Mac Pro and Woodcrest: Confirmed?

[Evangelion]

So this'll mean one of 3 things.

1) At least 1 Mac Pro will have dual Woodcrests and the rest will have Conroes. Similar to the current PM design.

Different CPU-models in one line of computers? Unlikely. Current PowerMacs have just one type of CPU in 'em, it just happens that one model has two of them.

3) The Mac Pros will all have dual Woodcrests, the MBP & iMac will get Meroms, the MB and Mac mini will stick with the Yonahs. So what will use the Conroes? How about the Apple Mac. A simple box with a Conroe processor, a real replaceable video card, no additional PCI slots (those are reseved for the Pro models), with room for one or two full size HDs, a DVD, wireless, bluetooth, etc...

What I think will happen is that the "MacPro Mini" will have one 16x PCI-E slot, and maybe two PCI-E 8x slots. MacPro would have two 16x PCI-E slots (for dual-graphics), and maybe 3 PCI-E 8x slots. MacPro would also have four drive-bays for HD's (hot-swappable, maybe?), whereas MacPro Mini would have just two. MacPro would be all quad (starting from 2x 2Ghz, through 2x 2.33Ghz to 2x 3Ghz), whereas Mini would be 1x 2.33Ghz and 1x 2.66Ghz.

If they did something like that, I would buy one in a heartbeat. But MacPro would still offer substantial benefits over the Mini, so the people looking at the $1999 MacPro Mini would start to think "why not spend just a bit more, and get a MacPro with all these additional features?". We are already seeing that in iPods 🙂.

Please Apple: You know this makes sense! There are LOTS of people waiting for the MacPro Mini!

 

[FocusAndEarnIt]

Or maybe instead of a Mac pro mini, it might be a Mac mini Extreme? 😎

 

[Scarlet Fever]

Sorry but I think I have lost hope for OS X

Funny choice, noting your username...

Apple can't afford to use anything less that 4 x 2.5GHz for their high-end machine, because on paper, it doesnt look as impressive. If Intel cant get the hardware right, Apple should just upgrade the G5 and wait till Intel can get 16x PCI, 4 cores, etc.

Just a moment of reflection... a year ago, if someone asked us which Intel chip we thought would find its way into a PowerMac , we would probably curse them for blasphemy 🙄 . Now were having a poll, and getting excited about the prospect of Woodcrest chips...

As to the poster who wished for the Apple Mac, i think that would be brilliant. i want a machine which i can put new parts in, but doesn't cost me an arm to buy. Here, the base model G5 powermac is around 3000, which is out of my price range. If they introduced something like the iMac, but with user replaceable parts, i think they would sell well.

 

[gugy]

The new Powermac or Pro Mac, seems to be a nice machine. It will be interesting to see how much faster than the quad G5.

The big question is.

Would any professional that depends on Adobe apps going to buy this machine right away?
Adobe apps are not universal, i doubt that the new Pro Macs will be faster than the current Quad G5 using these apps. Plus, it seems scary to jump on rev. A for this machine.

Everyday, I feel safer for buying my Quad G5 last October and wait for Rev. B for the Pro Mac Intel. I bet the the Quad G5 will retain their value for awhile.

 

[Evangelion]

The new Powermac or Pro Mac, seems to be a nice machine. It will be interesting to see how much faster than the quad G5.

The big question is.

Would any professional that depends on Adobe apps going to buy this machine right away?

Why the obsession with Adobe? There are other companies out there as well.

 

[Bakey]

I guess time will tell, but Apple needs to get something kickass out the door around WWDC. I think we have all been waiting for hte final piece in the puzzle: pro laptops - covered, consumer laptops - covered, consumer desktop - covered, pro desktops - waiting...

Pro desktops are not quite the last piece of the puzzle! PowerMac replacements and xServes are all that are needed to make "the circle complete".

The iBook, PowerBook, iMac, eMac and Mac mini have all had/have their Intel equivalents as we all know... here's to waiting! And like so many on these forums my CC is clear and ready to melt... 😉

I wonder I they put a Xeon in a Mac will it come with Intergrated graphics 😕 😉

I sure hope Apple don't put intergrated graphics in the Mac Pros as ANY sort of an option......

