Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Mac Pro - case re:design ideas

irishgrizzly said:
I've not seen any other mock ups of Mac Pro designs, but I really like the one you've just posted – very in keeping with the new iMac. But wouldn't glass be impractical for a machine that gives out lots of heat? Plus I'd miss the handles (unless they got the weight down).
Click to expand...

actually..glass conducts heat..its up there with aluminum..i believe aluminums specific heat rating is like 867 and glass is 710 or something like that. so..glass is its self, a conductor of heat, thats why windows are double/triple paned the AIR inbetween the layers of glass is acting as the insulator.

unless..of course u meant there are no see able air vents, for that..well..there has to be, no way can it stay cool enough without some fans pushing air through it.
 
This design is impractical and not an improvement over the current design. That's why they pay Johnathan Ive's and his team the big bucks and not leave the design to amateurs.
 
bigbird said:
I get the feeling that a lot of contributors to the Macrumors forums are quite young, as in teenagers. I base this on some of the inane and/or confrontational nature of some reponses. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, but it makes me a little hesitant to post becuase often a non-relevant followup occurs without an explanation. I give an opinion without asking for a critique of that opinion. Something like that often comes from a person who may be on the immature or insecure side.
Click to expand...

I'm 50. Thanks for sharing your feelings. No soup for you. Next!
 
dongmin said:
Putting an Apple logo on a Dell box does not make it a 'design.'

Next.

2179_xps_410_300_tn.jpg
Click to expand...


this is exactly what it reminded me of, one of the dell workstations.
usually i think ppl's own mockups for apple products are horrible, but i didnt think this one was bad by any means. i guess its just too boring.
 
If they have to change it they have to make it bigger!

I want to put more HDDs in it, more PCI cards, more everything. Make the case bigger and put more ports, slots, and connections to it. Give me a RAID controller standard, and eSATA standard, and just more stuff!

That is the best change they could make to the thing.
 
Apple got it right with the G5 case, I don't know how they will top this one.

It HAS to be better than the current one...G4/G3 were ugly.

The current one is well ventilated and light imo for how much power it packs.
 
I kinda like the current hard-anodized aluminum case. The one thing that I'd love to see would be a modular version of it. I'd like to be able to remove, for instance, the upper and lower handles and substitute a set of 19" rack mount ears/rails. I have a production desk that has standard EIA 19" mounting rails as well as a server rack in my office and I'd love to put the case in there and get it up off the floor.....as soon as I buy my first Mac Pro.....as soon as they release it.....as soon as 10.5 arrives....as soon as we get what we've all been waiting for!!! ;)
dave
 
Another thing occurred to me looking at those proposed glass cases....what happens with RFI problems? With all the electronics tucked away inside those cases, I'd imagine that the amount of radio frequency noise inside would be splattering all over the room. Maybe they'd make it out of leaded crystal? ;)
 
Digital Skunk said:
If they have to change it they have to make it bigger!

I want to put more HDDs in it, more PCI cards, more everything. Make the case bigger and put more ports, slots, and connections to it. Give me a RAID controller standard, and eSATA standard, and just more stuff!

That is the best change they could make to the thing.
Click to expand...

Yes the limited pci slots stink if your use a lot of pci cards for your job. Expansion chasis and esata card are expensive too.
 
suneohair said:
Exactly. It is going to happen. Although, the iMac was just updated. Do you not like it? Or did you want a radical departure from the chin and ACD like stand?

What I find odd is Apple moving away from white in some areas, the iMac for example, but keeping it in the peripherals; keyboard, mighty mouse, etc.
Click to expand...

The iMac is fine, it's just that the latest revision didn't change much other than the materials. The basic design hasn't been changed since it was introduced as the G5 iMac. The same is true elsewhere, and certainly quantifiable:

  • The iMac design dates back to the iMac G5 (3 years 2 months old)
  • The MacBook Pro design dates back to the Aluminum Powerbook G4 (4 years 10 months old)
  • The Mac Mini design hasn't changed since its introduction as the G4 mini (2 years 10 months old)
  • And the Mac Pro design dates back to the Powermac G5 (4 years 4 months old)

Yes, these designs work great - especially the Mac Pro. But the fact remains that they're getting kinda stale. Leaders in the corporate world stay that way by constantly changing and improving their product to perpetually edge out the competition. Aside from upgrading components every cycle (with the possible exception of graphics cards, wink wink) I haven't seen Apple do a lot to keep pace. Maybe it's just me.

