6 PCI Express slots is just too much. You still have finite motherboard bandwidth and adding too many cards doesn't make sense.
4 drive bays makes the case too large if we're talking 3.5" drives here. What I'd suggest is 3 drive bays which allow for internal RAID 5 or 2+ Terabytes of JBOD.
I'd like to see a GPU with HDMI or at least HDCP DVI ports for HD-DVD/Blu Ray support.
I'd love to see FW800/400 and eSATA outputs.
for the mobo I'd like to see
2 PCIe x16
1 PCIe x8
2 PCI x4
I'd like wireless/BT options on Mini-PCIe
I don't know if I'm telling you anything you dont know here, but you can run 3 full speed PCI slots off a single 1x PCI-E lane.
4x PCI-E cards are probably going to be pretty rare, as they are pretty rare now. It's hard to say how much bandwith some things actually can use, but I think a lot will be wasted in almost anything other than the graphics slots.
I think.
2 / 16x PCI-E
And
4 / 1X PCI-E (I really don't think many (if any) cards will need more than this.)
would free up for system bandwidth.The Nforce 16X PCI-E for Intel has 40 Lanes Flexible.
A great deal of the size of the current case has to do with near-paranoia about cooling and silent operation. A lot of the compactness of generic PC cases has to do with complete indifference to either or both. Not very many of the latter do all that well if you actually fill all the bays and slots with hot-running pro gear.
There's a middle ground in there somewhere which I hope Apple returns to. I'm not sure why people are optimistic about Apple's ability to return there in the near term, though, given that the new Intel-based products tend to run hotter.
In the case of internal expandability, the Xerve changes the equation. Most of Apple's PowerMac customers work in at least small shops where network storage is a major win for collaboration, and network rendering is a major time-saver. I believe the design of the PowerMacs will continue to reflect the fact that they are now clients on (gigabit+) networks. They will remain capable of heavy lifting, of course, but I doubt Apple feels anywhere near the pressure to have the PowerMac be a stand-alone, all-in-one-box solution as a primary design criterion anymore. There are certainly still people who use them that way, but that's not the question. The question is, how do most people use them? The answer is not what it was when I bought my 8600.
I've been a fan of the idea of putting something like the Xserve hot-swap drive in the PowerMac for a long time now. I doubt people would want the exact Xserve part, since it's not cheap and (IIRC) the drive comes with the assembly, limiting your options considerably. But lockable, push-to-release, hot-swap drive trays that accommodate 3.5" SATA drives would be pretty sweet. They're already out there (apparently they're the rage in Nashville) so it wouldn't be unprecedented, and the demand could be there.
As far as glossy Apple Displays... no. The high-gloss screens are less color accurate and they don't work well in direct lighting. Pro customers would revolt. The glossy displays are a consumer tech.
I've been a fan of the idea of putting something like the Xserve hot-swap drive in the PowerMac for a long time now. I doubt people would want the exact Xserve part, since it's not cheap and (IIRC) the drive comes with the assembly, limiting your options considerably. But lockable, push-to-release, hot-swap drive trays that accommodate 3.5" SATA drives would be pretty sweet. They're already out there (apparently they're the rage in Nashville) so it wouldn't be unprecedented, and the demand could be there.
Having 2 or more 5.25 external bays and a flexible hard drive swap system would allow some people I know buy Macs, and they really want to! Swapping drives is a requirement in certain labs and facilities.
Wheels at the bottom and carrying slots instead of external handles at the top
We have several PCS with the new ATX cases from Dell, HP and Fujitsu Siemens. They run really silent even if they do F@H and have 100% CPU load all the time. Slow spinning 120mm fans pump out that heat from Pentium 4 in almost silcence.And that in a case way smaller than a the G5, and with 2 optical bays as well as 3 3.5" bays
I think the case size is perfect. Any smaller, and they alienate their existing powermac user base, at least on the highend Pro side anyway. Apple says the PM is a Pro workstation, and for video, audio, 3D, or even a gamer the size, and features is right on.
The second you reduce the size your entering a new category. Not that that is a bad thing, but I think they prefer to reduce the options in the one case to keep inventories down.
If they offer a smaller case they need to reduce the price, and the only middle ground on the pricing is too close to the iMac. The low-end configuration of the current PM is as lose as they want it to get.
If they used two cases for the PM's; one for Conroe, and one for Woodcrest, and didn't include all the possible drive bay, and less PCI options in the SP versions, #1, half the people would complain that they wanted the SP configuration in the big tower for the added options, and #2, just reducing the size of the case, and offering less options in it really doesn't cost that much less on the builders end if you making things from the design on up. So the actual cost difference is not all that much IMO.
