What? No new Macs coming out next month?

[capran]

So how come all the rumormill buzz over the iPhone and no mention of new Macs?

For me, the only thing I really want to see is a headless model that's priced and speced between the top end Mini and low end Pro, that uses a Conroe C2D, regular DDR2 memory, SATA 3.5" drive, and comes with a 16x PCI-E slot for a standard graphics card.

The Pro just is too expensive and isn't a gaming machine, and the high-end 24" iMac is also very pricey, and I don't need a new LCD panel, plus the 7600GT is still only a midrange card and who knows if there will ever be an aftermarket upgrade for MXM modules for Macs.

 

[Pressure]

So how come all the rumormill buzz over the iPhone and no mention of new Macs?

For me, the only thing I really want to see is a headless model that's priced and speced between the top end Mini and low end Pro, that uses a Conroe C2D, regular DDR2 memory, SATA 3.5" drive, and comes with a 16x PCI-E slot for a standard graphics card.

The Pro just is too expensive and isn't a gaming machine, and the high-end 24" iMac is also very pricey, and I don't need a new LCD panel, plus the 7600GT is still only a midrange card and who knows if there will ever be an aftermarket upgrade for MXM modules for Macs.

It seems you may have missed the entire market for an Apple computer.

They are not gaming machines but productive tools (of course, not only limited to this) for amateurs and professionals alike.

 

[Willy S]

Well, there have been and probably will be holes in Apple´s lineup. Hard core gamers should buy PC and use a wonderful XP/Vista, period. You can get powerful rigs for cheap and even overclock them as I did with my PC.

Macs are designed for grannies and work, not gaming. I just bought a Macbook for my work and as a desktop extension.

 

[Annndy!]

Macs are designed for grannies and work, not gaming. I just bought a Macbook for my work and as a desktop extension.

Well, I don't know about all that. You can do a lot of playing on a Mac. Just not the kind of playing he wants to do (i.e., videogames).

 

[IEatApples]

So how come all the rumormill buzz over the iPhone and no mention of new Macs?

I asked the same question "here"

 

[capran]

It seems you may have missed the entire market for an Apple computer.

They are not gaming machines but productive tools (of course, not only limited to this) for amateurs and professionals alike.

Well, that's not just a little bit condescending, isn't it?

I'm a techie, and I'm a Mac user. I'm also a bit of a gamer, and a tinkerer.

I've been a Mac user since '94, coming from the Amiga world.

Now, I've only tinkered with the "productive" applications, so I'm not a "pro".

But the Mac Pro uses server-class hardware! I, for one, have no use for dual Xeons and fully buffered memory. The FB-DIMMs are more expensive and more latent than regular DDR2; they may be perfect for server applications and perhaps scientific applications too, but for general desktop usage they're completely inappropriate if you ask me.

The only reason I can see that Steve-o unveiled the Pro as-it-is is because the previous desktops, Power Mac G4 and G5, had dual-processors, so somehow not coming out with a dual proc box would seem like a downgrade. Somehow. Even though both the G5 and Core [2] Duo chips are dual core.

Steve-o could have easily come out with 2 configurations. The dual Xeon would be the top end machine, and the basic box would have a Conroe and DDR2. This would also have the advantage of being cheaper than the current machine, and they'd be able to sell a lot more desktop Macs.

So what if it "ate into iMac sales"? The flat panel iMacs are beautiful, and I like them, but let's be honest, they're too expensive and almost completely unupgradeable. They've strayed too far from the concept of the original iMac. Perhaps they'd be a better value if they lowered them by $300-500, but I digress.

For me, I love Macs and OS X. I currently have a G4 Mini, but it's a tad sluggish for me. I mostly use it for web browsing, email, and video watching, but I'd like to do more. I have a custom built PC for gaming and tinkering, but what I really want is a single computer that can do it all, with OS X as the main OS and with Linux and Windows running perhaps in a VM solution (but with full hardware acceleration.)

Is that really too much to ask for? And, please, if you're too much of an elitist snob "well I use my Mac as tool only, and you're just hoypaloy", don't even bother replying.

 

[ChickenSwartz]

Well, there have been and probably will be holes in Apple´s lineup. Hard core gamers should buy PC and use a wonderful XP/Vista, period. You can get powerful rigs for cheap and even overclock them as I did with my PC.

Macs are designed for grannies and work, not gaming. I just bought a Macbook for my work and as a desktop extension.

Yeah, I bought a Mac just so I wouldn't play games.

 

[macNEWBIEswitch]

Yeah, I bought a Mac just so I wouldn't play games.

