.

[chaosbunny]

Obviously I'm still more than happy with my 2010 model ... I'd take a new gpu though.

[nuckinfutz]

New chassis redesign please.

I want a rack-able 3U design with a move from traditional 3.5 drives to 2.5 drives. Give me 5 or 6 swappable drives which shouldn't take up any more space.

3 Thunderbolt outputs would be dandy.

[notabadname]

Please open the Mac Pro to the full world of Nvidia GPUs (and AMD for that matter). That would be the best update ever

[charlieroberts]

If they do release, I can only imagine how many they are going to sell! People are going crazy over these, and with fear of this maybe being the last mac pro I think nearly everyone who has been on the edge is going to order.

[nuckinfutz]

Originally Posted by mysticalos

How is this even remotely a good thing? do we really want a mac pro refresh with this and NOT ivy bridge? that's a huge stab in my opinion, because they would not refresh with this and then again with ivy bridge in 3 months, it'd be either or, and it better be ivy bridge. because if we get a refresh of a revised LAST gen cpu, the see the rest of the macs get ivy bridge, it's just going to make me mad, because i've been waiting for a mac pro refresh for a new mac. But THIS is not what i'm waiting for.

Ivy Bridge is poop. Mac Pro are going to use discrete graphics and with that big ole chassis it doesn't matter if the processors get hot. In fact I want them to get hot so I can turn off the central heating lol.

USB 3.0 is poop to. Go with Thunderbolt and get speed that you previously could only get with Fibre Channel.

Winning.

[Apple Key]

I don't understand why everyone thinks Apple is going to discontinue the Mac Pro.

On this website I go on from time to time... it says "Don't Buy - Updates soon". I'm pretty sure that means they're going to update them soon.

[Chupa Chupa]

I have to think Apple will release at least one more MP update. Now that a suitable chip is available Apple owe it to its pro customer base to announce whether the line will live or die. Again, I think it will live, but with so much doubt around, we need an answer.

Originally Posted by Apple Key

I don't understand why everyone thinks Apple is going to discontinue the Mac Pro.

On this website I go on from time to time... it says "Don't Buy - Updates soon". I'm pretty sure that means they're going to update them soon.

MR doesn't have any inside info, they are just assuming b/c there always has been an update. But everything comes to an end at some point.

[wikus]

Originally Posted by sulpfiction

If those iOS "toys" were soley responsible for making you BILLIONS of dollars, and helped make you the richest company on earth....I'd bet you focus on those "toys" too.

Theres no excuse for completely ignoring the Mac Pro for the last 4 years. Apple's worth is now at half a trillion dollars. Theyve got over 80 billion dollars in cash.

So what if their iToys/iOS/iPhone are bringing in cash? How does that stop Apple from still putting any kind of attention to the Mac Pro?

[MattInOz]

Originally Posted by kyjaotkb

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

Not going to happen with Ivy Bridge and integrated USB3 around the corner.

Well maybe but both this new chip and the future one are on the same socket and the board will need a significant overhaul to use the either chip. Adding USB3 with few extra lines is pretty trivial compared to the upgrades the PCIe network gets in this transition.

Can't see them waiting for what is almost a drop in upgrade.

[C. Alan]

I for one hope it is true that the Mac Pro will get an update. My have been chugging along for over two years now, and they are great machines.

[AlPlPlLE]

I don't think that this is going to come to be. Mountain Lion doesn't come out till summer time. Yes I know its possible just to upgrade, but IMO I feel that the next MBP line or whatever they call them would make more sense just releasing Mountain Lion on it from factory?

[petsounds]

Dear Apple,

Maybe you wouldn't have to "question" the continuing existence of the Mac Pro line if you would supply your customers with an update more than once every two (and counting) years. Pro users want speed, and lots of it. You're not really delivering on your end of the bargain lately.

Oh, and how about also ditching this Mac-only graphics card BS and figuring out a way of letting us put any standard PC graphics card in our Mac Pro? You're making a gazillion dollars on iOS devices now; you don't need to continue milking your pro customers with outdated graphics cards priced at a premium.

[Joe The Dragon]

let's see starting price 1 cpu $2999, 4gb ram , 1TB HDD, low end video card.

[firestarter]

So finally we have the CPUs, but still no MacPro.

Time to really turn on the paranoia!

[notabadname]

Originally Posted by chaosbunny

Obviously I'm still more than happy with my 2010 model ... I'd take a new gpu though.

Love my 2010 as well. Like you, I just want to upgrade my GPU. My 5870 does all right, but GPU's age far faster than CPU's. I want a 590 or SLO dual 580's. Give us an end to the one (most) legit complaint - the Mac is a poor platform for games. Here we are, with Intel chips, running Windows natively if we choose - but we are unnecessarily hobbled from choosing amongst the countless GPU offerings.

[verstaerker]

Originally Posted by Torrijos

Seen the amount of time and resources Apple has spent on OpenCL (like optimizing Final Cut X for it) I doubt the Nvidia move...