I guess they may install integrated graphic chipsets as an option for the 'new' range of xServes [although I'm guessing IG won't be an option - rather they're already there with option of over-riding them via a dedicated graphics card]; I'm obviously speculating and thinking along the lines that the majority of xServe installs are simply that 'installs' and not graphic workhorses, etc.

Either way, the countdown to WWDC has begun...!! 😀

 

[gugy]

Why the obsession with Adobe? There are other companies out there as well.

Oh really.
Ok, tell me what's out there that can substitute on a professional level Photoshop, After Effects and Illustrator.

I am sure you don't work on the business, so you have no clue.

 

[081440]

Oh really.
Ok, tell me what's out there that can substitute on a professional level Photoshop, After Effects and Illustrator.

I am sure you don't work on the business, so you have no clue.

So were just assuming that all "pro" users depend on adobe....

What about video editors and sound people, I think they will jump right on, I know I will.

 

[Evangelion]

Oh really.
Ok, tell me what's out there that can substitute on a professional level Photoshop, After Effects and Illustrator.

I am sure you don't work on the business, so you have no clue.

A follow-up question: why the obsession with Photoshop, After Effects and Illustrator? There are other apps out there as well. Why does it seem that about 105% of Mac-users are Photoshop-users as well (I bet that PhotoShop-users are in fact in the minority)? Everything related to Apple, OS X and Macs seem to boil down to "but what about PhotoShop?". Well, what about it?

You are worried about the fact that Adobe's apps are not yet Universal? Fine, then don't buy a MacIntel. Problem solved.

 

[TangoCharlie]

Conroe vs Woodcrest vs Merom

As even AI note, there's not much difference between the two chips.

The cores for all the "Core 2" processors are all basically the same, but the packaging is different. Using Xeon 5100 in the Mac Pro makes sense because they are going to want to use dual-cpu (quad core) configurations. Although this may not seem of much importance, the Xeon will cost a lot more, which is an issue.

I still maintain that there's a "hole" in the new line-up, which is there isn't a single-cpu high-clock-rate system. I think Apple needs a Core 2 Extreme based system with the Conroe XE CPU (initially 2.93 GHz then 3.2 GHz).

Oh.... I think the recently introduced edu-iMac will keep its current Core Duo (Yonah) processor after the full iMac has been upgraded to Core 2 Duo. Another thing..... I think the iMac will get Meroms, not Conroes so that Apple doesn't have to change the socket. (Which also implies that the top CPU speed we're going to see in the iMac will be 2.33GHz, leaving a space for faster (2.4GHz to 2.93GHz) in a new enclosure. 😎

 

[Silentwave]

costs are all over the place here... on one hand the core 2 extreme is more expensive than a wood crest...but on the other the woodie is more expensive since there;s 2 and a more specialized logic board. what do I think will happen? I wouldn't be surprised to see a single woody system, just to save costs by having one type of LB/RAM, and larger quantities of the same processor to keep costs and logistics manageable.

 

[Max on Macs]

I personally believe that in an effort to cut noise and heat on these higher priced machines, two problems that have always plagued them, the Pentium 66 and 75 will be in use in these systems.

 

[bigandy]

here's hoping for a Quad with the Xeon 5160s - 3Ghz each core 😀

 

[stunna]

I hate to say it but since I got my macbook black I have been using winxp and not osx. XP runs faster, is compatible with all apps like photoshop and office natively and runs perfectly. I have been very impressed. So impressed that I decided to build a core 2 duo desktop from newegg and I did it for Under $900. Now lets see apple top that pricing. (core 2 duo chip on order from buy.com)

Sorry but I think I have lost hope for OS X. I got the media center edition OS with the new computer I am building with dual tuner TV card. Watching tv via my xbox 360 is a dream. Mac will never be able to accomplish this task. Front row sucks.

If I bought a new mac pro (which I won't because its going to be a rippoff) I would just run XP on it.

For instance, I got two Radeon 16xPCIe X1600xt supporting crossfire with 512mb ram each from newegg for $120 each. Everything is just cheaper.

After a while you get to a point in your work where you realize seeing the neat apple OS is just not that important. Not when you can run crappy XP (which sorry to disappoint never crashes) for 1/3rd the price and 4x the speed.

Comon apple, make a media center mac and figure out a way to use PC graphics cards. After spending $500 on my Radeon 800xt with 256mb ram I wil l NEVER do it again. Not when I can get dual crossfire cards for half the price and 4x the performance.

