The HD3870 would probably help you. From what I've been able to discern, it does quite well for Core Image, and at ~$218USD, a lot of bang-for-the-buck.
Good Luck.
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Buy Now or new mac pro coming soon?
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Good Luck.
ATI drivers tend to do better with Macs than Nvidia's do so even slightly slower cards fo gaming like the 3870 do better than the 8800GT does at other app work
That said, I wonder if the 4800 series rumor was true, cause those are THE cards to get right now..
That said, I wonder if the 4800 series rumor was true, cause those are THE cards to get right now..
Intel has released a 3.4GHz Xeon CPU, however it runs $200 more then the 3.2GHz unit so expect it to be a $2000 upgrade from the dual-2.8GHz model (based on the dual-3.2GHz being a $1600 upgrade).
The 4800 series is coming to the Mac, but there is no time frame. I wouldn't hold my breath, if you need a better card now just get the 3870.
It would be nice.
But for some reason, Macs always seem to be behind on graphics cards. If history repeats itself, Mac's would get the HD5870 when the 6000 series hits.
Arrgh!//ok. fit over now//
Can't remember the release date, but I was thinking it was late as well.
But Mac's haven't seen the GX280 yet either.
It seems there is a better corporate relationship between Apple and ATI rather than nVidia. Though the sense of product lag seems there for either GPU maker. Oh well.
hi I'm looking to get a new mac pro and have a quick question about the graphics cards I'm a photographer and mainly use my computer to run photoshop and my digital backs software (leaf) I'm never going to be using it for gaming will I be ok to get the standard graphics card or will i see benefits from getting a better one?
Can't remember the release date, but I was thinking it was late as well.
But Mac's haven't seen the GX280 yet either.
It seems there is a better corporate relationship between Apple and ATI rather than nVidia. Though the sense of product lag seems there for either GPU maker. Oh well.
The 8800GT was released with the new Mac Pro in early January after it's November launch. While you might think this is "late", it was easily during the current hardware generation.
Nice to know!
For some strange reason, I was thinking it released in July, making it a 6 mo. delay.
Would you consider a 6 mo. delay to develop drivers and firmware for a Mac acceptable, or a bit too long? (Just curious).
Neither Intel nor any systemboard maker has given any indication they will have dual-CPU Core i7 board ready by then, which a Mac Pro will need.
ok. then we are looking at the air, macbook and mbp in mid oct. so, really mac pro is going to be in Jan with Snow.
correct me please.
2.8GHz, 3.07GHz, 3.2GHz processors
2GB of memory (12 slots total)
320GB drive still (they may bump to 500GB but I wouldn't count on it)
graphics cards similar to the current ones, just newer versions
Other options similar to the current ones.
2.93Ghz stock (Making your numbers higher is a marketing thing that everyone does). A 3.07 rounding up to 3.1Ghz would be a good stepping stone, but 3.4 seems too high. Not that I'd buy it, but it would be hard to complain if they used those parts. The silicon can definitely do it with ease as many sites have OC'd the **** out of these things with regularity. (Keep in mind the only benches I know of are using a 2.66 by Anandtech and a 2.93 from Tom's).
3GB of memory for triple channel goodness.
The graphics card is wide open. 4870 will be there, but maybe not through Apple as with the 3870. GTX 260? Probably not, as it's more akin to the 8800GTS which was a step or two above the 8800GT in price, though not performance. Since new ATI and Nvidia cards will ship in Q1 2009, they may delay for that. And this is just the high end! The 9800GT is a pretty boring card, it's an improvement over the 8800GT, but absolutely nothing worth noting.
Also, the 4850 in the $170-$200 bracket makes this a very interesting playing field. It would NOT be the high end offering, and would not replace the 2600XT as the difference between it and the 4870 isn't quite big enough for that IMO.
320-500GB HDD. Again, marketing with bigger numbers is easy.
Make a better RAID card option that supports boot camp. It's possible to do (People do it now), but their $800 RAID card won't do it.
I would expect cinema displays, because they have not been rumored before to my knowledge (Only prayed for).
3GB of memory for triple channel goodness.
