8-Core Mac Pro In January? Displays Too?

[PmattF]

Don't you think we'll have a macpro update soon ?
My source said to me "not prior april-may", it was 3 weeks ago...I'm afraid
he/she was right.
I really need to buy a very very powerfull mac now or at the beginning of february max...
What do you think, guys ?

If you wait until February, and there is still no update, so you buy then, when the new Mac finally does come out you will have owned a non-obsoleted Mac for that much shorter time.

So either buy today, or commit to waiting until the next revision, no matter how long it takes.

I am buying today.

Unless I change my mind over lunch.

 

[MrTed]

Unless you are writing and compiling software of your own that depends on threads and symetric multiprocessing, I don't think that waiting is going to buy you any more computer with the additional cores.

I use Logic Pro for mixing music. I really need power for this (lots of plugin and virtual instruments). Today logic is optimized for 4 cores. And it's an Apple software, so when an octocore macpro will be available a logic pro update will follow...

 

[Multimedia]

Toast 8 Will Use All 8 Cores After Dual Clovertown Ships

Unless you are writing and compiling software of your own that depends on threads and symetric multiprocessing, I don't think that waiting is going to buy you any more computer with the additional cores.

From the Pressroom of Macworld Expo.

I spoke with the author of Toast 8 - now shipping - and it uses all 4 cores of a Mac Pro as well as of a Quad G5 - much more optimized to use all 4 cores in each model - and will use all 8 cores of a Dual Clovertown Mac Pro when it ships IF Apple doesn't do something to the OS to mess that up and if they do, it will be fixed shortly after release and use all 8 cores FOR SURE.

So you are misaken Swarmlord. 8 cores are for everyone except those who never use Toast.

 

[PmattF]

So either buy today, or commit to waiting until the next revision, no matter how long it takes.

I am buying today.

Unless I change my mind over lunch.

I did not change my mind over lunch -- I ordered one yesterday. 2.66, X1900, 4 gigs of RAM, 160 gig drive (which I will supplement with two Maxline Pro 500's in a RAID 0 from Newegg).

I ordered from http://www.powermax.com -- they are on Oregon, and hence have no sales tax, which is an 8.8% discount for me here in Seattle. Plus they gave me a great deal on the AppleCare. If you call them, ask for Maiya -- I worked with her, she was great, and of course they are on commission.

 

[Multimedia]

April 27 May Be When It All Starts Shipping

Don't you think we'll have a macpro update soon ?
My source said to me "not prior april-may", it was 3 weeks ago...I'm afraid
he/she was right.
I really need to buy a very very powerfull mac now or at the beginning of february max...
What do you think, guys ?

I know. We all do. But we're just going to have to be patient a little longer. I'm thinking at this point we might as well wait for it to ship with Leopard, and perhaps that's the only way it will ship i.e. 8 core may not ship until Leopard is shipping with it.

One of the principle delays is that the Dual Clovertown will run best when supported by the Stoakley-Seaburg multi-core management chipset from Intel. And that isn't supposed to start shipping until this month at the soonest. I'm resigned to thinking we may have to wait until April 16th at NAB before all is revealed. Pundits at Macworld Expo said they are now thinking Leopard may ship just after that on Friday April 27 as that's the first Friday after NAB and we all know that, historically, new OS X's always ship on Fridays to maximize opening weekend sales.

Any sooner will be a pleasant surprise to me.

 

[BiikeMike]

Maybe I'll just get a Mac Mini to tide me over until these new machines come out!

 

[JeffDM]

Don't you think we'll have a macpro update soon ?
My source said to me "not prior april-may", it was 3 weeks ago...I'm afraid
he/she was right.
I really need to buy a very very powerfull mac now or at the beginning of february max...

April-May is around the NAB2007 time frame. Apple tends to update some bit of pro hardware and pro video software at that show. As such, I would expect to see something Monday April 16, the first day of exhibition. I would assume that Mac Pro is a likely update canidate.

If I had to make a call, I think that Mac Pro and a new Final Cut Studio will be released. I am more certain of FCS because a major new version of Final Cut is released every two years at NAB, and this year is when it is due. I'm thinking that might help Mac Pro because FCS might be better optimized to use more processors and a new Mac Pro would help them show that off.

The current units are very powerful, and there may not be a good short-term advantage to an eight-way yet, but that depends on how optimized your software is.

 

[jesteraver]

Is there any chance in hell Apple will switch back to IBM (Lenovo) processors?

