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2010 Mac Pro Wish list

Core I9 (not Xeon) - It is powerful enough for me that renderings won't take all night, and I won't be using as a server, so ECC doesn't matter to me.

Radeon HD 5870 six standard

Six RAM slots per CPU

New 30" Cinema display

USB 3.0
 
Nostromo said:
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.
Click to expand...

I very much agree with the video card statement. I'd like to see a solid workstation grade card with at least 1GB of vRAM.
 
1. Lower pricing
2. Slightly larger case with same or slightly altered design
3. Better GPU options... move towards high end products like ATI 5800 or 5900 series (preferably the latter) or NVIDIA GTX300 series.
4. More dedicated power for GPUs. 600 or 800W instead of 300W. Provide six and 8 pin pci express connectors
5. 2.5" slots for SSD's
6. Ready to use AHCI mode for Windows
7. Refresh to the Apple Cinema Displays ... offer a 32" option

Althought these may be just wishful thinking it's always worth hoping for. :rolleyes:
 
I'd like to have a fast eSATA port, too. (Someone mentioned here that eSATA isn't at its maximum speed in the Mac Pro)
 
Has any manufacturer offered a computer with eSATA built in?
 
Given my budget, the most I can hope for are lowered prices on used 2008 eight-cores Mac Pros.

Prices are still ridiculously high.
 
What are the chances we could get more PCIe slots? Is it even technically possible, case and size issues aside.
 
The entry level model with a single 6-core should be around $1800.

The entry level 2x 6-core should be around $2500.

I'm ready to pay a premium for a Mac over a similarly equipped PC.

But not $1000+.


PS: Does anybody know what price Apple will have to pay for one 6-core processor?
 
Non ridiculous pricing.

Non ridiculous video card options and pricing.

Better video card driver support.

When I was a kid I dreamed of being able to afford a Mac II, or IIx - these were priced in the $8,000 to $10,000 range. And while prices have certainly fallen, relatively speaking, it hasn't been proportional to the way PC prices have dropped. And there really aren't good reasons for it.

It disappoints me that there are kids out there who could make as much use of a modern Mac Pro as I could have with a Mac II back in the day, who are basically locked out because of Apple's ridiculous barrier to entry pricing. That doesn't just go for the MP models, but they are the worst offenders.
 
Fast Shadow said:
Non ridiculous pricing.

Non ridiculous video card options and pricing.

Better video card driver support.

When I was a kid I dreamed of being able to afford a Mac II, or IIx - these were priced in the $8,000 to $10,000 range. And while prices have certainly fallen, relatively speaking, it hasn't been proportional to the way PC prices have dropped. And there really aren't good reasons for it.

It disappoints me that there are kids out there who could make as much use of a modern Mac Pro as I could have with a Mac II back in the day, who are basically locked out because of Apple's ridiculous barrier to entry pricing. That doesn't just go for the MP models, but they are the worst offenders.
Click to expand...

What's worse are owners of Mac Pros who do little more than use it for surfing the web, email, facebook, twitter, etc - Basically employing them as a general consumer would.

Then they turn around and sell it claiming that it's too much computer for them. I use to sit in stunned silence whenever I read listings of that sort but it's becoming more frequent that it makes me wonder if there are a disproportionate number of people who are buying these systems simply because they have money to burn.

It's sad.
 
JesterJJZ said:
What are the chances we could get more PCIe slots? Is it even technically possible, case and size issues aside.
Click to expand...

There'd need to be a case redesign, but they could put more in there. I'd love two more myself. Hell, even one. Also on the 'not going to happen' wishlist: 10GBASE-T and something like Trans Intl's Pro Caddy to fit 2 (Or 4, this is the unrealistic list :)) SSDs in the never-going-to-be-used second optical bay.

As for my realistic wishlist: 128GB maximum RAM and a Dodeca with a base price under 4 key.
 
hwhalers said:
There'd need to be a case redesign, but they could put more in there. I'd love two more myself. Hell, even one. Also on the 'not going to happen' wishlist: 10GBASE-T and something like Trans Intl's Pro Caddy to fit 2 (Or 4, this is the unrealistic list :)) SSDs in the never-going-to-be-used second optical bay.

