I bet Apple ships 8-core Mac Pro systems by the time MWSF is over with. That still gives them 4 to 6 months from MWSF to ship something based on Stoakley - which won't appear in generic PCs until about the first part of May. Intel's current roadmap is placing their major platform advances about 6 to 8 months apart and that fits right in line with Apple's product updates since the Intel switch. Thus far, Apple has been lagging about 8 to 10 weeks behind the rest of the industry in terms of adopting updated Intel hardware, but the products have been stellar. The C2D MBP is arguably the nicest C2D notebook out there for overall features, functionality and form.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
8-Core Mac Pro with Clovertown... in November?
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I bet Apple ships 8-core Mac Pro systems by the time MWSF is over with. That still gives them 4 to 6 months from MWSF to ship something based on Stoakley - which won't appear in generic PCs until about the first part of May. Intel's current roadmap is placing their major platform advances about 6 to 8 months apart and that fits right in line with Apple's product updates since the Intel switch. Thus far, Apple has been lagging about 8 to 10 weeks behind the rest of the industry in terms of adopting updated Intel hardware, but the products have been stellar. The C2D MBP is arguably the nicest C2D notebook out there for overall features, functionality and form.
I'm curious though. Intel released the inferior Clovertown models a week ago, and are going to release the high-end ones "early next year". Don't you think that means Apple will skip these lame Clovertowns and go right to the good ones? If so then we can reasonably expect Mac Pros with the top-clovertowns somewhere in Q1 of 2007 since they're definitely already working on the computers and thus they should be done and ready to release them by the time Intel officially releases their high-end Clovertowns.
I'm curious though. Intel released the inferior Clovertown models a week ago, and are going to release the high-end ones "early next year". Don't you think that means Apple will skip these lame Clovertowns and go right to the good ones? If so then we can reasonably expect Mac Pros with the top-clovertowns somewhere in Q1 of 2007 since they're definitely already working on the computers and thus they should be done and ready to release them by the time Intel officially releases their high-end Clovertowns.
Not sure what you're saying there... If you're talking about the 2.33GHz and 2.66GHz Clovertowns as the "high-end" ones, then you're a little off. Intel has officially released them, they are just not shipping in quantity. Intel said they will scale quantity to meed demand, but as of the release on the 14th, there were no significant quantity orders.
A lot of hardware sites are incorrectly reporting that Intel is not shipping the faster Clovertown CPUs until next year, but it's just a low-demand issue at this point. HP is the only vendor I'm aware of that will be shipping the faster Clovertowns soon. They have dual 2.33GHz 8-core workstations now updated with estimated ship dates of Dec. 4. 2.66GHz models to ship by January 1. I seriously doubt that Apple will consider Clovertowns at speeds lower than 2.33GHz for the Mac Pro... They may consider slower clocked Clovertowns for the Xserve though - that would make sense as some databse applications can benefit from more concurrent processes, even if they are slower.That puts MWSF for Apple releasing an 8-Core Mac Pro as a good probability. With Stoakley platform updates, we still have the same Clovertown CPUs, just an upgraded chipset and support for the Tigertown successor to Clovertown (45nm, unified quad-core, not two woodcrests on a single die) and the Harpertown 45nm dual-core. Stoakley is expected to ship to OEMs and integrators in mid-April, which means first products on the market early to mid May. Tigertown won't be here until June at the earliest... Apple is not going to wait all the way until next summer (possibly late summer) to update the Mac Pro with 8 cores. The 45nm 8-core Dunnington should start shipping by the end of '08 - meaning that two years from now, we'll be talking 16-core Mac Pro. Actually we could be talking that sooner as another CPU tends to disappear and reapper from the roadmap with different names, and indicating an 8-core chip that uses two Tigertowns on the same die like Clovertown uses two Woodcrests.
It's clear to me that you don't understand hardware because of your response to my post from 3 weeks ago questioning heat and stability. You qouted a silly puff piece...
and actually believed that it was just a marketing decision. Anyone with an understanding of hardware would realize that doubling the cores and maintaining clock speeds (remember you were touting the 2.66 Ghz Clovertowns) would substantially increase heat and power consuption.
Someone with a better understanding of hardware would have questioned that article and you didn't.
