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The 2009 (Gainestown) Mac Pro: Everything We Know

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J the Ninja said:
GTFO OF MY INTERNET! NAO!
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Bahahahaaa... BITE ME!!! Biotch! :D


nanofrog said:
IIRC, they've had problems with PSU's, DOA due to overheated graphics cards, and EFI issues. (Strictly MP issues, no 3rd party peripherals installed by users). I'd expect to see similar issues for Rev. A for the new model.

Other issues depended upon specific uses. The HDD cable for example. Too short to reach the back end of a RAID card, particularly for slots 1 & 2. Misc. small niggles that can severely annoy someone that spent almost $3k on a base model.
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Hmm, I never even heard of those ones. I had a slight issue installing some 10.4.x update. It was a firmware update and I boot from a RAID. It couldn't be installed without some weird (now forgotten) trick. Oh and I guess the NEED for a utility like smcFanControl because Apple is so afraid someone will hear their machines that they're willing to sacrifice component integrity is kind of an issue.

But other than that... nothing but the lack inexpensive RAM and video card options. :D




OS X is only part of it though, and it can't make up for everything. Especially hardware issues. :eek: :p

As it happens, going by photo's of the '09 model, cooling may be an issue. It appears to only be a single fan in front and rear in the CPU/mem section in a push-pull configuration. At least the potential exists, and it could be noisy. Two of these processors do run on the really warm side. ;)

The rest of the internals seem really cramped. Also not good for cooling. :eek:
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I have an early 08 box. It's a wonderful piece of engineering! Seriously!


PS: J the Ninja, BITE ME AGAIN! Muahahahahaaaa...
 
Pressure said:
I am pretty sure nothing is holding you back from buying 4 x 4GB modules for a total of 16GB. Well, except price perhaps.
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Someone said it can't be done and that ONLY 1gb or 2gb sticks would work in the 4-core model. Ermmm, I think it was Apple who said it. ;)
 
Tesselator said:
Someone said it can't be done and that ONLY 1gb or 2gb sticks would work in the 4-core model. Ermmm, I think it was Apple who said it. ;)
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Which is very strange if true as the memory controller is on the processor itself.

Guess we will just have to wait and see on that one.
 
Pressure said:
Which is very strange if true as the memory controller is on the processor itself.

Guess we will just have to wait and see on that one.
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http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/mac_pro and click on Compare.

Notice where it says:

Memory
  • 24-inch iMac: 3.06GHz
    4GB (two 2GB SO-DIMMs) of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM
    Option: Up to 8GB

  • Mac Pro: Quad-Core
    3GB (three 1GB DIMMs) of 1066MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM
    Option: Up to 8GB

  • Mac Pro: 8-Core
    6GB (six 1GB DIMMs) of 1066MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM
    Option: Up to 32GB

Remember the Quad-core uses the $284 W3520 and not a 5500 series processor.


Also on this page: http://www.apple.com/macpro/specs.html it says:


Memory

1066MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM
8-core: Eight memory slots (four per processor) supporting up to 32GB of main memory using 1GB, 2GB, or 4GB DIMMs
Quad-core: Four memory slots supporting up to 8GB of main memory using 1GB or 2GB DIMMs"​


.
 
I have this strrrooong irk that in a few months we'll see a minor bump in the new mac pros, lower pricing or a bit better specs.. I dont know.. I'm going to wait it out some more.
 
hello there. I am following this thread since a few weeks.

I want to buy a new Mac Pro too. But I am not sure which I want to buy. Quad Core or 8 Core. So I am musician and currently working on my MacBook Pro. I got a Apogee Interface, which I want to record 96 KHZ and 24 bit ! So this is a high quality and needs a fast CPU aswell. I dont want that my mac is going to sweat ! Also I use a lot of Synthisizers and Plug-In effects. Any musician here, which gots some experience with Mac Pro and recording? I also have two 24" Displays and going to buy the 4870 HD.

Thanks

best regards

Raphael
 
Only 1TB Drives... :(

With the objective of eventually getting up to the maximum Ram, can you buy just 2 x 4GB ram 3rd party and it will work? (and then another 2 x 4GB cash permitting and so on?)

:eek:Adding a Raid card changes the shipment from 5 days to 6-8 Weeks!:eek:
 
seisend said:
hello there. I am following this thread since a few weeks.

I want to buy a new Mac Pro too. But I am not sure which I want to buy. Quad Core or 8 Core. So I am musician and currently working on my MacBook Pro. I got a Apogee Interface, which I want to record 96 KHZ and 24 bit ! So this is a high quality and needs a fast CPU aswell. I dont want that my mac is going to sweat ! Also I use a lot of Synthisizers and Plug-In effects. Any musician here, which gots some experience with Mac Pro and recording? I also have two 24" Displays and going to buy the 4870 HD.

Thanks

best regards

Raphael
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An 8 core would be overkill depending on how many synths you're running at a time. And that would have to be VERY MANY indeed. Even my heaviest Reason song stacks, fullest RAX arrangements, and most involved Reaktor ensembles don't eat much of my CPU cycles - 5% or 10% maybe. Same thing when I'm in Renoise with 8 or 10 synths - I don't see any CPU spikes. Saving the synths tracks, etc. out to a compressed audio file will eat a little though. Real-time disk recording taxes you HDD subsystem but still not too bad on the CPUs at all. Really a mac-mini would probably do very fine! Do mac Mini's support dual monitors?



I'm using the EDIROL UA-1000 as an audio interface:


And an M-Audio oZone as a second audio interface and control surface:
Ozone_V1.jpg
 
Tesselator said:
An 8 core would be overkill depending on how many synths you're running at a time. And that would have to be VERY MANY indeed. Even my heaviest Reason song stacks, Full RAX mixes, and most involved Reaktor ensembles don't eat much of my CPU cycles - 5% or 10% maybe. Same thing when I'm in Renoise with 8 or 10 synths - I don't see any CPU spikes. Saving the synths tracks, etc. out to a compressed audio file will eat a little though. Real-time disk recording taxes you HDD subsystem but still not too bad on the CPUs at all. Really a mac-mini would probably do very fine! Do mac Mini's support dual monitors?
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Hi Tesselator, thanks for you answer. Do you got a Mac Pro 8 Core or Quad Core? I don't think at all, that a Mac Mini CPU has enough power.my MacBook Pro 2.4 Ghz 4GB is exploding at 96 KHZ with 4-5 Synths and Audio Files at the same time runnning. Also the mac mini only gots max. 2.26 Ghz Core2 Duo and has only one display output aswell. I got a Apogee Ensemble Interface:

69aceed37949deb0fea2a4434a7ba015.jpg


Yeah with Reason i didn't have problems at all with synthisizers etc.. But Logic 8 with Sculpture and other Plug-In's needs much CPU Power. So my MBP at 96 KHZ doesnt fit that at all. I need Power ! Do you have Logic Pro? I also use many native instruments plug-ins like absynth, massive, battery,...

regards
 
K, I just loaded my heaviest Logic Pro 8 project. 16 VSTU plug-in synth tracks and 2 live GuitarRig3 strum tracks and the CPUs don't go over 7% to 10% and averaged maybe more like 4% or 5%.

I have a MacPro v1.1 which was originally 2 dual core x5150 but now is modified to x5355 dual quad cores at 2.66ghz. And 4gb RAM. (I want another 4gb tho. :))

Does that help?
 
Assault Guns Instead of Woody Guthrie

rylin said:
LOL.
What are you smoking?
You might be able to find individual towns with an unemployment rate of 40%, but on a national scale?
PFFT.

Watch the US unemployment top out at 15-20%.
Most European countries should top at 10-15%, Australia roughly the same.

While it's true that there's a recession going on and it's going to be harsh, remember that it's a "recession" and not "the great depression 2.0".
During TGD, most industrialized nations were around 20-30% unemployment, depending on how you count it (say, insured vs. uninsured).

The really interesting period will be the recovery years, with new fortunes created virtually overnight.
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Hey, whatever the numbers are, don't expect the people to act like lambs. This time around it won't be "Brother can you spare a dime." This time it won't be Woody Guthrie or Pete Seeger giving comfort to the down-trodden in hobo-camps.

This time it might be gang warfare with infantry assault weapons on an unprecedented scale.

And please do remember, that while America escaped the depression without having a socialist revolution (but see the Frank Capra films for the sentiment that was building), the worldwide depression of the 30s had other results in Germany, Italy, and Japan. Who knows what might have happened inside America, if Europe hadn't gone down first in fascism and world war.

