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Let the "late 2008" Mac Pro update speculations commence...

R

randyhudson

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Original poster
Oct 28, 2007
681
981
USA
The wait is over?!?

Following its introduction in August 2006, in January 2008, the Mac Pro gets Bluetooth standard, a 10% bump in clockspeed, and a whopping $200 price drop for the entry level quad-core. Really!! Is that it?

Seriously, what is the real 2nd-gen Mac Pro going to offer?
  • hardware RAID on the motherboard?
  • Fast memory?
  • Blu-ray burner?
 
I bet RAID will come standard and setup for you. Also, the wifi will come built in. It would be nice to see Apple stop using SATA standard for mac pros and all their HD's using a SAS as a standard. Also, all the video cards have at least 512MB os VRAM. I'm blown away with the fact that the new mac pro has an option for a video card with 1.5gb of vram, thats insane. That would be a splendid update, but I don't see that coming next year, I can imagine something like that to happen in 2 years at the least. But some things like having an airport come in standard, i can see next year.:apple:

And Apple's recent updates are quite big, you may not see them as big though.
 
1. Hardware RAID isn't something that majority of Mac Pro buyers would want (with software RAID being so easy) and having BTO motherboards isn't in Apple's plan.

2. Speed bump (in RAM and processor) is likely but we will more likely see a quiet update.

3. Same thing with Blu-ray. It will magically become an option in a month or two.

4. Wi-Fi is a tough one, but I think Apple would make it standard with the option to take it away. Some places with paranoid security measures don't allow wi-fi, just like they don't allow web cams and cell phones with cameras.
 
its much more than a $200 drop.

if i was to buy a mac pro yesterday, here in australia i would have got:

2.66GHz Quad
1GB Ram
250GB HDD
x1950XT

for close to 3999 student price

today i can get:

2.8GHz Quad
2GB Ram
320GB HDD
8800GT
Bluetooth

for around the 3200 mark student price. thats pretty fkn good. now is the time to buy, i've waited 2 months without a computer and i'd be a fkn idiot to wait another 500 days till the next update.
 
Seriously, the new one just came out. Why do people start these threads every time a new Apple product is announced? Same thing happened after Leopard. Seriously, it's 2 years away. Nothing anyone predicts has any relevance, and Apple always introduces something beyond imagination. These threads are stupid. Appreciate what we got today.
 
The 5000X and 5400X chipsets used in the prior and newer Mac Pro respectively DO support hardware RAID 0 but Apple chooses not to support it in firmware/OS.

The new MP use Faster FB-DIMM's and indeed faster FSB than the prior MP.

Blu-Ray is an OS/DRM issue not a hardware issue ( wait and see if 10.5.2 supports BD )
 
Given the extended delay in Mac Pro refresh cycles, I'd expect today's announced system to be sold on the Apple web site through at least 1/8/10 - for the same price, with the same graphic card options (get used to 2600XT/8800GT/FX5600). The die has been struck - the best time to buy a new Mac Pro is now! Memory prices will drop, > 1TB disks will be announced, new graphics cards will come and go, but Apple will remain steadfast in their support (and pricing) of the current configuration.

Mark my words. You'll see that today's new system will be with us for a long while.
 
jwt said:
Seriously, the new one just came out. Why do people start these threads every time a new Apple product is announced? Same thing happened after Leopard. Seriously, it's 2 years away. Nothing anyone predicts has any relevance, and Apple always introduces something beyond imagination. These threads are stupid. Appreciate what we got today.
Click to expand...

Sorry, my real point was that this "update" was very disappointing. If you look at similar 18-24 month windows for the Macbook, Macbook Pro, or iMac, the progress being made there makes the Mac Pro update look like a footnote.
 
Given the hardware intel is fielding "right now" I seriously don't know what more you could possibly expect. the only unsatisfactory thing I see is no Blu-Ray yet, and that is not truly a hardware issue but a software issue.
 
New Mac Pros will come out whenever Nehalem processors are available in enough quantities. Likely this time next year or WWDC.

Haven't you learned already? Pro machines are not updated two or three times a year. They are updated when a major processor comes out, which can be predicted now because Intel publishes their roadmap in advance.
 
jwt said:
Seriously, the new one just came out. Why do people start these threads every time a new Apple product is announced? Same thing happened after Leopard. Seriously, it's 2 years away. Nothing anyone predicts has any relevance, and Apple always introduces something beyond imagination. These threads are stupid. Appreciate what we got today.
Click to expand...

It most certainly is not two years away. January 2009 or in that region (January - March) will see the next Mac Pro.

Seeing as I have a series one Mac Pro I'm happy to stick with it until the next one comes along.
 
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