As for my realistic wishlist: 128GB maximum RAM and a Dodeca with a base price under 4 key.
Click to expand...

I love for them to just make the case a couple inches taller and add 2 drives and PCIe slots. Here's a quick mockup of what I want.
 

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phaedarus said:
What's worse are owners of Mac Pros who do little more than use it for surfing the web, email, facebook, twitter, etc - Basically employing them as a general consumer would.

Then they turn around and sell it claiming that it's too much computer for them. I use to sit in stunned silence whenever I read listings of that sort but it's becoming more frequent that it makes me wonder if there are a disproportionate number of people who are buying these systems simply because they have money to burn.

It's sad.
Click to expand...

I think the MP is an amazing machine and there just isn't a substitute for having expansion slots and room for multiple 3.5" drives. A real desktop. I wish they were more accessible. Mac marketshare may be up compared to 2000, but it's still down compared to the late 1980's and early 1990's. Everyone's been shouting for a mid tower for years, I wish Apple would listen.
 
JesterJJZ said:
I love for them to just make the case a couple inches taller and add 2 drives and PCIe slots. Here's a quick mockup of what I want.
Click to expand...

That would be glorious. I know everyone says this :)p), but I'd pay extra for that. Alas.
 
JesterJJZ said:
Not if they were somehow limited to SDDs.
Click to expand...

They could probably offer an SSD boot drive option like the XServe… something like a 1.8" 160GB X18-M slotted somewhere would be nice. That would be small enough to fix anywhere in the computer without changing a thing… of course that wouldn't really add more slots or drive capacity.

The problem with the added 2 drive sledges is addressing where the rails would go?
 
VirtualRain said:
Why do people need more than 4 PCIe slots?
Click to expand...
Possibilities:
  • Multiple graphics cards for either multi monitor configs, or GPGPU use (need to be 16x or 8x lane slots ideally)
  • Multiple RAID cards (again, 8x slots ideally, though in some cases, a 4x will do, depending on the card and drives used)
  • FC or even an Infiniband card (I've not seen this on MP's, but it's possible, such as needing to attach to a cluster or large high throughput network storage system)
  • Specific industry/use related cards, such as the BlackMagic and a couple of others that may need more than the slot config or quantity available (i.e. combinations that need more slots or lanes than is available)

I know it's possible to use a PCIe expander (additional slots that are switched to one in the system, but it's not only expensive, it could cause a bottleneck in some situations).

For most though, I'm assuming they'd just like to have them for possible future use. ;)
 
nanofrog said:
Possibilities:
  • Multiple graphics cards for either multi monitor configs, or GPGPU use (need to be 16x or 8x lane slots ideally)
  • Multiple RAID cards (again, 8x slots ideally, though in some cases, a 4x will do, depending on the card and drives used)
  • FC or even an Infiniband card (I've not seen this on MP's, but it's possible, such as needing to attach to a cluster or large high throughput network storage system)
  • Specific industry/use related cards, such as the BlackMagic and a couple of others that may need more than the slot config or quantity available (i.e. combinations that need more slots or lanes than is available)

I know it's possible to use a PCIe expander (additional slots that are switched to one in the system, but it's not only expensive, it could cause a bottleneck in some situations).

For most though, I'm assuming they'd just like to have them for possible future use. ;)
Click to expand...

Do you really need more than 4 slots to do any of that though? You could pick any two of those and still not need more than four slots.
 
GFX Card
Raid Card
Capture Card (AJA, Blackmagic etc.)
Audio card
DSP Card (UAD2)

That's 5 for me and you could possibly need more Audio + DSP Slots as well as extra room for peripheral slots of various cards

Or a Pro tools System example:

Pro Tools|HD 3 Accel
1 HD Core card and 2 HD Accel cards (PCI), or 1 Accel Core card and 2 HD Accel cards (PCIe)
Up to 96 channels of I/O (160 maximum with additional DSP)
Up to 192 simultaneous (256 total) audio tracks at 44.1/48 kHz, 36 at 192 kHz
Up to 128 instrument tracks; 256 MIDI tracks

GFX card and your full
 
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