Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple Introduces New Mac Pro with Nehalem Xeon Processors

I haven't read the entire thread, so ignore me if these questions have been answered already. I'll go through the previous posts later today.

- Will Snow Leopard run more efficiently on these new MP's vs. the 2008 models?

- What accounts for the high price? Increased profit margin? No special deal from Intel?

- Are there any downsides to buying a 2008 MP refurb instead? I'm thinking that the latest OS X will be specifically tuned to take advantage of Nehalem processors?

- When is the next update to the MP and which processor are we likely see?
 
UMHurricanes34 said:
But consider how they're giving you those 8 gigs. 4x2GB, so you're losing space that could be more efficiently, but of course more expensively, be filled by two 4GB chips. I upgrade my MP in 4GB chips, but DDR3 is massively more expensive than DDR2 now.
Click to expand...

uh.... DDR3 is cheap as can be and is populated in sets of 3 (on i7 platforms) or sets of 2 on core duo platforms. As far as price goes DDR3 ram is dirt cheap right now. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...lickDeals-_-NA-_-NA-_-NA&Item=N82E16820148245. $36 for 3gb.

Funny how Apple can only include $50 in ram (taking into account that its ECC) in their high end system. Thats down right anemic... Not to mention the price increases during the middle of a recession. Wake up Apple!
 
lftrghtparadigm said:
This thread needs to be re-titled: i want the fastest Mac in existence, but I refuse to pay for it. Post here:

To clarify for people who are not understanding all of this weird hate today, The Mac Pro has never been a good buy for the money. Ever.

Its always been a ridiculously overpriced machine for what is included, and adding features to it takes it to a new level of absurdity...
Click to expand...


Not really. All this is, is YA manifestation of the Law of Diminishing Returns.

The Law of Diminishing Returns says that if you want to go 5% faster, the cost to do is going to go up by MORE than a 5% increase.

When you then look at a progression of "mores", the first extra 5% might cost you 10% more (subtotal 110%), then next 5% costs you 50% more (165%) and the last 5% doubles it all (330%). Yes, it is a non-linear progression.

This is essentially why one can get '80%' of the performance of the highest-end machine for roughly half the price...and it has nothing to do with Apple or even computers. The Law of Diminishing Returns is everywhere.


-hh
 
So are there any deals on the previous generation 8 core machines?

I thought they were a decent deal at $2799, and even better at a discount.
 
MagnusVonMagnum said:
So what kind of Hackintosh can I get that would be comparable to the 4-core model here (CPUs don't have to be workstation level, though; I'm interested purely in overall capability and the ability to do consumer level things like gaming in addition to video editing, etc.)
Click to expand...

An equivalently configured Dell XPS 435 (minus the ECC RAM) will cost you about $1100.
 
Criticise as you may but this is Apple. They want this to be a pro machine for businesses or freelancers period. Yes, it's not the greatest update in the world but people have to remember the people buying these are probably buying Final Cut or Aperture etc. at an equal cost to competition. Apple aren't stupid despite what many think!

As for the 4 core versus old 8 core... It's another way of Apple saying Pros and Prosumers. A very complicated marketing strategy that has worked for them for years. Another option would be to consider Snow Leopard removing the need for the more cores as the graphics would take the hit?

Finally my views on the xMac remain the same... What's the point? The iMac is their con and prosumer machine and Mac Pro being their pro machine.

An xMac defeats everything Apple stands for and makes Apple great. Let's face it, it would mean you could use parts from other sources and mix and match to your delight. Apple machines are more reliable because of the limited number of hardware combinations and that's a good thing!

Agree or disagree it's a Pro only model now.
 
These look pretty sweet, and todays my birthday anyone want to pick one up for me :)
 
milo said:
I keep seeing this claim. Where's the link to the benchmark?

And on that benchmark, assuming I'm reading it right, the new quad is NOT faster than the old 8 core.
Click to expand...

17917.png


Dual Xeon E5450 3.00Ghz: 11420
Dual Xeon X5570 2.93Ghz:25000

AnandTech said:
The new Xeon 5570 outperforms the "old" 5450 by 119%!!!
Click to expand...

Exactly what part of that don't you understand?
 
Would it kill Apple to release a "Pro" machine at a reasonable price? Maybe in the $1499 to $1799 range?
 
re... xMac...

milo said:
Didn't you hear, it shipped today.

Problem is, apple is charging $2499 for it.
Click to expand...


