If they hold to pattern, I would expect Final Cut Studio 3 at NAB09, it has been given a major update every other year, and announced on the week of NAB. And it might justify a NAB booth. This year being the "off" year, I guess it didn't make sense to have an expensive booth to show off last year's product.
Apple didn't show up at the Pro Photo Expo here in NYC this year either, after having appeared the past two years. I guess it's giving up on the idea of Aperture being a professional program.
The only different between the Core i7 Bloomfield and xeon 5500 gainestown is the that gainestown has a second quickpath connection. Performance should be pretty much identical. The Xeons are going to be released after the the Core i7.
Now that's the interesting thing. Intel has been stating that the server, workstation line would be released first, that's the Xeons.
I can't see them hiking the price up, it's not going to happen. Maybe the so called 6 core Xeon (Dunnington) and a new graphic boards might be on offer. A 9 series Nvidia.
Take a look at the latest release of MacBooks. A price hike cannot be discarded, looking at Apple's history.
Intel never said the server/workstation Nehalem chips would be out first. Where did you read that?
Just about on every tech site in the past six months, including here.
Server/workstation chips 4th quarter 2008. high end/medium desktop parts late first quarter, seond quarter. lower end chips third quarter, with mobile parts following.
That's been the roadmap.
It's kind of late, even for me, so I'll just post the conclusions from this Anandtech article recently published.
Just about on every tech site in the past six months, including here.
Server/workstation chips 4th quarter 2008. high end/medium desktop parts late first quarter, seond quarter. lower end chips third quarter, with mobile parts following.
The first three desktop Nehalem processors are due to begin shipping today 14th November to suppliers/wholesalers, i.e. Q4 '08 and not late Q1 '09. The Nehalem Xeons were always set for Q1 '09. This was always the road map. Intel has been clear about it for a long time. Some sites must be confused, basing their ideas about what will happen on what has happened before rather than getting their facts straight. It is unusual for the desktop CPUs to be released before their workstation/server counterparts but this is indeed what's happening with Nehalem.
No one seems to be mentioning the fact that Nehalem supports hyperthreading. This could possibly deliver significant performance gains for Mac OS X Leopard and even more for Snow Leopard given how multithreaded they are/will be. So those concerned about what gain there is in these processors really need to realise these are significantly re-architected processors delivering major performance improvements. An 8-way Mac Pro will have an additional 8 virtual processing cores taking it to a total of 16. With Snow Leopard utilising the GPU(s) too you could be looking at several more.
Most of the nehalem motherbaord will still have a 2-chip chipset, since the new I/O hub will only have PCIe lanes and QPI links, a standard ICH chip will be used of the other things like USB/SATA/Legacy ports and more PCIe lanes.
Did you spot the mistake in these diagrams? It's not necessarily a design mistake... it's more the label they've stuck on the Southbridge. These are obviously not sourced from Intel itself.
With the increased cost of the Xeons, would Apple go with i7s for the Mac Pro, which superficially looks like it could increase performance while lowering the cost of the machine.
PS: The main AI article has been updated with charts.
Depends. The x58 (tylersburg) motherboard would use the same exact drivers whether it have one or two sockets. It would save Apple and the consumer a lot of money if the single CPU variant were using a core i7/ Xeon 3500 (same processor) and a single socket x58. That being said, Apple really wants to push a major distinction between consumer whether it exists in the real world or not. The last three Power Mac/ Mac Pro updates have also included price increases. ($500, $150, $150).
I'm not as worried about yet another round of niddling changes to the CPU's, when do we ever get graphics options that come anywhere near matching the power available in the Mac Pro?
If I see another single card-only, 512MB only "new" graphics card on a new Mac I'm calling Dell. It's ridiculous already Apple - processors that will smoke anything out there and graphics technology from two years ago.