 

[Chris here]

Is there any chance in hell Apple will switch back to IBM (Lenovo) processors?

Yeah, I heard it's gonna happen tomorrow or the day after. Unfortunately, all UB apps are not compatible though. Never mind.

 

[Multimedia]

Mini Will Likely Go Core 2 Duo Any Week Now

Maybe I'll just get a Mac Mini to tide me over until these new machines come out!

Great idea except for one more nagging thing - mini will likely go Core 2 Duo any week now and that'll be a Doh! moment for you if you just bought a Core Duo one. Moreover, in the Spring the Intel integrated Graphics chipset will improve and go into a Core 2 Duo mini with Leopard and iLife '07 in it. Now won't that be a hoot!

I say let's all just hybernate with what we have until April's NAB showers of new stuff and be thrilled with the new May Mac Eco System Flowers that will blossom then.

 

[psingh01]

Is there any chance in hell Apple will switch back to IBM (Lenovo) processors?

The processors are IBM. Lenovo only bought the laptop/desktop business, not the chips

 

[Lord Nerdos]

Hello everyone! I've been a regular visitor to macrumors since I got my 12" G4 powerbook, almost four years ago
I've been following this post, balanced on a knife edge as to whether to get the mac pro quad core. A couple of times I've picked up the phone to order and almost gone through with it...
It seems to me that the latest we will have to wait for the 8-core is mid April (NAB). Anything earlier than that will be a bonus. Perhaps we should have a countdown to NAB???
I want an 8 core mac pro because I want to future proof it as much as possible. If I had the money I would have been upgrading on a much more regular basis. I am looking to keep my next apple for at least 4 to 5 years - time enough for the software to catch up with the multiple cores.
If the 8-core comes out sooner then all the better.

 

[BiikeMike]

I want an 8 core mac pro because I want to future proof it as much as possible. If I had the money I would have been upgrading on a much more regular basis. I am looking to keep my next apple for at least 4 to 5 years - time enough for the software to catch up with the multiple cores.
If the 8-core comes out sooner then all the better.

You 'n me both!

 

[mperkins37]

Hello guys, May I chime in?

I am a Graphic Artist & have been doing more & more 3D & Multimedia, as well as being a musician & recording to my mac.
I NEED An 8 CORE MACPRO!!! I am dissappointed that the announcement hasn't been made. They had no problem announcing the IPhone 4 months premature. How good are the chances we get tossed a bone @ NAAM
(Musicians & Music producers need 8 cores too!) they can then announce delivery date in Feb-Mar so we get stoakley & new OS.

Feeling short changed, Trying to get by on my wife's IMac 800 mhz since my G3 300 went down.

As you can see from above post I am not kidding one bit,
Several days to render movies from Premiere, Compressing for days!
3D Rendering for a week @ a time while trying to do anything in the background.

I NEED THIS 8 CORE MACHINE BAD!!!!!

mperkins37
long time thread follower
first time poster.

 

[Multimedia]

NAMM Not Likely But We Can Always Pray

I am a Graphic Artist & have been doing more & more 3D & Multimedia, as well as being a musician & recording to my mac.
I NEED An 8 CORE MACPRO!!! I am dissappointed that the announcement hasn't been made. They had no problem announcing the IPhone 4 months premature. How good are the chances we get tossed a bone @ NAAM
(Musicians & Music producers need 8 cores too!) they can then announce delivery date in Feb-Mar so we get stoakley & new OS.

Feeling short changed, Trying to get by on my wife's IMac 800 mhz since my G3 300 went down.

As you can see from above post I am not kidding one bit,
Several days to render movies from Premiere, Compressing for days!
3D Rendering for a week @ a time while trying to do anything in the background.

I NEED THIS 8 CORE MACHINE BAD!!!!!

long time thread follower - first time poster.

Thanks for finally posting. Sometimes it feels like there are only a half dozen of us who know we need 8 cores. So every new voice helps the morale.

NAMM hasn't traditionally been a place where Apple did much new announcing. I'm afraid NAB is the likely target date for everything to be announced. Combined with Blackmagicdesign's HDMI i/o Intensity solution to low cost HD production, the 8 core will have massive impact on the future of broadcast HD production as well as future syndicated HD like Opera and Ellen shows.

I would love to be wrong though. Tomorrow is the opening day of the 4 day NAMM (National Association of Musical Manufacturers) show in Anaheim through Sunday.

