i dont actually have any speculation but im just wondering what you guys think might be in the mac pro refresh as far as what will replace the current quad core models. im looking to buy then new i7 imac for photo and video editing but i feel like over time the mac pro would be more beneficial to me but as of now the price is too high for what they are selling compared to the i7 imac. please tell me if you think i should wait for the mac pro refresh or just to go ahead and buy the imac. im leaning mroe towards the imac becaus ei also need a display which the imac covers but the expandability of the mac pro is tempting.
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speculation on new mac pro
- Thread starter Tony5787
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I believe that the 2010 Mac Pro will come in February and will see a straight replacement of the 5500 Gainestown Xeons with 5600 Gulftown Xeons (3500 and 3600 respectively).
Systems will be pretty much as they are now just with 6 and 12 cores instead of 4 and 8 cores. This will provide a clear segment differentiator between the consumer and the Pro range. The other technical upgrade will be 10G Ethernet. I think Apple will push the prices up another notch and shift even more Mac Pro customers to the iMac and Mac mini.
The iMac could get on die graphics and an on die chipset on top of the 4 cores in 2010 or 2011. It might even get an on board SSD on the logic board and eSATA. Matte displays could be optional as they are now in MBPs. Why not? It would make a serious dent into the Mac Pro sales.
Sandy Bridge in 2011 will be a decisive year and then Haswell again in 2013. If there are still enough customers left they may do one or more tick tock cycles. If not they may abandon the Pro line which IMHO will happen in the long run anyway. Windows has a much bigger share of the workstation market and the vendors offer systems with higher performance and cost efficiency for most professional uses. That will not change and necessarily will lead to Apple giving up. Whether that will happen in 2011, 2013 or 2015 will depend of the market dynamics.
Systems will be pretty much as they are now just with 6 and 12 cores instead of 4 and 8 cores. This will provide a clear segment differentiator between the consumer and the Pro range. The other technical upgrade will be 10G Ethernet. I think Apple will push the prices up another notch and shift even more Mac Pro customers to the iMac and Mac mini.
The iMac could get on die graphics and an on die chipset on top of the 4 cores in 2010 or 2011. It might even get an on board SSD on the logic board and eSATA. Matte displays could be optional as they are now in MBPs. Why not? It would make a serious dent into the Mac Pro sales.
Sandy Bridge in 2011 will be a decisive year and then Haswell again in 2013. If there are still enough customers left they may do one or more tick tock cycles. If not they may abandon the Pro line which IMHO will happen in the long run anyway. Windows has a much bigger share of the workstation market and the vendors offer systems with higher performance and cost efficiency for most professional uses. That will not change and necessarily will lead to Apple giving up. Whether that will happen in 2011, 2013 or 2015 will depend of the market dynamics.
Again with the gloomy future of the Mac Pro? Seriously, what you should be looking at is their professional software solutions. As long as they are patched and updated every year, the Mac Pro has nothing to fear.
No one would like to edit full HD or RED on a bloody iMac that's for sure.
As long as Apple supports their professional software there will be a Mac Pro.
Hi
Exactly.
The rewrite upgrade of QuickTime as QT X is in progress (thanks to the iPhone!!!).
So far Final Cut Pro is still being 'patched'.
But there have been rumours since about 2005 of a complete rewrite. Until Snow Leopard that was never going to progress to completion.
Now there is nothing to prevent full progess on bringing this much-needed rewrite to market. If Apple chooses so to do....
However a full-on implementation of Light Peak in an iMac/AIO with desktop innards would give it workstation capabilities, so could make the tower configuration unnecessary for most current Mac Pro users. There is enough bandwidth in Light Peak for most of the things that currently require an internal PCIe bus to be connected externally.
If Apple chooses so to do...
Completely redesigned in Mac OS X Snow Leopard, QuickTime X debuts a brand-new version of QuickTime Player...
http://www.apple.com/macosx/what-is-macosx/quicktime.html
but for photo editing, video editing with a panasonic hvx 200, and possibly some work with maya do you guys think I should wait and see what the refresh of the mac pro is or should I just get an i7 iMac after I see the bench marks? I'm a freshman in college so cost is an issue but I also don't want to buy something that won't last long and won't be able to handle the programs I use. The cost of display has to be factored in as well and the new imac dcreen is gorgeous but that isnt a major problem. However getting a better screen than any other i can afford for a cheaper price is a plus. Basically im just wondering if you guys think for what ill be doing, will the new mac pro be overkill? or will it be a smart buy in the end and last me longer than the i7 iMac?
