Not totally true. Dell/Compaq etc only does part of assembly in the US ("put screw in here" type of stuff), basically just the bare minimum for them to be able to legally slap the made in USA stamp on their machines.
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Mac Pro Unboxing Photos, Early Benchmarks and Notes
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Not totally true. Dell/Compaq etc only does part of assembly in the US ("put screw in here" type of stuff), basically just the bare minimum for them to be able to legally slap the made in USA stamp on their machines.
Oh gosh no...
No but it would have been interesting if they had tried.
What really gave the Dells the edge over just about anything else was that (1) they were relatively inexpensive, (2) fit their windows-centric view and (3) were powerful enough to run a fairly large RAID for each office whereas they were moving away from 10 year old Windows 2000 servers that you could barely qualify as servers today.
No but it would have been interesting if they had tried.
What really gave the Dells the edge over just about anything else was that (1) they were relatively inexpensive, (2) fit their windows-centric view and (3) were powerful enough to run a fairly large RAID for each office whereas they were moving away from 10 year old Windows 2000 servers that you could barely qualify as servers today.
Yep
Seti@home, distributed.net, tons of apps will use this. Handbrake, Logic, iStatMenus etc.
Seti@home, distributed.net, tons of apps will use this. Handbrake, Logic, iStatMenus etc.
Whatever the opinion about Apple's "form and function" philosophy, the Mac Pro is a stellar example of Apple's brilliance in balancing the two extremely well. The aluminum perforated enclosure assists in cooling and reduces dust. The interior is so well designed that accessing the 4 SATA HDDs drives, RAM, fans, optical drives - everything, it's a snap. The cooling systems are top quality. I've built dozens of hackint0sh units with basic PC parts, used wire couplings, etc. to facilitate accessibility in case clients need to access interior compents, Lian-Li casings, etc., but nothing compares to the design of the Mac Pro tower.
This has to be sarcasm. 64GB is a LOT. What would you do with 64GB RAM? Are you a server farm?
No sarcasm. I'm genuinely surprised that a premium workstation like the Mac Pro does not support more. 64GB is no longer a staggering figure. Price of 8GB dimms is rapidly falling. (If you decide to push the limit now, there's little room for expansion later.)
A 16GB DDR3 PC3-10600 kit (8GBx2) for the 12 Core 2010 Mac Pro goes for $1099.99 on Crucial.com (Crucial usually has the lowest/most reasonable pricing for buffered Apple RAM). Doing the math, you would need 4 kits, bringing you to a grand total of $4399.96 JUST for the RAM (before taxes).
That's a bit much, plus what would a general (or even a professional) user need 64GB RAM for any ways? Final Cut Pro wouldn't even use that much, even for high-def editing. Multi-tasking Final Cut Pro high-def rending with CS5 apps and even EyeTV on my 2008 running 8GB on three displays runs well, I can't imagine 64GB. Future-proofing, maybe, but even then it's overkill.
Apple used to, now it's "Designed in California", but made in China. Just like everything else. Not much is made in the U.S.A. these days, it's built in China, consumed in North America, then trashed and shipped out to third world nations (out of sight out of mind).
Read "The Story of Stuff", it's a compelling 10 year study on how first world capitalism and disposable goods are destroying not only the environment but the economy.
Apple, Dell, and HP all use Foxconn. I also think Chinese manufacturers are quite capable. Cheap products are made cheaply, no matter what country.
MacBook Pros, while expensive, are very well made. In China.
It is, but Apple's [err Samsung's] 32GB is $3,550.00 [without discount] and offers a far more limited warranty service. Not to mention that OWC memory has proven to be a tiny fraction faster.WOW... still, that's about the cost of another computer...
Note: I went for 4 * 8GB OWC modules with a going price of $1,449.99 aka two grand less. I could have picked the 4GB modules for even less [$1,319.99]. That's a lot of money to invest in say a processor upgrade and other goodies.
Mac Pro 8-core users can also opt for 4GB modules with a going price of $1,299.99. That's even less. A very good deal to me.
Add more memory when you need it
The trick is, as always, to wait a bit before adding RAM, unless you really, REALLY need it NOW. Because as memory density doubles, the relative prices of double the density of RAM tends to drop rapidly. Right now 8GB DDR3 DIMM's costs much the same as 4GB DDR2 did when it was new. In 1 year or so, they will be about 40% cheaper than they are now, if they maintain historical trends. And 16GB DIMM's will be on the market
The trick is, as always, to wait a bit before adding RAM, unless you really, REALLY need it NOW. Because as memory density doubles, the relative prices of double the density of RAM tends to drop rapidly. Right now 8GB DDR3 DIMM's costs much the same as 4GB DDR2 did when it was new. In 1 year or so, they will be about 40% cheaper than they are now, if they maintain historical trends. And 16GB DIMM's will be on the market
Have been in exact the same shoes two years ago.
Moved from a Quicksilver to MP 8-core. Two years later the machine still feels like having at least another four good years in it. If the new graphics cards will work with 08 models as rumors suggest, maybe even longer.
Another graphic designer friend also jumped from a 1st gen G4 with processer upgrade straight to a 8-core model as well. Although she does only graphic design and no video, so far she has no regrets having chosen a MP over a cheaper iMac.
Oddly, over the years, I've bought RAM in various GB modules. Right now I have 2GB's in 2 slots, then 4 1GB's in 4 slots (8 GB total), with two empty. Would 2 4GB modules run faster than the random modules I currently have installed (and I could sell the ones I replace) or does it not matter?
Then again, if I'm spending that kind of cash I might as well sell my 2008 and upgrade to a 2010 model.
So I lay back pretty relaxed with my 3-year old trusty , rockstable 1000 $ 4-core Hack
with a 100 $ ebay HD 5770 and bought ....not a Ferrari Modena but a Smart Diesel.
Cheers.
OSX 10.6.4 :
Geek : > 9000
Cinebench OpenGL was > 36 fps
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