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Mac Pro Update Now Possible with New Xeon E5 Chips Next Week

So, what are the "other options"? I'm a PC guy but one of my users is a graphic designer who insists she must have a Mac. She has a 2006 Pro which was getting really slow - I looked at buying a new one but they must think I'm stupid to pay those prices for a 2 yo spec.

I upgraded to quad core processors which gave it a good boost, but now I get a kernal panic - usually only once a week but the user freaks and it's all my fault, of course.

I'd buy a new pro tomorrow if they had one - but they don't, so what's the alternative? I'm willing to try building a Hackintosh but risky and anyway my user wouldn't accept anything without an Apple logo on the front.

So what to do? Go iMac? Find some way to convince her she can do everything she needs to on a PC (she already runs one in a VM for Outlook etc, so it's not like it's a foreign concept).

Thanks!
 
For now, we just wait a little longer to see what Apple has in mind here. They can't go much longer without tipping their hand.

edit: or can they? This wait is excruciating. . . . . .
 
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Couldn't Mac-rumors help out by posting a vague rumor or some speculations or some made-up non-news about the Mac Pro, just to keep up appearance on the subject of a Mac Pro renewal 'imminent'?

This thread, 'mac pro next week' is getting a little boring...
 
tangel said:
So, what are the "other options"? I'm a PC guy but one of my users is a graphic designer who insists she must have a Mac. She has a 2006 Pro which was getting really slow - I looked at buying a new one but they must think I'm stupid to pay those prices for a 2 yo spec.

I upgraded to quad core processors which gave it a good boost, but now I get a kernal panic - usually only once a week but the user freaks and it's all my fault, of course.

I'd buy a new pro tomorrow if they had one - but they don't, so what's the alternative? I'm willing to try building a Hackintosh but risky and anyway my user wouldn't accept anything without an Apple logo on the front.

So what to do? Go iMac? Find some way to convince her she can do everything she needs to on a PC (she already runs one in a VM for Outlook etc, so it's not like it's a foreign concept).

Thanks!
Click to expand...

If colour accuracy is not of paramount importance, get the imac.
If opening files are slow, get a SSD

What kind of graphic design work is done? The file size?

Usually an SSD will be enough. How much ram is in the 2006?

----------
xgman said:
For now, we just wait a little longer to see what Apple has in mind here. They can't go much longer without tipping their hand.

edit: or can they? This wait is excruciating. . . . . .
Click to expand...

They already did that for a few hundred days. It's starting to get insulting, especially for those paying The kind of prices for a 2 year old machine.
 
teohyc said:
If colour accuracy is not of paramount importance, get the imac.
If opening files are slow, get a SSD

What kind of graphic design work is done? The file size?

Usually an SSD will be enough. How much ram is in the 2006?

----------
Click to expand...

It has 10gb. File sizes are not huge, but I'm sure an SSD would help. My main issue at the moment is the occasional kernel panic after the upgrade to quad cores (weirdly, and luckily, they usually happen while the thing is asleep. however, for this user, ONE is too many). So I could install the SSD but then still have to go back to the original CPUs to stop the panics, and I end up no better off in terms of performance. (I've done a lot of searching about the panics and nobody seems to have a sure-fire solution).

So that leaves an iMac...
 
tangel said:
It has 10gb. File sizes are not huge, but I'm sure an SSD would help. My main issue at the moment is the occasional kernel panic after the upgrade to quad cores (weirdly, and luckily, they usually happen while the thing is asleep. however, for this user, ONE is too many). So I could install the SSD but then still have to go back to the original CPUs to stop the panics, and I end up no better off in terms of performance. (I've done a lot of searching about the panics and nobody seems to have a sure-fire solution).

So that leaves an iMac...
Click to expand...

It seems like the old Mac Pro is becoming a hassle to even troubleshoot.

I guess you might really have to go the iMac route. Wait a while for the iMac update, or just get a refurbished one from Apple Store and thrown in a 2 more years of Apple care.
 
reiniervandijk said:
Couldn't Mac-rumors help out by posting a vague rumor or some speculations or some made-up non-news about the Mac Pro, just to keep up appearance on the subject of a Mac Pro renewal 'imminent'?

This thread, 'mac pro next week' is getting a little boring...
Click to expand...

boring? I'd say down right depressing. It feels like the 2010 Mac Pros will still be the "new" Mac Pros on into 2014 the way things are going. This is some serious stalling at this point. As far as "imminent", just the opposite apparently.
 
ordered a new MacPro!

I needed a MacPro right now so I went ahead and ordered it (3.33GHz). The good part is that I feel that I am getting a 2012 solution to my problem as I also ordered this new PCI SSD card:

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/PCIe/OWC/Mercury_Accelsior/RAID

which was introduced last month by OWC and works only on the Mac Pro.