Mac #1 recommended by gameaholics anonymous.

 

[guzktgui]

capran, completely agree with you

Just hope someone at Apple is listening, we want something like a headless iMac (wich I'll prefer for space reasons) or a C2D MacPro

 

[killmoms]

I'd also like to see this, if only to fill in the mid-range hole in Apple's headless desktop line, but I'm not holding my breath... and neither should you.

 

[azentropy]

As I wrote elsewhere - It ticks me off that Dell can offer a mid-tower system with the following specs:
# 2.4Ghz Core 2 Duo (Conroe)
# 250 Gig HD
# 2 Gig RAM
# NVidia 256 meg 7900GS
# 16X (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)

For ~$1300 and Apple doesn't even have anything CLOSE to those specs for that price... and that is without the usually Dell discounts you can get...

The Mini is a fantastic little machine, but is not powerful or expandable enough... Here is it maxed out:

# 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo
# 2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
# 160GB Serial ATA drive
# SuperDrive 8x (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
# Mac OS X - U.S. English
# 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo
# Intel GMA 950 graphics

Which comes to $1249 is isn't even close to the the Dell in terms of performance/power. Yes, I know that is not it's target...

The Mac Pro the closest you can get:

# Two 2.0GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon
# 2GB (4 x 512MB)
# 250GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
# NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256MB (single-link DVI/dual-link DVI)
# One 16x SuperDrive

Is TWICE the price ($2499 by taking the processors down to 2Ghz but that savings gets canceled by upping the memory to 2gb) of the Mac mini at the closest config I can get. Again this is a fantastic machine, but I don't want to and shouldn't have to spend $2500 to get a decent expandable headless machine. While this system does have two processors, for most common tasks it still would be slower than a Mac that had a 2.4ghz Conroe, and has a much weaker video card.

Even the iMac (had to use 20" to get the specs even close)
# 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
# 2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
# 250GB Serial ATA Drive
# ATI Radeon X1600/128MB VRAM
# SuperDrive 8X (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)

It costs $1928 and is a great deal - IF I needed a monitor, and airport, and bluetooth... But it is still $600 more than the Dell it pales in comparison in overall performance.

Now I know Apple isn't Dell and Apple quality is MUCH better. But I also know Apple could build a machine with specs similar to that Dell and sell it for ~$1799 (or starting at $1299 or less with less specs) or so, still make good margin and sell a ton of them...

 

[Kendall015]

As I wrote elsewhere - It ticks me off that Dell can offer a mid-tower system with the following specs:
# 2.4Ghz Core 2 Duo (Conroe)
# 250 Gig HD
# 2 Gig RAM
# NVidia 256 meg 7900GS
# 16X (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)

For ~$1300 and Apple doesn't even have anything CLOSE to those specs for that price... and that is without the usually Dell discounts you can get...

The Mini is a fantastic little machine, but is not powerful or expandable enough... Here is it maxed out:

# 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo
# 2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
# 160GB Serial ATA drive
# SuperDrive 8x (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
# Mac OS X - U.S. English
# 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo
# Intel GMA 950 graphics

Which comes to $1249 is isn't even close to the the Dell in terms of performance/power. Yes, I know that is not it's target...

The Mac Pro the closest you can get:

# Two 2.0GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon
# 2GB (4 x 512MB)
# 250GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
# NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256MB (single-link DVI/dual-link DVI)
# One 16x SuperDrive

Is TWICE the price ($2499 by taking the processors down to 2Ghz but that savings gets canceled by upping the memory to 2gb) of the Mac mini at the closest config I can get. Again this is a fantastic machine, but I don't want to and shouldn't have to spend $2500 to get a decent expandable headless machine. While this system does have two processors, for most common tasks it still would be slower than a Mac that had a 2.4ghz Conroe, and has a much weaker video card.

Even the iMac (had to use 20" to get the specs even close)
# 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
# 2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
# 250GB Serial ATA Drive
# ATI Radeon X1600/128MB VRAM
# SuperDrive 8X (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)

It costs $1928 and is a great deal - IF I needed a monitor, and airport, and bluetooth... But it is still $600 more than the Dell it pales in comparison in overall performance.

Now I know Apple isn't Dell and Apple quality is MUCH better. But I also know Apple could build a machine with specs similar to that Dell and sell it for ~$1799 (or starting at $1299 or less with less specs) or so, still make good margin and sell a ton of them...

Being a former PC owner (who isn't), I understand your frustration with the specs. You should keep in mind, however, that Macs differentiate themselves from PCs by having a superior (IMO) operating system and aesthetics, while PCs differentiate themselves from other PCs by what's listed for their specs.

