wait, i thought the gulftown we've been discussing all this time is a 6-core processor, and that the next mac pro, if it ever comes out, will have 2 of these processors in it for 12 cores total (real - 24 logical) or did i miss something?
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Who's anticipating buying a 2010 Mac Pro?
- Thread starter VirtualRain
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wait, i thought the gulftown we've been discussing all this time is a 6-core processor, and that the next mac pro, if it ever comes out, will have 2 of these processors in it for 12 cores total (real - 24 logical) or did i miss something?
Unless I missed something, consumer grade intel chips don't support dual processor configs.
If they don't plan on making a server edition of the chip with the right hookups, it kind of presents a problem for the 12-core idea
If they don't plan on making a server edition of the chip with the right hookups, it kind of presents a problem for the 12-core idea
Unless I missed something, consumer grade intel chips don't support dual processor configs.
If they don't plan on making a server edition of the chip with the right hookups, it kind of presents a problem for the 12-core idea
correcto, only the Xeons support dual CPUs afaik
Well yeah, I think it's assumed that we are talking about the xeon version of these chips for the Mac Pro. The processor used in the quad core MP, and the i7 920 are basically identical, but just rebadged. And the DP versions have the extra interconnect.
My apologies, I wasn't clear about any of that. I was just, as I said above, assuming that everyone knew in general what we were talking about.
But yeah, gonna be an interesting refresh for sure. I'd really like to see some better features, like 6 ram slots per cpu, usb3, etc.
For what it's worth, 99.9% of MOST people's computing experience on a Mac Pro barely makes use of the potential power these current '09 machines have.
All of you clamouring for a new model need to ask yourselves how more cores are going to help you? The real benefits, from any new model, will probably come from USB3/GPU options etc.
The 'snappiness' of the system isn't limited by the hardware these days, but the software - and we all know, that the software barely makes use of the cores - or, when it does, it's only during a long processing task anyway or working with audio in a sequencer in real time.
As a designer, I'd sure love my mac to be even faster, but honestly, none of my design/web software comes close to making use of all the power I have in my 8 core 2.93Ghz Mac Pro. In fact, I don't think software will be able to make full use of this machine for another couple of years, once developers are more capable of writing for multiple threads and harnessing the power of Apple's new Grand Central and Open CL etc etc.
It's sure nice to have the latest and greatest Mac Pros sitting on your desk (trust me I usually buy the latest and greatest), but this machine is no faster (in feel) than the 2008 Mac Pro I had, and the 2006 one before it. They're all about as snappy as the last. Time for the software to catch up
All of you clamouring for a new model need to ask yourselves how more cores are going to help you? The real benefits, from any new model, will probably come from USB3/GPU options etc.
The 'snappiness' of the system isn't limited by the hardware these days, but the software - and we all know, that the software barely makes use of the cores - or, when it does, it's only during a long processing task anyway or working with audio in a sequencer in real time.
As a designer, I'd sure love my mac to be even faster, but honestly, none of my design/web software comes close to making use of all the power I have in my 8 core 2.93Ghz Mac Pro. In fact, I don't think software will be able to make full use of this machine for another couple of years, once developers are more capable of writing for multiple threads and harnessing the power of Apple's new Grand Central and Open CL etc etc.
It's sure nice to have the latest and greatest Mac Pros sitting on your desk (trust me I usually buy the latest and greatest), but this machine is no faster (in feel) than the 2008 Mac Pro I had, and the 2006 one before it. They're all about as snappy as the last. Time for the software to catch up
For what it's worth, 99.9% of MOST people's computing experience on a Mac Pro barely makes use of the potential power these current '09 machines have.
All of you clamouring for a new model need to ask yourselves how more cores are going to help you? The real benefits, from any new model, will probably come from USB3/GPU options etc.
The 'snappiness' of the system isn't limited by the hardware these days, but the software - and we all know, that the software barely makes use of the cores - or, when it does, it's only during a long processing task anyway or working with audio in a sequencer in real time.
As a designer, I'd sure love my mac to be even faster, but honestly, none of my design/web software comes close to making use of all the power I have in my 8 core 2.93Ghz Mac Pro. In fact, I don't think software will be able to make full use of this machine for another couple of years, once developers are more capable of writing for multiple threads and harnessing the power of Apple's new Grand Central and Open CL etc etc.