Depends. The x58 (tylersburg) motherboard would use the same exact drivers whether it have one or two sockets. It would save Apple and the consumer a lot of money if the single CPU variant were using a core i7/ Xeon 3500 (same processor) and a single socket x58. That being said, Apple really wants to push a major distinction between consumer whether it exists in the real world or not. The last three Power Mac/ Mac Pro updates have also included price increases. ($500, $150, $150).
Good points. If Apple can reduce prices but keep margins the same, they will d o it since it means more sales.
The Three Xenon chips that have been making the rounds are the i7 965 Extreme 3.2 GHz at $999, the 940 2.93 GHz at $562, and the 920 2.66 GHz at $284.
Take a note of these desktop prices.
Because PC Towers will have those long before the iMac goes Nehalem or the Mac Pro goes Nehalem Xeon Pro. Which means that a 2.66 gig Quad i7 Desktop part will likely be in £1000-£1600 Tower rigs. While Apple will likely be waiting to charge us between £2000-£3000 for Mac Pro 'Servers' next year sometime... The 2.66 i7 is a quarter of the price of the top end desktop part and a fraction of the Xeon i7 part while being very close in performance to the top end model in probably desktop or server case. And, noteworthy, the 2.66 i7 desktop part makes lightwork of any Penryn chip.
My point. It would be REALLY nice to see NON-SERVER chip used in a mid-tower or 'low-end' Mac Pro and the price 'cut' passed on accordingly...and a choice of a Radeon 4870x2 with 2 gigs of memory on board.
However, I suspect, due to Apple's 'rigid' desktop model, we can just as well try to kiss our...because we'll have more of a chance of the latter happening.
I'm not as worried about yet another round of niddling changes to the CPU's, when do we ever get graphics options that come anywhere near matching the power available in the Mac Pro?
If I see another single card-only, 512MB only "new" graphics card on a new Mac I'm calling Dell. It's ridiculous already Apple - processors that will smoke anything out there and graphics technology from two years ago.
Hahahahahahahahahah. You're kidding right?
See my tag-line.
After a whole year, Apple haven't got anywhere near competitive with their GPUs on their overpriced Mac Pro kit. They (strangely) don't give the user the choice. But PC users can buy £1000 rigs with better GPUs in than the Mac Pro costing £600+ more. Once PC rig from OVerclockers.co.uk for £1100 has a Radeon 4870x2 with 2 gigs of Ram onboard. That's as much crappy system ram as Apple gives you in the Mac Pro. Eg where's the 9000 series Nvs? Nvs 280 series? Or the Ati 4800 series? Any of these smack the bitch up of the 8800GT, an old card from even older technology that has been out years now.
The first three desktop Nehalem processors are due to begin shipping today 14th November to suppliers/wholesalers, i.e. Q4 '08 and not late Q1 '09. The Nehalem Xeons were always set for Q1 '09. This was always the road map. Intel has been clear about it for a long time. Some sites must be confused, basing their ideas about what will happen on what has happened before rather than getting their facts straight. It is unusual for the desktop CPUs to be released before their workstation/server counterparts but this is indeed what's happening with Nehalem.
Apparently, these are the first chips to hit RETAIL. That's likely where the confusion is.
Quote:
No one seems to be mentioning the fact that Nehalem supports hyperthreading. This could possibly deliver significant performance gains for Mac OS X Leopard and even more for Snow Leopard given how multithreaded they are/will be. So those concerned about what gain there is in these processors really need to realise these are significantly re-architected processors delivering major performance improvements. An 8-way Mac Pro will have an additional 8 virtual processing cores taking it to a total of 16. With Snow Leopard utilising the GPU(s) too you could be looking at several more.
Intel stated this quite a while ago. I mentioned it over a year ago here.
Just about on every tech site in the past six months, including here.
Server/workstation chips 4th quarter 2008. high end/medium desktop parts late first quarter, seond quarter. lower end chips third quarter, with mobile parts following.
That's been the roadmap.
Except that's never been the roadmap. It may be what rumor sites that make crap up said (including this one), but the i7 has always been a vague "Q4" 2008 and the Xeon has always been Q1 2009.
I sort of figured Intel would launch a few Xeon models around the same time as the i7, since they're basically the same thing and that would allow Apple to introduce new Mac Pros sooner, but that was never reflected in any roadmap. That was just my thinking.
Apparently, these are the first chips to hit RETAIL. That's likely where the confusion is.
Um, what? I don't get you. I think I had it right the first time. The sites presumed the Xeons would be available first because for recent Q3/Q4 introductions it has been those first. Whether it's retail or or to System Builders has not made any difference to launch dates in the past.
While it itself isn't always accurate; you should trust Wikipedia before you trust other web sites.
Quote:
Originally Posted by melgross
Intel stated this quite a while ago. I mentioned it over a year ago here.
My statement was in the context of this current article and this current discussion. I wasn't stupid enough to think I was the first to declare the information. It was for the guys who are moaning about the price hike. The article should have referred to it too since it is more relevant to Mac OS X than it is to Windows Vista and XP.
Depends. The x58 (tylersburg) motherboard would use the same exact drivers whether it have one or two sockets. It would save Apple and the consumer a lot of money if the single CPU variant were using a core i7/ Xeon 3500 (same processor) and a single socket x58. That being said, Apple really wants to push a major distinction between consumer whether it exists in the real world or not. The last three Power Mac/ Mac Pro updates have also included price increases. ($500, $150, $150).
Ben remember that there will be 4 different new "northbridges" (what you call X58). Some with one QPI link, some with two QPI links, some with 24 PCIe lanes, some with 36 PCIe lanes. While it is technically possible to build a motherboard ready for dual-cpus (that has dual QPI links, two sockets and two groups of RAM slots - one for each cpu) and use it as a single cpu motherboard, it may be confusing, since not only one socket will not be filled but also the second group of RAM slots will not be usable. Also if you decide to upgrade to a dual cpu configuration, you will need to change the previous processor for one with dual QPI links (more expensive) too. Also the dual QPI links "northbridge" will be probably much more expensive than a single QPI link one (given what we know about the price difference between a Core i7 cpu and a nehalem Xeon at similar clocks: a $700 average premium).
One way or the other, expect prices of Core i7/dual nehalem Xeon Mac Pros to be in the following range:
$1499 single quad 2.66 (Core i7 920) as base model
$1999 single quad 2.93 (Core i7 940) +500
$2499 single quad 3.20 (Core i7 965) +1000
$2799 dual quad 2.53 (2x X5540) as base model
$3499 dual quad 2.66 (2x X5550) +700
$3999 dual quad 2.80 (2x X5560) +1200
$4399 dual quad 2.93 (2x X5570) +1600
$4799 dual quad 3.20 (2x W5580) +2000
In italic, what some people may dream of (included me). In bold, Apple's probable choices. Apple tax included.
Pricing would be slightly different if Apple chooses a different base model.
Good points. If Apple can reduce prices but keep margins the same, they will d o it since it means more sales.
Apple would make probably the same amount of money they do on the current 2.8 xeon single using the x38/48 motherboard with a 2.8ghz quad core 2. yet it would cost the consumer several hundred less.
Apple wants to keep their product lines nice and tidy with no overlap. A cheaper Mac Pro would overlap with the higher end variants of the iMac. Apple doesn't want that overlaps whether those higher end iMacs are actually of use to the user or not.
Ben remember that there will be 4 different new "northbridges" (what you call X58). Some with one QPI link, some with two QPI links, some with 24 PCIe lanes, some with 36 PCIe lanes. While it is technically possible to build a motherboard ready for dual-cpus (that has dual QPI links, two sockets and two groups of RAM slots - one for each cpu) and use it as a single cpu motherboard, it may be confusing, since not only one socket will not be filled but also the second group of RAM slots will not be usable. Also if you decide to upgrade to a dual cpu configuration, you will need to change the previous processor for one with dual QPI links (more expensive) too. Also the dual QPI links "northbridge" will be probably much more expensive than a single QPI link one (given what we know about the price difference between a Core i7 cpu and a nehalem Xeon at similar clocks: a $700 average premium).
