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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,283
30,344



The Inquirer reports that Intel's Sandy Bridge E server chips, also known as the Xeon E5 series, are set to debut week. According to the report, the chips have been in the distribution channel for several weeks now, meaning that manufacturers utilizing the chips, as Apple would be expected to do in an updated Mac Pro, will be able to hit the ground running.
Boston confirmed to The INQUIRER that Xeon E5 chips have been in the channel for a few weeks now and confirmed to us that it won't be a paper launch. We have also been shown Xeon E5 systems from other large vendors that give credence to the notion that Intel's Xeon E5 will arrive, for real, next week.
Benchmarks are evidently still under embargo until next week, but the Xeon E5 chips will undoubtedly be a vast improvement over the chips found in the current Mac Pro, which hasn't been updated since mid-2010. Other companies such as Dell have already begun announcing new products based on the Xeon E5, meaning that Apple could be ready with Mac Pro updates in the relatively near future.

xeon_e5.jpg



Apple is likely to take advantage of the E5-2600 series 6-core and 8-core chips for its dual-processor Mac Pro configurations, while focusing on the E5-1600 series quad-core and 6-core chips for its lower-end single-processor models.

Aside from the new processors, other pieces crucial for a blockbuster Mac Pro upgrade are also falling into place, although there have been few specific Mac Pro rumors in recent months. One recent report did claim, however, that Apple is planning to switch to NVIDIA graphics in the updated Mac Pro, moving away from current graphics partner AMD.

An update to the Mac Pro is of course also contingent upon Apple deciding that it is worth keeping the line alive. The company late last year was reportedly "questioning" the future of the Mac Pro line, examining whether it should continue offering the professional-level workstation as sales have declined amid a continued shift toward notebook machines and specs that had gone stale while waiting for Intel to release updated processors.

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

wikus

macrumors 68000
Jun 1, 2011
1,795
2
Planet earth.
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.
 

P-Worm

macrumors 68020
Jul 16, 2002
2,045
1
Salt Lake City, UT
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. Needless to say, I am pretty interested in a new Mac Pro being released, especially as I am still a student and could utilize a student discount.

HOWEVER.

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. What happens if Apple decides that they no longer want to make Mac Pros and all of a sudden I won't be able to upgrade the graphics card to extend the life of my machine? If I was unable to upgrade the graphics card in the machine that I have now, it wouldn't have lasted nearly as long.

P-Worm
 

coder12

macrumors 6502a
Jun 28, 2010
512
3
I applaude this news; I really feel for the fans of the Mac Pro and Classic iPod--they've (I guess this includes me...) been left in limbo for quite some time!
 

kyjaotkb

macrumors 6502a
Nov 20, 2009
937
883
London, UK
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.
 

Mattsasa

macrumors 68020
Apr 12, 2010
2,339
744
Minnesota
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.

wrong. Ivy Bridge CPUs suitable for the Mac Pro is still well over a year away
 

nuckinfutz

macrumors 603
Jul 3, 2002
5,537
398
Middle Earth
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.

Two technologies that Mac Pro customers won't be overly concerned with. Ivy Bridge is more of a player in the mobile space and USB 3 takes a back seat to Thunderbolt in storage speed and latency.
 

sulpfiction

macrumors 68040
Aug 16, 2011
3,075
603
Philadelphia Area
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.

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. :)
 

techguy20

macrumors 6502
Jan 30, 2010
250
0
Just build a SB (or in a few months, IB) Hackintosh.

Better performance at less than half the price! :D
 

Peace

Cancelled
Apr 1, 2005
19,546
4,556
Space The Only Frontier
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.

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.
 

Mr-Stabby

macrumors 6502
Sep 1, 2004
330
273
Oh please hurry. I rely on Macs with more than the 4 cores currently available on top end iMacs, and i'm not willing to buy a 2 year old machine at those prices! Plus i'm after Thunderbolt. I really hope Apple push the boat out with this update. But i have to admit to not expecting much.

I know Mac Pros aren't exactly Apples bread and butter anymore, but it says something about their company that they're putting no effort into it at all by the look of it. If companies like Sony can sell products for everybody ranging from consumers to broadcast professionals and maintain high quality products throughout those ranges. then surely Apple can too.
 

chrmjenkins

macrumors 603
Oct 29, 2007
5,325
158
MD
Macrumors is sourcing from the inquirer now? They are fun to read for rumors, but I would take a cargo ship full of salt with anything they say.
 

slrandall

macrumors 6502
Jun 15, 2011
412
0
Thank the lord. Time to buy my first Mac Pro. My 2002 Power Mac G4 is still chugging along, but can't really keep up with modern scientific computing anymore. Also, Tiger's getting a little old. Switching back and forth between Lion and Tiger gets annoying.
 

O and A

macrumors regular
Jul 22, 2002
240
21
New York City
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. Needless to say, I am pretty interested in a new Mac Pro being released, especially as I am still a student and could utilize a student discount.

HOWEVER.

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. What happens if Apple decides that they no longer want to make Mac Pros and all of a sudden I won't be able to upgrade the graphics card to extend the life of my machine? If I was unable to upgrade the graphics card in the machine that I have now, it wouldn't have lasted nearly as long.

P-Worm

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.
 

Torrijos

macrumors 6502
Jan 10, 2006
384
24
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.
 
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