Hi
If I was in your position I would go for the iMac (with AppleCare...)
All of your current software will work fine, and DVCPRO HD is a really easy codec to use with a FW800 raid array.
A Mac Pro will cost about double by the time you kit it out with ancillary equipment. By the time the iMac is outdated you maybe will not be so cash-strapped, and will buy a Mac Pro to use to earn money to pay for it
If I was in your position I would go for the iMac (with AppleCare...)
All of your current software will work fine, and DVCPRO HD is a really easy codec to use with a FW800 raid array.
A Mac Pro will cost about double by the time you kit it out with ancillary equipment. By the time the iMac is outdated you maybe will not be so cash-strapped, and will buy a Mac Pro to use to earn money to pay for it
For me, QTX is an EXTREME disappointment.
Until they make a Pro version of same, QTX has absolutely no value for me.
I deleted that baby two days after I installed SL.
.
Hi
Exactly. Rome wasn't built in a day.
Rebuilding a core architecture as powerful as QuickTime is a huge undertaking, but that rewrite is essential to the future of all the Pro Apps.
No it doesn't work like that. The base card will continue to be of moderate performance with low power consumption from the lower end of the midrange section.
Not very likely. A basic cards needs no dual PCIe power supply. There are low power HD 4000er series cards that can do the job. They do in the iMac. And high power could come in the shape of the 5870.
god i hate buying new computers. its such a pain because theres always something better. would it be possible to buy the 2.66 ghz model and upgrade it to the 6 core if that is the processor used in the base model of the refresh? i know it all depends on the amount of pins but the processor in the mac pro isnt soldered is it?
This sounds like PRECISELY the sort of wonderful thing that Apple will bend over backwards to "accidentally" make impossible.
Count on new EFI or something in 2010 Mac Pro refresh to keep you from doing any such thing. So far, they have successfully "locked" each Pro to a specific line of chips. No reason for them to stop now.
Intel claims it is going to be "transparent" for the PC World. Let's see how creative the guys from Apple are going to be.
Have been sprawling the intel and other websites after hearing about he possibilities of the i9 gulftown chip going into the new mac's, some pages where reporting it to be expected as far back as september 09 but obviously with the credit crunch it would of course be put back.
In light of the release of the New iMac being graced with quad core. and the discussion in another section on the merits of the iMac vs Mac Pro. and the Quad core argument It seems only logical for Apple to get there arse in gear and start utilising the i9 six and twelve core setups asap. my betting is it will be released either before Christmas or in the early new year but they surly can't go beyond that in time line with out some kind of jump in spec.
Plus the novelty of touch screen in the launch of W7 (urk, wash mouth out). Apply will need to do something to counter it, personally I was never bothered by touch screen having worked in too many pubs through uni to know touch screens get messy, no matter how good the coating are they always get covered in crap and smudges. although the option for say using the touch screen for a calculator is a bonus.
In light of the release of the New iMac being graced with quad core. and the discussion in another section on the merits of the iMac vs Mac Pro. and the Quad core argument It seems only logical for Apple to get there arse in gear and start utilising the i9 six and twelve core setups asap. my betting is it will be released either before Christmas or in the early new year but they surly can't go beyond that in time line with out some kind of jump in spec.
Plus the novelty of touch screen in the launch of W7 (urk, wash mouth out). Apply will need to do something to counter it, personally I was never bothered by touch screen having worked in too many pubs through uni to know touch screens get messy, no matter how good the coating are they always get covered in crap and smudges. although the option for say using the touch screen for a calculator is a bonus.
Theoretically, it's possible, but usually, such changes in architecture still use updated firmware to work on existing boards (microcode for the new CPU line has to be added).
Current system owners may get lucky (works without a firmware update), but Apple won't issue one if it is. It allows them to force the sale of newer systems.
Maybe.HEY! I think it's time to finally roll out UEFI 2.0 support for the Macintosh line!
If they do, it'll be bastardized just like EFI 1.1 is in the existing systems in order to "lock" OS X to their systems.
There is also the possibility apple could quad line up the mac pro. run 4, 6, 8 and 12 core models. imagine the fun they could have on pricing that lot.