wait for next mac pro?

[slughead]

PC Video cards would work FINE with mac if they had the right drivers.

Drivers interact between the hardware and the OS. Some of the driver is stored on the video cards themselves in the form of "BIOS" (basic I/O software). We call it 'firmware' or 'ROM' sometimes.

People are getting confused because the only working driver setup has a certain ROM on the card which is special for mac, and a driver in OS X to work with that ROM.

We CAN, however, have a different OS X driver and simply use the PC ROM, it just has to be written. It's sort of clunky to write a driver like that, but it can be done and yield full compatibility.

For the last time, THIS HAS BEEN DONE. HERE:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/247682/

So this whole thing about "ER, we have to flash it for EFI!" is hogwash. The only thing we have to flash it for is so we can use the drivers we have. If Apple (or anyone) would write drivers for the regularly configured ROMs, we could just 'plug n play' PC cards in OS X.

My opinion is that they don't do it because it's easier to write a special ROM and more profitable to keep the supply of mac video cards low.

Think about it:

Who's the top supplier of Macintosh Video cards: Apple, by a HUGE margin.

What do they charge: 30-80% above market rate.

Just take it from the guy who WROTE a driver for a PC card: "EFI is just smoke and mirrors"

Edit: I should point out that I don't hold anything against Apple for doing this, I just wish they would give us more options.

 

[tribe3]

Please take me to a link with the PC workstation that outperforms the Mac Pro at the moment in all its capabilities. If the current MP is old technology than I want to see what's the latest. Please enlighten me.

Calling the mac pro outdated because it doesn't support the latest gaming card is - using your own term - a tad myopic.

 

[slughead]

Calling the mac pro outdated because it doesn't support the latest gaming card is - using your own term - a tad myopic.

Actually, he's calling it 'outdated' because it is, in fact, old. This is the correct use of the word, after all.

I don't believe he was calling it 'obsolete', which is what you're arguing against.

Can't it be outdated but not obsolete?

I hate car analogies, but:
Him: That's the 2006 model, I'm not paying full price for that.
You: Bullcrap! It's got a V8!

We want DX10 compatibility, more RAM standard, more HD space standard, and 8 cores.

All of this will, by next week, not cost Apple one penny more than the cost of the original Mac Pro when they were released. This is why people are waiting.

You keep comparing it to PCs. Well on a PC we could get 90% of the performance of a mac pro for half the price, and with more hardware capability as well (DX10, more RAM, more HD space, more upgrade options, etc.). If OS X could run on a PC, I would have never purchased a Mac Pro.

It's stupid to compare to PC because Windows is incomparable to OS X so we are totally dependent on Apple. Since we are insulated from using Windows, we can only compare Apple to Apple. We know what Apple's profits are, we know what they are capable of, we know what they offered last year, and we want an update.

I'm running out ways to explain this, so could we please all agree on this one

 

[SMM]

I am waiting for the 45n 8 cores because I can afford to. I have a PM Quad and a MP Quad. However, if I needed a machine now, I would not hesitate to buy the current revision.

As I read the threads on MR, I often remind myself the complaints people are making about not having the latest/greatest are almost comical. No one wants to buy something which is 5 minutes old. In the case of the MP, we are talking about a machine which would have been an advanced, top-of-the-line server just a short time ago. Now, someone questions whether it is an adequate workstation. We do get spoiled.

 

[Dreamail]

Now, someone questions whether it is an adequate workstation.

I'm more than happy with the Mac Pro's capabilities! I'd buy it today!
I'm just not happy with the Nvidia Quadro option as this is effectively a 2 year old card. No arguing about that.

Unfortunately I must buy a Mac Pro with any Quadro card Apple offers. And that locks me into waiting.

Simple as that. If Apple would provide a later upgrade to a newer Quadro without having to buy a Mac Pro with it, I'd buy the Mac Pro today and the Quadro later.

 

[slughead]

I found out that directX10 was hacked and easily works on windows XP.. therefore I need a new card.

 

[diamond3]

I'm kind of tired of seeing two sides compete over the Mac Pro and if one should buy it now. So I'm going to do my best to clarify and by the slightest chance in the world, maybe stop it. (ya i know its not possible)

Ok first off, we all know the common answer if you need it, get it. If not, WAIT! Here is the thing, I'm sure the current Mac Pro is fast enough for 90% of the people buying it. Maybe more than that, I dunno. So in general, I think the speed issue minor, although critical to some. Now, being upset at someone wants to wait is plain stupid. Getting upset at someone that needed the Mac Pro now and bought it is just the same. I don't believe there is any exception to this. Correct me if I'm wrong.

The next argument is that you are paying full price for last years technology and its not good enough for the price, blah...blah...blah. True, someone made the point on here if you always want the best as soon as its available, then there goes the value on your mac as it will drop in value. Also when does one draw the line??? Is 5 months to long to pay the same price for the same computer? My own personal opinion is that since I don't NEED a new mac pro right now and can wait, I'm going to do that until a new one is released. Nothing will happen to me if I wait and I will only get a better product. That brings me to the next opposition, "ya but your MP will be replaced later with something better!" All I have to say is DUH!!!! It will always happen, however I'd like to have the best for a longer period of time and know that I got more out of my money than buying at the end of the cycle. But all this doesn't matter of course keeping in mind that I don't NEED it now, if I did, the whole cycle and on a new release wouldn't even matter.