One way or the other, expect prices of Core i7/dual nehalem Xeon Mac Pros to be in the following range:
$1499 single quad 2.66 (Core i7 920) as base model
$1999 single quad 2.93 (Core i7 940) +500
$2499 single quad 3.20 (Core i7 965) +1000
$2799 dual quad 2.53 (2x X5540) as base model
$3499 dual quad 2.66 (2x X5550) +700
$3999 dual quad 2.80 (2x X5560) +1200
$4399 dual quad 2.93 (2x X5570) +1600
$4799 dual quad 3.20 (2x W5580) +2000
In italic, what some people may dream of (included me). In bold, Apple's probable choices. Apple tax included.
Pricing would be slightly different if Apple chooses a different base model.
The Tylersburg/ x58 series has 4 different variants and all are designed to connect to the same socket 1366 CPUs and the same south bridge. Its much like the U3/4 families from the G5 days where there was the Light version for the iMac and low end PowerMac, a standard version, and a heavy version. In this case you have 1 QP/24, 1 QP/32, 2 QP/24, and 2 QP/32
Just like Apple used different variants of U3/4, there is nothing that says that Apple can use just one variant of the Tylersburg series and one alone. Apple could use the 1QP/24 plus Bloomsfield in a single CPU setting and 2QP/32 plus gainstown in a twin CPU setting.
Except that's never been the roadmap. It may be what rumor sites that make crap up said (including this one), but the i7 has always been a vague "Q4" 2008 and the Xeon has always been Q1 2009.
I sort of figured Intel would launch a few Xeon models around the same time as the i7, since they're basically the same thing and that would allow Apple to introduce new Mac Pros sooner, but that was never reflected in any roadmap. That was just my thinking.
Well, more recently, Intel has made some adjustments to the roadmap. But, somewhere, I had links with their slides showing it. That was a while ago though. And Anandtech, ARs and others AREN'T rumor sites, they're pretty well respected tech sites.
Comments
If they hold to pattern, I would expect Final Cut Studio 3 at NAB09, it has been given a major update every other year, and announced on the week of NAB. And it might justify a NAB booth. This year being the "off" year, I guess it didn't make sense to have an expensive booth to show off last year's product.
Apple didn't show up at the Pro Photo Expo here in NYC this year either, after having appeared the past two years. I guess it's giving up on the idea of Aperture being a professional program.
The only different between the Core i7 Bloomfield and xeon 5500 gainestown is the that gainestown has a second quickpath connection. Performance should be pretty much identical. The Xeons are going to be released after the the Core i7.
Now that's the interesting thing. Intel has been stating that the server, workstation line would be released first, that's the Xeons.
All Nehalems are now labeled i7.
Now that's the interesting thing. Intel has been stating that the server, workstation line would be released first, that's the Xeons.
All Nehalems are now labeled i7.
Intel never said the server/workstation Nehalem chips would be out first. Where did you read that?
I can't see them hiking the price up, it's not going to happen. Maybe the so called 6 core Xeon (Dunnington) and a new graphic boards might be on offer. A 9 series Nvidia.
Take a look at the latest release of MacBooks. A price hike cannot be discarded, looking at Apple's history.
Intel never said the server/workstation Nehalem chips would be out first. Where did you read that?
Just about on every tech site in the past six months, including here.
Server/workstation chips 4th quarter 2008. high end/medium desktop parts late first quarter, seond quarter. lower end chips third quarter, with mobile parts following.
That's been the roadmap.