 

[DavidM]

I am a Graphic Artist & have been doing more & more 3D & Multimedia, as well as being a musician & recording to my mac.
I NEED An 8 CORE MACPRO!!! I am dissappointed that the announcement hasn't been made. They had no problem announcing the IPhone 4 months premature. How good are the chances we get tossed a bone @ NAAM
(Musicians & Music producers need 8 cores too!) they can then announce delivery date in Feb-Mar so we get stoakley & new OS.

Feeling short changed, Trying to get by on my wife's IMac 800 mhz since my G3 300 went down.

As you can see from above post I am not kidding one bit,
Several days to render movies from Premiere, Compressing for days!
3D Rendering for a week @ a time while trying to do anything in the background.

I NEED THIS 8 CORE MACHINE BAD!!!!!

mperkins37
long time thread follower
first time poster.

Dude - If you're doing graphic design on a G3 300 you don't need the 8 core bad, you just need a modern computer! Go get the MacPro, you'll be blown away by the speed increase over what you're using now and stop fretting about the 8 core. There aren't many apps that take advantage of all the cores anyway, so you won't get the advantages you think you should get. Sheesh, buy a new computer already . . .

 

[mperkins37]

Re Get any machine now

First of all, The G3 died two years ago, & I have been using my wife's Imac, 800 mhz as well as her Mac Lab @ Carl Hayden HS Where she is a teacher.
When I have render specific stuff I have a small renderfarm, but I have limited use. I do need an 8 core mac, because I multitask the hell out of a computer every day & will be able to have an effective way of doing so without waiting a minute & a half lag time. I used to wait on the dual G5 @ my old job all the time with rendering, checking mail, Photoshop filter, Illustrator auto trace, Virtual PC, Autocad running on it, ITunes, Burning a DVD. DID I MENTION THAT I ALSO PLAN ON RECORDING A LOT -16 CHANNELS FIREWIRE DIRECT.
Yes I should've bought a new machine, But being a freelancer money is usually tight & the wife & I bought a new car 4 years ago & A new house & Appliances 2 years ago, so it has been allocated to other things,
like landscaping & AC System & Garage Door etc.
Having said that, I have a project that I am finishing up in the next month or so that will afford me an opportunity to buy the best & give me a well deserved round of software upgrades as well. so I am hungry for a performance machine that takes care of my
•Rendering needs
•Music Production Needs
•Multitasking Needs
The 8 Core should more than fit the bill & I won't be in need for a better machine for another 4-5 years.
Then I'll be taking flack about why I haven't upgraded every year.
Reason: some of us are not swimming in extra income.
Mperkins37

 

[Multimedia]

Why Should Any Of Us Have To Explain Our Case For Needing An 8 Core Mac Pro?

Dude - If you're doing graphic design on a G3 300 you don't need the 8 core bad, you just need a modern computer! Go get the MacPro, you'll be blown away by the speed increase over what you're using now and stop fretting about the 8 core. There aren't many apps that take advantage of all the cores anyway, so you won't get the advantages you think you should get. Sheesh, buy a new computer already . . .

Dude, you have no business judging another member's needs without intimate knowledge of their multi-tasking workflow.

I have a project that I am finishing up in the next month or so that will afford me an opportunity to buy the best & give me a well deserved round of software upgrades as well. so I am hungry for a performance machine that takes care of my
•Rendering needs
•Music Production Needs
•Multitasking Needs
The 8 Core should more than fit the bill & I won't be in need for a better machine for another 4-5 years.
Then I'll be taking flack about why I haven't upgraded every year.
Reason: some of us are not swimming in extra income.
Mperkins37

I find it amazing that we each have to justify our individual cases for why we know we need an 8 core Mac Pro to the Core Police here. It's as if there is a certain class of list viewers who simply cannot imagine how to hose an 8 core Mac and always want to tell each of us why we don't need one.

 

[jtt]

Dude, you have no business judging another member's needs without intimate knowledge of their multi-tasking workflow. I find it amazing that we each have to justify our individual cases for why we know we need an 8 core Mac Pro to the Core Police here. It's as if there is a certain class of list viewers who simply cannot imagine how to hose an 8 core Mac and always want to tell each of us why we don't need one.

MM, you are in the boat of one who doesn't NEED 8 cores but would like a machine that is going to make your work day, I mean hobby, move a long a little bit faster. I have a feeling that if the base model was $20k, you would buy one just to try it out because you could.