The last major thing I hear a lot is about the video cards. So they may be outdated, but for some that doesn't matter. The current options are still plenty capable for many here. If you are the few that need something better, good for you and you can wait and not complain.

I'm pretty much tired of all this complaining over people saying WAIT!!! Just get it!!!! Don't do that, but do this!!! I understand its a forum, but seriously everyone knows they can wait, just give some real information they can use. There's also those comments like "the mac pro is a ripoff" that make everyone argue and protest the post. Common, is the mac pro a ripoff? Saying something as subjunctive as that is only a bad thing. So I guess then that would make the Dell quad core xeon a complete ripoff under those guidelines. Just try not to say something bound to get torn apart by other forum members. It just distracts from the op topic.

Enough of this non-sense competing for the stronger point. We all don't know the situation of the person asking for advise and we all have different perspectives. Enough said! Everyones tired of this so we can just all drop it.

I'm done.

 

[Wild-Bill]

One more time for the cheap seats:


1) The video cards in the Mac Pro are OLD and OUTDATED. Paying 2006 prices for these cards is absurd. Consider the weakest option, the 7300GT. Apple charges $149.00 for this card (BTO and add an additional 7300GT for 149). This card can be purchased for HALF that amount. The x1900xt is also overpriced by Apple, as I am sure the Quadro is. Bottom line, ALL of these cards are OLD and OUTDATED. I don't give a damn how "capable" the x1900xt is. I'm sure it's just as "capable" as it was when it was released in January 2006. There are more capable, current options in existence today and at a lower price point today than the x1900xt was in 2006.

2) The Intel price cuts are going to affect ALL of their chips. After the Intel price cuts (in 7-14 days, depending on whether or not you trust the July 22 or July 29 date) Apple can offer the Mac Pro with an all quad-core (per chip) lineup and still maintain their high profit margins.

3) The price of FB-DIMMs has decreased since the August 2006 release of the Mac Pro. Apple can offer 2 gigs FB-DIMM in the base model and still maintain their high profit margins. Apple now offers 2 gigs standard in the MacBook Pro.

* NO ONE said there is a PC equivalent out there that beats the Mac.

* The nonsense argument people are making saying "you will always be waiting for something newer" is ridiculous, because we are talking about a product that is about to reach the ONE YEAR mark with no significant updates. That argument holds no water.

* It gets heated in here because people post troll comments and flame bait.

 

[diamond3]

* NO ONE said there is a PC equivalent out there that beats the Mac.

I'm guessing you're trying to relate this to my comment? If no one ever said there is a pc computer that beats the mac then why are you bring up the obvious? In my point I'm saying that if you compare the Mac Pro with others, the whole pricing "scheme" isn't that terrible as many think.

I think you missed my point. I'm tired of these comments -

Paying 2006 prices for these cards is absurd. I'm sure it's just as "capable" as it was when it was released in January 2006

. Is it really absurd if you need the computer and why wouldn't it be just as capable as when it was released? Some of your points are understandable, its just the over-the-top comments by many in some of these posts that get on many peoples nerves. Anyways, I'm done with this thread unless something else gets to me.

 

[davewolfs]

I'm guessing you're trying to relate this to my comment? If no one ever said there is a pc computer that beats the mac then why are you bring up the obvious? In my point I'm saying that if you compare the Mac Pro with others, the whole pricing "scheme" isn't that terrible as many think.

I think you missed my point. I'm tired of these comments - . Is it really absurd if you need the computer and why wouldn't it be just as capable as when it was released? Some of your points are understandable, its just the over-the-top comments by many in some of these posts that get on many peoples nerves. Anyways, I'm done with this thread unless something else gets to me.

Just give me a Mac with an 88xx series Nvidia card, DDR3 and Leopard and I am happy.

 

[hugodrax]

July 22nd Intel is dropping prices by a considerable amount on all of its processors. Many believe we will see an update shortly after that. Apple will then have the ability to beef up the standard configurations and still keep their high margins. Also, FBDIMM prices have fallen since the Mac Pro came out last August. This could mean perhaps 2 gigs as standard in the base config (pure speculation though). They could also go 8-core all around and dump the quad core configs as a result of the price drops. (again, speculation, but we are talking about 8-core chips costing the same as the current quad cores, come July 22nd)

The video card offerings are indeed old. I don't know when the base nVidia 7300GT came out, but the ATi x1900XT was released in Jaunary of 2006. Apple has gone almost a year without updating the Mac Pro, and as a few other posters have pointed out, the addition in April of quad-core processors was not an update, just another option.

If you can wait until the end of the month, I say do it. No sense paying 2006 prices for 2006 hardware. There are quite a few of us waiting, so you wouldn't be alone.

Ram really got cheap. I slapped 8GB of ram for 716 dollars. Less than 100 dollars per gig. Not bad at all.