I guess I am a half reverse switcher. Using macbook pro but XP only. LOL!

You are a smart man.
no sarcasim or anything i'm being serious
At the end of the day you gotta tell yourself why pay more and get less

 

[Evangelion]

I still maintain that there's a "hole" in the new line-up, which is there isn't a single-cpu high-clock-rate system. I think Apple needs a Core 2 Extreme based system with the Conroe XE CPU (initially 2.93 GHz then 3.2 GHz).

Since your concern is the high price of the Xeon, I find it ironic that you want to use XE in a Mac, since XE is also VERY expensive. I believe they cost about $1000 a piece.

I believe that the Woodcrests start at around $400, which isn't outrageous price. For the price of once XE you could have two 2Ghz Woodcrests.

 

[THX1139]

there's no way apple's going to use woodcrest in the upcoming powermac rev because there are no motherboards for socket 771 (woodcrest) that support anything above pci express 8x. powermac's are going to be high end workstations for print, graphics, and media shops, 8x pci express won't cut it.

look around at all the motherboard manufacturers (nvidia, ati, asus, msi, etc) none of them have a woodcrest platform available. apple always uses some other motherboard vendor like supermicro.

the upcoming powermac's will use core duo 2 and extremes. unfortunately we won't have a quad processor intel powermac just yet. but i bet the core duo 2 extreme will still show processing improvements above and beyond the quad g5 which will be good enough.

the only way i see this happening is if apple ships the powermac in 2007 when the socket 771 boards start using 16x pci express.

The most intelligent post on this thread. Sadly, I agree. We won't see Quad Macs until Kentsfield ships first quarter of 2007. Until then, it's going to be Duo 2 extreme and Quad G5 in the lineup.

On another note, I cracks me up whenever I read any post where people bash the Conroe. They say that having it in anything other than iMac would be disappointing. Well, all I can say is the Conroe is a wicked fast chip and for all instensive purposes, it's just as fast as Woodcrest... if not faster. The only drawback is lack of multi processor support. For that we have to wait until 2007.

Come WWDC, I hope to find out I'm wrong and Apple kicks out an affordable Quad Woodcrest machine. However, being a realist... I doubt it.

 

[MacSA]

At the bottom of the article they seem to imply that Apple will stick with Core Solo chips for the entry level mini.... YUCK 😱

 

[macidiot]

I hate to say it but since I got my macbook black I have been using winxp and not osx. XP runs faster, is compatible with all apps like photoshop and office natively and runs perfectly. I have been very impressed. So impressed that I decided to build a core 2 duo desktop from newegg and I did it for Under $900. Now lets see apple top that pricing. (core 2 duo chip on order from buy.com)

Sorry but I think I have lost hope for OS X. I got the media center edition OS with the new computer I am building with dual tuner TV card. Watching tv via my xbox 360 is a dream. Mac will never be able to accomplish this task. Front row sucks.

If I bought a new mac pro (which I won't because its going to be a rippoff) I would just run XP on it.

For instance, I got two Radeon 16xPCIe X1600xt supporting crossfire with 512mb ram each from newegg for $120 each. Everything is just cheaper.

After a while you get to a point in your work where you realize seeing the neat apple OS is just not that important. Not when you can run crappy XP (which sorry to disappoint never crashes) for 1/3rd the price and 4x the speed.

Comon apple, make a media center mac and figure out a way to use PC graphics cards. After spending $500 on my Radeon 800xt with 256mb ram I wil l NEVER do it again. Not when I can get dual crossfire cards for half the price and 4x the performance.

I guess I am a half reverse switcher. Using macbook pro but XP only. LOL!

Considering I mostly watch hdtv from satellite, neither platform is of any use. And who cares, I have a hdtivo that works like a champ. Let me know when mce can record Deadwood in HD. And let me know how I can hook up an xbox 360 to my hdtv via dvi/hdmi.

And whuteva about building your own comp for a penny. You get a gold star. Apple is going to cost more. So is HP, Dell, Sony, and any other tier 1 manufacturer. Then again, a computer from Apple isn't going to come in a $20 plastic chrome-plated case that looks like a transformer.