"Multimedia", I didn't say that you said the CPU's were an easy consumer swap I said "people on here" said it. People on this board have said this. I don't remember if you said it (it does sound like something you would come up with) but if I did know I would have called you out by name.
I just can't believe anyone in their right mind would take you seriously especially on your release date declarations. I find it all pretty silly and pitty those that are listening to your advice.
I'll buy what I need when the performance and price meet my budget and workload demands. I'm thinking next spring. I want a single chip Kentsfield mini/mid tower with standard RAM and just 1 optical bay. Apple's probably not going to offer me what I want though, so I'll have to see what's available.
1.86 clovertown overclock
any way to force the fsb to 1333 for the 1.86 (1066) clovertown? The chip should take it fine and you get 2.33 x 8 on the cheap.
any way to force the fsb to 1333 for the 1.86 (1066) clovertown? The chip should take it fine and you get 2.33 x 8 on the cheap.
Possibly with a BIOS hack in PC land... Not going to happen on the Mac. Most PC overclocker systems will be using single-CPU configs with Kentsfield (non-Xeon) -- you don't typically see overclocking options on Xeon boards. ...And these CPUs @ 80W run fairly hot. Even though the chip can probably take it, you will most likely need to bump the voltage a bit and make sure you have some good cooling in place.
We'll see... HP is Intel's official Xeon 5300 launch partner and HP is only taking orders for these system through their corporate channels. Dec. 4 is just an estimated ship date right now too. Although, it's one step closer -- last week, they still had no estimated date. I suppose it's possible that Apple could push something out by the end of this year, but I think that highly unlikely. They typically lag behind other vendors like HP by a month or two. I just hope they don't wait all the way until April and release the systems at NAB along with the updated Final Cut Studio. I can see them doing just that, but I hope they don't.
Bad Advice Not Intended
That piece didn't mention at what speed. I was only saying 2.66GHz -because it is the top speed offered - BEFORE I saw how many watts it needs - 120. Once I saw that, I have always been saying 2.33GHz.
I would never say something like that. And I objected to those who did saying it is very difficult to do and would recommend against it.
That was a GUESS and nothing more than a HOPEFUL GUESS and everyone knew it.
Me too. I think you're exagerating posts by me that are only guesstimates as being anything else.
Hold on, AppliedVisual.. where are you getting your info?
Firstly, everything I've read has indicated that Harpertown will be a unified quad-core (with some sites even claiming 8-core, but those seem to be older ones), a 45nm successor to Clovertown. Where are you getting the idea that it's merely dual-core?
Secondly, Tigerton -- again, your info conflicts with what's out there on the net. Tigerton was supposed to be an MP-capable version of Clovertown, not a shrink. Also, I was under the impression it was going to be one of those really expensive chips intended solely for servers.
Lastly,
You have any info on Dunnington at all? Who are you? I'd love to believe you, but... you'd better link.
Firstly, everything I've read has indicated that Harpertown will be a unified quad-core (with some sites even claiming 8-core, but those seem to be older ones), a 45nm successor to Clovertown. Where are you getting the idea that it's merely dual-core?
Secondly, Tigerton -- again, your info conflicts with what's out there on the net. Tigerton was supposed to be an MP-capable version of Clovertown, not a shrink. Also, I was under the impression it was going to be one of those really expensive chips intended solely for servers.
Lastly,
You have any info on Dunnington at all? Who are you? I'd love to believe you, but... you'd better link.
Are you sure that 8 core will not be launched until 2007?? If it's true I will buy inmediatelly Mac Pro 3.0...please tell me something
I think most of the dates that have been listed come from press releases or estimates from Intel, not the companies that plan on using them.
I'm not just talking about release dates, which are far from certain themselves, but even the number of cores, in Dunnington's case, has not yet been pinned down.
Uh, Intel.com...?
HP corporate channels - sorry, no links I can post there.
Intel has said they will continue development and production of dual-core chip offerings and have specifically named the Harpertown project in conjunction with 45nm and dual-core at IDC in the Q&A session. But they also mentioned Wolfdale, which has been pulled from the roadmap. Beyond that it's just a name on their road map and open for speculation. We already know it won't be 8-core.
AppliedVisual Is Among The Best We've Got Here
I am certainly way beneath your level of expertise and will always believe and follow your point of view. Thanks for taking the time to write so much for us here.