It's sure nice to have the latest and greatest Mac Pros sitting on your desk (trust me I usually buy the latest and greatest), but this machine is no faster (in feel) than the 2008 Mac Pro I had, and the 2006 one before it. They're all about as snappy as the last. Time for the software to catch up
That's all because the software is so very behind the hardware. I can think of two applications, off the top of my head, that I can coax into using all 8 of my cores. That's Handbrake and Compressor. These days I find myself wanting my applications to be able to use all my RAM...anybody who's finding the CPU lacking is usually taking the wrong perspective, unless they're already running Intel SSDs or faster for the boot drive.
That said, I think most people on this forum are looking to the 2010 Mac Pro for features like a Radeon 5870 or USB 3. I still eagerly await the next release of FCS, myself.
I have been following this thread for weeks now I have got to the point of check daily for news
Has any one got any idea as to what day they are going to release the 2010 Mac Pro? its got to be soon right? this week maybe?
I have a MBP which is on its last legs everytime I turn it on I hope it will boot up as there is a problem with the graphics card, which came from a problem with the right hand side fan dying, So now when I boot her up I get nasty diagonal lines going across the screen right up until the sign in page by which time it sorts itself out.
As a freelance video editor, who depends on his Mac this is very worrying.
Hence the looking forward to a new Mac Pro tower.
Another question. I keep reading on this thread, that the 2008/09 8 core machines are not been used to there full potential by there owners as the software is still behind the times and cannot utilize all 8 cores.
As I use Final Cut Pro daily, increasingly with HD footage, will I see a massive difference between a new 2010 machine or should I go for an older machine for example a 8 core 2.8ghz (which if I can find the right machine on Ebay will have more RAM and more Hard disk space)
My budget is about £2.5k GBP and thats top wack, if I live on baked beans on toast for 2 months.
Cheers Dai
Has any one got any idea as to what day they are going to release the 2010 Mac Pro? its got to be soon right? this week maybe?
I have a MBP which is on its last legs everytime I turn it on I hope it will boot up as there is a problem with the graphics card, which came from a problem with the right hand side fan dying, So now when I boot her up I get nasty diagonal lines going across the screen right up until the sign in page by which time it sorts itself out.
As a freelance video editor, who depends on his Mac this is very worrying.
Hence the looking forward to a new Mac Pro tower.
Another question. I keep reading on this thread, that the 2008/09 8 core machines are not been used to there full potential by there owners as the software is still behind the times and cannot utilize all 8 cores.
As I use Final Cut Pro daily, increasingly with HD footage, will I see a massive difference between a new 2010 machine or should I go for an older machine for example a 8 core 2.8ghz (which if I can find the right machine on Ebay will have more RAM and more Hard disk space)
My budget is about £2.5k GBP and thats top wack, if I live on baked beans on toast for 2 months.
Cheers Dai
The 2006 Mac Pro came 6 weeks after the processors were launched, 2008 was 8 weeks, 2009 was 4 weeks prior. The new processors come out next week. Apple's products are normally announced on a Tuesday. Certain options, usually graphics card upgrades, can delay shipping.
There's really no technical reason why the new Mac Pro's cannot be announced and even start shipping as soon as the new processors are released. But we shall soon know for sure.
I have been following this thread for weeks now I have got to the point of check daily for news
Has any one got any idea as to what day they are going to release the 2010 Mac Pro? its got to be soon right? this week maybe?
I have a MBP which is on its last legs everytime I turn it on I hope it will boot up as there is a problem with the graphics card, which came from a problem with the right hand side fan dying, So now when I boot her up I get nasty diagonal lines going across the screen right up until the sign in page by which time it sorts itself out.
As a freelance video editor, who depends on his Mac this is very worrying.
Hence the looking forward to a new Mac Pro tower.
Another question. I keep reading on this thread, that the 2008/09 8 core machines are not been used to there full potential by there owners as the software is still behind the times and cannot utilize all 8 cores.