Either way, AMD or Nvidia, Apple has always seen substandard support from both in the high end market, maybe Apple could provide its own graphics (OpenGL 4++) - OpenCL Cards, instead of buying cards that were built with DirectX in mind.

Apple better start pushing its OpenGL platform forward with mountain lion because they seem to be the largest OpenGL mainstream supporter.

aren't you completly mixing up openCL and open GL?

openCL (the system(interface) to use GPU for any kind of processes) was first introduced for nVidia cards - nowadays it runs on AMD & nVidia cards

openGL (the systen to display and compute graphics on the GPU) is also
compatible to both systems

[Rot'nApple]

Originally Posted by P-Worm

I currently own a 2006 Mac Pro that is obviously starting to get a bit old. I have thought I might be able to get a year or two more out of it, but that's a stretch.

How many times have you upgraded your 2006 Mac Pro to keep it viable, I'm curious to know? I have a 2006 24" white iMac first Intel chip one and I'm gonna be in the market soon for a new iMac. My old one, as is, served me well, and I never once thought about, 'man I wish I could upgrade or expand this thing'! With the new iMacs, I'd be looking at bumping up the RAM but that is the extent of upgrades and expandability that I'd be concerned about.

I wonder what the future for the Mac Pro is and whether I will be able to upgrade my machine in 3+ years. The main reason to pay the premium for a Mac Pro is upgradability, expandability, and being able to use the monitors that I have instead of being forced to buy one with an iMac.

Please, and seriously, I mean no disrespect, but aren't you and other Mac Pro users Apple's niche market?

I myself have had three what can be considered early version MacPro's before switching to two iMacs on my way to a third. In all the time I had my three power machines, I never once cared to upgrade or expand even if I could. Even today, RAM is about my only concern for the iMac, but swapping out graphics cards or new processors or Hard Drives or whatever the more inquisitive people do with their PowerMacs, I never had an inkling! I'm sure by shear numbers that your average iMac user feels the same. Plug it in and go to work irrespective of whether I can add to it 3 - 5 years down the road.

Again, it's nice that you have the smarts and capabilities to enhance your MacPro... Me?! I'd just break something if I ever tried to enhance. So, I'm usually content with the offerings out there, as I bet most people are who are in Best Buy to buy their iMacs so as to own a computer to do the lesser things in the first place, are too!

Again, not meaning to rile you or anyone or start a PowerMac versus iMac argument or anything like that. Just trying a nice conversation! Thanks...
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[iNeedAMacPro]

My faith in God is strong Apple give us the Mac Pro or I'll have to end this miserable existence.

[proboscisjoe]

Originally Posted by O and A

If they release a mac pro you'll be able to upgrade for years. There are many ways to get get non appel sold graphics cards to work on a mac.

You should also be able to swap out the processors like you can in the mac pros now.

Also the updated mac pros will surely have thunderbolt. So you can expect upgradeability for many years to come.

My friend has been asking me how to get his PC-standard ATI 4870 to work with how 2008 8-core Mac Pro for years. Have you any idea how this may be done? Any literature/resources?

[Renzatic]

Originally Posted by Peace

And I don't see Apple adopting USB 3.0 with Thunderbolt in their systems.

Why not have both? It makes far more sense to hook up your peripherals through USB 3.0, and save your Thunderbolt port for the high end external hardware that needs the bandwidth.

This is why I'm so confused about the Thunderbolt Vs. USB 3.0 debate. It's not like the two are mutually exclusive. Even Intel said as much.

[jayhawk11]

Originally Posted by Peace

Intel announced that it had begun production of Ivy Bridge chips in volume in the third quarter of 2011 with retail availability starting in April 2012, one source specified April 8 as the availability date.In February 2012, it was reported that Intel would postpone the launch of the dual-core mobile CPUs (not desktop CPUs or quad-core mobile CPUs) to June 2012 to allow more time to sell surplus inventory of Sandy Bridge CPUs, which accumulated due to slower than expected computer sales.

Apple has received Intel CPU's in advance before.
And I don't see Apple adopting USB 3.0 with Thunderbolt in their systems.

There's so much wrong with this in regards to the Mac Pro, that I don't even know where to start.

[AxiomaticRubric]

Originally Posted by wikus

Its nice to see news about real computers. It almost feels like apple doesn't care about professionals and is instead focusing on the iOS toys.

Apple would be foolish not to provide top-of-line hardware to iOS and OS X developers, most of whom are very interested in a possible new Mac Pro. Simply put, Apple needs both product lines: Macs for developers (i.e. "trucks") and iOS devices for mass consumption (i.e. "cars / motorcycles").

[jayhawk11]

Originally Posted by proboscisjoe

My friend has been asking me how to get his PC-standard ATI 4870 to work with how 2008 8-core Mac Pro for years. Have you any idea how this may be done? Any literature/resources?

There's this neat search feature at the top of the forum. That would be a nice place to start.