http://store.apple.com/us/configure/MB535LL/A?mco=NDE4NDIyMQ
2.26 is the baseline 8 core. 2.93GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon is an extra $2600!
2.26 is the baseline 8 core. 2.93GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon is an extra $2600!
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- Thread starter hubiedubie
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Hmm.. curious looking internals. Looks like the motherboard slides out
on a tray. I presume that the two silvery enclosures contain the two
processors, and the memory slots are next to these. I wouldn't like to
guess what effect that will have on airflow.
From: http://images.apple.com/macpro/images/overview_hero2_20090303.png
The upper part part of the internal design looks pretty much identical.
And the sled designs don't appear to have changed. But the front fan
assembly is not the same now.
I'm a bit shocked by the prices. The new quad core @2.66 G.Hz is
pricier than the early 2008 octocore at @2.8GHz. The basic 8 core
model only has 2.26 GHz processors. So that's a 20% drop in clock
speed compared to before. It will be interesting to see whether or
not the new architecture is sufficiently impressive to overcome this
disadvantage in real-world scenarios. The 8 core 2.66 GHz and
2.93 GHz models are, I suspect, prohibitively expensive for many.
ps
I'm looking at UK prices.
on a tray. I presume that the two silvery enclosures contain the two
processors, and the memory slots are next to these. I wouldn't like to
guess what effect that will have on airflow.
From: http://images.apple.com/macpro/images/overview_hero2_20090303.png
The upper part part of the internal design looks pretty much identical.
And the sled designs don't appear to have changed. But the front fan
assembly is not the same now.
I'm a bit shocked by the prices. The new quad core @2.66 G.Hz is
pricier than the early 2008 octocore at @2.8GHz. The basic 8 core
model only has 2.26 GHz processors. So that's a 20% drop in clock
speed compared to before. It will be interesting to see whether or
not the new architecture is sufficiently impressive to overcome this
disadvantage in real-world scenarios. The 8 core 2.66 GHz and
2.93 GHz models are, I suspect, prohibitively expensive for many.
ps
I'm looking at UK prices.
Wow. Those prices are pure insanity. I don't think I could remotely justify upgrading my existing Pro for that at all.
Any ideas why it's so expensive?
Some other things that caught my eye:
http://www.apple.com/macpro/specs.html
Now:
"NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 512MB of GDDR3 memory, PCI Express 2.0,
one Mini DisplayPort, and one dual-link DVI port"
Before:
"ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT with 256MB of GDDR3 memory and
two dual-link DVI ports"
Now:
"Four FireWire 800 ports (two on front panel, two on back panel)"
Before:
"Two FireWire 800 ports (one on front panel, one on back panel)
Two FireWire 400 ports (one on front panel, one on back panel)"
Now:
"VGA output using Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter or DVI to VGA
Display Adapter (optional)"
Before:
"DVI to VGA adapter included"
http://www.apple.com/macpro/specs.html
Now:
"NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 512MB of GDDR3 memory, PCI Express 2.0,
one Mini DisplayPort, and one dual-link DVI port"
Before:
"ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT with 256MB of GDDR3 memory and
two dual-link DVI ports"
Now:
"Four FireWire 800 ports (two on front panel, two on back panel)"
Before:
"Two FireWire 800 ports (one on front panel, one on back panel)
Two FireWire 400 ports (one on front panel, one on back panel)"
Now:
"VGA output using Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter or DVI to VGA
Display Adapter (optional)"
Before:
"DVI to VGA adapter included"
Yeah, which means that if you want to actually use your two dual-link DVI monitors, then you buy the £70 dual-link adapter or suck it up and buy another graphics card. Nice.
Using Google's cache (apologies in advance for any errors):
Prices before and after:
Early 2008:
4 x 2.8GHz ($2,299) (£1,399) ($1.64 = £1)
8 x 2.8GHz ($2,799) (£1,712) ($1.63 = £1)
8 x 3.0GHz ($3,599) (£2,202) ($1.63 = £1)
8 x 3.2GHz ($4,399) (£2,701) ($1.63 = £1)
Early 2009:
4 x 2.66GHz ($2,499) (£1,899) ($1.32 = £1)
4 x 2.93GHz ($2,999) (£2,299) ($1.30 = £1)
8 x 2.26GHz ($3,299) (£2,499) ($1.32 = £1)
8 x 2.66GHz ($4,699) (£3,619) ($1.30 = £1)
8 x 2.93GHz ($5,899) (£4,579) ($1.29 = £1)
I've put in the UK prices now. Getting the
old prices was rather tricky and I had to
calculate them from figures on this page:
http://209.85.229.132/search?q=cache:EmO__r4VakYJ:store.apple.com/uk/configure/MA970B/
Please let me know if I've made any mistakes.
I'm so happy that I didn't wait for this update!!!
Also I don't like the way how Apple promotes that they dropped the price where $2499 Mac Pro was also available before, but not as a standard configuration (available in Apple stores).
Can't wait to see benchmarks though...
Also I don't like the way how Apple promotes that they dropped the price where $2499 Mac Pro was also available before, but not as a standard configuration (available in Apple stores).
Can't wait to see benchmarks though...
These top end dual models are priced very high compared to last year and mostly due to Intels pricing schemes on these. The question I have is what would the overall performance comparison be of my 2x3.2 2008 model compared to a single 2.93 2009 model both 2ith 8gb ram each? Even the 2x2.6 model is mopre than last years 2x3.2 model. We need some various benchmark comparisons for real world performance. For instance overall how would a single 2.93 model compare to a dual 2.6?