I'm sure Apple has plans, but they are not one to jump into things without thinking them out all the way through. I'm pretty sure the highend PM will still be big though.
Comments
Originally posted by hmurchison
6 PCI Express slots is just too much. You still have finite motherboard bandwidth and adding too many cards doesn't make sense.
4 drive bays makes the case too large if we're talking 3.5" drives here. What I'd suggest is 3 drive bays which allow for internal RAID 5 or 2+ Terabytes of JBOD.
I'd like to see a GPU with HDMI or at least HDCP DVI ports for HD-DVD/Blu Ray support.
I'd love to see FW800/400 and eSATA outputs.
for the mobo I'd like to see
2 PCIe x16
1 PCIe x8
2 PCI x4
I'd like wireless/BT options on Mini-PCIe
I don't know if I'm telling you anything you dont know here, but you can run 3 full speed PCI slots off a single 1x PCI-E lane.
4x PCI-E cards are probably going to be pretty rare, as they are pretty rare now. It's hard to say how much bandwith some things actually can use, but I think a lot will be wasted in almost anything other than the graphics slots.
I think.
2 / 16x PCI-E
And
4 / 1X PCI-E (I really don't think many (if any) cards will need more than this.)
would free up for system bandwidth.The Nforce 16X PCI-E for Intel has 40 Lanes Flexible.
I think they use one lane for the ethernet.
There's a middle ground in there somewhere which I hope Apple returns to. I'm not sure why people are optimistic about Apple's ability to return there in the near term, though, given that the new Intel-based products tend to run hotter.
In the case of internal expandability, the Xerve changes the equation. Most of Apple's PowerMac customers work in at least small shops where network storage is a major win for collaboration, and network rendering is a major time-saver. I believe the design of the PowerMacs will continue to reflect the fact that they are now clients on (gigabit+) networks. They will remain capable of heavy lifting, of course, but I doubt Apple feels anywhere near the pressure to have the PowerMac be a stand-alone, all-in-one-box solution as a primary design criterion anymore. There are certainly still people who use them that way, but that's not the question. The question is, how do most people use them? The answer is not what it was when I bought my 8600.
I've been a fan of the idea of putting something like the Xserve hot-swap drive in the PowerMac for a long time now. I doubt people would want the exact Xserve part, since it's not cheap and (IIRC) the drive comes with the assembly, limiting your options considerably. But lockable, push-to-release, hot-swap drive trays that accommodate 3.5" SATA drives would be pretty sweet. They're already out there (apparently they're the rage in Nashville) so it wouldn't be unprecedented, and the demand could be there.
As far as glossy Apple Displays... no. The high-gloss screens are less color accurate and they don't work well in direct lighting. Pro customers would revolt. The glossy displays are a consumer tech.
Originally posted by Amorph
I've been a fan of the idea of putting something like the Xserve hot-swap drive in the PowerMac for a long time now. I doubt people would want the exact Xserve part, since it's not cheap and (IIRC) the drive comes with the assembly, limiting your options considerably. But lockable, push-to-release, hot-swap drive trays that accommodate 3.5" SATA drives would be pretty sweet. They're already out there (apparently they're the rage in Nashville) so it wouldn't be unprecedented, and the demand could be there.
Having 2 or more 5.25 external bays and a flexible hard drive swap system would allow some people I know buy Macs, and they really want to! Swapping drives is a requirement in certain labs and facilities.
We have several PCS with the new ATX cases from Dell, HP and Fujitsu Siemens. They run really silent even if they do F@H and have 100% CPU load all the time. Slow spinning 120mm fans pump out that heat from Pentium 4 in almost silcence.And that in a case way smaller than a the G5, and with 2 optical bays as well as 3 3.5" bays
The second you reduce the size your entering a new category. Not that that is a bad thing, but I think they prefer to reduce the options in the one case to keep inventories down.
If they offer a smaller case they need to reduce the price, and the only middle ground on the pricing is too close to the iMac. The low-end configuration of the current PM is as lose as they want it to get.
If they used two cases for the PM's; one for Conroe, and one for Woodcrest, and didn't include all the possible drive bay, and less PCI options in the SP versions, #1, half the people would complain that they wanted the SP configuration in the big tower for the added options, and #2, just reducing the size of the case, and offering less options in it really doesn't cost that much less on the builders end if you making things from the design on up. So the actual cost difference is not all that much IMO.
I'm sure Apple has plans, but they are not one to jump into things without thinking them out all the way through. I'm pretty sure the highend PM will still be big though.