It's about memory bandwidth. My understanding is that 12GB in tri-channel will provide 25.6GB/s. With 16GB where 12GB is in tri-channel on one processor and 4GB in single channel you'd have 25.6GB/s access to 12GB of memory and 8.5GB/s to 4GB.
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Apple Introduces New Mac Pro with Nehalem Xeon Processors
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It's about memory bandwidth. My understanding is that 12GB in tri-channel will provide 25.6GB/s. With 16GB where 12GB is in tri-channel on one processor and 4GB in single channel you'd have 25.6GB/s access to 12GB of memory and 8.5GB/s to 4GB.
Indeed. Or maybe 'hello hackintosh'. Makes me rather glad to have bought when they were cheap.
This update is a real disappointment.
I was hoping to kick my pc out and go for a mac pro... but that ridiculous graphics options just makes me want to scream. Yes I like to play games and would like to install windows for gaming - why oh why can't they add a decent top-of-the line graphics card support - like GTX 285 or something with 1gb video ram... the options they list are really mid or even entry level in PC world...
I was hoping to kick my pc out and go for a mac pro... but that ridiculous graphics options just makes me want to scream. Yes I like to play games and would like to install windows for gaming - why oh why can't they add a decent top-of-the line graphics card support - like GTX 285 or something with 1gb video ram... the options they list are really mid or even entry level in PC world...
Apple should have moved the Mac Pro off the server platform and dropped in an i7 and DDR3 . Cost is a big limiter of future sales right now!!
But it's the default, right? So you'll only get the smaller version if you specifically ask for it.
Edit: Oh, the numeric keyboard is only default on the Mac Pro. On the iMac the smaller keyboard is the default. Yes, that could cause problems.
I've been desperately waiting to replace my G5. We are a Final Cut Studio production house and I am getting sick of running XDCAM EX edits on a MBP17 and the G5. I really need a Mac Pro and have been waiting for months for the expected Nehalem chips. And it's not a bad machine, graphics card notwithstanding. But buying this machine in sterling is very distasteful indeed, and I don't really know what to do.
Erk - just noticed
The 8-core is a slower CPU
Two 2.26GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon
Two 2.66GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon [+ £1,120.00]
Two 2.93GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon [+ £2,080.0]
yowser.
The 8-core is a slower CPU
Two 2.26GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon
Two 2.66GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon [+ £1,120.00]
Two 2.93GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon [+ £2,080.0]
yowser.
In Australia the base Mac Pro is $4499AUD 
Considering I built an i7 Hackintosh with blu-ray, more and faster RAM, better graphics for $1600AUD.
So essentially Apple is charging $2899AUD extra just for a nicer case.
And the keyboard thing... WTF. Maybe they just wanted to go with the old original 1984 Mac keyboard style.
Considering I built an i7 Hackintosh with blu-ray, more and faster RAM, better graphics for $1600AUD.
So essentially Apple is charging $2899AUD extra just for a nicer case.
And the keyboard thing... WTF. Maybe they just wanted to go with the old original 1984 Mac keyboard style.
My bad... The MacPro is set up to have the extended keypad as the default but if you go to buy an iMac now, the wired crap version is the default.
Hmm...Now I have to decide between an 8-core 2.66 GHz Mac Pro with 6 gigs of RAM, 640 gig HD and a NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 for $3299.
Or should I go for an Alienware with one 4-core i7 2.66 GHz, 12 gigs of RAM, 500 gig HD and a 2GB GDDR5 ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 and a 24" Dell 2408WFP monitor for $3269 bucks.
Hmm....
Or should I go for an Alienware with one 4-core i7 2.66 GHz, 12 gigs of RAM, 500 gig HD and a 2GB GDDR5 ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 and a 24" Dell 2408WFP monitor for $3269 bucks.
Hmm....
I think as CPU prices come down, we'll see the octo pushed further down the product lineup. I recall the 2007 Octo was pricey as a new CPU entry. This is apparently a new family of CPUs so basically that upgrade cycle as repeated.
I too am curious about the ideal RAM configurations. 8 GB vs 12 GB.
I too am curious about the ideal RAM configurations. 8 GB vs 12 GB.
We have a 16 core Mac Pro
See... I think everyone is confused.