You may not claim that, but as far as I'm concerned you are among the best contributors Arn's lucky to have writing here for free and I am a huge fan of yours.
I am certainly way beneath your level of expertise and will always believe and follow your point of view. Thanks for taking the time to write so much for us here.
I think the difference is that Apple doesn't start shouting about their products until they are ready (or almost ready) to ship, whereas other companies advertise and get their models displayed at online retailers before stock is available. In actual fact I think Apple was one of the first to go Core 2 Duo.
Yeah, I suppose it does work that way too... I know Apple wasn't the first, but they probably were ahead of many. A friend of mine received his 17" Dell XPS w/2.33GHz C2D a few weeks before I could order my new MBP. But Dell, Sony, Toshiba, etc... were all advertising theirs shortly after Intel announced their C2D chip models and I think a lot of people took that to mean these other companies were ready to ship. I do know that Apple actually beat some PC vendors to the market with C2D notebooks, or at least some of the higher-level offerings... Apple shipped 2.33GHz models before HP/Compaq and Acer.
Thanks for sifting through the varied info, official, Q&A, unofficial, and stuff and posting that summary. I for one considered it valuable.
The takeaway I get from that whole thing is UPOD. Intel is under promising (long out release date estimates for 45 series), and a likely shift forward IF yields work out (over delivering). The C2D is "Apple's" chip. Yonah was a stopgap. Whatever comes out in 45 nanometer in late 07 to early 08 will be Apples "next great thing" CPU from Intel.
In the mean time current CONSUMER Apple CPU's actually keep up with user input for the first time since Apple was founded.
I wonder what will happen next?
Rocketman
I have been talking with Apple Store and they told me that it's imposible that this model must be launched now because the revisions are only when products have beetwen 5 o 6 months. For instance, they told me that It would appear in 2007.
For other side I have a good notice...there are discounts of 300 in Mac Pro, it depends of the volume of bought
With this I only want clarify the rumor of the inminet launch of 8 core...al least this is the version of Apple Store
Stoakley-Seaburg-Leopard In March 2007 Seems Like The Right Time To Me Now
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I'm thankful that I get to share my thoughts with you and to read your thoughts on this lovely Forum website every day.
Any sooner would be a surprise. But I'd have to know Stoakley's Seaburg Memory Controller Hub (MCH) is inside before I'll shell out more than $4k for my OctoCore Mac Pro. All my posts preceeding Geoff Gasior's Tech Report — November 13, 2006 explanation of SS & MCH were made in ignorance of the need for these chips. My apologies for all that.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
I'm thankful that I get to share my thoughts with you and to read your thoughts on this lovely Forum website every day.
Six months would be February. And with Stoakley-Seaburg (SS) scheduled to ship in that same time frame as well as Leopard shortly thereafter, seems like March would be about the right time for this to happen.
Any sooner would be a surprise. But I'd have to know Stoakley's Seaburg Memory Controller Hub (MCH) is inside before I'll shell out more than $4k for my OctoCore Mac Pro. All my posts preceeding Geoff Gasior's Tech Report — November 13, 2006 explanation of SS & MCH were made in ignorance of the need for these chips. My apologies for all that.
this might be a stupid question, if I bought a Mac pro Quad now, could I have the mother(logic) board changed in 6 months to accept an 8 core. would it be worth it? I only ask because I wanted to buy before the end of the year for tax reasons, but now I am considereing renting a Quad for 4 months untill we get the "proper" 8 cores....
Buying 4-Core For A Short Term Then Reselling Might Be Cheaper Than Renting
Not likely. If you can deal with the hassle of reselling it, buying a 2.66GHz refurb for $2199 and reselling it when 8-core ships might be cheaper than renting.
good write-up on cores here
http://www.macintouch.com/reviews/macpro/followup.html#cores
of course, they forgot to leave out the penis size/mental illness factor.
http://www.macintouch.com/reviews/macpro/followup.html#cores
of course, they forgot to leave out the penis size/mental illness factor.
http://www.macintouch.com/reviews/macpro/followup.html#cores
of course, they forgot to leave out the penis size/mental illness factor.
Excellent article, thanks for that. I think the conclusion sums it up quite nicely: