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upgrade motherboard in Mac pro?
- Thread starter jimedit1
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1. If Apple isn't using some weird form factor of the Xeon boards already.
2. If Apple doesn't change the SS motherboard over the current one.
3. If you know an AASP and are willing to cough up the money for it.
2. If Apple doesn't change the SS motherboard over the current one.
3. If you know an AASP and are willing to cough up the money for it.
bare in mind the current motherboards are probably in excess of $500 if you could buy such a thing. Assuming Intel workstation pricing remains similar through the next few cycles it'll always make sense to sell and rebuy if you must have the latest technology.
(Somewhat) incorrect.
When I build a Q6600 (quad core C2D) I plan on buying a Gigabyte P35 mobo that supports both DDR2 (4 slots, dual channel) and DDR3 (2 slots), up to 1333 mhz FSB. Price - $169 for retail kit with box and all the trimmings (8 SATA cables which will be especially useful)
In terms of specific 2 processor mobos that support dual or quad core each - yeah, certainly that's a specialized item with a high price tag. But in my case - a mobo that has 1 cpu slot that supports quad core...$169. With benchmarks I've seen recently - simply upping the FSB on a 1066mhz FSB cpu (like the Q6600 or the E6600 which I was going to originally buy) will give you a 25% ghz increase, without having to adjust anything else (voltage or clock)...this is only possible with the P35 chipset mobos out now.
DDR3 ram though - will be about as pricey as FB-DIMMs are now. Considering I can get 4 gigs of DDR2 800 for around $180 (mushkin) - that's the route I'm going. Anandtech said (rumored prices) put a 2gig kit of DDR3 around $430...ouch.
If you do not even know exactly how SS is "somehow" the key to a next generation of Mac Pro then why bother yourself with it?
Macs are not upgradable. If you want to "upgrade" and tinker, buy a PeeCee. Sorry to be blunt, but that is the way it is. Upgrades are for cheapskates. Mac users throw the whole unit into the trash and buy a new one: that is convenience for you!
I appreciate your bluntness.
I do not need to understand the inner workings of a V6 to a V8 engine to know that when I step on the gas, i want that Mutha F^%$# to go.
I simply want to know that the 5-6 grand I throw at a machine today is not impeaded by things like 8 vs 4 core, or 8gb vs 4gb of ram being useless investments because of (murmurings of) bottlenecks and core deficiencies that will make the purchase imprudant. I want the machine I buy today to remain in the food chain well into the next generation of technology.
My editing skills are improving and the jobs Im getting are bigger. Animations, graphics, and crunching video may not be pixar 3d intensive, but who knows where it may lead.
I do not need to understand the inner workings of a V6 to a V8 engine to know that when I step on the gas, i want that Mutha F^%$# to go.
I simply want to know that the 5-6 grand I throw at a machine today is not impeaded by things like 8 vs 4 core, or 8gb vs 4gb of ram being useless investments because of (murmurings of) bottlenecks and core deficiencies that will make the purchase imprudant. I want the machine I buy today to remain in the food chain well into the next generation of technology.
My editing skills are improving and the jobs Im getting are bigger. Animations, graphics, and crunching video may not be pixar 3d intensive, but who knows where it may lead.
Honestly now... didn't we just have this discussion in some other thread? Let's not be sensational. Nobody is throwing out Mac Pros.
If you wanted to do that type of upgrade your best bet would be buy one off ebay after some systems bite the dust after there 1 year warranty runs out.
I was going to comment about that too, but I was hoping that what he meant by trashing it that they get sold to other users. There is a thriving used Mac market, and there are alot of users who will buy a used Mac out there. If you got a 2-5 year old Mac, it will likely sell at a good price.