This just made me get out my credit card-
From Apple's Mac Pro Processor Specs
Apple - Mac Pro - Features - Processor
The virtue of virtual cores.
The new Intel Xeon Nehalem processors support Hyper-Threading, which allows two threads to run simultaneously on each core. So an 8-core Mac Pro presents 16 virtual cores that are recognized by Mac OS X. Performance is enhanced because Hyper-Threading enables the processor to take better advantage of the execution resources available in each core.
The Quad HAS EIGHT VIRTUAL CORES.
The 8 CORE HAS 16! VIRTUAL CORES.
That's cool!
See... I think everyone is confused.
This just made me get out my credit card-
From Apple's Mac Pro Processor Specs
Apple - Mac Pro - Features - Processor
The virtue of virtual cores.
The new Intel Xeon Nehalem processors support Hyper-Threading, which allows two threads to run simultaneously on each core. So an 8-core Mac Pro presents 16 virtual cores that are recognized by Mac OS X. Performance is enhanced because Hyper-Threading enables the processor to take better advantage of the execution resources available in each core.
The Quad HAS EIGHT VIRTUAL CORES.
The 8 CORE HAS 16! VIRTUAL CORES.
That's cool!
1 real core < 2 virtual cores < 2 real cores.The Quad HAS EIGHT VIRTUAL CORES.
The 8 CORE HAS 16! VIRTUAL CORES.
That's cool!
The processors cost the same, the difference is the memory pricing of non-ecc vs. ecc. Which for 3x1Gb is like $50 difference.
The pricing on the new Mac Pro is ridiculous. First of all Nahelam is fast but its not that much faster then the old generation in actual benchmarks. (And I'm serious, I even have one myself). Sure its fast but not £1,000+ EXTRA fast.
I really cannot believe how expensive the new models are its shocking. I wonder who came up with that pricing and what drugs they were on. £3,618.99 for Twin 2.66GHz Quad Cores. Just wow..
In a little while when the Core i7's XEONs become available for builders you will be able to build one yourself with the same specifications for half that price (£1800) with the same Memory, GPU, CPU configuration. And for that I find this whole thing absurd.
I really cannot believe how expensive the new models are its shocking. I wonder who came up with that pricing and what drugs they were on. £3,618.99 for Twin 2.66GHz Quad Cores. Just wow..
In a little while when the Core i7's XEONs become available for builders you will be able to build one yourself with the same specifications for half that price (£1800) with the same Memory, GPU, CPU configuration. And for that I find this whole thing absurd.
Really... In 1996, I spent $1,500 to "MAX OUT" my 7100 to 32MEGS!
Things sure have changed. I remember when we use to joke about having a "Gig of Ram" -- It sounded so absurd. I guess because my 1995 machine only came with a 500MB Hard Drive!
Is anyone selling the last generation Mac Pro model at closeout prices? Can the old Mac Pro be upgraded to the 4870 video card?
I would love the last generation model, upgrade it myself to 24-32GB ram, and upgrade the video to the 4870 video card.
I would love the last generation model, upgrade it myself to 24-32GB ram, and upgrade the video to the 4870 video card.
Interesting - if anyone can confirm this I'd love to hear it. This sounds effectively like a quad-channel mode, with the channels divided up by processor. (If you could set up Parallels to run Windows on physical one CPU with 4GB RAM on one completely separate channel, and OS X on the other CPU with 12GB RAM on tri-channel, that would be ideal.)
If that's the case, it seems like you could also perhaps run two dual-channels per CPU - but the way this sounds, it's like you're not sharing the same pipeline/channel between CPUs, rather getting two separate memory buses for the two CPUs. Is that right?
Got to love the graphics - not
no workstation card full stop, got to have 2 cards to use 2 led displays.
Apple seriously lost the plot on this one, the mac pro is a workstation machine and they give us gaming graphics cards, the ati one is likely to be out of date in the next few months too (coming upto update cycle)
Price not too sure its good value but nehalem is still pricey, I suspect a fair few people may now hold off on it atleast in the UK
I find this so comical as the previous MP, which had an option for the Quadro cards was complained about because of the weak gaming performance, so now they throw in a 'gaming graphics card' and you're up in arms about it.
Do some research before you spit off on posts. And by research I mean just go to Apple.com. You can buy a Mini-Display Port to DVI adapter, you still only need one card to run 2 DVI enabled monitors.
