I am curious because the new hexacore processors will obviously be better. The other thing is that Apple has always seemed to keep their prices at around the same level when there is an update. I have read many people saying they will go up but I have also read people saying they will stay the same, what do yall think?
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How much more expensive will the next Mac Pro be?
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If the price points go up, it will be minimal. I'm the one that advocates the idea of no price changes.
From a marketing view, they can't really go up. Maybe for high end 12 core configurations, but not for base models. That said, I really hope Apple gives us competitive pricing with the low end Mac Pros again. A 2200 - 2500 bucks Mac Pro should be significantly faster than the i7 iMac. The only way they could really achieve that is going 6 core across the entire line with 2-3 2200 - 3000 single 6 core models and 3500+ 12 core models. I really hope for reasonable, value for money prices like with the 2008 Mac Pro.
The company I work for will buy me one once they are released. We need a graphic design workstation to replace a tired G5 for Adobe CS5 and already have a 30" ACD. The dual processor configurations, although still priced quite ok right now, are a waste of mnoney for that kind of work, and the current single processor Mac Pros are daylight robbery. That's why we are waiting, hoping for the best.
The company I work for will buy me one once they are released. We need a graphic design workstation to replace a tired G5 for Adobe CS5 and already have a 30" ACD. The dual processor configurations, although still priced quite ok right now, are a waste of mnoney for that kind of work, and the current single processor Mac Pros are daylight robbery. That's why we are waiting, hoping for the best.
I think prices will be very similar to the existing models. For two reasons.
First, Intel has priced the new 6 core chips close to the prices of the old 4 core chips. Secondly, the 2009 models represented a large price hike over the 2008 models (when considering value for money) and I think this was a one off re-adjustment from trying to sell lots of Mac Pros cheap to accepting that the pro is a relatively niche product and charging a premium for it.
It is all speculation - there are lots of possible scenarios from Apple suddenly deciding to push the Mac Pro again (unlikely) and thus reducing prices to Apple deciding that they have zero interest in the Mac Pro and massively increasing prices so that those who must have it give them a good profit for the small numbers sold.
First, Intel has priced the new 6 core chips close to the prices of the old 4 core chips. Secondly, the 2009 models represented a large price hike over the 2008 models (when considering value for money) and I think this was a one off re-adjustment from trying to sell lots of Mac Pros cheap to accepting that the pro is a relatively niche product and charging a premium for it.
It is all speculation - there are lots of possible scenarios from Apple suddenly deciding to push the Mac Pro again (unlikely) and thus reducing prices to Apple deciding that they have zero interest in the Mac Pro and massively increasing prices so that those who must have it give them a good profit for the small numbers sold.
What makes you think that?
Here in Europe a 6-core 2.66GHz XEON cost exactly the same as the 4-core 2.66GHz XEON.
Intel did NOT rise the price for their new XEON's, so I really can't imagine why Apple should make the Mac Pro more expensive.
Why no 4-socket Nehalem-EX system with a total of 32 cores (64 if you count Hyper-Threading)? The sky is the limit.
Sorry but those prices are pretty much exactly the same you pay for equal clocked 55xx XEON's that are currently used by Apple in the octad Mac Pro.
6-core MP XEON's are NOT more expensive than 4-core MP XEON's, so there is absolutely no justification for any rumours about price increase, at least in terms of CPU's, cause we all know what Apple did with last years MP update.
I'm referring to the possibility of a 3.3 x6 x2 option which would probably start at $6000 or so.
Well, you should say that then.
Still, the current 2.9x4 x2 also starts at $6000.
Of course the top end machines will be expensive, what do expect? If you want the fastest processors you have to pay for them and the new 56xx chips won't change that. They won't, however, increase the price compared to the current Mac Pro since, as I said, the processors are simply not more expensive.
I hope that the delay of the new MacPro will mean that there is more to the upgrade than a 6core-for-4core swap.
With every Tuesday our expectations get higher because we figure out that Apple is actually doing something to improve the MacPro be it USB3 or SATA6 or something else.
I was about to pull the trigger and get a $6000 machine with liquid-cooled and overclocked Gulftown (4.3GHz), 24GB DDR3 1600MHz, Intel G2 160GB HDx2, NVidia GTX480 and GTS 250 (for the hackintosh part) but at the last minute I did not go through as Apple would probably announce an awesome MacPro the second my credit card it charged.
So I am waiting for another couple Tuesdays...
With every Tuesday our expectations get higher because we figure out that Apple is actually doing something to improve the MacPro be it USB3 or SATA6 or something else.
I was about to pull the trigger and get a $6000 machine with liquid-cooled and overclocked Gulftown (4.3GHz), 24GB DDR3 1600MHz, Intel G2 160GB HDx2, NVidia GTX480 and GTS 250 (for the hackintosh part) but at the last minute I did not go through as Apple would probably announce an awesome MacPro the second my credit card it charged.
So I am waiting for another couple Tuesdays...
Veering offtopic here, but I'm sure I read somewhere that if you're overclocking, then having more than 6GB of RAM is detrimental. Certainly, various overclocking specialists (e.g. scan) warn against putting 12GB in.
You can overclock the CPU independent of the memory speed. The i7 980X are "Extreme" versions and therefore multiplier unlocked.
You are right that more ram in general is detrimental for extreme overclocks. Most benchmarkers have just 3 1GB sticks in. In my case, I have to find a happy medium between overclocking and usability (otherwise I would have experimented with LN2 and 6GHz).
I hope that the delay of the new MacPro will mean that there is more to the upgrade than a 6core-for-4core swap.
With every Tuesday our expectations get higher because we figure out that Apple is actually doing something to improve the MacPro be it USB3 or SATA6 or something else.
I was about to pull the trigger and get a $6000 machine with liquid-cooled and overclocked Gulftown (4.3GHz), 24GB DDR3 1600MHz, Intel G2 160GB HDx2, NVidia GTX480 and GTS 250 (for the hackintosh part) but at the last minute I did not go through as Apple would probably announce an awesome MacPro the second my credit card it charged.
So I am waiting for another couple Tuesdays...
The delay likely has nothing to do with the manufacture and specification of the systems and is due to Apple's business strategies and practices.