I realize there are a bunch of ticked off people here, but I personally look at this from a different (my own) perspective. For the past 4 1/2 years, I've used a Dual G5 as my own personal computer. Well, compressing HD video for my iPhone, rendering my kids DV footage, and the gradual move away from PPC support (not there yet... but) led me to the realization I would need a new computer shortly.

So, what to buy??? I could get an iMac and buy 3 external FW enclosures for my 3 TB of video archives and bootable backup drive (noise and clutter) or I could buy a Mac pro. But yesterday's (literally) Mac Pro's were ancient, and my G5 is on it's last legs. I was already ready to pull the trigger on a new Mac Pro, but decided to wait a few weeks... and I was rewarded.

For a couple of hundred EXTRA bucks (we're talking LOW end of each Mac Pro line) I got an extra Gig of RAM, more HD space, and a faster superdrive. That doesn't justify the cost, but the most important reason I was waiting was the Nehalem processor, it's new technology and the ~potential~ for an extra boost with Snow Leopard.

I pulled the trigger 20 minutes after the store opened this morning. Will I be upset when Apple inevitable has 3 software updates in the first week, and lowers the price after 2 months? Nope! i know it's coming, and like I said, Since my G5 is limping along, I was short on options.

I agree the new entry level Mac Pro is not quite a "pro" machine. It's named as such, but it certainly fits my needs perfectly.

I won't debate the merits of the high end mac, the hardware, price or anything else - that's out of my league. For the guy who needs a full tower, connectivity, and horsepower, the low end Mac Pro fits the bill.

-fate

PS frankenmac? If I was 20 and single with limited money but lots of free time - absofreakenlutely. Since I juggle 2 kids in my few days off now, getting something that works out of the box is worth a bit of premium (again... for the LOW end...)
 
Torajima said:
Would it kill Apple to release a "Pro" machine at a reasonable price? Maybe in the $1499 to $1799 range?
Click to expand...


especially if they're gonna cut the 8-core standard and only give you 3gb of ram to start, and only able to upgrade to 8gb.

what a slap in the face this upgrade is, especially with the gfx cards for previous mac pro owners.
 
G4DP said:
I laughed when I saw the update. They will give a 20% speed increase over our 2008 Mac Pro, anyone who believes Apples claims is just dumb.

As for the price increase - Told you so, although I didn't think it would be as much as it is.
Click to expand...
Is that 20% speed increase with or without factoring in the increased price?

I believe the +20%.
 
fatespawn said:
So, what to buy??? I could get an iMac and buy 3 external FW enclosures for my 3 TB of video archives and bootable backup drive (noise and clutter) or I could buy a Mac pro. But yesterday's (literally) Mac Pro's were ancient, and my G5 is on it's last legs. I was already ready to pull the trigger on a new Mac Pro, but decided to wait a few weeks... and I was rewarded.
Click to expand...

Hear Hear! I'm in the same situation G5-wise and was fully prepared to go the iMac route too. Today's announcements may have sealed the deal for me, but I'm gonna wait to "pull the trigger" until the new Mac Pro's start showing up on the refurb list. I figure that will take a while and should give me more time to save my pennies.
 
UMHurricanes34 said:
Uhhhh....what?

There is a whole portion of SAS vs. SATA on the Mac Pro product page. C'mon guys.

Mac > Mac Pro > Features > Storage & RAID > Bottom of the page
Click to expand...

Yes, that's what's so confusing. They show SAS benchmarks but you can't configure the machine with SAS drives in the store. If you go to the tech specs page it makes no mention of SAS either.

I'm not digging this redesign. No SAS, pricing is ridiculous, weird mini display port instead of dual DVI? I think I'll pass.
 
Does anyone know yet if the Mac Pro single CPU has the ability to have two processors in it?

Same as the previous version?
 
chrisgeleven said:
Surprised no one has mentioned, but there are new Time Capsules and Airport Extremes. Dual-Band built-in and also the ability to have a guest wifi connection as well.
Click to expand...

And you get neither bundled with a Mac Pro. You've got the wrong thread.
This is the thread were we lament over getting screwed over by Apple on the Mac Pro upgrade.

I for one was thinking about opening my wallet and buying one of these monsters with great upgrade potential down the road, but this """"upgrade"""" is a bad april's fools joke a month too early. Not buying one, Apple. Not buying one. The low end is a more expensive downgrade from buying the old one with one processor (and one open socket) and the high end version is barely better than the old one barr 4GB's of RAM which you basically pay $500 for. (about $400 for 2->4gb in the old one)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back