Grawer. My desktop is the biege "Digital Audio" model back from Spring 2001. And today I encountered YET ANOTHER reason why I need a new Mac Pro and why Apple needs to get off their butts and release updates.
To start, this is a 733 MHz model that doesn't allow internal hard drives above 120 GB and has a 1.5 GB RAM limit. Two years ago I updated the processor to 1.6 GHz.
The first problem was during a power outage in Spring '06 (or maybe '07 ... doesn't really matter). It shorted out the fan in the PSU, causing the computer to thermally overheat and shut down after 5 minutes of being on. The fix was that I bought a CPU fan and literally taped it to the back of the tower with packing tape in a way to draw the hot air out of the computer.
The latest problem is that since 2004, I've suffered 1 hard drive death per year, generally between August and December. My spare internal drive was the next to go, and it died last weekend - luckily I've been backing up weekly. I was at a conference this week so didn't get to replacing it 'til today.
The problem is that last time I did hard drive maintenance, I must've screwed in the screws too hard - I can't get them out!! When the screw driver does turn, it just strips the screws. And I really don't want to drill them out. So at the moment, I have the case sitting open with a spare internal drive sorta standing in a vertical position because it won't fit elsewhere because my hard drive ribbon is too short.
I think it's mildly humorous the lengths I'm going to to prolong the life of this machine, but it's really getting to the point - combined with $3k I've saved over the last 15 months for a new Mac Pro - where Apple needs to update their Mac Pro offerings so I can get a new one!!!
Sorry - I just needed to rant and I figured this would be a good place.
P.S. - Yes, I do actually "need" a Mac Pro with 4 or 8 cores. I do a lot of heavy coding for my research that requires reading large data sets and manipulating them. I also do a lot of digital photography (just got back from a trip where I took ~500 photos in 24 hrs, many of them ~15 shots that need to be stitched together into a panorama ... and these are 8 Mpx shots that I work with in TIFF at 16 bit) so need the storage space, speed, and RAM expandability. In addition to normal, every-day stuff. And as I've posted here before, I have no desire to pay 2006 prices for 2006 hardware in 2007, especially when an update to the lineup should be so soon.
P.P.S. - The machine I plan on getting is the middle processor configuration, 1 TB disk (2x500 GB) plus a 120 GB, 6 GB RAM (2 GB Apple base + 4 GB third-party), and my parents are chipping in for a 30" ACD. So yeah, having the whole thing spec'ed out already AND the money in waiting doesn't help.
To start, this is a 733 MHz model that doesn't allow internal hard drives above 120 GB and has a 1.5 GB RAM limit. Two years ago I updated the processor to 1.6 GHz.
The first problem was during a power outage in Spring '06 (or maybe '07 ... doesn't really matter). It shorted out the fan in the PSU, causing the computer to thermally overheat and shut down after 5 minutes of being on. The fix was that I bought a CPU fan and literally taped it to the back of the tower with packing tape in a way to draw the hot air out of the computer.
The latest problem is that since 2004, I've suffered 1 hard drive death per year, generally between August and December. My spare internal drive was the next to go, and it died last weekend - luckily I've been backing up weekly. I was at a conference this week so didn't get to replacing it 'til today.
The problem is that last time I did hard drive maintenance, I must've screwed in the screws too hard - I can't get them out!! When the screw driver does turn, it just strips the screws. And I really don't want to drill them out. So at the moment, I have the case sitting open with a spare internal drive sorta standing in a vertical position because it won't fit elsewhere because my hard drive ribbon is too short.
I think it's mildly humorous the lengths I'm going to to prolong the life of this machine, but it's really getting to the point - combined with $3k I've saved over the last 15 months for a new Mac Pro - where Apple needs to update their Mac Pro offerings so I can get a new one!!!
Sorry - I just needed to rant and I figured this would be a good place.
P.S. - Yes, I do actually "need" a Mac Pro with 4 or 8 cores. I do a lot of heavy coding for my research that requires reading large data sets and manipulating them. I also do a lot of digital photography (just got back from a trip where I took ~500 photos in 24 hrs, many of them ~15 shots that need to be stitched together into a panorama ... and these are 8 Mpx shots that I work with in TIFF at 16 bit) so need the storage space, speed, and RAM expandability. In addition to normal, every-day stuff. And as I've posted here before, I have no desire to pay 2006 prices for 2006 hardware in 2007, especially when an update to the lineup should be so soon.
P.P.S. - The machine I plan on getting is the middle processor configuration, 1 TB disk (2x500 GB) plus a 120 GB, 6 GB RAM (2 GB Apple base + 4 GB third-party), and my parents are chipping in for a 30" ACD. So yeah, having the whole thing spec'ed out already AND the money in waiting doesn't help.
