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Consumer version of Mac Pro (and G5 question)

thegreatluke said:
The Mac mini (notice the capitalization? ;)) and the MacBook don't share the same guts.

Mac mini: 1.5 GHz Core Solo or 1.66 GHz Core Duo
MacBook: 1.83 GHz Core Duo or 2.0 GHz Core Duo
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you think a processor is what i mean by guts? one is slower and one is faster, wow that means they're radically different! :rolleyes:
 
Hmm, a lot of this conversation is over my head. But I think I can understand where this is leading me. I may need to just start saving my pennies because it seems like I can get the Mac Pro which will offer greater possibilities for about $700 more than the iMac. I do like what I see in the iMac, but the thought of no upgrade path may be too much for an old PC builder to cope with. But I do like the sleekness and compactness of a one piece PC.

Well, my first purchase will be a new MBP at work. My company has just started authorizing them, so should have that in a few weeks. It will replace my old IBM laptop. So I'll load BF2 on that and see how it runs. From the sounds of it, seems like that will be a good test of how the games would run on an iMac. Maybe that will help me make up my mind.

Thanks again all.
 
LoveMacMini said:
you think a processor is what i mean by guts? one is slower and one is faster, wow that means they're radically different! :rolleyes:
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They are radically different...the processor difference makes a HUGE difference (compare the low ends - 1.83 GHz Core Duo, which was used in the first generation of MacBook Pros, and a 1.5 GHz Core Solo, which can't even handle HD)
 
I am sure that there are Apple-Employees stalking around in this forums.
But over the last year they (should) will have noticed that there is demand for an headless mac (expandable).

I would LOVE such a mac and would by one. (my last one was an imac over at 1998)
 
oyama said:
What is a headless mac?
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Thats a bad mac who got chopped off its head ;)

Just kidding-am mac WITH "head" is the imac f.e. - I dont know who invented "headless":confused:
 
Orange-DE said:
Thats a bad mac who got chopped off its head ;)

Just kidding-am mac WITH "head" is the imac f.e. - I dont know who invented "headless":confused:
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The term "headless" came about when the iMac had a head if you remember the iMac G4, which had a base and had a monitor mounted above on an arm. At that time a lot of people wanted an iMac that was expandable like the PowerMac G4, but cheaper, so the term "headless" iMac was coined.

The new iMac doesn't really have a "head" The whole computer/monitor is the head. If you actually had a "headless" version of today's iMac you would simply have a stand!:eek:
 
Abercrombieboy said:
The term "headless" came about when the iMac had a head if you remember the iMac G4, which had a base and had a monitor mounted above on an arm. At that time a lot of people wanted an iMac that was expandable like the PowerMac G4, but cheaper, so the term "headless" iMac was coined.

The new iMac doesn't really have a "head" The whole computer/monitor is the head. If you actually had a "headless" version of today's iMac you would simply have a stand!:eek:
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no, headless means lack of monitor, it's a standard term in the IT industry. people have been buying headless servers since ... well since i started. a decade and a half ago

wiki to back me up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headless
 
AvSRoCkCO1067 said:
They are radically different...the processor difference makes a HUGE difference (compare the low ends - 1.83 GHz Core Duo, which was used in the first generation of MacBook Pros, and a 1.5 GHz Core Solo, which can't even handle HD)
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No it doesn't in this discussion. It doesn't matter if the Mac mini uses a 1 MHz processor (if a 1 MHz Core processor exists). The chipset and the architecture in the Mac mini and the MacBooks are the same. They just put in a faster CPU in the MacBook, that's all.
 
Sun Baked said:
Nope, the single Processor PowerMac G5 introduced in Oct. 2004...
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I forgot about that computer (although to be fair, it was a "PowerMac G5"). That makes me think that if Apple does this again, the $1500 tower (apple loves its price points) isn't going to be too impressive.
 
Mr. Mister said:
On that subject, the best thing about Apple's one-configuration deal is we don't end up with the neutered low-end motherboard with slower buses, less RAM, different expansion slots, etc.
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I'd happily take a "neutered" machine if it meant saving several hundred dollars (and a smaller case would be nice as well). Conroe tower for $1499 or less.
 
I'm putting off buying a Mac until they release a headless middle-range Mac. The Mac Pro is too powerful, and the Mini is too weak.

Also I don't understand why people say they won't release one because "it'll eat other Mac sales"? People will buy what they need, nothing else.
 
storage said:
I'm putting off buying a Mac until they release a headless middle-range Mac. The Mac Pro is too powerful, and the Mini is too weak.