As I use Final Cut Pro daily, increasingly with HD footage, will I see a massive difference between a new 2010 machine or should I go for an older machine for example a 8 core 2.8ghz (which if I can find the right machine on Ebay will have more RAM and more Hard disk space)
My budget is about £2.5k GBP and thats top wack, if I live on baked beans on toast for 2 months.
Cheers Dai
I think many of us are in the same boat as far as holding off a desperately needed upgrade.
Seems like most people are hoping for an announcement on the 16th, which is when the new processors come out & is incidentally on a Tuesday.
Seems like the consensus (for me since I'm a video person also) is that lower cores with a higher clock speed is the way to go.
For me it's hard to drop the $2500 on an 08 (soon to be 2 year old comp), when I'm expecting/hoping for higher clock, better graphics, a comp that is up to date (audio bug fixed etc.) and enough ram to at least be able to start using it right away (6Gb). If there's nothing by the 16th, I'm thinking of the 2.93 Quad & just putting 2Gbs ram in the 4th slot for the time being. (a refurb - ((US sorry)) - is right around my $2500 limit.
CCK
are you saying that something like this would be very useful to a fellow video editor?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mac-Pro-3-0-8...mputing_Apple_Desktops_CV?hash=item19ba9166f0
Not sure how much it is in Dollars.
Dai
are you saying that something like this would be very useful to a fellow video editor?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mac-Pro-3-0-8...mputing_Apple_Desktops_CV?hash=item19ba9166f0
Not sure how much it is in Dollars.
Dai
It depends on whether or not Intel's been able to get the parts in the system builders hands prior to the announced release date (things are kept quiet due to NDA restrictions). Then there's lag time for the vendors to get systems made (assembled), packaged and shipped.
There's a lot in the timing that can go wrong though (delays), so it's not likely that you can ship a system on the day the CPU's it uses are announced.
It depends on whether or not Intel's been able to get the parts in the system builders hands prior to the announced release date (things are kept quiet due to NDA restrictions). Then there's lag time for the vendors to get systems made (assembled), packaged and shipped.
There's a lot in the timing that can go wrong though (delays), so it's not likely that you can ship a system on the day the CPU's it uses are announced.
Intel has been producing these CPU's for months. Just like the Core i series. they started producing them almost 6 months ago and only announced them in January.
i can't remember the last time Intel has done a paper launch. ATI and Nvidia are another story
It depends on whether or not Intel's been able to get the parts in the system builders hands prior to the announced release date (things are kept quiet due to NDA restrictions). Then there's lag time for the vendors to get systems made (assembled), packaged and shipped.
There's a lot in the timing that can go wrong though (delays), so it's not likely that you can ship a system on the day the CPU's it uses are announced.
In this case, it's a microcode update for Apple to support these processors, and it would be unusual for Intel not to provide this in advance so system integrators could announce products at the same time, but stranger things have happened. We shall know soon enough.
The Xeon 5400 series was launched November 11th, Dell were the first to offer systems the week before Christmas.
Why do you need an 8-core machine at all? Wouldn't a 4-core machine be a terrific improvement over an MBP which has (at most) 2 cores?
Will the (probably slight) overall speed improvement of 8 cores warrant living on baked beans for months? Not to me, it wouldn't. BTW IMO an excellent alternative to beans is Ramen noodles. Don't know how popular they are on the other side of the pond.
If you are unhappy with the price/performance of the entry level Mac Pro, you might consider buying a 4-core iMac instead.
That would be more than adequate, & would be about $3,000 US. Though in all honesty, I would not be the one to talk to about a used machine, as I personally like to buy new so I know what I'm getting & it is covered by warranty. - Did not look to see if it still had
care. -I think that even the base 4 core 2.66 would be more than adequate, especially if your used to working on a MBP, but the new release is sooo close????
Highly disagree with the use of an imac for video if it is the main function of the comp. Having to deal with a single FW port is not an option for video pro/semipro/ serious amateur IMO.
Does Compressor use all the cores as is, or do you have to tweak it somehow.
I've heard that FCP can only use 1.5 Gb of ram, do you know if this is true???
Thanks.
Any news on a new FC, I need to upgrade to use pro res so probably can't wait, but it'd be nice to be able to utilize those processors.