Apple's next Mac Pro may sport six-core processors

[AppleInsider]

A forthcoming update to the Mac Pro line could have short-term exclusivity of a new Intel Xeon six-core CPU early next year, according to a new rumor.

Citing an inside source, Hardmac has reported that Apple is testing the Gulftown Xeon chip in the new Mac Pro desktop. The chip is an improvement over the model currently being used in the 2009 model with more horsepower and lower power consumption.

The new 32 nanometer chips have 12MB of L3 cache, and 6 cores with 12 threads for each CPU. Apple usually doubles the processors in its high-end professional workstations, so it's possible the new Mac Pro system could have a total of 12 cores. The new hardware could be released sometime in the first quarter of 2010.

Gulftown is the codename of a yet-unreleased Intel chip. It will be sold under the Intel Core i9 name, while the server version is to be called the Xeon 5600 series. It will be the first dual-socket, six-core processor for Intel.

The report said that the new Mac Pro will have a modified motherboard with a 10Gbit/second Ethernet port. In addition, it is said to support 8GB and 16GB RAM modules, an increase from the 4GB offered today. That would mean the system could carry up to 128GB of RAM.

The new hardware is said to possibly arrive in early 2010, before the new chip enters mass production. If true, it is likely that the Mac maker would have short-term exclusive use of the new Xeon CPU.

"We currently do not know if all future Mac Pro models will be using this hexacore Xeon or if Apple will keep quad core XEon for the entry level model," the report said. "This could decrease significantly the price of the first Mac Pro, and maybe convince some Mac users desperately waiting for a Mac Pro mini to finally get one. It is also unclear if the enclosure will be modified or not."

If true, it wouldn't be the first time Apple had early access to a new Xeon chip. The last two revisions of the Mac Pro line had the first crack at their respective chips.

Earlier this year, Apple introduced a new Mac Pro with Nehalem Xeon processors. The 2.66GHz CPU offered 2.4 times increase of memory bandwidth with 40 percent lower memory latency over its predecessor. The current high-end 8-core Mac Pro offers two 2.26GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5500 series processors with 8MB of shared L3 cache.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[Joe The Dragon]

so now the mac pro can start at $3000 with a carp video card

[Outsider]

It's kind of aggravating that Apple stays on the cutting edge of Mac Pro hardware (minus the inclusion of lame graphics cards) but when it comes to their normal home lineup, the iMac and the increasingly pathetic mini, they lag years behind. Here hoping the iMac gets a decent CPU bump, even though I purchased an early 09 iMac already.

[Quadra 610]

It's hardly meant for general home use, hence the "Pro" label.

If you're a "Pro" you wouldn't be paying for it out of pocket. In most cases it can also be written off, too, if you can demonstrate it's for work/business/home-as-regular-business-establishment use.

[BenRoethig]

Well, $2699 going with the mandatory $200 increase. But look on the bright side, a laptop based dual core all in one with a 8GB ram ceiling (and only if you want to pay another $1000) is good enough because Apple says so. If you're doing anything beyond iLife, you obviously have an unlimited budget and spending under $5000 is just being cheap.

[BenRoethig]

Originally Posted by Quadra 610

It's hardly meant for general home use, hence the "Pro" label.

If you're a "Pro" you wouldn't be paying for it out of pocket. In most cases it can also be written off, too, if you can demonstrate it's for work/business/home-as-regular-business-establishment use.

Do they have help groups for a koolaid addiction this bad? Do you know anything of the world beyond Apple press releases?

[ediedi]

Originally Posted by Quadra 610

It's hardly meant for general home use, hence the "Pro" label.

If you're a "Pro" you wouldn't be paying for it out of pocket. In most cases it can also be written off, too, if you can demonstrate it's for work/business/home-as-regular-business-establishment use.

The 'Pro' label has been demoted since the 'introduction' (read: rename) of the macbook pro 13".

That being said, I don't deny that the Mac Pro deserves its name, and is one of the most desirable pieces of hardware. For me, it is the quintessential mac (power, quality and design). I agree that if you run a small/medium business (especially in the graphic design field) you have no excuse for not using a Pro.

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by BenRoethig

Do they have help groups for a koolaid addiction this bad? Do you know anything of the world beyond Apple press releases?

