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upgrading processors on new Mac Pro's
- Thread starter Adros
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No one upgrades their cpu's?
Not no one. Hardly anyone. Honestly, what percentage of mac pro buyers do you really think even contemplate it?
Remember, people who come here to whine are hardly a representative sample of the consumer base.
You're not going to convince me that Apple was unable to engineer a cooling system in such a way that standard CPU modules with heat spreaders could be used. 50 RPM more on the intake and exhaust fans would not have bothered anyone but Steve Jobs himself. Especially since they knew full well that the future upgrade potential would have been eliminated.
Bottom line is Apple's computers, even the $5500 model, are NOT upgradable.
In this day and age, that's a big issue for a lot of people.
Come see me when you get your degree in semiconductor packaging.
In the mean time, I think Apple knows its customers better than you, and it's a "big issue" for a lot fewer people than you think.
Most people do not, you are correct. Most people also buy sub-$1000 machines.
Someone spending $3500+ on a desktop computer, however, are not the consumer base.
On a Mac mini - fine. Solder in the CPU. On the $5000 octo-core Mac Pro, give me the option to extend my investment in the future.
Nice attempt at slipping a logical fallacy by us. Most people do not spend $3500+. Of those, almost none want to update their CPU.
Your anger makes no sense. If apple did this to screw you, they;'d have done it to the single-socket chips, too. Clearly this was an engineering decision. As someone who spent 14 years designing CPUs, I can tell you that you have no idea what constraints they were operating under.
We have dozens of Mac Pros and we would not contemplate upgrading the processors. The RAM, and Hard drives, yes, we have. But the processors? No way, not cost effective. We don't even upgrade the Dell workstation CPUs, nor would we even think of it. Many companies are on a 3-4 year upgrade schedule where they replace computers all out.
I think 70% or 80% (somewhere in there) of MP users contemplate upgrading their CPUs. I guess between around 10% actually do it.
Most Mac pros are used in businesses where the operators have no interest or inclination to upgrade the CPUs.
Most Mac pros are used in businesses where the operators have no interest or inclination to upgrade the CPUs.
Most Dells are sold to businesses, but they have replaceable processors.
What's your point, really? Listing excuses for the lack of upgradable processors does not make it right.
"Consumer" gear like the iMac or Mac mini? Fine.
On "Pro" gear the the Mac Pro, a non-upgradable processor (and all of two graphics card choices, BTW) is pretty silly.
And this particular pro user would like a Mac with upgradable processors, thank you.
Enthusiasts upgrade their processors. Hobbyists upgrade their processors. College kids upgrade their processors. Pros don't. The vast majority of "pros" have IT staffs, IT budgets with all sorts of rules and limitations, and require warrantees. Most pros use their machines for business, deduct them by depreciation, and have no interest in marginal, unsupported, warrantyless upgrades.
Yes, a fraction of a percent do upgrade their processors. But millions of workstations have been sold by Sun, IBM, DEC, HP, SGI, all without upgradeable processors. No company I have ever worked for has upgraded processors in any of their boxes. It happens, but not often, and you are trying to make it a requirement (or at least an expectation) but it simply isn't one.
I agree with everything you say.
But my Mac Pro is in my home. I do not have an IT department. I do use my machine for my income (at decent part of it, at least). And yes, I expect an expensive computer to be upgradable.
Why should the processor be any different than say a graphics card or an optical drive? Most businesses don't upgrade those once installed, either, but yet they are user-replaceable nonetheless.
8 core is processor upgradeable
The new Mac Pro is upgradeable, even the 8 core but the dual processor daughterboards lack the retention clamp to make more room for the heatsink assembly which also acts as a retention clamp. Just look in the service manual. It shows you how to exchange out processors.
Peace,
Noushy
The new Mac Pro is upgradeable, even the 8 core but the dual processor daughterboards lack the retention clamp to make more room for the heatsink assembly which also acts as a retention clamp. Just look in the service manual. It shows you how to exchange out processors.
Peace,
Noushy
I think the issue here is that there is no upgrade kit available, perhaps there may never be one.
The fact that it is not easy for a do-it-yerselfer to upgrade their processors has pissed some people off.
IMO I don't think Apple has misled anyone. There are options for RAM, hard drives, video cards, wireless networking. I didn't see any implication that I would be able to a presto-change-o on my processor anywhere.
I'm a pro by every definition. I did. And over 60% of my colleges (in one particular profession) also did or are planning to. <shrug>
I have to agree with cmaier.
Who upgrades machines these days even at the consumer level? When it comes down to it the days of upgrading machines are all but gone as the speed of new technology development is getting very close to surpassing the speed at which consumers can realistically consume. The only thing I can think of that your average person would do is up their ram, up their hard drives, or perhaps upgrade their video card...actually that sound more like the average enthusiast rather than average person.
I have hand built 4 PCs for myself in the last 15 years and only the first ever received a CPU upgrade all the others have required complete system replacements with the exception of HDs, Burners and case at each "upgrade" step. Technology is simply moving too fast now; and it will only get faster.
my purpose isn't to argue and sorry if you've already said, but in what line of work are you?
+1 ... it's a good way of putting what i was trying to say before about upgrading for my video work
Exactly!!! The Octo's are clearly running naked to enable better heat dissipation with the smaller heat-sinks and the fact that there's two of them in a relatively small space.
The Quad's have a much larger heat sink and since there's only one of them in the same space, they can obviously run with the more conventional heat spreader.
Octo owners should be happy about the improved cooling from running naked CPU's (albeit at the expense of off-the-shelf upgrades), it will provide improved cooling headroom that may translate into better Turbo Boost performance. The last thing you want is hot running chips that don't have any headroom.
I personally would never bother upgrading a CPU anyway, as other's have stated, by the time I've outgrown my CPU, the whole architecture has changed significantly enough to warrant a completely new system.
Hear, Hear!
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Tesselator why don't you setup a paypal donation site so others can assist you in acquiring a "pro' computer?