It's kind of late, even for me, so I'll just post the conclusions from this Anandtech article recently published.
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets...px?i=3382&p=15
Just about on every tech site in the past six months, including here.
Server/workstation chips 4th quarter 2008. high end/medium desktop parts late first quarter, seond quarter. lower end chips third quarter, with mobile parts following.
The first three desktop Nehalem processors are due to begin shipping today 14th November to suppliers/wholesalers, i.e. Q4 '08 and not late Q1 '09. The Nehalem Xeons were always set for Q1 '09. This was always the road map. Intel has been clear about it for a long time. Some sites must be confused, basing their ideas about what will happen on what has happened before rather than getting their facts straight. It is unusual for the desktop CPUs to be released before their workstation/server counterparts but this is indeed what's happening with Nehalem.
No one seems to be mentioning the fact that Nehalem supports hyperthreading. This could possibly deliver significant performance gains for Mac OS X Leopard and even more for Snow Leopard given how multithreaded they are/will be. So those concerned about what gain there is in these processors really need to realise these are significantly re-architected processors delivering major performance improvements. An 8-way Mac Pro will have an additional 8 virtual processing cores taking it to a total of 16. With Snow Leopard utilising the GPU(s) too you could be looking at several more.
D
Most of the nehalem motherbaord will still have a 2-chip chipset, since the new I/O hub will only have PCIe lanes and QPI links, a standard ICH chip will be used of the other things like USB/SATA/Legacy ports and more PCIe lanes.
Did you spot the mistake in these diagrams? It's not necessarily a design mistake... it's more the label they've stuck on the Southbridge. These are obviously not sourced from Intel itself.
With the increased cost of the Xeons, would Apple go with i7s for the Mac Pro, which superficially looks like it could increase performance while lowering the cost of the machine. PS: The main AI article has been updated with charts.
Depends. The x58 (tylersburg) motherboard would use the same exact drivers whether it have one or two sockets. It would save Apple and the consumer a lot of money if the single CPU variant were using a core i7/ Xeon 3500 (same processor) and a single socket x58. That being said, Apple really wants to push a major distinction between consumer whether it exists in the real world or not. The last three Power Mac/ Mac Pro updates have also included price increases. ($500, $150, $150).
If I see another single card-only, 512MB only "new" graphics card on a new Mac I'm calling Dell. It's ridiculous already Apple - processors that will smoke anything out there and graphics technology from two years ago.
Depends. The x58 (tylersburg) motherboard would use the same exact drivers whether it have one or two sockets. It would save Apple and the consumer a lot of money if the single CPU variant were using a core i7/ Xeon 3500 (same processor) and a single socket x58. That being said, Apple really wants to push a major distinction between consumer whether it exists in the real world or not. The last three Power Mac/ Mac Pro updates have also included price increases. ($500, $150, $150).
Good points. If Apple can reduce prices but keep margins the same, they will d o it since it means more sales.
The existing Mac Pros are believed to use...
Wait, the existing Mac Pros have been shipping for a whole year and we don't know what processor family they use?
And price hikes in this economy will go over really well.
I'd assume that the Mac Pro, more than any other Mac model, is bought largely with financing.
In the middle of a corporate credit crunch, raising prices may not be the smartest thing.
Of course, Apple might be able to justify a hike if they offer a compelling new feature.
But I can't see what that would be.
Blu-Ray, Firewire 3200 or USB3 are all rumoured for '09, and none of those offer a reason to raise prices.
The Three Xenon chips that have been making the rounds are the i7 965 Extreme 3.2 GHz at $999, the 940 2.93 GHz at $562, and the 920 2.66 GHz at $284.
Take a note of these desktop prices.