Ha, ha. He's by far the biggest chearleader on here- you can almost visualize the pom-poms flailing. Most amusing.

[Quadra 610]

Originally Posted by teckstud

Ha, ha. He's by far the biggest chearleader on here- you can almost visualize the pom-poms flailing. Most amusing.

It's Apple. Why wouldn't I be? And this is an Apple fansite. My question is, why are Windows trolls camping an Apple fansite? Now THAT would be most amusing if it weren't so sad.

[Postulant]

Anyway... back on subject. I'm due an upgrade, but 128 mb of memory? $$$$

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by Quadra 610

It's Apple. Why wouldn't I be?

Haha- didn't the people of Jonestown say the same thing about Jim Jones?

[LE Studios]

Originally Posted by Outsider

It's kind of aggravating that Apple stays on the cutting edge of Mac Pro hardware (minus the inclusion of lame graphics cards) but when it comes to their normal home lineup, the iMac and the increasingly pathetic mini, they lag years behind. Here hoping the iMac gets a decent CPU bump, even though I purchased an early 09 iMac already.

I bought the 2009 Mac mini. These computers are outdates as soon you bring it home because Apple already have a road map like everybody else. I'm sure that this Mac Pro especially a
Dual 6-core Gulfton will dust the 8-Core Mac Pro Nehalem. 128GB of ram I better start saving now put the 2010 Camaro off for next Christmas.

[DKWalsh4]

Originally Posted by Postulant

Anyway... back on subject. I'm due an upgrade, but 128 mb of memory? $$$$

Yes, see here

[Mario]

And it won't matter what video card you put in it, because it will perform worse than $50 video card in a windows PC.

[BenRoethig]

Originally Posted by Quadra 610

It's Apple. Why wouldn't I be? And this is an Apple fansite. My question is, why are Windows trolls camping an Apple fansite? Now THAT would be most amusing if it weren't so sad.

So everybody that doesn't unquestionably submit to Apple's will has got to be a windows troll right? You are truly delusional.

[Outsider]

What I hope to see in the new Mac Pro since my company will have to purchase about 6 of them early next year:

1. Rearange the CPU/memory drawer so single CPU models can support 6 DIMM slots and duals can support 12 slots. Since the CPUs will use less power and be 32nm, the heatsinks should be smaller allowing more room.
   
2. Default GPU have to be better than the GT120/130 you get in them now. The 5870 must be an option, and the standard graphics card needs to be a midrange card on the same level as the 48X0 series from ATI or an NVIDIA equivilant.
   
3. USB3 would be tits.
   
4. Blue Ray option for the content creation market. FCP is said to include support for it in a future release, so i think this is a given.

[Zoolook]

Originally Posted by Quadra 610

It's Apple. Why wouldn't I be? And this is an Apple fansite. My question is, why are Windows trolls camping an Apple fansite? Now THAT would be most amusing if it weren't so sad.

Just because someone is critical of Apple, doesn't mean they're a Windows Troll, as you put it. Being self critical is a sign of maturity and opens the way for continuous improvement.

It's a valid comment to ask why the gulf between the Tower Mac Pro and iMac lines is growing - in 2006, the gulf wasn't nearly this big. Of course, it's a semi-rhetorical question, because the answer is obvious.

Nehlam and Gulftown were very predictable, they're Intel's top of the line processors (current and near future respectively) and having them stuffed into the latest Apple tower is not a shock. Also the 1066mhz DDR3 architecture in MBPs put them slightly ahead of most HP and Dell machines during the last 6 months - a nice bonus. i9 and even more so, i7 are not suited to being crammed into the tiny spaces Apple allows for it's technology (there was never a Dual G5 in the iMac for the same reason) and so it's not a shock they're not present in the consumer lineup - besides, the i7 is really still at the cutting edge of Intel's lineup.

What's mildly surprising is the 3 year old tech sitting in the Mini and the iMac. The iMac should have gone Quad-Core this year (maybe it will during Fall) and the Mini looks poor against almost all Mini-ATX competitors that are far less expensive (the recent GF9400m is a nod in the right direction, but really too little too late, especially if your GPU is sharing a precious 1GB of RAM.) The Mini should really retail at $399 and $499 and ship with 4GBs of RAM as a minimum and include 7200rpm hdds as standard. In fact, if Apple was really acting in it's customer's best interests, it might consider putting the Athlon x4 in the Mini ($99 per CPU at retail prices, and would be able to stretch its legs in Snow Leopard, and put Phenom II in the iMac (it runs cool even at 3.2ghz and is quicker than any C2D Quad).