I'll not be missing thunderbolt. I just wish Apple had the 3.46 GHz option.
 
gdelfino said:
I needed a MacPro right now so I went ahead and ordered it (3.33GHz). The good part is that I feel that I am getting a 2012 solution to my problem as I also ordered this new PCI SSD card:
Click to expand...

You joined today to post that ad?

That beast is pretty expensive - $530 for 240 GB, when Newegg has 240 GB SandForce 6 Gbps drives for $180.

The PCIe card is faster (780 MB/sec read) than the $180 model (525 MB/sec read), but wow on the price
 
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AidenShaw said:
You joined today to post that ad?

That beast is pretty expensive - $530 for 240 GB, when Newegg has 240 GB SandForce drives for $180.

The PCIe card is faster (780 MB/sec read) than the $180 model (525 MB/sec read), but wow on the price
Click to expand...

Plus I'm willing to bet he got the 16GB ram upgrade for $775. 16GB of non-ECC DDR3 Corsair costs...wait for it...$109. While I'm sure ECC memory would be more expensive, I seriously doubt it'd raise the price nearly 700%.

There's a fine line between paying more for quality, and getting kicked in the teeth for it.
 
gdelfino said:
I needed a MacPro right now so I went ahead and ordered it (3.33GHz). The good part is that I feel that I am getting a 2012 solution to my problem as I also ordered this new PCI SSD card:

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/PCIe/OWC/Mercury_Accelsior/RAID

which was introduced last month by OWC and works only on the Mac Pro.

I'll not be missing thunderbolt. I just wish Apple had the 3.46 GHz option.
Click to expand...

Interesting, keep us posted about its performance.
 
Renzatic said:
There's a fine line between paying more for quality, and getting kicked in the teeth for it.
Click to expand...

Mac Pro is one of the few Mac models that will last ten years.

I have the 2006 "Steve wants 3.0 ghz" Mac Pro. This is the classic that gave Jobs his 3ghz clock speed by switching to Intel. Too bad all the current Apple Store Mac Pro models run under 3ghz almost 6 years later. :cool:
 
iEdd said:
Could be worse. Apple charge $600 in the iMac to trade a 1TB HDD for a 256GB SSD, so that's about $700 for the drive.
Click to expand...

Apple SSDs are 24k gold-plated on the inside and store the data in Helvetica. :rolleyes:

That OWC drive is nice, but you pay the price for two MacBook Air sized SSDs. A RAID0 of 2x120GB Mercury Electra 6G runs you $300, and is exactly the same - if the MacPro even supports SATA3, of course.

If you're in for a Quad-Core or Six-Core Mac Pro, get an iMac. If you're in for a Octo-Core or Dodeca(?)-Core, get an iPad.
 
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ts1973 said:
Of course it does, just like all Macs. Trim is software related (on the Mac side), not hardware.

Just use this site :http://digitaldj.net/2011/07/21/trim-enabler-for-lion/

Works like a charm on every ssd that supports it.
Click to expand...

I'd call that a "maybe" - since you have to patch the driver in order to have TRIM. ;)


ts1973 said:
Edit : another question is : does the PCIe SSD support trim: don't know about that, never used one.
Click to expand...

Quite possibly not - since it's a RAID device and many RAID controllers don't support TRIM. (It's essentially a two port PCIe SATA 6Gbps RAID controller with two MacBook Air style blade SSDs.)

Other OWC SSDs list TRIM support in the "Reliability" section of the specs page - but the PCIe device doesn't mention TRIM.
 
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lozion said:
which it does not and thats the whole point of going PCI/E.

Diglloyd has a nice review here:

http://macperformanceguide.com/Reviews-SSD-OWC-Mercury-Accelsior.html
Click to expand...

Good review - but I wonder if that guy is from expense-account la-la land.

My targeted config is one 960GB card for my Master working volume, and one 480GB card for my Scratch working space (huge PSD/PSB/TIF files for my photography).​

In other words, a $2080 drive for the Master, and a second $950 drive for scratch.

But, I guess that the acronym "OWC" (Other World Computing) sums it all up. Definitely "another world" to spend that much extra money because the Mac Pro doesn't support current standards in SATA drives.
 
What I want from MBP is

1. Retina display
2. a blu ray reader/writer
3. IVY Bridge
4. USB 3
 
satcomer said:
Do you know the difference between the MacPro and the Mac Book Pro? :eek:
Click to expand...

I believe (s)he most likely does. Why would the Mac Pro have a retina display?

ikkejick said:
That's what I wondered too. And 2 (bly ray writer) and 4 (USB 3) are not an option for sure.
Click to expand...

Ivy Bridge and USB 3 are hand in hand. Do we really believe Apple would deliberately stifle this?
 
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