The graphics card is wide open. 4870 will be there, but maybe not through Apple as with the 3870. GTX 260? Probably not, as it's more akin to the 8800GTS which was a step or two above the 8800GT in price, though not performance. Since new ATI and Nvidia cards will ship in Q1 2009, they may delay for that. And this is just the high end! The 9800GT is a pretty boring card, it's an improvement over the 8800GT, but absolutely nothing worth noting.
Also, the 4850 in the $170-$200 bracket makes this a very interesting playing field. It would NOT be the high end offering, and would not replace the 2600XT as the difference between it and the 4870 isn't quite big enough for that IMO.
320-500GB HDD. Again, marketing with bigger numbers is easy.
Make a better RAID card option that supports boot camp. It's possible to do (People do it now), but their $800 RAID card won't do it.
I would expect cinema displays, because they have not been rumored before to my knowledge (Only prayed for).
i think they will update it before Jan. Jan would be a different animal. mac related but not mac pro. other portable mac products.
I am buying one now for a few reasons. I have wanted one for a long time now, and just want to get it already. I have low patience waiting for new products.
Macs do hold a good resell value, so I am going to wait until they release the 2nd revision of the updated Mac Pro in January. Then, maybe sell my "old one" and upgrade to the newest.
Then again, the Mac pro is such a powerful machine that I doubt I will really want to upgrade.
Maybe I will upgrade to one of the i7's when snow leopard comes out.
I am kinda annoyed though because the one I want isn't on refurb anymore. Would have saved me $400
Macs do hold a good resell value, so I am going to wait until they release the 2nd revision of the updated Mac Pro in January. Then, maybe sell my "old one" and upgrade to the newest.
Then again, the Mac pro is such a powerful machine that I doubt I will really want to upgrade.
Maybe I will upgrade to one of the i7's when snow leopard comes out.
I am kinda annoyed though because the one I want isn't on refurb anymore. Would have saved me $400
I just ordered an octocore 2.8 from Amazon. No sales tax and they currently have a $150 rebate offer, too. Total price after rebate is around $2550 including overnight shipping for $3.99 if you're a Prime member.
Buying a Mac when it is this far through its product cycle is always a difficult decision, but you should just ask yourself; Do I need this much power, and do I need it right now? If yes and yes is the answer then buy it now. If you answer no to either then consider waiting a little while, or buy an iMac instead (they wont be significantly updated anytime soon).
I think we will see a Mac Pro with a Gainstown platform MB (dual socket) and Nehalem Xeon CPU's @ 2.93, 3.16 and 3.33 or more Ghz giving 8 CPU's and 16 threads. 3Gb DDR3 as standard (triple channel) with 6 Gb optional. 500Gb Hard drive standard. New Cinema displays.
I think we will see this available and shipping before the end of the year, but I dont want to give anything more definite than that.
So if you NEED a new Mac pro before christmas, dont wait.
I think we will see a Mac Pro with a Gainstown platform MB (dual socket) and Nehalem Xeon CPU's @ 2.93, 3.16 and 3.33 or more Ghz giving 8 CPU's and 16 threads. 3Gb DDR3 as standard (triple channel) with 6 Gb optional. 500Gb Hard drive standard. New Cinema displays.
I think we will see this available and shipping before the end of the year, but I dont want to give anything more definite than that.
So if you NEED a new Mac pro before christmas, dont wait.
There won't be 3.16GHz Gainstowns. 2.66, 2.8, 2.93, 3.07 and 3.2 are almost certain from Intel. I'd consider them possible contenders for Apple (2.66GHz only because we don't know the price yet). Probably 3.33, 3.46 and 3.6 too, but they may not be around at launch.
I wouldn't be suprised to see 3GB, but Apple have always shipped the minimum amount of memory needed with Pro systems as far as I know. While tripple channel is supported it isn't required. Infact I think you only need a single DIMM. In which case we may see a single 2GB DIMM.
500GB standard may seem logical, but if they think they can make money from upgrades then it could still be 320GB. I guess with the way the retail units system is set up 500GB might make more sense, but no one is going to not buy a Mac Pro because it only has a 320GB drive.