Saying this doesn't make me an Apple hater, or a Windows troll, it's just me expressing an opinion, which is fairly objective and should not really be antagonistic.

[technohermit]

Originally Posted by BenRoethig

So everybody that doesn't unquestionably submit to Apple's will has got to be a windows troll right? You are truly delusional.

Delusional indeed. Where the hell is the pro-sumer tower? This is a never ending go nowhere discussion, kinda tired of it.

[Quadra 610]

Originally Posted by BenRoethig

So everybody that doesn't unquestionably submit to Apple's will has got to be a windows troll right? You are truly delusional.

If you come on an Apple fansite to constantly provide dissenting opinion at every turn, you're a Windows troll. If you provide dissenting opinion at every turn just for the sake of it, you're even worse.

[Quadra 610]

Originally Posted by technohermit

Delusional indeed. Where the hell is the pro-sumer tower? This is a never ending go nowhere discussion, kinda tired of it.

Nowhere. Because there's no demand for it, and because it's difficult enough to sell desktops in this market to begin with.

[jocknerd]

I need to replace my aging PowerPC Dual 2.0ghz G5. But I see nothing from Apple to replace it with. An iMac is a downgrade even if it is faster. But I can't justify spending $4k on a Mac Pro. Come on Apple. I'd be happy with the Mac Pro with the single processor, but leave it to Apple to cripple it with the lack of memory slots.

[Quadra 610]

Originally Posted by jocknerd

I need to replace my aging PowerPC Dual 2.0ghz G5. But I see nothing from Apple to replace it with. An iMac is a downgrade even if it is faster. But I can't justify spending $4k on a Mac Pro. Come on Apple. I'd be happy with the Mac Pro with the single processor, but leave it to Apple to cripple it with the lack of memory slots.

You sure you need the power of a Mac Pro?

[geekdad]

Originally Posted by Quadra 610

If you come on an Apple fansite to constantly provide dissenting opinion at every turn, you're a Windows troll. If you provide dissenting opinion at every turn just for the sake of it, you're even worse.

True this is a Apple fansite and forum. But people shouldn't be attacked just because they disagree with some of Apple product offerings.
I won't spend 4 grand on a Mac Pro but wil either wait to see it Apple surprises me and releases a mid tower machine or I will build my own comaparable machine for about half the price and still be able to install OS X on it.......
Now I know I'll get blsted for that...but that is the truth......
Quadra 610....you seem to take everything so personal when some disagrees with you....relax dude....... its not personal.......just differing opinions.....

[ChrisManuel]

Great! Now I can watch 11 cores idling while Final Cut renders or Logic bounces or Motion renders or Compressor works. I did drink the cool aid when I upgraded from G5 to 8 core Intel. Motion renders faster on an iMac than the Mac Pro with the upgraded (from Apple) video card.

I know Compressor/qmaster can be configured to use all the cores, but only for projects that have already been rendered.

Truth in advertising suggests re-naming the Mac Pro as the "Mac Gifted Amateur".

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by Quadra 610

If you come on an Apple fansite to constantly provide dissenting opinion at every turn, you're a Windows troll. If you provide dissenting opinion at every turn just for the sake of it, you're even worse.

And if you can't think for yourself and need to classify people trolls by various degrees just because they might disagree with something, anything Apple than what are you? No one on are here constantly does what you accuse them of- THAT'S only coming from your own warped fanbot imagination.

[Roc Ingersol]

Originally Posted by Zoolook

It's a valid comment to ask why the gulf between the Tower Mac Pro and iMac lines is growing

Because the average person has been over-supplied with compute resources since before the end of the megahertz races. The vast majority of mini and iMac users wouldn't notice the difference between a dual, quad or hexacore processor.

Sure, there's a would-be segment of gaming enthusiasts who would love a beefier machine for under 3k. But that's a segment that Apple has long-chosen not to serve.