Because PC Towers will have those long before the iMac goes Nehalem or the Mac Pro goes Nehalem Xeon Pro. Which means that a 2.66 gig Quad i7 Desktop part will likely be in £1000-£1600 Tower rigs. While Apple will likely be waiting to charge us between £2000-£3000 for Mac Pro 'Servers' next year sometime... The 2.66 i7 is a quarter of the price of the top end desktop part and a fraction of the Xeon i7 part while being very close in performance to the top end model in probably desktop or server case. And, noteworthy, the 2.66 i7 desktop part makes lightwork of any Penryn chip.
My point. It would be REALLY nice to see NON-SERVER chip used in a mid-tower or 'low-end' Mac Pro and the price 'cut' passed on accordingly...and a choice of a Radeon 4870x2 with 2 gigs of memory on board.
However, I suspect, due to Apple's 'rigid' desktop model, we can just as well try to kiss our...because we'll have more of a chance of the latter happening.
Lemon Bon Bon.
I'm not as worried about yet another round of niddling changes to the CPU's, when do we ever get graphics options that come anywhere near matching the power available in the Mac Pro?
If I see another single card-only, 512MB only "new" graphics card on a new Mac I'm calling Dell. It's ridiculous already Apple - processors that will smoke anything out there and graphics technology from two years ago.
Hahahahahahahahahah. You're kidding right?
See my tag-line.
After a whole year, Apple haven't got anywhere near competitive with their GPUs on their overpriced Mac Pro kit. They (strangely) don't give the user the choice. But PC users can buy £1000 rigs with better GPUs in than the Mac Pro costing £600+ more. Once PC rig from OVerclockers.co.uk for £1100 has a Radeon 4870x2 with 2 gigs of Ram onboard. That's as much crappy system ram as Apple gives you in the Mac Pro. Eg where's the 9000 series Nvs? Nvs 280 series? Or the Ati 4800 series? Any of these smack the bitch up of the 8800GT, an old card from even older technology that has been out years now.
Disgrace? Insert word of your choice here:
Lemon Bon Bon.
The first three desktop Nehalem processors are due to begin shipping today 14th November to suppliers/wholesalers, i.e. Q4 '08 and not late Q1 '09. The Nehalem Xeons were always set for Q1 '09. This was always the road map. Intel has been clear about it for a long time. Some sites must be confused, basing their ideas about what will happen on what has happened before rather than getting their facts straight. It is unusual for the desktop CPUs to be released before their workstation/server counterparts but this is indeed what's happening with Nehalem.
Apparently, these are the first chips to hit RETAIL. That's likely where the confusion is.
No one seems to be mentioning the fact that Nehalem supports hyperthreading. This could possibly deliver significant performance gains for Mac OS X Leopard and even more for Snow Leopard given how multithreaded they are/will be. So those concerned about what gain there is in these processors really need to realise these are significantly re-architected processors delivering major performance improvements. An 8-way Mac Pro will have an additional 8 virtual processing cores taking it to a total of 16. With Snow Leopard utilising the GPU(s) too you could be looking at several more.
Intel stated this quite a while ago. I mentioned it over a year ago here.
Just about on every tech site in the past six months, including here.
Server/workstation chips 4th quarter 2008. high end/medium desktop parts late first quarter, seond quarter. lower end chips third quarter, with mobile parts following.
That's been the roadmap.
Except that's never been the roadmap. It may be what rumor sites that make crap up said (including this one), but the i7 has always been a vague "Q4" 2008 and the Xeon has always been Q1 2009.
I sort of figured Intel would launch a few Xeon models around the same time as the i7, since they're basically the same thing and that would allow Apple to introduce new Mac Pros sooner, but that was never reflected in any roadmap. That was just my thinking.
Apparently, these are the first chips to hit RETAIL. That's likely where the confusion is.
Um, what? I don't get you. I think I had it right the first time. The sites presumed the Xeons would be available first because for recent Q3/Q4 introductions it has been those first. Whether it's retail or or to System Builders has not made any difference to launch dates in the past.
While it itself isn't always accurate; you should trust Wikipedia before you trust other web sites.