Also I don't understand why people say they won't release one because "it'll eat other Mac sales"? People will buy what they need, nothing else.
Click to expand...

Well, but if people need a computer they'll have to pick something. We can't wait forever.

Of course, I'm sort of with you. I'd love for there to be a headless mac in the $1000-$1500 range in 6 or 8 months when I'm planning to buy. Unfortunately, refurb, bottom of the line Mac Pros won't have come down to that range yet so I won't have that option. I'll probably end up getting a mini, consoling myself with the idea that its small size makes it potentially useful for a long time for some limited purpose.
 
I think what a lot of people (including myself) would like to see is a Mac Pro that's run through a photocopier at 50% reduction... a desktop machine (I won't say "PC", even though it would be a personal computer) that is actually expandable on the inside... room for up to 3 hard drives, a few PCI slots (and a PCIExpress slot), etc. Cube size, or slightly larger, with an aluminum or magnesium case would be ideal.

The problem with the Mac mini (and I have two of them, so I'm allowed to say this) is that you can't expand it. Yes, you can up the RAM, and you can even swap out for a slightly larger HD... but you can't put in a full size HD, and you can't add a second video card, and you can't add a second optical drive... and I don't want to hang a lot of third-party add-ons off the side of the machine.

The ONLY Apple machine now that allows for real expansion is the Mac Pro... and it's just plain overkill for a lot of casual computer users.
 
miloblithe said:
I'd settle for room for one full size hard drive and consider two awesome. Three?
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OK, two then.

And an option to swap out the optical drive for a newer drive (Blu-Ray, HD-DVD, etc.) later on... and a swappable video adapter with (say) a dual-DVI-I output (for those of us who have VGA-compatible monitors). And memory slots sufficient to hold up to 4 GB of RAM... and a couple of spare PCI slots for add-on cards (like an internal TV tuner, such as the one in my Sony PC).

Do all that, and put it in a half-sized box (compared to the Mac Pro), and I'll buy it in a heartbeat and get rid of my Sony PC forever.
 
miloblithe said:
I'd settle for room for one full size hard drive and consider two awesome. Three?
Click to expand...
Unless the 965GM changes a bit, it is doubtful more than two from the current laptop chipset in the Intel iMac.

So expansion would be 2 SATA, 1 Optical, 1 x16 PCIe video slot, 1 x1 PCI Express or PCI slot and likely with integrated video port.

To make it really work the middle machine would need to switch to the desktop chipset where expansion gets better than the laptop chipset -- but how many headless iMacs and iMacs would need to sell every 90 days, 250k/500k/million?
 
Clayj, you're describing precisely the machine I want to buy!! I can't believe they can't find a way to do this. Its basically an iMac w/o the monitor, in a decent case. Can it really be that difficult to find a way to bring one profitably to market?
 
oyama said:
Clayj, you're describing precisely the machine I want to buy!! I can't believe they can't find a way to do this. Its basically an iMac w/o the monitor, in a decent case. Can it really be that difficult to find a way to bring one profitably to market?
Click to expand...

You are making it sound like Apple came out and said "Hey guys, sorry we can't do it". No one knows if they are or are not going to do it.

So everyone saying "OMG why can't they do it, it is so easy" please be quiet. And to those who say "It ain't gonna happen" you should be quiet too. Please.

If you want to talk about designs and possible specs go for it, but don't short change yourself or Apple by giving people the idea that Apple won't or can't do it, just because it isn't out yet doesn't mean it won't be later.
 
Fatal Darkness said:
So that " PowerPC G5 Systems" link on the left hand side of the Apple Store website is just a figment of my imagination?
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yellow said:
Yes.. your drugs are very powerful.. :)
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Well we are still selling g5's in Austalia, albeit the Quad g5 only, there is a link on the left hand column. But I think it's a bit overpriced, drop the price $500 and maybe.
 
I'd rather have apple release a "super mini" with the looks of the mac pro. It would be about 1/4 the volume of the mac pro (think:look at the side of a mac pro and chop it with a plus sign into 4 equal sized pieces). God i hope someone understood that. Ideal specs would be merom/conre (whichever is cheaper) PCI-e x16 with a swappable radeon X1300 with 128megs of vram, 3 ram slots for a max of 3 gigs, 120 Gb 3.5" Sata with room for one more,3 usb 2.0 and 1 fw 400, and a pci slot for a tv tuner. Add in optical out/in via toslink. Throw in a superdrive,apple kb and mighty mouse and price it at USD $1299. I'd buy that the second it would be announced.
 
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