[DanielDecker]

Originally Posted by Quadra 610

Nowhere. Because there's no demand for it, and because it's difficult enough to sell desktops in this market to begin with.

Just because you don't demand one, doesn't mean there is no demand at all. A mid-level tower is likely the MOST questioned absence in Apple's lineup. I would love a Mac Pro, but they are pricey. I love my 2006 vintage 24" iMac, but I'd love to be able to upgrade it even more. Mid-level tower with maybe 3 slots and 2 HD sleds would be the shiznit. Look beyond the nose on your face. The world is larger than what you seem to perceive.

[Outsider]

Originally Posted by Quadra 610

You sure you need the power of a Mac Pro?

Only he is the judge of what he needs. What he (or she) is willing to spend versus his wants and needs. For me the iMac is good enough, but for someone else, lets say a freelancer who relies heavily on video editing software or other content creation software, the iMac may not have enough power. Particularly for photographers who may not appreciate the high brightness, high gloss display coupled with the iMac.

There is a huge gulf in Apple's offerings.

[DanielSW]

We're going to buy two of these new Pro's, as we'll probably be able to wait until whenever they come out.

We've bought tower Macs numerous times over the years, each time getting the fastest and the most RAM we could afford, and each time seeing new, faster ones come out not long afterwards. No biggie. You get what you need when you need it. No regrets.

Of course, there's always the need for more processing power when using Adobe Creative Suite apps and Luxology Modo.

So now we'll have more processors and more memory. It'll be interesting to experience the benefits of Snow Leopard.

Next step up is 64-bit apps, for each to be able to access more than 4GB.

I know Modo is being re-written in 64-bit Cocoa, as there is no 64-bit Carbon.

My newer 24" iMac with 4GB of RAM was a nice "baby step" up from my 2.0 GHz dualie G5 PPC. But the limited RAM is a barrier.

But at least we'll have more RAM so we can keep more apps open simultaneously.

[DKWalsh4]

Originally Posted by teckstud

And if you can't think for yourself and need to classify people trolls by various degrees just because they might disagree with something, anything Apple than what are you? No one on are here constantly does what you accuse them of- THAT'S only coming from your own warped fanbot imagination.

Please direct us to the last pro-Apple comment you've had. Or for that matter, please point us to the last thread you haven't mentioned:

a) lack of matte screens on iMac's
b) the heat of the ATV and no on/off switch
c) the iPhone not running more than one app at a time
d) the iPhone not running flash
e) how stupid the LP format is
f) some mention of koolaid, fanbois, juice, etc

The list can go on and on.

[glimonez]

Originally Posted by Quadra 610

If you come on an Apple fansite to constantly provide dissenting opinion at every turn, you're a Windows troll. If you provide dissenting opinion at every turn just for the sake of it, you're even worse.

I agree, added to my ignore list. Just look at his signature. If he doesn't want to be "attacked" for his point of view, there are tons of tech websites and boards he can contribute to.

Gabe

[Quadra 610]

Originally Posted by Roc Ingersol

Because the average person has been over-supplied with compute resources since before the end of the megahertz races. The vast majority of mini and iMac users wouldn't notice the difference between a dual, quad or hexacore processor.

Sure, there's a would-be segment of gaming enthusiasts who would love a beefier machine for under 3k. But that's a segment that Apple has long-chosen not to serve.

This. It's common sense, but it isn't always apparent, for some reason.

[geekdad]

Originally Posted by Quadra 610

This. It's common sense, but it isn't always apparent, for some reason.

Quadra 610 concerning your signature....Have you read Paul Thurrott's comments about Apple and Steve Jobs SINCE 2004?
I could send you the links........ or you could Google it.....Thurrott is the ultimate MS supporter and not that kind to Apple or Mac OS X since that quote.....

[Zoolook]

Originally Posted by Roc Ingersol

Because the average person has been over-supplied with compute resources since before the end of the megahertz races. The vast majority of mini and iMac users wouldn't notice the difference between a dual, quad or hexacore processor.

Sure, there's a would-be segment of gaming enthusiasts who would love a beefier machine for under 3k. But that's a segment that Apple has long-chosen not to serve.

