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Mac Pro (Early 2008) Notes and Options

Tsurisuto said:
I don't think that we will see new cinema displays at Macworld. I think Apple will hold out till Summer and then release redesigned Mac Pros, along with new slimmer ACDs. The current Mac Pros are just a stop gap measure.
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I'm really surprised ACDs weren't updated. Rumor is when
they are updated they will go to cheaper S-PVA/MVA consumer
panels. The current ACDs are one of the few S-IPS displays
available, so I wouldn't be too upset buying an ACD now
(to get the best quality) before the line changes to cheaper
quality panels.
 
Other items in the Mac Pro

Also of note..

Bluetooth no longer is purchased separately.

It is able to run two dual-link monitors out of the box. Previously this was a $250 BTO option.

Base memory is now 2x1GB modules instead of the previous 2x512MB.
 
Small White Car said:
None of this has any bearing on what Apple will actually do. THEY think the iMac fills the needs of everyone who isn't a Mac Pro buyer. THEY have made their feelings on this quite clear again and again. In order for that to happen, they would have to drastically change their view of the iMac. I haven't seen any indication that this has happened.
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Just for the record, I happen to agree with you. As such, I'm not one of those "many". I knew the trade-offs of my iMac vs. a Mac Pro and preferred to save the couple of grand. :D


Cassie said:
If I hear one more complaint about a Mac Pro after this update, I'm going to go ballistic.
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"All decks, brace for impact." :D
 
It would be very nice to see a MacMini revival next week =)
I don't want one, but it would rock a lot! :)
 
Small White Car said:
EDIT: What I could see..and what I'd love...is to enlarge the Mac Mini enough to give it a desktop hard drive and dedicted video card...same specs as the Macbook Pro. That would be useful and I could actually imagine Apple doing that.
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I'd love to see this too, but I don't imagine Apple doing that. They seem to be fixated on form -- smallest size above all else. The Mac mini was a new product and it was created from scratch. There was no reason why they couldn't have dimensioned it to use full-size 3.5" hard drives in the first place. Instead they chose to use smaller laptop drives because they insisted on making it as small as they could. Now that they've established that footprint (Mac mini, Apple TV, Airport Extreme) I don't see them suddenly introducing a bigger one just so we can have what we want.

Heck, it would have been a LOT cheaper for them to use commodity 3.5" drives instead of expensive laptop drives. The fact that they didn't strongly suggests to me that they really, really care about making it small, to the extent that they're willing to sacrifice cost and performance.

Which, if you think about it, really describes Apple's design decisions lately. Make it look good, no matter what.

Too bad. I'd have bought one as a server if it had an internal 3.5" drive.
 
Ordered mine today.... pretty darn pumped really....

I've been waiting for this machine for quite a while, as a workstation for my recording studio, and the update suits me fine really.... All i really wanted was some current horsepower for the price, and its certainly there. Twice the cores at a faster speed, twice the ram, and more HD for just a tiny bit more than the old base model....

Here's a hint for anyone considering a purchase -

An Apple Developer Connection "Select" membership will cost you $500, and will give you a 'one-time select member hardware discount'. The discount you get with it will save you at least $500 on a base mac pro, and even more on a tricked out one. After upping my hard disks and adding a wireless mouse and keyboard my 'select' price in canadian dollars wasn't even back up to the retail base price..... Basically if you were going to order retail anyway you'll be getting the select membership for free, or even saving a bit of money. The membership has some perks for attending events, and access to lots of extra downloads, including developer use full versions of the client and server versions of tiger and leopard.... Lots of other goodies too....

Food for thought....

-N
 
Looks like Apple redesigned the memory cards to face each other instead of stacked upwards.
 

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bdkennedy1 said:
An aluminum Mac Pro Cube.
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I think Apple just bought out their "headless iMac" in the form of the Quad 2.8GHz Mac Pro option.

It's the same price point as the high end iMac 24" and thus you have the potential for expansion or the convenience of AIO.

airfang said:
Is it me or the bluetooth option is missing?
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Because it comes as standard :) probably to encourage more wireless peripheral purchases.
 
Something can't be a standard option. It is either standard or an option. I think you meant to say that bluetooth is now standard.
 
Standalone 8800GT is PCI Express 2.0

MacRumors said:
While the new NVIDIA 8800GT is not yet available in the U.S. as a standalone purchase for old Mac Pros, it is available separately at the UK Apple Store for £220.
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Maybe I'm misinterpreting the article, but if it's suggesting that UK folk can buy the 8800 GT as an upgrade for their old (Clovertown) Mac Pro, then I'm not sure that's correct. The 8800 GT's page on the UK store (linked to above) states "It features a PCI Express 2.0 interface for a high-bandwidth connection to the Mac Pro" - which would mean it couldn't work in the older model, non?

Confused (but hopeful) of the UK
 
pci express 2.0 ...does it mean what I think it means?

Sweet news. I was waiting for a grafic card replacement for my quad g5
which i am still happy with. The new grafic cards run on pci express 2.0
Does it mean they won´t run on Mac Pros and G5s with pci express 1.0?
:confused:
please tell me otherwise...
 
theboyken said:
Maybe I'm misinterpreting the article, but if it's suggesting that UK folk can buy the 8800 GT as an upgrade for their old (Clovertown) Mac Pro, then I'm not sure that's correct. The 8800 GT's page on the UK store (linked to above) states "It features a PCI Express 2.0 interface for a high-bandwidth connection to the Mac Pro" - which would mean it couldn't work in the older model, non?

Confused (but hopeful) of the UK
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PCI-E 2.0 is backwards compatible with PCI-E 1.0
 
Mr Ikasu said:
Anyone know if you buy the single processor (Quad) model, is it the same mobo or have they made a single processor version just for this almost unadvertised version?

If it is the same, what are the chances adding a second processor in a year or two once the prices have dropped would be possible? Would seem like a good plan for me. Much as I would like a Mac Pro £1750 is too much for me as a student!
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anybody else know about this? I don't understand the whole 'true 8 core' business - but if I were to get the single now and upgrade to another cpu later.. is that possible?
 
bobsbarricades said:
anybody else know about this? I don't understand the whole 'true 8 core' business - but if I were to get the single now and upgrade to another cpu later.. is that possible?
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This has been asked a lot, but nobody knows yet. We probably won't know until someone buys a quad and takes it apart. That could be today (unlikely, but possible if the apple stores stock the quad) or who knows how long it could be?
 
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