I know rich Mac folks and large video corporations still getting by just fine with their DP G5's and not complaining one bit. What you do is going to take a long time no matter how fast the machine is. But I guess you can watch a couple of extra hours of TV every night, huh?

 

[Multimedia]

You Have No Clue What Boat I'm In

MM, you are in the boat of one who doesn't NEED 8 cores but would like a machine that is going to make your work day, I mean hobby, move a long a little bit faster. I have a feeling that if the base model was $20k, you would buy one just to try it out because you could.

I know rich Mac folks and large video corporations still getting by just fine with their DP G5's and not complaining one bit. What you do is going to take a long time no matter how fast the machine is. But I guess you can watch a couple of extra hours of TV every night, huh?

I'm sure you have no clue what boat I am in. I am neither rich nor willing to pay $20k for an 8 core Mac Pro. Need is personally perceived. By your definition NOBODY NEEDS an 8 core Mac Pro. I don't subscribe to your definition of the word "NEED".

 

[GameMusicMaker]

Who's to say who does and does not NEED an 8-core machine?

Please don't tell people what they need or don't need, unless they ask, "Do I need 8 cores?"

For example, I may want to purchase an 8-core mac pro to run run numerical weather prediction models on. Do you have any idea how much power those need? Sure, maybe it is kind of like processing some HD video for a while, but it needs to be run in a very timely fashion, considering that I may need to run this model 4x daily. 8 cores used the correct way can cut that processing time in HALF, compared to the current Mac pro.

As you can see, for some of us, these extra cores are critical. No, I won't perish without an additional 4 cores, but why use 4 when I can use 8?

 

[patrick0brien]

Some may not need 8 cores now - but we all will in the future...

... stage set, config picked out, six year old Quicksilver, Video needs, Music needs, Photoshop needs, and 3D needs, hole burning in pocket...

 

[kromekat]

Well I definitely could use the 8 Cores right now for 3D rendering - the current crop of Quad 3Ghz run approx 2.5 times faster than my Dual 2.5 G5, but it doesn't make sense to buy until the range is updated, which according to a reliable source, could be as early as Feb 20th - so fingers crossed that IS the case!

 

[Hoopy]

Gimme 8 core now!

I surf the net, and sometimes I listen to audio CDs. Do I need an 8 core Mac?

The answer is, YES! Because I also do tons of 3D animation. 8 cores will give me time to take walks in the park, learn a foreign language, talk to my wife, etc. Anything that can improve my workflow will be welcomed. I have a great G5 Quad and the current Mac Pro lineup has not tempted me.

It does seem to me that Apple is doing what Sony did 20 years ago, neglecting the pro user in favor of shifting containers of consumer goods. I doubt Steve Jobs is too worried about when / if there will be an 8 core Mac. Apple is now the iPhone and iPod company, Macs are just a sideline for them.

If the rumors are true, that it is possible to run Mac OSX on a PC, then maybe I'll be giving Dell a call...

Come on, Apple!

 

[Multimedia]

Toast 8 Does Not Use All 4 Quad G5 Cores Like It Will 4 & 8 Mac Pro Cores

Been told by the Toast author at MacWorld that Toast 8 is ready to use all 8 cores of the Dual Clovertown Mac Pro and will use all 4 cores of the current Mac Pro. That alone is an excellent reason to "need" an 8 core Mac Pro if you use Toast much.

But I'm sorry to report, after receiving Toast 8 UB yesterday, that it has not been modified-improved to use more than about 2 cores on the Quad G5 - evidence developers don't want to bother going back to make significant changes to their PPC code now that Intel Macs are shipping.

Interesting to note that while Toast 8 supports Blu-ray Disc it DOES NOT support HD DVD. Looks like someone at Sonic decided HD-DVD is going to lose the format wars so why bother?

Well I definitely could use the 8 Cores right now for 3D rendering - the current crop of Quad 3Ghz run approx 2.5 times faster than my Dual 2.5 G5, but it doesn't make sense to buy until the range is updated, which according to a reliable source, could be as early as Feb 20th - so fingers crossed that IS the case!

2.5 times is a LOT. Is that for a specific 3D application and if so which one? My own tests against what I use put the Quad Mac Pro only slightly faster than my Quad G5 - certainly nothing close to 2.5 times faster, more like 1.3 times faster. Am I overlooking something?

My bad, I misread Dual 2.5 as Quad 2.5. Sorry for the mistake folks. Like I said to begin with, Mac Pro is only one-third faster than a Quad G5 at best.