Sorry, but I think you're wrong. Apple made a pretty big deal about the difference between PPC chips and the old Pentium lineup, especially in the iMac lineup (there are videos all over YouTube of Schiller and Jobs doing speed tests with Photoshop and other things, on iMacs. So Apple does (or did) care about performance.) Also things like introducing DDR memory and the 9400m into low-end machines tell us they care about the user experience.

You comment is also slightly ironic, as Apple have done the opposite to what you suggest on laptops (giving 'far too much power' to the 'average' user, but refusing to get into the Netbook market which provides a 'good enough' experience).

Apple's motivations and product line have little to do with what users want, and everything to do with where the biggest profit margins are. That is fine, it's their business model, but being told otherwise on forums is insulting to one's intelligence.

Also, unless you've actually experienced using a very powerful machine, it's hard to know what you're missing out on. But 8GBs of RAM and a fast QuadCore processor shouldn't need to cost $3000 or even half that. I can only imagine what OS X is like running on such a powerful machine, but I know what Win7/Vista is like on such a machine; it's a lot of fun!

[NonVendorFan]

Originally Posted by geekdad

Quadra 610 concerning your signature....Have you read Paul Thurrott's comments about Apple and Steve Jobs SINCE 2004?
I could send you the links........ or you could Google it.....Thurrott is the ultimate MS supporter and not that kind to Apple or Mac OS X since that quote.....

Here's Paul Thurrott Super Site for Windows home page. Good site and normally very good informative writing.

http://www.winsupersite.com/

[Gazoobee]

Originally Posted by DKWalsh4

Please direct us to the last pro-Apple comment you've had. Or for that matter, please point us to the last thread you haven't mentioned:

a) lack of matte screens on iMac's
b) the heat of the ATV and no on/off switch
c) the iPhone not running more than one app at a time
d) the iPhone not running flash
e) how stupid the LP format is
f) some mention of koolaid, fanbois, juice, etc

The list can go on and on.

Nicely put!

I noticed this also in that teckstud is pretty much all about calling everyone "fanbois," judging them, categorising them, etc. but here he criticises people for doing just that.

IMO (and I've been on a lot of these forums or many years), the minute you call someone a "fanboi" in a post, you should go back and erase it and think of a more concrete criticism. It just shows that you don't have an argument when you resort to such name calling. It's juvenile, meaningless, and reflects more on the person using the term than it does on whomever they are accusing.

It's like saying "I don't actually have an argument, so I'm just going to assume that you are biased."

There are valid, logical reasons for liking or preferring one product over another, or one companies products over another. Just because someone is always or mostly in favour of a product or company doesn't necessarily mean there is any bias involved.

Ending an argument, (or trying to), by saying "oh well, your just a fanboi anyway" is just so childishly dumb (and lame). While most of us use may that term in extreme cases, IMO it's always a mistake. If that's all someone has for an argument, they just don't have one.

[geekdad]

Originally Posted by NonVendorFan

Here's Paul Thurrott Super Site for Windows home page. Good site and normally very good informative writing.

http://www.winsupersite.com/

Yeah I like his site for some of his info on Windows stuff.
He has some very good info for Windows.

[Rob55]

Originally Posted by Outsider

[*]Blue Ray option for the content creation market. FCP is said to include support for it in a future release, so i think this is a given.[/LIST]

Already in there. You can "share" to Blu-ray directly from FC7 or Compressor 3.5. Haven't tried it yet 'cause I don't have a BR drive, but I have made BR format DVDs directly from FC7.

[addabox]

Originally Posted by Joe The Dragon

so now the mac pro can start at $3000 with a carp video card

Good catch. Seems a little fishy.

[ChrisManuel]

Originally Posted by Rob55

Already in there. You can "share" to Blu-ray directly from FC7 or Compressor 3.5. Haven't tried it yet 'cause I don't have a BR drive, but I have made BR format DVDs directly from FC7.

Blu-ray uses H.264 or MPEG2 for compression. Both CODECs have been supported in FCP and Compressor for a long time. What's missing is any ability to author Blu-Ray compatible discs (add menuing or any other value-added feature) from Apple's "pro" apps. Of course Apple responds with the statement that Blu-ray isn't a finalized standard so they are going to wait to support it when it's final. It's enough of a standard that Blockbuster rents and sells the discs but maybe that isn't mass market enough for the iPhone company.