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New 12-Core Mac Pros Now Available for Order

benpatient said:
so wait...which machine is apple selling to HD video editors?

An iMac or MacBookPro won't do it because you need more hard drive throughput (RAID 0) than either of those can manage if you're dealing with a lot of content.

And yet a Mac Pro with 4 internal SATA drives and an external 8-port RAID controller can push/pull 300+ MB per second. If that Mac Pro had i7 processors in it, then the FinalCut Pro junkies would probably actually have faster render times, too. I am pretty sure that Apple sells a lot more Macs to FCP users than to xGrid users who honestly could care less which OS is running their custom-compiled simulations and molecular computations.

It seems like some combination of arrogance/laziness than is keeping them from releasing a machine that could truly sing with their own flagship editing suite at a reasonable price. An i7-based Mac Pro with an externally-powered RAID box could probably cut complex video task processing time down 20-30% and end up costing less. Apple could make one and add an extra 500 bucks premium over their current Mac Pro premium and it would STILL be cheaper just because the relatively exotic (expensive) RAM and CPU were mainstream.
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The Core i7 900 series processors all have a matching Xeon 3000 series processor, the only real difference for most people being ECC memory support. Apple use the Xeon 3000 series in the single processor Mac Pro. Those used in the dual processor Mac Pro (5000 series) just have the ability to interact with another processor, they perform the same with the same specs, you just pay a premium to have two in one system. ECC memory is like $10/GB more than non-ECC so that matters little too in the pricing.

Basically there is no reason for Apple to sell a Core i7 Mac Pro.
 
lshaner said:
I would have gone with a 27" iMac, myself, if it had two eSATA ports, or at least an ExpressCard/34 port. It isn't realistic to think of doing much in the way of serious pro work without fast eSATA HW RAID array attached -- both for I/O performance and for capacity.

The newest 27" iMac with the option for SSD help w.r.t. the performance, but at the expense of capacity.

So REALLY, for my needs, there was no choice but the Mac Pro.
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Hmm... This proves Apple *could* have accommodated a pass-thru to eSATA. The problem is it is only one port and I need TWO eSATA ports -- one for my HW RAID array and one for my Blu-Ray burner.

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/turnkey/iMac_2010_27/add_eSATA

Now if OWC would make a Blu-Ray burner that replaces the internal SuperDrive, *then* I might have avoided the need to buy the Mac Pro.
 
jjahshik32 said:
Oh man not another Bluray comment!! :mad:

If you want a Bluray player to watch movies, just buy a cheap Bluray player!
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Maybe I would like to actually author a blu-ray, natively, on what is supposed to be a leading platform for the creative industry, such as videography. Just because you don't use this feature does not make it an unusual request. And yes, given todays screen sizes, it is nice to be able to watch a blu-ray on a hi-def monitor. So no person on this site watches DVD's on their Mac's? You have got to be kidding me. Why not take away that ability to view a DVD also. You can get a DVD player now for even less than a blu-ray player, as your argument would have it. Like it or not, blu-ray is the de-facto HD optical media now, which Apple backed over HD-DVD. It's storage capacity and bit-rate is untouched by anything else out there. It is pretty stupid (IMO) to argue that it is reasonable for a supposed industry leader in graphics, videography and other creative endeavors, to not offer what is a very common option from other, supposedly lessor, hardware manufacturers.
 
Wow apple you n those damn high prices, when I saw 5k from the start I was very upset, I was hoping they lose the previous vista type mac pros and start a new line with i7s at a lower cost but no apple has to put a different intel chip in and put a crappy ATI card instead of the new Geforce ones man F THIS!
 
get an eSATA hub

lshaner said:
Hmm... This proves Apple *could* have accommodated a pass-thru to eSATA. The problem is it is only one port and I need TWO eSATA ports -- one for my HW RAID array and one for my Blu-Ray burner.
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5-port-sata-multiplier-silicon-image2.jpg


Only $99.98 to connect 5 eSATA devices.

Note that you'll need to verify that the Apple internal SATA controller has PM support, and hope that it has FIS
 
ts1973 said:
Some comparisons to earlier models....
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Thanks for the link. Shared it on facebook. It's my small way of hurting Apple's image. There's consequences for every decision and I wanted to weigh in with my small influence.

I really don't think this is anywhere near what they're capable of in regards to innovation and cost/price performance has finally reached the level where I'm scratching my head.
 
jjahshik32 said:
Oh man not another Bluray comment!! :mad:

If you want a Bluray player to watch movies, just buy a cheap Bluray player!
Click to expand...

I had a client JUST THIS MORNING ask me if I could author a blu-ray disc for him with some menu functionality.

Any chance that cheap blu-ray player of yours could do that for me?
 
Umm... is there something extra special about the RAM on the latest quad-core models? The price on the computer itself is the same as the old one, but they've jacked up the price on 3 extra GB of RAM by $80 (that's in Scandinavia, don't know about the US). Is this some sneaky way of "raising the price without raising it" (I'm assuming extra RAM is something pretty much everyone adds, since nobody wants a measly 3 GB in 2010)...?
 
Anuba said:
Umm... is there something extra special about the RAM on the latest quad-core models? The price on the computer itself is the same as the old one, but they've jacked up the price on 3 extra GB of RAM by $80 (that's in Scandinavia, don't know about the US). Is this some sneaky way of "raising the price without raising it" (I'm assuming extra RAM is something pretty much everyone adds, since nobody wants a measly 3 GB in 2010)...?
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Memory prices have increased from last year, but more likely is Apple being Apple.
 
