Are you happy with the new Mac pro?

[Wild-Bill]

The new Mac Pro is almost exactly what I expected.
The Harpertown processors are pretty much right on.
I was hoping that the bto card would be the 8800 GT. That was right on also.
The GTX is old technology and the HD3870 is just plain not good enough. So I am relatively happy.

How about that, Topper??? You and I had identical fears that Apple would somehow screw up the update. I really think either a) they were reading the feedback forms or b) they've been reading here and other places
(I submitted feedback over a dozen times)

Anyhow, I am thoroughly happy with the outcome. The bump in standard HDD space and memory were exactly what many of us were calling for. The 2.8GHz Harpertown at 80 watt TDP and the 8800GT were exactly what I wanted. Exactly. The addition of bluetooth standard was a welcome addition, though it seemed unfair that prior to this every Apple machine had bluetooth standard but the Mac Pro.

Their BTO options are still obscene, but hey what do you expect?

I'm going to wait until the 1600FSB memory prices come down a bit before adding more. Of course I have to wait 3-5 weeks anyway due to Apple's apparent lack of supply chain knowledge.

 

[drrich2]

I've ordered one, so I can't give you a hands on account yet, but I'm pretty pleased.

I like the performance increase, but wish it were greater.

I'm a bit surprised at the focus on 8 core, considering that from what I understand lots of software (I'm talking Mac-specific here) hasn't taken good advantage of 2 cores, & 4 cores have been largely wasted for quite awhile now. Now we've got 8 cores. I'm curious as to how well software that gains substantial benefit from it will penetrate the market, particularly in consumer-grade applications. People like to claim the MacPro targets the high-end professional market using advanced professional applications, but a lot of people who want a Mac-equivalent of the mid-range tower PC's get them for general use (which describes me), and naturally it'd be great it iMovie, for example, could benefit.

I like the move to 2 gigs RAM. I hate to tie up a RAM slot with a 512 meg chip!

I'm very pleased about the advance in video card options, which is one of of the top gripes people have had about the line for several months. I'm not sure yet just how much impact it'll have on day-to-day general use, but the psychological benefit of enhanced appreciation being proud of the product enhances enjoyment. That may sound petty, but for some of us it matters.

I ordered the 2 2.8 GHz core machine, 1 terabyte HD, so I didn't get the 'greatest available.' But I still want to be proud of it.

A built-in eSATA port would've been nice, give the popularity of external hard drives (although from what I understand some aren't realizing their throughput potential yet). I know it can be added via 3'rd party products.

Richard.

 

[Topper]

How about that, Topper??? You and I had identical fears that Apple would somehow screw up the update.

My biggest fear was that the HD3870 would be the bto consumer card.
Like you I would have preferred the 8800 GTX but I knew that wasn't going to happen.
So I am happy with the 8800 GT.

Maybe I'll update the video card when Nehalem comes out.

I don't think we will be waiting for five weeks.
I would not be surprised at all if it were less than 3 weeks. Happy but not surprised.

 

[hempcamp]

I think it's great. Then again, even the earlier version was WAY more than I need.

--Chris