And you're back with yet another post. They didn't change the keyboards, they're the same ones they had yesterday.
Do about 30 seconds research on apple.com.
Now... as for the update, it's just a wait and see in the real world, don't ya think? It's funny, cause the MP section of the forums has been overloaded with 'GIMME NEHALEM' threads for months now, and finally here it is, and all anyone says is 'WHAT A JOKE'. People are just fascinating.
What the hell? What is with the entry level price point??
From what I understand:
$150 graphics card
$100 SuperDrive
$200 HDD
$373 processor
$150 memory??
=========
$973
So the logic board (again without wireless) and the case costs OVER $1500? I'm sorry, but Apple's ENTRY LEVEL PowerMacs used to be $1500, TOTAL. What ever happened to that? I know asking $1499 for the entry level is stretching it, especially in these economic times, but even $1999 would have been better then what they're asking for now.
I mean, really... people complain about the iMac prices, but this is just pathetic... I almost hope the iPhone starts getting smacked around, so Apple realizes it has to give a ***** about it's desktop market again.
From what I understand:
$150 graphics card
$100 SuperDrive
$200 HDD
$373 processor
$150 memory??
=========
$973
So the logic board (again without wireless) and the case costs OVER $1500? I'm sorry, but Apple's ENTRY LEVEL PowerMacs used to be $1500, TOTAL. What ever happened to that? I know asking $1499 for the entry level is stretching it, especially in these economic times, but even $1999 would have been better then what they're asking for now.
I mean, really... people complain about the iMac prices, but this is just pathetic... I almost hope the iPhone starts getting smacked around, so Apple realizes it has to give a ***** about it's desktop market again.
Glad I didn't wait and bought a refurb 2.8. Can't wait for the real benchmarks when they ship to see if its really worth the price hike. I'll wait until next year when the next generation of these chips come out and snow leopard is out before considering an upgrade.
Worthwhile
Try posting something that's actually useful instead of smirking smilies.
http://it.anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=554
It also helps to read an article or two on the subject snide, empty comments.
Also, yes I saw the post to the Apple "benchmarks" and no, marketing brochures rarely qualify as something meaningful. In any serious forum of computing performance marketing benchmarks would get laughed out of the proverbial room.
Try posting something that's actually useful instead of smirking smilies.
http://it.anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=554
It also helps to read an article or two on the subject snide, empty comments.
Also, yes I saw the post to the Apple "benchmarks" and no, marketing brochures rarely qualify as something meaningful. In any serious forum of computing performance marketing benchmarks would get laughed out of the proverbial room.
I Love the people who complain. You are so saaaaaaad, it defies description.
Oh no, the Mac Pro is more expensive then the rest of the product line. What a surprise! How dare they.
Oh no, the Mac Pro is more expensive then the rest of the product line. What a surprise! How dare they.
So whatever happened to getting past the 3 GHz barrier anyway? I thought that was the big reason everyone was so excited about the Intel switch? But here we are still topped out at 3 GHz and only if you choose the gazillion dollar options. And just barely catching up with where Altivec was several years ago.
In the meantime, POWER 6 is at 5 GHz now and well on its way to 6.
I can see the value of the Intel switch in enabling Windows to run on Macs (after reluctant acceptance by Apple) in that I now have a realistic chance of convincing my boss to let me switch to a Mac at work since I can claim the ability to run Windows if I get really stuck with compatibility trouble. And given Apple's recent market share growth, that aspect of the Intel switch seems to have paid off for them. But as for actual computing power and cost, it sure is starting to look like walking away from IBM was a mistake. Hopefully Apple will gain enough market share to make Windows dual boot irrelevant and offer a PowerPC option again someday.
In the meantime, POWER 6 is at 5 GHz now and well on its way to 6.
I can see the value of the Intel switch in enabling Windows to run on Macs (after reluctant acceptance by Apple) in that I now have a realistic chance of convincing my boss to let me switch to a Mac at work since I can claim the ability to run Windows if I get really stuck with compatibility trouble. And given Apple's recent market share growth, that aspect of the Intel switch seems to have paid off for them. But as for actual computing power and cost, it sure is starting to look like walking away from IBM was a mistake. Hopefully Apple will gain enough market share to make Windows dual boot irrelevant and offer a PowerPC option again someday.