My sincere wish is that all this iPhone business was a temporary distraction so at some point they can get their design gurus back on the Mac. :)

P.S. - We're in agreement about the peripherals; white and black is a color combination best left in the 50's. The new pastel nano colors probably belong there too, but that's another thread. :p
 
I think we might see a redesign late Oct. or early Nov. when Mac Pro gets updated with new Xeon lineups. But more than likely, it will be when Nehalem comes out.
 
Yeah I would imagine Apple is waiting for an upgrade significant enough to make current owners willing to upgrade.
 
Honestly I always loved the look of the real old beige Macs. I would be ecstatic if they went with the Quadra 900/950 case or the slightly modified Workgroup Server 9150.

Quadra 900.jpg

Workgroup server 9150.jpg

I am serious I do prefer these designs.
 
damado said:
Yeah I would imagine Apple is waiting for an upgrade significant enough to make current owners willing to upgrade.
Click to expand...

I don't know. The iMac upgrade overall was rather modest when compared to say the entire pro line going eight-core. An eight-core line is definitely worthy of a case redesign if the iMac going SR is worth it.

There again, I don't think in all cases a significant hardware update is tied to a case design. Especially in these times where Apple jumped the hardware to Intel without redesigning their computers. It seems that they are now catching up with that aim.
 
AC773 said:
  • The iMac design dates back to the iMac G5 (3 years 2 months old)
  • The MacBook Pro design dates back to the Aluminum Powerbook G4 (4 years 10 months old)
  • The Mac Mini design hasn't changed since its introduction as the G4 mini (2 years 10 months old)
  • And the Mac Pro design dates back to the Powermac G5 (4 years 4 months old)
Click to expand...

With respect to the MBP, I like the current form factor with the exception of the hard drive location. I'd like the replacement to be akin to the MacBook in its ease of use. But honestly, I cannot image that Apple is going to leave a design in place for 5+ years. So, that to me says that a heavily revised MBP and MP are soon to come.
 
velocityg4 said:
Honestly I always loved the look of the real old beige Macs. I would be ecstatic if they went with the Quadra 900/950 case or the slightly modified Workgroup Server 9150.

View attachment 86574

View attachment 86575

I am serious I do prefer these designs.
Click to expand...

It would be nice but it would just be a FAR step back as far as design goes. This is 2007, those computers were great looking back in their day. Apple has moved on.
 
I've actually had dreams of designing a new MacPro like system. I like the idea of modular pieces that you can add that stack on each other. Almost set up like a raid case. You can buy a frame with 5 slots or 10 slots or even attach them together. Each slot is the same size that can house a collection of devices. One can contain a HD or Blu-ray drive. One can hold 2 HDs. One can house a collection of card readers/USB/Firewire etc..... One can hold the main processor and RAM. One can hold a collection of cards. Everything is standardized so you can add any internal brand you want. The frame can be customized to any color you want. Just go to any place that sells wall paper or craft paper and cut to fit the outside frame. Your system grows with you. It would also be nice to have a desk just made for the system. I do love how easy it was to add HDs and RAM to my current MacPro but have not tried to add any thing else.
 
suneohair said:
So, we all have ideas of hardware and what not. We have had a pass at the case a couple times. But I thought I would make a thread to discuss ideas and what not. I am not saying it needs to be updated or that there are problems with it. However, all things get refreshed at some point, I don't think the Mac Pro will be any different. I will kick it off with this:

All credit for this goes to Phizz at thinksecret, Aluminum and Glass: http://forums.appleinsider.com/showthread.php?t=79330

macpro2008.jpg



What do you think?
Click to expand...

That looks aweful, like a bad dell/apple hybrid. I hope Apple does not do this.

Never owning Macs before I really like the Mac Pro case, it is understated but built well and the insides are so much nicer than the dells etc.. I think it is going to be very difficult improve on it. I prefer the more elegant understated look.
 
I like the black on Aluminum thing going on. If they made the grilled part of the case and the back part black then that would be cool. Leave the outsides Alu and keep the handles on them to. The machine is too heavy to not have handles.
 
Digital Skunk said:
I like the black on Aluminum thing going on. If they made the grilled part of the case and the back part black then that would be cool. Leave the outsides Alu and keep the handles on them to. The machine is too heavy to not have handles.
Click to expand...

I like the design too. But I agree the new one will need handles. Even with the indentations, I don't think it will work.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back