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The 2009 (Gainestown) Mac Pro: Everything We Know

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diamond.g said:
Well 71% isn't horrible. They definitely need an 80%+ unit in the new Mac Pro though. It would make them look better.
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An 80 Plus rated PSU is effectively necessary these days. Especially when using a unit this size.

To me, the 71% says Apple was cutting corners to improve their margins. 🙁

BTW, if you run the math at the max sustained rating on wall voltage (125VAC), the efficiency drops even further to 65%. 😱 🙁
 
That mentality really bothers me; Apple advertises it's computers as if they are premium products when in fact they use a lot of substandard parts. :/
 
jjahshik32 said:
I agree, I have a feeling it will be priced the same if not slightly cheaper.
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It would make sense to for it to be slightly cheaper, but then again...The current Harpertown Mac Pro has the same base price ($2,799) as the unibody 17" MBP. A laptop!!! That's insane!! 😱
 
Rt&Dzine said:
Simple and elegant is good, but no handles? Have you ever lifted a Mac Pro?
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yea i know... as i said, the current mac pro's design is irreplaceable... i dont think there's any design out there that could possibly replace the design they have today... i was just having some fun and should be taken with a grain of salt 😛

i wish there was no black on the mac pros to come... but its just wishful thinking
 
rylin said:
No they didn't.
They may have ruined it for YOU, but to me it's definitely an improvement.

The Mac Pro is pretty much timeless, but the previous MBP was getting older by the day.
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hmm... im fine with the fact that they added the black frame on the displays... but to make the keys black was something of a mistake IMO... they had a perfectly refined looking notebook with its all aluminum look. adding patches of black like on the keyboard made it look like a dell notebook.

same thing happened with the ACDs.... i loved the utter simplicity of the screens, being all aluminum was perfect.
 
indiochano said:
yea i know... as i said, the current mac pro's design is irreplaceable... i dont think there's any design out there that could possibly replace the design they have today...
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I think the design can be improved. When I first saw the Mac Pro I thought it was ugly.
 
Tallest Skil said:
Why? It'll be more.
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Apple is very close to the braking point for all but the most high end professionals with Mac Pro pricing. PowerMac/MacPro pricing has risen $900 for entry level and $300 for mid level buyers since mid-2005. Entry level prices go down, sales go up.
 
jjahshik32 said:
I think the pricing will be the same as Apple will get a good deal from Intel equalling out the pricings.
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Apple has an absolutely massive profit margin, they could keep the same $2799 price of entry and still make money. Their current octo-core machine sells for $2200 and change for biannual employee purchase events, and they even make a little money on those sales.

You're right though, Apple obviously gets a very large volume discount.

nanofrog said:
Premium parts. Just another reason to build. 😛
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Yeah, yeah, just another reason to feel stupid whenever I buy an Apple product. God, do I miss the old days.
 
m1stake said:
Apple has an absolutely massive profit margin, they could keep the same $2799 price of entry and still make money. Their current octo-core machine sells for $2200 and change for biannual employee purchase events, and they even make a little money on those sales.

You're right though, Apple obviously gets a very large volume discount.
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Yes and no. Apple uses consistent margins throughout the product line. PCs makers use variable margins where they have low margins on personal computers and very high margins on workstations and servers.
 
BenRoethig said:
Yes and no. Apple uses consistent margins throughout the product line. PCs makers use variable margins where they have low margins on personal computers and very high margins on workstations and servers.
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That would partially explain why Dell can make the same computer for 20% less, and sell the workstation for 20% more.
 
nanofrog said:
Current Model = 980W Output

Assuming a nominal wall voltage of 115VAC, then the efficiency = 71% at full load. Not wonderful. 🙁
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Which is quite normal for a switched-mode power supply but I am pretty sure an expensive power supply ($299.95) has better efficiency than that.

How did you measure the efficiency, out of curiosity?

It's not every day you max out a 980 Watt power supply 😉

The 2006 Mac Pro only used around 200 Watt at load running Cinebench at the standard configuration.
 
m1stake said:
That would partially explain why Dell can make the same computer for 20% less, and sell the workstation for 20% more.
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I heard Dell makes most of their profit from selling accessories and software to go along with the computer hardware which they make very little.
 
The problem with the new Mac Pros is that when they come out the chances of them having the same case is rather high. The same case the buckled under the weight of the G5, and later under the weight of the Mac Pro.

Until Apple fixes the casing on the Mac Pro to something that can support it's own weight I will hold off, new processors or not.
 
synth3tik said:
The problem with the new Mac Pros is that when they come out the chances of them having the same case is rather high. The same case the buckled under the weight of the G5, and later under the weight of the Mac Pro.

Until Apple fixes the casing on the Mac Pro to something that can support it's own weight I will hold off, new processors or not.
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I'm not sure that I understand what you're saying, given that I've neither heard nor seen this problem in the years that I have been following Apple's professional desktop line.
 
jjahshik32 said:
I heard Dell makes most of their profit from selling accessories and software to go along with the computer hardware which they make very little.
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Most companies (excluding Apple) make their real money on attachments. However, the person I quoted was correct that regular PCs have a very small margin that might be a little over $100. Workstations on the other hand have much higher margin. Regardless, you're correct that the big money is in attachments like cables. For example, a $30 usb cable is $28 of profit.
 
Tallest Skil said:
I'm not sure that I understand what you're saying, given that I've neither heard nor seen this problem in the years that I have been following Apple's professional desktop line.
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about half the Mac Pros I have seen are warping under their own weight. Mine is, as is one at the Apple Store.

The feet are just not made to hold up that kind of weight. The plastic ones on the G3s and G4s were good and I never saw any issues, only broken feet from being dropped or hit.
 
synth3tik said:
about half the Mac Pros I have seen are warping under their own weight. Mine is, as is one at the Apple Store.

The feet are just not made to hold up that kind of weight. The plastic ones on the G3s and G4s were good and I never saw any issues, only broken feet from being dropped or hit.
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Could you link me to a news article detailing this as a problem? Google isn't coming up with anything.
 
Tallest Skil said:
Could you link me to a news article detailing this as a problem? Google isn't coming up with anything.
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This is a very first that I've heard as well. Even from Power Macs (only issues were coolant leakage) and the Mac Pro with no issues except the reboot on wake (of the 8 core models) which I believe was fixed with a firmware update.
 
Top notch thread Tallest. I have been waiting to buy a new Mac Pro, but with ddr2 prices so cheap, and really, let me put this in the best of wording sentence, a not-such-a-great-anticipated-performance-jump-noticeable-to-the-end-user-but-apparent-in-synthetic-benchmarks from Gainstown and ddr3. As I will be doings a lot of VMs and development, and regular computng work, the current Mac Pro should suit me for a while.

I have 3 PCs and 3 Macs (Mini, MBP, + MBA), and I am chomping at the bit for a more powerful rig at home and the ability to chop off the Mini and 2 PCs since I am moving closer to Manhattan and will have less space. As I am a gamer too, the thing I am really hoping for is a gpu refresh - a 260 or 4870 will suffice!

If I wait for Gainstown, I may end up waiting for the next die shrink.😀
 
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