Anuba said:
Umm... is there something extra special about the RAM on the latest quad-core models? The price on the computer itself is the same as the old one, but they've jacked up the price on 3 extra GB of RAM by $80 (that's in Scandinavia, don't know about the US). Is this some sneaky way of "raising the price without raising it" (I'm assuming extra RAM is something pretty much everyone adds, since nobody wants a measly 3 GB in 2010)...?
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Magical?
 
chirpie said:
This stock answer seems to always forget about people like me. It's the authoring of custom menus and mild interactivity that the Mac doesn't provide. Ala DVD Studio Pro. I own a burner, and the Toast plug-in. That's not good enough. Not nearly good enough.
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It's not a stock answer. It's a legitimate question. There is software that lets you do this on a mac, isn't there? For example: http://www.adobe.com/solutions/professionalvideo/pdfs/bluray_workflow_guide_with_fcp.pdf
 
Anuba said:
Umm... is there something extra special about the RAM on the latest quad-core models? The price on the computer itself is the same as the old one, but they've jacked up the price on 3 extra GB of RAM by $80 (that's in Scandinavia, don't know about the US). Is this some sneaky way of "raising the price without raising it" (I'm assuming extra RAM is something pretty much everyone adds, since nobody wants a measly 3 GB in 2010)...?
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Some of the 3rd party vendors are selling it at the same price as the 2009 versions.
 
Future upgrades from quad core to hexacore

I looked through the thread but this doesn't look like it has been answered...

Does anyone know if you could upgrade a dual quad to a dual hex by buying new processors later? I know you would need new memory (1333 vs 1066), but the sockets are the same (LGA-1366). The only other difference is that the Quad (Xeon E5620) gets 2 x QPI 5.6 GT/s out of the X58 Express chipset and the Hex's (Xeon X5650, X5670) get 2 x QPI 6.4 GT/s out of the X58 Express. Do the processors set the QPI rate or is i actually a different X58 Express version in the two systems? Or is it a BIOS setting that would have to be changed later?

I would love to go ahead and order the dual Quad and then just upgrade the processors in a year. One could probably save nearly $1000.00 like that if they were patient.

Thanks,

AngusB
 
Just pulled the trigger!

Two 2.93GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon
8GB (4X2GB)
ATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB
2TB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
Two 18x SuperDrives
Magic Mouse + Magic Trackpad

$6238! (Education Discount)

Normally $7117 without discount so I saved $879 on the computer alone!

Then the Education price for Adobe Creative Suite 5 Design is crazy at $350 (When you buy a mac -- $450 otherwise) -- this normally retails for normally $1899! Psyched!!!!

Two 27-inchers next month, too!
 
cmaier said:
It's not a stock answer. It's a legitimate question. There is software that lets you do this on a mac, isn't there? For example: http://www.adobe.com/solutions/professionalvideo/pdfs/bluray_workflow_guide_with_fcp.pdf
Click to expand...

Cmaier, I appreciate you sticking with it. Encore is a solution that completely snuck by me and I feel like a tool for having not looked into it sooner. I'll need to investigate Encore to see if it'll have the proper authoring support I'm looking for.

I guess the problem now becomes how do I set up my workflow without spending a mint?

Final Cut Studio + Encore (no way to buy seperate from Premiere, yes?) + needing a standard Blu-ray player to test it on (don't have one at the office, and ironically enough the Mac won't be able to play it back once it's authored...) isn't going to be cheap. In the end it'd still be worlds easier if this support was built into the darn machine from the get go, but it technically is a solution to my problem.

Maybe it's time to reevaluate Premiere and go all Adobe if Apple's video apps next round of changes aren't up to snuff. (RE: 64 bit support please)
 
Thermonuclear said:
The pros who really need big time calculation for video, rendering, or science aren't interested in ANY desktop. Instead, they will buy multiple, relatively inexpensive semi-generic rack mount servers from a very competitive market. These will be stuck in a dark server room where they belong. They don't need costly video cards because they don't need video output. They don't need a shiny deco-modern enclosure because no one but the system administrator is going to see them. And they don't need any Mac OS/X features other than its Unix underpinnings, and those can be provided for free by the Ubuntu 64 bit Server distribution.
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Not necessarily true. A server room is not portable. In the concert production world, we bring several Mac Pros on location to do video editing with FC and live webcasts. All the Final Cut work requires the heavy lifting of the MP, MBPs crumble in those situations.

As for BluRay, all of you who suggest optical media is dead citing tape decks are also incorrect. Tape decks are still used for professional cameras.
 
JTR7 said:
As for BluRay, all of you who suggest optical media is dead citing tape decks are also incorrect. Tape decks are still used for professional cameras.
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And buggy whips are still used in Amish country. That doesn't mean there's a market large enough for a mass market company like Apple to devote its resources to it.
 
cmaier said:
And buggy whips are still used in Amish country. That doesn't mean there's a market large enough for a mass market company like Apple to devote its resources to it.
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Yeah, but I'm pretty sure that not only are tapes not dead, they're still quite popular. That'd be the difference. I've been on three video shoots this year and none used cards. They all shot at 1440 Horizontal res to tape, transferred to drive later via device capture.
 
chirpie said:
Yeah, but I'm pretty sure that not only are tapes not dead, they're still quite popular. That'd be the difference. I've been on three video shoots this year and none used cards. They all shot at 1440 Horizontal res to tape, transferred to drive later via device capture.
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Sure, but what % of the computer-buying public is doing any of that?
 
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