OK! Few questions before I make my Mac Pro order. UPDATE: order made!

[Songbl]

I have a Mac mini(4 years old) and an MacBook Pro(2 years old) now, and willing to purchase an Mac Pro for Lightroom 2 and Photoshop CS4 use.
Since the exchange rate isn't good at the time Apple release the new Mac Pro in March.
I'm wondering is there an 3.2ghz Nehalem Quad-Core coming soon? And once the New Mac Pro with Nehalem 3.2 (if it comes) come, will Apple drop the current Mac Pro price for 2.66 and 2.93ghz?
Also I am hopping Apple could support Blue-ray drive at that time.


UPDATE:
Has just placed an order for the new Mac Pro, details shows below:
One 2.93GHz Quad-Core Intel Xe
8GB (4X2GB)
NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 512MB
640GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb
One 18x SuperDrive
AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi Card-ZP
Apple Wireless Mighty Mouse

Now, I'm waiting 4-6 business days to ship.
The system will be delivered between 29/04/2009 - 01/05/2009.

 

[cmaier]

I have a Mac mini(4 years old) and an MacBook Pro(2 years old) now, and willing to purchase an Mac Pro for Lightroom 2 and Photoshop CS4 use.
Since the exchange rate isn't good at the time Apple release the new Mac Pro in March.
I'm wondering is there an 3.2ghz Nehalem Quad-Core coming soon? And once the New Mac Pro with Nehalem 3.2 (if it comes) come, will Apple drop the current Mac Pro price for 2.66 and 2.93ghz?
Also I am hopping Apple could support Blue-ray drive at that time.

Probably the answer to all your questions is no.

Though we all hope not.

 

[Songbl]

Probably the answer to all your questions is no.

Though we all hope not.

So there is definitely no 3.2 Nehalem coming just in mid 2009.

some more questions on the graphic card.
Does the 4870 going faster than GT 120 in Photoshop CS4 Raw image processing? If so, how much faster is it, does it worth for the extra $?
How many 30' ADC could GT120 drive, and does 4870 able to drive multi 30' ADC?
This is quite important to me, since I am going to purchase two 30' apple display when apple release their new 30' monitor.

Cheers

 

[designed]

I'm not sure does the graphics card affect the RAW processing in CS4, someone better in the know can probably answer that.

The GT120 and 4870 HD can drive just as many 30" Cinema Displays, which means 2 of the current generation ones with Dual-Link DVI (you need an adapter for the other). Both of the adapters have a Mini DisplayPort and a DVI connector.

If, and hopefully when, Apple updates their 30" Cinema, it will probably use the Mini DisplayPort, meaning you can only use one display per adapter, since there is no adapter available for converting DVI to Mini Display Port.

 

[Tesselator]

So there is definitely no 3.2 Nehalem coming just in mid 2009.

No one knows! But if their history is a gauge they released a 3.0GHz in mid-term 2007 - it was the first 8-core (octad) Mac Pro and the only "new" machine offered that year.

So it's not unheard of.

 

[DeepCobalt]

You know, I really don't know why Apple isn't taken to task on this more--both in the media, and by its customers... but the adapter cable required to run two 30" displays is simply not market-ready. It fails regularly, and operates normally by sheer luck/exception.

So be warned: if you want to drive two 30" ACDs from your Mac Pro, you are really going to need multiple graphics cards or be prepared for headaches.

It is amazing to me that this issue has yet to be resolved.

EDIT: And as for the 3.2 nehalem, another vote to "not going to happen"... esp. with the recent release of the Xserves standardizing along the 2.26, 2.66 and 2.93 chips

 

[clownjuggles]

Does the 4870 going faster than GT 120 in Photoshop CS4 Raw image processing? If so, how much faster is it, does it worth for the extra $?

Excellent question. My gut instinct is that it would be faster. But that is my gut.

 

[Mac Husky]

Excellent question. My gut instinct is that it would be faster. But that is my gut.

Yes, very interesting question. I guess the ATI will be faster but I do have no clou how much and if it´s worth going for instead of the NVIDIA.
Unfortunately the ATI is not working with my NEC 2690 at all. The more I am interested in the potential of both cards. Any data available?!

 

[Boneoh]

Does the 4870 going faster than GT 120 in Photoshop CS4 Raw image processing?
Cheers

I remember reading at macperformance.com that the card does not affect raw processing in PS.

It's a great site, lots of info there, well worth the time to read as much as you can.

 

[Songbl]

Thanks guys,

You guys are so helpful.

For the graphic card, I guess I will choose GT 120, it is lots cheaper and the 4870 does not worth it.
And I think I could also upgrade it to another graphic card later.

Does MP supports 1.5T or even bigger HD per tray?

 

[cmaier]

Does MP supports 1.5T or even bigger HD per tray?

Yes. As big as you want.

 

[Songbl]

Yes. As big as you want.

Thanks, cmaier.