Out of curiosity, how much time lapsed between Intel selling these Penryn 5400 chips and Apple using them in their Mac Pros?
With Intel and Apple so tight these days—even offering the "Clovertown" quad-core to Apple's Mac Pro first—I would like to see new machines crop up almost immediately.
The chips are just now out in numbers. They were "released" in late November. Other manufacturers announced machines a month ago, but didn't ship.
Don't forget that Apple has gotten some chips earlier than other manufacturers, starting with Yonah.
Anbody know if the entry level machine features two CPU sockets?
I think we are still waiting for an answer. I read that MacWorld.com has purchased one of each new machine so at the very least we should find out when they receive it.
Anbody know if the entry level machine features two CPU sockets?
We already went over this.
The answer is that we don't know. Some think yes, some think no, and the rest are with you.
I guess we'll either have to wait until someone here gets one, and takes off the internal covers, or wait for one of the many web sites, and individuals, who over the years, have been doing this for us.
I'm sure a lot of people are waiting for the answer to this.
Just remember that even if a second socket is there, it will be a terrible pain to get to it, and buying a second processor will be at least as expensive as buying a machine with one installed.
The other question that has to be answered is whether the heatsinking on such a machine would cover both sockets, or just the one with the processor.
It would be horrible to buy the single machine, only to find that while there was a socket, there was no way to cool the second chip!
If it matters, I suggest that you hold off buying one for a couple of weeks to see .
GamePC.com lists all the Harpertown prices. Judging by the prices these are not what Intel charges, but the variation between them should be correct enough to form a general comparison.
If my calculations are correct, Apple could have used 2 quad-core intel Penryn "Harpertown" Xeons with 2.5 or 2.66GHz with a 1333MHz FSB for about the same price?if not cheaper?as using only one of the 2.8GHz with a 1600MHz FSB Penryn Xeon as they currently do. Furthermore, they all use the same 771 socket so there wouldn't be a need a alter the motherboard.
This would put the base model price several hundred below the current base model price and possibly even a few hundred below the $2,000 mark. i seem to recall people on this board bitching that the Mac Pro pricing starts over $2000.
I was thinking the same board could be used for the entire Harpertown line.
I found this site whcih lists prices but only for the 1333MHz lineup. Usually it's pretty easy to find the cost per thousand on Intel chips.
It's likely more expensive to manufacture the machine with two chips.There is twice as much inventory, the assembly lines need several extra steps. Testing is more complex, and they may need that extra cooling.
There must be a good reason why Apple went this way, despite there being more lines out to memory using two chips, and thus, more memory bandwidth.
The slower bus on those chips would also require Apple going back to 667 FB-DIMMS as well, on that machine. That would negate the dual busses available, and would again require double stocking of parts.
Comments
Out of curiosity, how much time lapsed between Intel selling these Penryn 5400 chips and Apple using them in their Mac Pros?
With Intel and Apple so tight these days—even offering the "Clovertown" quad-core to Apple's Mac Pro first—I would like to see new machines crop up almost immediately.
The chips are just now out in numbers. They were "released" in late November. Other manufacturers announced machines a month ago, but didn't ship.
Don't forget that Apple has gotten some chips earlier than other manufacturers, starting with Yonah.
Anbody know if the entry level machine features two CPU sockets?
I think we are still waiting for an answer. I read that MacWorld.com has purchased one of each new machine so at the very least we should find out when they receive it.
Anbody know if the entry level machine features two CPU sockets?
We already went over this.
The answer is that we don't know. Some think yes, some think no, and the rest are with you.
I guess we'll either have to wait until someone here gets one, and takes off the internal covers, or wait for one of the many web sites, and individuals, who over the years, have been doing this for us.
I'm sure a lot of people are waiting for the answer to this.
Just remember that even if a second socket is there, it will be a terrible pain to get to it, and buying a second processor will be at least as expensive as buying a machine with one installed.
The other question that has to be answered is whether the heatsinking on such a machine would cover both sockets, or just the one with the processor.
It would be horrible to buy the single machine, only to find that while there was a socket, there was no way to cool the second chip!
If it matters, I suggest that you hold off buying one for a couple of weeks to see .
The other question that has to be answered is whether the heatsinking on such a machine would cover both sockets, or just the one with the processor.
It would be horrible to buy the single machine, only to find that while there was a socket, there was no way to cool the second chip!
That is a good point. I wonder why they just didn't go with two slower Hapertown with a 1333MHz FSB.I am looking for CPU prices on these buy can't find any.
PS: I can't find any OEM that is selling the same Harpertowns that the Mac Pro uses.
That is a good point. I wonder why they just didn't go with two slower Hapertown with a 1333MHz FSB.I am looking for CPU prices on these buy can't find any.
PS: I can't find any OEM that is selling the same Harpertowns that the Mac Pro uses.
It's less expensive for Apple, I would imagine, IF Apple is using the same board.
These chips are too new to find them OEM (pretend, because it's really retail), or in actual retail sales yet.
It's less expensive for Apple, I would imagine, IF Apple is using the same board.
These chips are too new to find them OEM (pretend, because it's really retail), or in actual retail sales yet.
I was thinking the same board could be used for the entire Harpertown line.
I found this site whcih lists prices but only for the 1333MHz lineup. Usually it's pretty easy to find the cost per thousand on Intel chips.
If my calculations are correct, Apple could have used 2 quad-core intel Penryn "Harpertown" Xeons with 2.5 or 2.66GHz with a 1333MHz FSB for about the same price?if not cheaper?as using only one of the 2.8GHz with a 1600MHz FSB Penryn Xeon as they currently do. Furthermore, they all use the same 771 socket so there wouldn't be a need a alter the motherboard.This would put the base model price several hundred below the current base model price and possibly even a few hundred below the $2,000 mark. i seem to recall people on this board bitching that the Mac Pro pricing starts over $2000.
I was thinking the same board could be used for the entire Harpertown line.
I found this site whcih lists prices but only for the 1333MHz lineup. Usually it's pretty easy to find the cost per thousand on Intel chips.
It's likely more expensive to manufacture the machine with two chips.There is twice as much inventory, the assembly lines need several extra steps. Testing is more complex, and they may need that extra cooling.
There must be a good reason why Apple went this way, despite there being more lines out to memory using two chips, and thus, more memory bandwidth.
The slower bus on those chips would also require Apple going back to 667 FB-DIMMS as well, on that machine. That would negate the dual busses available, and would again require double stocking of parts.
If AMD continues to falter in 2008, Intel is likely to postpone Nehalem release.
Further, it is likely that desktop gets an initial release, followed by mobile and Xeon.
By this logic, I agree that Apple will NOT release any new Mac Pro hw till next year. Might be even later than January.
The place to release it is WWDC and I don't think they will release it this year on paper, if it takes them 3-8 months to start delivering.
Penryn family on whole was two months overdue from original schedule.
If AMD continues to falter in 2008, Intel is likely to postpone Nehalem release.
Further, it is likely that desktop gets an initial release, followed by mobile and Xeon.
By this logic, I agree that Apple will NOT release any new Mac Pro hw till next year. Might be even later than January.
The place to release it is WWDC and I don't think they will release it this year on paper, if it takes them 3-8 months to start delivering.
I will definitely take those odds.
You're giving the rumors that have abounded without ANY proof being shown by anyone.
The ADC is the best place to release them, and I'm betting it will be done there, or a bit afterwards.
Next year is way off base. Early next year is 32nm.