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2010 Mac Pro Wish list

JesterJJZ

JesterJJZ

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Jul 21, 2004
2,506
898
I know we've had these threads before, but I find them fun, and the time is nearing for a refresh. :)

Without getting ridiculous, there are really only a couple things I really want to see in a new Mac Pro.

More drive space. Even room for one additional drive somewhere would be great. Ideally, 2 additional 2.5" bays for a pair of SDDs would be nice.

An extra PCIe slot. Just one more would help a lot. Either that or give us one port-multiplied eSATA port on the back. Oh heck, just give us both. :D

I just want to see some more improvements other than speed and under the hood stuff.
 
-6 RAM slots per processor
-Use the 32nm quad cores to pull off an all-dual socket line up, thus making 12 RAM slots standard.
-Go back to using rubber mounting pins for the fans. It's not that hard.
-Put some foam or something on the side panel, for God's sakes. It's an incredibly cheap and easy way to quiet a machine down without. sacrificing cooling. It's not like the panel has vents in it now or anything.
-Magnetic clips for the panel instead of the pins.
-SD card slot.
-"New" style power switch.
-No tiny "BOOSTA"* fans. Put the CPUs side-by-side, and use one big fan.




*Apple engineers, we know you used that naming system and capitalization just to have a "boosta" in the computer. It's cute, now use the name for a fan that doesn't make awful high-pitched humming noises.
 
- keep current pricing
- 6 ram slots idd
- starting at 2,8 or 2,9 ghz

no other requests :)
 
- Update the graphics cards to the latest models.

- Offer SSD option.

- 6 RAM slots per processor.

- eSATA and SD card ports.

- Lower price for entry-level dual proc config.
 
  • Start updating firmware to the state of the art
  • Have an EFI menue with user settable parameters such as AHCI and RAID mode for Windows and other elements
  • Use the memory capabilities from SPD instead of castrating the IMC
  • Provide south bridge capable of througput for 3 SSDs in RAID0
  • Offer RAID card that boots OS X and Windows as well as EFI
  • Provide power from the PSU directly to the ODD bay
  • Provide Molex power from the PCIe bay
  • Offer HDD/SSD sleds with 2,5" and 3,5" mounting
 
I think it needs more ports on it. More USB, more firewire and E-sata.

Ram obviously needs more slots.

Minor change to the look to make above happen.
 
gugucom said:
  • Start updating firmware to the state of the art
  • Have an EFI menue with user settable parameters such as AHCI and RAID mode for Windows and other elements
  • Use the memory capabilities from SPD instead of castrating the IMC
  • Provide south bridge capable of througput for 3 SSDs in RAID0
  • Offer RAID card that boots OS X and Windows as well as EFI
  • Provide power from the PSU directly to the ODD bay
  • Provide Molex power from the PCIe bay
  • Offer HDD/SSD sleds with 2,5" and 3,5" mounting
Click to expand...

Nice list. All are achievable on Apple's part without much additional cost except for the south bridge limitation which is an Intel problem.

Add to this, 6 DIMM slots per processor, and a solution to the temp problems , and you would have a winning product.
 
VirtualRain said:
Nice list. All are achievable on Apple's part without much additional cost except for the south bridge limitation which is an Intel problem.

Add to this, 6 DIMM slots per processor, and a solution to the temp problems , and you would have a winning product.
Click to expand...
+1. That would make for a very nice system indeed. :)

Intel does need to redevelop the ICH for faster throughputs, but it's not happening on the next system AFAIK, as the chipset is to remain the same. So even if a new ICH drops, it's still connected by a 2GB/s DMI (1GB up/down), and still have a less than desirable limit. Perhaps an improvement, but not what should really be there, given what SSD's out in the wild can do.
 
nanofrog said:
+1. That would make for a very nice system indeed. :)

Intel does need to redevelop the ICH for faster throughputs, but it's not happening on the next system AFAIK, as the chipset is to remain the same. So even if a new ICH drops, it's still connected by a 2GB/s DMI (1GB up/down), and still have a less than desirable limit. Perhaps an improvement, but not what should really be there, given what SSD's out in the wild can do.
Click to expand...