Everything is just cheaper? Tell me, in what what intel macs can you toss those x1600xt cards into? Or is pc ram somehow cheaper? Oh wait, must be those pc-only hard drives right? And I'm wondering what core duo laptops you can buy that are 4x faster than a macbook pro and only cost $900. Cause I'll sign up right now and buy one. Hell, I'll buy 2. One for me and one for you. It only has to cost 1/3 the price of a macbook pro and offer 4x the speed, and otherwise be similar (weight, display, main features).

And your running xp on your mac? Is it xp or mce? And your using a pirated copy? Cause if you actually purchased a copy, it sort of explains why you think your comp is expensive... since you spent an extra 100-150 on it...

And finally... you have a black macbook pro? I'm impressed. 😛 So did you use Krylon?

I believe I just fed the troll... I'm guessing that since you don't seem to know what kind of laptop you have. And considering that most of what you said is not based in fact. It's something a 12yo pc fanboy would say.

 

[Evangelion]

there's no way apple's going to use woodcrest in the upcoming powermac rev because there are no motherboards for socket 771 (woodcrest) that support anything above pci express 8x.

I beg to differ

 

[Evangelion]

Considering I mostly watch hdtv from satellite, neither platform is of any use. And who cares, I have a hdtivo that works like a champ. Let me know when mce can record Deadwood in HD. And let me know how I can hook up an xbox 360 to my hdtv via dvi/hdmi.

And whuteva about building your own comp for a penny. You get a gold star. Apple is going to cost more. So is HP, Dell, Sony, and any other tier 1 manufacturer. Then again, a computer from Apple isn't going to come in a $20 plastic chrome-plated case that looks like a transformer.

Everything is just cheaper? Tell me, in what what intel macs can you toss those x1600xt cards into? Or is pc ram somehow cheaper? Oh wait, must be those pc-only hard drives right? And I'm wondering what core duo laptops you can buy that are 4x faster than a macbook pro and only cost $900. Cause I'll sign up right now and buy one. Hell, I'll buy 2. One for me and one for you. It only has to cost 1/3 the price of a macbook pro and offer 4x the speed, and otherwise be similar (weight, display, main features).

And your running xp on your mac? Is it xp or mce? And your using a pirated copy? Cause if you actually purchased a copy, it sort of explains why you think your comp is expensive... since you spent an extra 100-150 on it...

And finally... you have a black macbook pro? I'm impressed. 😛 So did you use Krylon?

I believe I just fed the troll... I'm guessing that since you don't seem to know what kind of laptop you have. And considering that most of what you said is not based in fact. It's something a 12yo pc fanboy would say.

Dude, take a chill-pill. Why does it matter so much to you if he uses XP?

 

[Eric5h5]

I doubt that Apple are able to charge the "normal" Mac premium after the intel transition, since it is much simpler to compare Macs with another PCs.

Er...have you seen the MacBook Pro pricing? The MacBook pricing? The iMac pricing? The Mini pricing? (Which went UP by a fair amount). If you're thinking that x86 processors are cheaper than PPC, you're sadly mistaken. Cheap computers being cheap has just about nothing whatsoever to do with the CPU....

--Eric

 

[Mord]

exctly what i have been saying this last year.

we all know thinksecrets record lately.

 

[Evangelion]

Er...have you seen the MacBook Pro pricing? The MacBook pricing? The iMac pricing? The Mini pricing? (Which went UP by a fair amount). If you're thinking that x86 processors are cheaper than PPC, you're sadly mistaken. Cheap computers being cheap has just about nothing whatsoever to do with the CPU....

--Eric

Well, the Mini got more expensive, but it's capabilities went WAY up. Optical audio in and out, twice the USB-ports (fixing the two biggest complaints about the old Mini), built-in wireless, about twice as fast CPU (hell, the new low-end is propably over 50% faster than the old hi-end!) and Core Image compliant video.

Comparing price and capabilities, The Mini just got a whole lot cheaper 🙂. The low-end Mini costs the same as the old hi-end Mini, but the new low-end Mini is a lot better than the old hi-end Mini.

 

[JFreak]

I think we have all been waiting for hte final piece in the puzzle: pro laptops - covered, consumer laptops - covered, consumer desktop - covered, pro desktops - waiting...

...not to mention: non-apple pro apps - waiting.

 

[JFreak]

the only way i see this happening is if apple ships the powermac in 2007 when the socket 771 boards start using 16x pci express.

You don't see it possible that Apple would be the first company to release one?