Also, an expandable, headless machine with good specs for a low price doesn't really fit in their lineup...Apple is all about the all-in-one simplistic approach, with the expandable computers at the super-high end. Since a lot of people clearly aren't concerned about expandability (how many Mac Minis, Macbooks, MBPs, and iMacs have sold this year?) there may not be much of a market for a computer that you're talking about.

 

[robbieduncan]

comes with a 16x PCI-E slot for a standard graphics card.

I assume you mean off-the shelf non-Apple specific graphics card? This will not happen unless Apple abandon EFI and move backwards technologically to using a BIOS. If they do this Intel Macs will loose the ability to do some of the things that make them Macs like, for example, boot into target disk mode. So Apple will not do this. The other option is that the card manufacturers start shipping cards with EFI boot ROMs. This will not happen until either there is a large enough Mac only market for these cards or enough PC manufacturers move to EFI based motherboards.

So in short don't hold your breath.

 

[Keebler]

yup...it was about that time...haven't seen it in some time....so this was due..just in time for some silly post again, about having a low-to-mid market mac pro.

it's the frickin' imac you want!!!!!!!!!!!!

i just don't see this market in between the imac and mac pro. it's quite silly. the imac can burn dvds, edit video, play music and play games. if you want more power, then you need it for productive reasons and if that's the case, you need to spend the money and you can probably either afford (you or your company) and if not, then you'll be able to make the money back b/c it will be for productive reasons.

if you don't need a mac pro for productive stuff, the imac is the choice....

 

[Keebler]

As I wrote elsewhere - It ticks me off that Dell can offer a mid-tower system with the following specs:
# 2.4Ghz Core 2 Duo (Conroe)
# 250 Gig HD
# 2 Gig RAM
# NVidia 256 meg 7900GS
# 16X (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)

For ~$1300 and Apple doesn't even have anything CLOSE to those specs for that price... and that is without the usually Dell discounts you can get...

The Mini is a fantastic little machine, but is not powerful or expandable enough... Here is it maxed out:

# 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo
# 2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
# 160GB Serial ATA drive
# SuperDrive 8x (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
# Mac OS X - U.S. English
# 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo
# Intel GMA 950 graphics

Which comes to $1249 is isn't even close to the the Dell in terms of performance/power. Yes, I know that is not it's target...

The Mac Pro the closest you can get:

# Two 2.0GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon
# 2GB (4 x 512MB)
# 250GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
# NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256MB (single-link DVI/dual-link DVI)
# One 16x SuperDrive

Is TWICE the price ($2499 by taking the processors down to 2Ghz but that savings gets canceled by upping the memory to 2gb) of the Mac mini at the closest config I can get. Again this is a fantastic machine, but I don't want to and shouldn't have to spend $2500 to get a decent expandable headless machine. While this system does have two processors, for most common tasks it still would be slower than a Mac that had a 2.4ghz Conroe, and has a much weaker video card.

Even the iMac (had to use 20" to get the specs even close)
# 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
# 2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
# 250GB Serial ATA Drive
# ATI Radeon X1600/128MB VRAM
# SuperDrive 8X (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)

It costs $1928 and is a great deal - IF I needed a monitor, and airport, and bluetooth... But it is still $600 more than the Dell it pales in comparison in overall performance.

Now I know Apple isn't Dell and Apple quality is MUCH better. But I also know Apple could build a machine with specs similar to that Dell and sell it for ~$1799 (or starting at $1299 or less with less specs) or so, still make good margin and sell a ton of them...

ahhhhg... these posts always follow the OPs post in these type of threads and again, i respond:

if one wants a lexus built of superior quality and workmanship and stuff that just works, then one buys a lexus. if you want something useful to get you from point a to b....buy a neon.

 

[DaveP]

yup...it was about that time...haven't seen it in some time....so this was due..just in time for some silly post again, about having a low-to-mid market mac pro.

it's the frickin' imac you want!!!!!!!!!!!!

i just don't see this market in between the imac and mac pro. it's quite silly. the imac can burn dvds, edit video, play music and play games. if you want more power, then you need it for productive reasons and if that's the case, you need to spend the money and you can probably either afford (you or your company) and if not, then you'll be able to make the money back b/c it will be for productive reasons.

if you don't need a mac pro for productive stuff, the imac is the choice....