Agreed... Ideally, Intel ultimately develops an ISRC (Integrated SATA RAID Controller) on the CPU die that supports six 6GB/s links directly to the CPU with dedicated on-die cache, and IO coprocessor to support parity calculations, etc. :D

IMHO, such on-die I/O would be a much better use of silicon than continually increasing core-counts that software just can't utilize.
 
VirtualRain said:
Agreed... Ideally, Intel ultimately develops an ISRC (Integrated SATA RAID Controller) on the CPU die that supports six 6GB/s links directly to the CPU with dedicated cache, and IO coprocessor to support parity calculations, etc. :D
Click to expand...
This is what I'm hoping for, but it won't show up until the next Tock cycle in the accompanying chipset at the earliest .
 
I would second comments about a lower priced "entry level" machine, sort of like the 1.6GHz G5. I had that particular machine outfitted with 4GB of RAM and was very happy with it for a long time.
 
VirtualRain said:
Agreed... Ideally, Intel ultimately develops an ISRC (Integrated SATA RAID Controller) on the CPU die that supports six 6GB/s links directly to the CPU with dedicated on-die cache, and IO coprocessor to support parity calculations, etc. :D

IMHO, such on-die I/O would be a much better use of silicon than continually increasing core-counts that software just can't utilize.
Click to expand...

Thats half the reason why I haven't purchased a quad-core or higher Mac. I understand that multiple cores is the "way of the future", but most applications users like me (non-professional) use simply do not take advantage of them.

Edit: I know I'm probably going to get lots of "then you don't need a Mac Pro anyway" comments. Let me clarify, I don't use my Mac's for the "usual" professional applications most Mac users utilize such as Photoshop and the like. I am an information security manager and run applications that, more often than not, run via x-11 or the command line.
 
I like the idea of adding four 2.5" HDD Bays above or below the current 3.5" bays.

We really need more RAM slots.

I would like to see some ESATA ports, and more USB 2.0, FW800 ports wouldn't hurt. I not sure about support for USB 3.0 yet. Apple tends to lag behind on adopting new interfaces.

A better RAID card would be nice, but I'm not holding out much hope for it.
 
My wishes (some of them already stated):

1. Faster internal SATA controller. 660MB/s is not enough for SSDs in RAID.

2. Bring back the old "floating" SATA header design. We shouldn't have to hack our systems with 3rd party parts to install real RAID cards that also function with the internal drives.

3. Blu-ray drive option AND HDCP compliant BD video playback. 10Mbps streaming video is NOT a replacement for 50Mbps BD movies. Wishful thinking knowing Apple, but come on!

4. More graphics card options. For 2009, we got a mediocre GT120, an overpriced Radeon 4870 and a pricey aftermarket GTX285.

5. 6 DIMM sockets per CPU. This is spec for tri-channel memory on current Intel Xeon workstations. Why can't Apple comply?

6. At least one eSATA port on the rear.

7. Airport Express cards should be standard in every Mac Pro.

9. Slightly unrelated, but Apple really needs to refresh the 30" ACD and perhaps offer a 27" model using the same panel from the 27" iMac to position in between the lineup.

9. (This applies to iMacs, too) Offer a backlit keyboard. PBG4 and MBP owners have been spoiled for years with this and I think it would go over well in a slimline desktop keyboard as well.

There's probably more i haven't thought of...
 
Top 3 for me would be:

1) Fix the CPU / Audio issue.
2) Better officially supported GPU options.
3) At least two, 2.5" drive bays in addition to what we currently have.
 
1. Competitive pricing, not overpricing like the 2009 Mac Pros.

2. AirPort card standard.

3. Put in a good video card from the get-go, not some cheap consumer product.

4. Solve heat problems and power consumption problems.

5. Bigger, slow spinning fans and good noise control overall.

6. No lame duck entry level unit like the 2006 4-core which tricked many people thinking they were getting a true workstation. A Mac Pro must be a true workstation. I don't want to get a Mac Pro that's being overtaken in speed within months by the next generation iMac (this happened to the 2009 4-core).

7. Extend warranty on Mac Pros to 3 years without having to buy an extended warranty.
 
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