No new box design?

[Pika]

Yesterday i was expecting a totally new box look for the Mac Pro but unfortunately they only changed the RAM slot and keep the same 2006 look. I was ready to purchase a Mac Pro only if they change the look & design but it seems that i will have to wait for another year till that to happen...

So no Mac Pro this year for me.

Have you guys expecting a big change to the Mac Pros yesterday?

 

[edesignuk]

Not buying a Mac pro because of how it looks is ridiculous.

There are some good reasons to be disappointed with yesterdays release. This isn't one of them.

 

[peskaa]

They won't change the case design because it works, and still fits into Apple's current aluminum designs. They won't put black plastic on them either, as the "pro" machines only have that on keyboards (MacBook Pro) and the hinge (which the MP doesn't have).

 

[Tesselator]

Not buying a Mac pro because of how it looks is ridiculous.

There are some good reasons to be disappointed with yesterdays release. This isn't one of them.

Hehehe, besides, the MP cases are hard-core! I haven't seen anything built as sturdy elsewhere.

 

[Tallest Skil]

That's absolutely pathetic. They put HALF of the motherboard on a riser card. THAT is a feat of engineering.

Screw the external look. Cheese Grater Forever.

 

[edesignuk]

That's absolutely pathetic. They put HALF of the motherboard on a riser card. THAT is a feat of engineering.

They put the processors/RAM on a riser. Compaq did similar things years ago, it's hardly ground breaking or a great feat. Though I'm sure Apple would like to convince you otherwise.

 

[netdog]

I have no complaints with the current design.

• Great cooling properties
• Hence quiet
• Looks great
• Easy to work on

You were hoping for some black glass?

 

[Tallest Skil]

They put the processors/RAM on a riser. Compaq did similar things years ago, it's hardly ground breaking or a great feat. Though I'm sure Apple would like to convince you otherwise.

They didn't do it with Gainestown.

Leviathan heat sinks, those. Can't wait to see if overclocking is as easy as it was with Harpertown.

 

[Pika]

I was expecting something like this:

 

[grue]

Typical trendwhore new-age Mac users

"Zomg, it doesn't look new so I won't be able to show off how awesome I am at spending money on toys"

 

[Tallest Skil]

Typical trendwhore new-age Mac users

"Zomg, it doesn't look new so I won't be able to show off how awesome I am at spending money on toys"

Plus one.

And by "one", I mean, "two thousand seven hundred forty-two".

So my Mac Pro looks identical to the 2006 Mac Pro...

...on the outside.

It is different on the inside, where it counts.

Hey, I have only seen one hero picture of the open side panel with the image being straight on. I think that it was on Engadget; I'm not sure...

Apple hides it by angling the image in every other picture of theirs.

From Apple's pictures, it looks like the fan for the PCIe bays goes all the way to the front of the case like the old fan assembly... but it doesn't.

They leave an inch or two of open space in front of it, and you can see the logic board behind it.

Can you say, "Easier access to the open SATA ports on the board, provided they left some of the 12+ SATA ports that Tylersburg has"?

 

[vohdoun]

I was expecting something like this:

That looks like a Dell clone.

 

[Tesselator]

This: View attachment 156114 is a "new case" I could get behind!!!

Yeah baby, YEAH!

 

[Tallest Skil]

That looks like a Dell clone.

Not to mention the only cooling that it has is iMac cooling.

Two little slits at the top. Air goes out there and out the back, but doesn't come in anywhere...

This: View attachment 156114 is a "new case" I could get behind!!!

Yeah baby, YEAH!

That is what Tylersburg was SUPPOSED to be.

Twelve RAM slots, enough SATA ports for eight hard drives...

But because they didn't want to redesign the case... even make it just a LITTLE longer, they gimped the board with fewer RAM slots (because DDR3 can't be put on risers) and fewer SATA.

 

[MagicWok]

Not buying a Mac pro because of how it looks is ridiculous.

There are some good reasons to be disappointed with yesterdays release. This isn't one of them.

And conversely, buying a Mac Pro because of how it looks is equally ridiculous lol

 

[grue]

And conversely, buying a Mac Pro because of how it looks is equally ridiculous lol

But it's typical modern Mac user thinking. "Ooh it's pretty, I'll buy one", otherwise known as the reason the MacBook Pro has been ruined with glossy screens, and why the MacBook no longer has FireWire: Because Apple's average customer is a college kid spending daddy's money, or a trophy wife who just wants to have a computer to match the retarded dog she keeps in her purse.