Ok, back to Apple-related stuff. :apple:
 
Tallest Skil said:
Eight core, yep. Eight core 2.93 and Radeon 4870.

I'm teetering between the standard RAM and the kick up to eight. If I get eight, I free up two DIMM slots... And Apple's RAM will be competitively priced this week, so now is the only time to buy...:confused:
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Glad to see that you were able to find some reserves! Go for the 8GB. The price difference is really not worth the hassle. One-stop shopping. (Sure, Apple knows that's how we think.)

I'm still going to take a little while to think about it. I have a nice MacBook Pro 15" that is only 6-months old (and the way I coddle gear, it's as shiny as the day I bought it) so there is no pressure.

I'm wondering when the bump to 3.2 GHz is coming, and what the pricing structure will be. I might even wait until the whole thing is bundled with Snow Leopard.

I'm also hoping that Rob at Bare Feats will have the good news that 4870 X2 works under the new Leopard.

So the next few weeks for me is benchmark city. :apple:
 
This thread has gone to hell in a handbasket. But it's amusing so please continue. 100 pages, here we come! ;)

I'm ordering tonight, probably the quad 2.66, ATI 4870. I'll upgrade the RAM myself later because I don't feel like paying $150 for another 3GB and also waiting 3 weeks.
 
justflie said:
This thread has gone to hell in a handbasket. But it's amusing so please continue. 100 pages, here we come! ;)

I'm ordering tonight, probably the quad 2.66, ATI 4870. I'll upgrade the RAM myself later because I don't feel like paying $150 for another 3GB and also waiting 3 weeks.
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dont forget to post pictures :p
 
Thanks for the feed back. It was very informative. I didn't mean to make it sound that price was my concern. I've just been working at my job for a while and have been saving up for this moment. Though know I'm sure if its really worth getting the 2.93GHz 8 core setup. $6,000 is a lot. If I'm just a hardcore gamer who plays the latest games like FEAR 2 and Crysis as well as other graphically demanding games. Which setup would say I should get that I will get the most use out of for my money? I also do a lot of Aperture on the Leopard as well as Photoshop, but I do plan to get into Xcode and 3D Maya later on, when I get into college. Thanks for the feed back.
 
Ferrari904 said:
Thanks for the feed back. It was very informative. I didn't mean to make it sound that price was my concern. I've just been working at my job for a while and have been saving up for this moment. Though know I'm sure if its really worth getting the 2.93GHz 8 core setup. $6,000 is a lot. If I'm just a hardcore gamer who plays the latest games like FEAR 2 and Crysis as well as other graphically demanding games. Which setup would say I should get that I will get the most use out of for my money? I also do a lot of Aperture on the Leopard as well as Photoshop, but I do plan to get into Xcode and 3D Maya later on, when I get into college. Thanks for the feed back.
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Sounds as if you'd be better served with a Core i7 generipc for the gaming needs and an iMac or MBP for Aperture, PS, Xcode etc.

The MP is, simply put (and not meant to be demeaning), not meant for a highschool kid.
 
m1stake said:
Premium product nothing, these computers aren't worth anywhere near Apple's asking price.
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Especially if the information about the x58DP not being able to take the 3500 are true. That would be mean the low end model is using the x58SP and its nothing more than an off the shelf i7 machine with ECC support. $1699 would be premium pricing for such a machine. If it's not using the x58DP, then Apple is using margins in excess of 100%. It would literally be the low end PowerMac with a $1000 price increase.

Eidorian said:
http://www.intel.com/technology/turboboost/index.htm
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I thought only KITT (okay maybe KARR too) had turbo boost.
 
New 2009 vs 2008 mac pros... bah!

What we ALL want to know is Tallest Skil's Mac Pro 2009 configuration. What is he going to buy and what part of his body he's going to sell to finance it. My bets are on the 2.93 and a kidney.
 
More said:
New 2009 vs 2008 mac pros... bah!

What we ALL want to know is Tallest Skil Mac Pro 2009 configuration. What is he going to and what part of his body he's going to sell to finance it. My bets are on the 2.93 and a kidney.
Click to expand...

Actually, I just want to know how long it'll be until someone gets a GTX260+ running in EFI32.
 
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