The biggest argument against this is Apple not wanting to write drivers for Tiger and Leopard for several new GPUs.
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2007 Harpertown Stoakley-Seaburg Motherboard With New Graphics Cards 8-Core Mac Pro
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The biggest argument against this is Apple not wanting to write drivers for Tiger and Leopard for several new GPUs.
I for one do not want Leopard pre-installed on my system for the simple fact that my system is for work, and I need a rock solid OS with no version 1 bugs mulling about. I will upgrade to Leopard when 10.5.2 is out or when all my pro apps are totally compatible without question.
I hope we get the MP's before October, not because it will be sooner but for this reason alone.
I hope we get the MP's before October, not because it will be sooner but for this reason alone.
So you are saying that we have to pay a 129 dollar penalty for an earlier than expected arrival of the Mac Pro.
I can really use that Mac Pro asap so I would be willing.
Unfortunately, you've got a good point.
The HD 2900 GT/Pro has zero interest for me.
Nobody seems to know quite what to make of the 8700 GTS.
It appears to be more powerful than was originally expected.
I think it is interesting that it supports PCIe 2.0 which coincides nicely with Stoakley/Seaburg.
It is expected to be launched on November 12th which is in the neighborhood of when I think the new Mac Pro will be announced.
Now for the bad news... I sure hope Apple will not offer the 8700 GTS as the bto high-end consumer card.
It does not appear to have near the power of the 8800 GTX or 8800 Ultra.
Unless they want to slap two of those puppies together...then you've got a 1 TFLOPS card.
It would be excellent as the base unit video card.
(edit) I take back the above statement...I am so scared that Apple is going to screw-up the video cards that I think I will be relatively happy if the 8700 GTS is the bto high-end video card.
With the iMac, Apple went backwards, I hate to think what they could do with the Mac Pro.
Apple should adopt Microsoft's approach - let the graphic card companies supply the video drivers.
Windows ships with either basic drivers on the Windows kit, or the generic "VGA" driver can be used.
If you want to get everything that the card can do, you download the drivers from the card company.
Wouldn't it be nice to pick up any card and plug it into your Apple? (Of course, since only one model of Apple actually has a replaceable video card, that's less of a treat.)
No offense, but is there any evidence that the graphics companies want to write Mac drivers? It was my understanding that that's part of the problem.
You are not alone Topper. After the end of "the long wait" if Apple pulls an iMac I'll pull my hair out.
I've sent my thoughts to Apple through the feedback form many many times. Question is, is anyone listening?
They listened to all the yahoos who bought the iPhone early that didn't have the patience to wait. Question is, are there enough complaints going through for someone to listen?
Good point. I seriously hope that people who happen upon my posts at MR (not just in the Mac Pro thread) see my signature and feel compelled to provide feedback to Apple. After all, the pen is mightier than the sword. And the recent iPhone pricing snafu is proof positive that it works.
(.....heads off to fashion another letter to the Mac Pro feedback team asking for an 8800GTX)
Nvidia has drivers for Linux x86, Linux x64, FreeBSD, Solaris x86, Solaris x64, as well as almost every flavor of Windows (including beta versions).
http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp
Seems to me to be that it's more likely that the problem is in Cupertino, not Santa Clara.
I mean, I'm sure Apple monitors this website and looks to see what people write and there thoughts. So who knows, maybe they will listen.
The GeForce 8700 GTS and ATi HD 2900 GT/Pro are performance mainstream parts. Effectively what the 8600/2600 should have been. There's still a big gap between $150 and $280 that's mostly being filled by older DX 9 components.
I would say it definatly is at Cupertino*, but I wouldn't think Nvidia or AMD care about writing drivers for anything Apple isn't directly requesting from them either. I just don't think there is a real market there for Apple, the GPU companies or a manufacturer to be willing to invest in.
*In the sense that Apple have created a range of computers where there is no real money to be made so no desire to create drivers/products.
Are you being serious, or sarcastic? I have a dual 2.6 that had 4GB, upgraded to 8, with the default video card. It could be better, video editing is slow on any machine I've ever used and the video card isn't great (the only real upgrades being an overpriced Radeon and a way more expensive Nvidia), but I wouldn't call it slow. What more do you want? There are already 2 higher end models, but they aren't that much faster. We already know what's coming next, and it isn't that much better.
ATI has Mac drivers. Even has had retail cards. Even had a card that was Mac and PC compatible, but it was ridiculously expensive for old tech. They could do it now, and it wouldn't be as hard, but I guess it still isn't profitable enough. You can flash some retail cards, but it isn't easy and doesn't always work.
I too hope for a better video card. And preferably, an affordable upgrade kit for those of us who already own Mac Pros. Maybe if they even do a cheaper upgradable Mac, there will be more of a market, but unfortunately, I don't see that happening any time soon either.
I am really missing something here.
My understanding is the 8700 GTS is supposed to fit somewhere between the 8600 and the 8800 GTS.
Yet it's performance may come close to the 8800 GTS (320 MB).
It's price is expected to be close to the 8800 GTS.
Why would someone take a 8700 GTS over a 8800 GTS?
Doesn't anyone know anybody at Apple that designs this stuff and can leak information of when a new MP is coming?
When new Mac Pro's are released, mine will probably be for sale at a bargain =D
A newer motherboard and processors won't need a redesign. I'd rather talk to the person that writes the developer notes.
You're kidding, right? Any person at Apple who leaked information would likely be immediately fired. Apple is a very secretive about future products, so there are very few leaks.
I have a prediction.
I predict that this thread, started by MultiMedia on 4-4-07, will reach 1,000 posts before we see a Mac Pro update.
guess we all better start posting more..heres another contribution from me..now everyone else do ur part.
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