 

[edesignuk]

But it's typical modern Mac user thinking. "Ooh it's pretty, I'll buy one", otherwise known as the reason the MacBook Pro has been ruined with glossy screens, and why the MacBook no longer has FireWire: Because Apple's average customer is a college kid spending daddy's money, or a trophy wife who just wants to have a computer to match the retarded dog she keeps in her purse.

Without generalising at all, of course...

 

[grue]

Without generalising at all, of course...

I said average, not every.

No matter how you slice it, Apple is marketing towards the 100 IQ crowd, and paying very little mind to the people who depend on these machines to make a living, and kept them in business before they were the "cool" computer to have.

From a business standpoint it makes sense on the surface, since most of us aren't going to replace a workstation every year to have the latest and greatest to show off to the neighbourhood, so we don't piss away money as regularly. On the other hand, I suspect the profit margins on the Pro hardware are probably quite a bit higher, so I wonder how much it balances based on replacement cycles.

 

[iSimx]

I was expecting something like this:

^^ That looks like a PC.

The current design is excellent. No point waiting for a new design. You might be waiting a very long time. Plus prices are unlikely to go down if not up. So now would be a great time to buy.

 

[California]

But it's typical modern Mac user thinking. "Ooh it's pretty, I'll buy one", otherwise known as the reason the MacBook Pro has been ruined with glossy screens, and why the MacBook no longer has FireWire: Because Apple's average customer is a college kid spending daddy's money, or a trophy wife who just wants to have a computer to match the retarded dog she keeps in her purse.

Size and weight had to do with my Al MB purchase. Had the upgraded graphics on the plastic one with firewire been available, I may have grabbed that. Still might.

Almost every video editor filmmaker I know use Macs: who needs the hassle of Windoze?

 

[grue]

Almost every video editor filmmaker I know use Macs: who needs the hassle of Windoze?

The film editor is most definitely not the average Mac user.

 

[More]

I was expecting something like this:

Macs are pretty much PCs on the inside without having to look like one outside too. That design is awful.

The current G5/Mac Pro design is nothing short of perfection.

It's hard to imagine how they could make it look any better. I'd be quite happy to see this design continue for the foreseeable future.

 

[Tallest Skil]

The film editor is most definitely not the average Mac user.

But... but... "iMovie '09 makes editing your videos quick... and easy!"

 

[grue]

But... but... "iMovie '09 makes editing your videos quick... and easy!"

iM09 actually has some really great features for Joe Average+. I loathe the interface from the perspective of someone used to real editing software, and the performance is shocking (it's really poorly multithreaded, but it could be coded in such a way so that Snow Leopard will fix that, which I'd understand. No point in spending craploads of time coding it for Leopard performance when SL is coming this year), but it's easy to use for the average person.

 

[nanofrog]

That's absolutely pathetic. They put HALF of the motherboard on a riser card. THAT is a feat of engineering.

Screw the external look. Cheese Grater Forever.

Placing the CPU's & memory on a daugher card isn't that hard. But the compromise they struck to do it, sucks! Too few DIMM slots IMO.

Not to mention the only cooling that it has is iMac cooling.

Two little slits at the top. Air goes out there and out the back, but doesn't come in anywhere...

That is what Tylersburg was SUPPOSED to be.

Twelve RAM slots, enough SATA ports for eight hard drives...

But because they didn't want to redesign the case... even make it just a LITTLE longer, they gimped the board with fewer RAM slots (because DDR3 can't be put on risers) and fewer SATA.

With 2x fans in a push-pull configuration, somehow I think heat will be a problem. These processors run hot. Thermal limit is at 100C, according to Intel's spec. 80-85C is realistic. A bit much for my taste, and requires lots of airflow to reduce it. I just can't see 2x fans accomplishing this without being rather loud to some. Those recording certainly would have a problem with it IMO.

Apple definitely messed this one up in a sense. Not enough DIMM slots, SATA ports, not wonderful cooling, and cramped. I expected 2x PCIe 2.0 16x slots and 2x PCIe 4x slots. But from the photo's, it doesn't look like slot 1 can accommodate a dual slot graphics card (say the HD 4870 they offer), without covering slot 2. Not a wonderful thing to do.