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Picked Up Mine Last Night (First Impressions)

M

malenfant

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 31, 2006
61
0
Before I start: Apple Stores currently stock only the base configuration of each new Mac Pro model. So you can't buy one in the store with a different hard drive, RAM, or video card configuration than what's initially listed on the online Apple Store. Otherwise, I would have gotten something slightly different than what's listed below. I picked mine up locally because of an arrangement I had with the local Apple Store manager for me to use an educational discount. Saved me $450. ;-)

So last night I went in to my local Apple Store and picked up a 2.8 GHz (8 core), 2 GB RAM, 320 GB HD, ATI Radeon 2600XT Mac Pro and a 30" display. The Airport Extreme card for the new Mac Pro was not in stock, so I didn't get one installed. Got 'em home with the help of a handtruck... man, are they heavy.

Anyway: The Mac Pro is SWEET. Very, very fast. Even with the stock video adapter and my current display, running at 1920 x 1200, the machine plays full-screen HD movie trailers without so much as a hiccup. Setup was, of course, totally easy. I've installed iLife and VMWare Fusion, which I will be using soon to run Windows Vista in a window.

Ordered an additional 4 GB of RAM from Macsales.com (Other World Computing) for around $200; that'll bring me to 6 GB, which should be more than enough to support a virtual session of Vista while OS X is running. And I'll be ordering 3, maybe 4, 1 TB HDs later this week so that I can max out the machine at 4 TB of internal HD space. (Why? Because I can!)

The only real hitch is that the Mac Pro is so large that it sticks out of the front of my computer desk's cabinet, and so tall that I've had to remove a shelf. As a result, I am having to reorganize my entire desk.

The 30" display I am leaving in the box for now, just in case Apple decides to release something new next week that's better. But if they don't, then the 30" will go up on the desk next week.

For now, I am very, very satisfied with this new machine. Total cost for the machine and display came in around $4800 with sales tax. Once the extra RAM and HDs are factored in, I'll be looking at just over $6000.
 
Congrats on a nice machine! I see that Macsales already offers the new ram, too. What version of Leopard came preinstalled (About this Mac..)?
 
Any comments on noiselevels? Gotten the fans running..?

hehe Just asking, because the 2x2,5 G5 I'm looking to replace now sounds like a Boeing, and I would love it if the new ones are a tad more silent..
 
TyleRomeo said:
Does it come with 10.5.1 or 10.5.2?
Click to expand...
10.5.1. The only updates that showed up to be installed were, IIRC, a security update and a QuickTime update.

Reach said:
Any comments on noiselevels? Gotten the fans running..?

hehe Just asking, because the 2x2,5 G5 I'm looking to replace now sounds like a Boeing, and I would love it if the new ones are a tad more silent..
Click to expand...
Haven't heard any noise from it yet, but then so far I've done nothing more than install some software and run iTunes and Safari.
 
How noisy is it?

I know this isn't a major issue for many, but my computer needs to share a living space and while I think I will probably go for an iMac, i would also consider a Mac pro as a better long term choice.

I have read mixed comments on the noise of a Mac pro, and wondered how this new model stacked up in the noise stakes.

Thanks,

Graham
 
trollking said:
Does OWC already have the new ram?

Also I am surprised you had to install iLife, it didn't come with it preinstalled?
Click to expand...
No, Pro-level machines don't come with consumer-level software.

And yes, they already have the new RAM, although it was backordered a day or two as of last night.
 
Extra SATA ports and optical bay

If you don't mind peeking inside, could you comment on if the extra two SATA ports in the old Mac Pro also exist in the new Mac Pro?

Also, is the superdrive an SATA drive or IDE?

Thanks.
 
myotis said:
I know this isn't a major issue for many, but my computer needs to share a living space and while I think I will probably go for an iMac, i would also consider a Mac pro as a better long term choice.

I have read mixed comments on the noise of a Mac pro, and wondered how this new model stacked up in the noise stakes.

Thanks,

Graham
Click to expand...


My Mac pro, aside from the x1900 graphics card is near silent. Even with the graphics card fan spinning I have to put my head within 3 feet of the machine to hear the fans.
 
WildPalms said:
My Mac pro, aside from the x1900 graphics card is near silent. Even with the graphics card fan spinning I have to put my head within 3 feet of the machine to hear the fans.
Click to expand...

That sounds good to me :)

Thanks,

Graham
 
MikeL said:
Of course they do. Every Mac comes with iLife.
Click to expand...
Hmm. That's weird. My Dock didn't have the icons for iLife apps, so I installed it myself. Maybe it was there and the icons were just missing, perhaps.
 
jjcook said:
If you don't mind peeking inside, could you comment on if the extra two SATA ports in the old Mac Pro also exist in the new Mac Pro?

Also, is the superdrive an SATA drive or IDE?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I have the new service manual and as TyleRomeo said, they're still using IDE superdrives. The pictures in the service manual still show the two additional ODD_SATA ports on the logic board. They created the manual from a pre-production machine so I can't say 100% for sure but I can't think of a reason for them to remove those ports.
 
malenfant said:
Anyway: The Mac Pro is SWEET. Very, very fast. Even with the stock video adapter and my current display, running at 1920 x 1200, the machine plays full-screen HD movie trailers without so much as a hiccup. Setup was, of course, totally easy. I've installed iLife and VMWare Fusion, which I will be using soon to run Windows Vista in a window.


.
Click to expand...

ok ok, i *am* jealous, but hey! my lil old macbook 2.2ghz plays 1080p HD movies on my 47" tv in full res without a hicup :D
 
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