I could not disagree more. What if I want to use my existing LCD/upgrade later? What if I want to upgrade just about anything without voiding my warranty? Yes, the iMac is a very capable machine and from a performance-only perspective meets this niche. Especially for users coming from the PC world where tinkering and upgrading is normal, the iMac seems very restrictive. This niche doesn't seem to fit Apple's model of only professionals need true upgradability, the rest only need USB expandability.

 

[mcarnes]

I could not disagree more. What if I want to use my existing LCD/upgrade later? What if I want to upgrade just about anything without voiding my warranty? Yes, the iMac is a very capable machine and from a performance-only perspective meets this niche. Especially for users coming from the PC world where tinkering and upgrading is normal, the iMac seems very restrictive. This niche doesn't seem to fit Apple's model of only professionals need true upgradability, the rest only need USB expandability.

When you upgrade you just buy a new iMac (or whatever). It's easy to sell the old one on ebay since it's just one unit. Out with the old, in with the new. Upgrading hardware components always has it's downside.

 

[AppleIntelRock]

It seems you may have missed the entire market for an Apple computer.

They are not gaming machines but productive tools (of course, not only limited to this) for amateurs and professionals alike.

Who made the rule that a mac coudln't be a gaming machine? How are we supposed to take the majority of the market with closed views like this? 2007-2008 are going to be huge years for Apple- expect things you never imagined.

 

[DaveP]

When you upgrade you just buy a new iMac (or whatever). It's easy to sell the old one on ebay since it's just one unit. Out with the old, in with the new. Upgrading hardware components always has it's downside.

That is quite true. Seems a bit more of a pain if you want frequent upgrades, but it is to the advantage of users not comfortable/willing to upgrade components.

 

[southbark]

I am new to mac here and i am buying a new mac for christmas this year i have not decided on what i want yet.the thing i dont understand is why you guys bought a mac if you complain about its upgradeability so visciously.I am getting a mac because i am so tired of constatntley get the blue screen of death because a driver does not work and my daughter s computer get so mamny virusses all the time i spend more time fixing my pc then enjoying it and as far as games i have been told that you can run windows in mac now and play most games that windows user do

 

[IEatApples]

I am new to mac here and i am buying a new mac for christmas this year i have not decided on what i want yet.the thing i dont understand is why you guys bought a mac if you complain about its upgradeability so visciously.I am getting a mac because i am so tired of constatntley get the blue screen of death because a driver does not work and my daughter s computer get so mamny virusses all the time i spend more time fixing my pc then enjoying it and as far as games i have been told that you can run windows in mac now and play most games that windows user do

Agreed, but people have a tendency to forget how good they have it.

 

[skye12]

We gladly leave the gaming to the clueless kiddies. They are too
involved with their flinch and shoot to realize they have been hooked into
a modern day "brain suck" addiction akin to mental cocaine. It afflicts
mostly egotistical, pubescent males and explains a shocking decline
in academic performance on their part in colleges today.

Choose Macs for the superior operating system and original creativity.

 

[Dont Hurt Me]

We gladly leave the gaming to the clueless kiddies. They are too
involved with their flinch and shoot to realize they have been hooked into
a modern day "brain suck" addiction akin to mental cocaine. It afflicts
mostly egotistical, pubescent males and explains a shocking decline
in academic performance on their part in colleges today.

Choose Macs for the superior operating system and original creativity.

Boy thats a pretty broad brush you paint with, another Macuser's jealous rant against the gamer. Wheres my Halflife2?

 

[chaosbunny]

We gladly leave the gaming to the clueless kiddies. They are too
involved with their flinch and shoot to realize they have been hooked into
a modern day "brain suck" addiction akin to mental cocaine. It afflicts
mostly egotistical, pubescent males and explains a shocking decline
in academic performance on their part in colleges today.

Choose Macs for the superior operating system and original creativity.

We leave it to ignorant people like you to make the world a worse place every day. They embrace their own opinion so egoistically that nothing else can ever be right. Their own needs are the ones that are important, and it is impossible for them to see another point of view.

I bet you are one of those who believe video games are responsible for teenagers shooting around at their schools. That the parents, teachers or society have something to do with it wouldn't ever cross your mind.

If you have or will ever have children, I feel sorry for them.

 

[nitynate]

We leave it to ignorant people like you to make the world a worse place every day. They embrace their own opinion so egoistically that nothing else can ever be right. Their own needs are the ones that are important, and it is impossible for them to see another point of view.

I bet you are one of those who believe video games are responsible for teenagers shooting around at their schools. That the parents, teachers or society have something to do with it wouldn't ever cross your mind.

If you have or will ever have children, I feel sorry for them.

Owned.