Intel stated this quite a while ago. I mentioned it over a year ago here.
My statement was in the context of this current article and this current discussion. I wasn't stupid enough to think I was the first to declare the information. It was for the guys who are moaning about the price hike. The article should have referred to it too since it is more relevant to Mac OS X than it is to Windows Vista and XP.
Depends. The x58 (tylersburg) motherboard would use the same exact drivers whether it have one or two sockets. It would save Apple and the consumer a lot of money if the single CPU variant were using a core i7/ Xeon 3500 (same processor) and a single socket x58. That being said, Apple really wants to push a major distinction between consumer whether it exists in the real world or not. The last three Power Mac/ Mac Pro updates have also included price increases. ($500, $150, $150).
Ben remember that there will be 4 different new "northbridges" (what you call X58). Some with one QPI link, some with two QPI links, some with 24 PCIe lanes, some with 36 PCIe lanes. While it is technically possible to build a motherboard ready for dual-cpus (that has dual QPI links, two sockets and two groups of RAM slots - one for each cpu) and use it as a single cpu motherboard, it may be confusing, since not only one socket will not be filled but also the second group of RAM slots will not be usable. Also if you decide to upgrade to a dual cpu configuration, you will need to change the previous processor for one with dual QPI links (more expensive) too. Also the dual QPI links "northbridge" will be probably much more expensive than a single QPI link one (given what we know about the price difference between a Core i7 cpu and a nehalem Xeon at similar clocks: a $700 average premium).
One way or the other, expect prices of Core i7/dual nehalem Xeon Mac Pros to be in the following range:
$1499 single quad 2.66 (Core i7 920) as base model
$1999 single quad 2.93 (Core i7 940) +500
$2499 single quad 3.20 (Core i7 965) +1000
$2799 dual quad 2.53 (2x X5540) as base model
$3499 dual quad 2.66 (2x X5550) +700
$3999 dual quad 2.80 (2x X5560) +1200
$4399 dual quad 2.93 (2x X5570) +1600
$4799 dual quad 3.20 (2x W5580) +2000
In italic, what some people may dream of (included me). In bold, Apple's probable choices. Apple tax included.
Pricing would be slightly different if Apple chooses a different base model.
Good points. If Apple can reduce prices but keep margins the same, they will d o it since it means more sales.
Apple would make probably the same amount of money they do on the current 2.8 xeon single using the x38/48 motherboard with a 2.8ghz quad core 2. yet it would cost the consumer several hundred less.
Apple wants to keep their product lines nice and tidy with no overlap. A cheaper Mac Pro would overlap with the higher end variants of the iMac. Apple doesn't want that overlaps whether those higher end iMacs are actually of use to the user or not.
Ben remember that there will be 4 different new "northbridges" (what you call X58). Some with one QPI link, some with two QPI links, some with 24 PCIe lanes, some with 36 PCIe lanes. While it is technically possible to build a motherboard ready for dual-cpus (that has dual QPI links, two sockets and two groups of RAM slots - one for each cpu) and use it as a single cpu motherboard, it may be confusing, since not only one socket will not be filled but also the second group of RAM slots will not be usable. Also if you decide to upgrade to a dual cpu configuration, you will need to change the previous processor for one with dual QPI links (more expensive) too. Also the dual QPI links "northbridge" will be probably much more expensive than a single QPI link one (given what we know about the price difference between a Core i7 cpu and a nehalem Xeon at similar clocks: a $700 average premium).
One way or the other, expect prices of Core i7/dual nehalem Xeon Mac Pros to be in the following range:
$1499 single quad 2.66 (Core i7 920) as base model
$1999 single quad 2.93 (Core i7 940) +500
$2499 single quad 3.20 (Core i7 965) +1000
$2799 dual quad 2.53 (2x X5540) as base model
$3499 dual quad 2.66 (2x X5550) +700
$3999 dual quad 2.80 (2x X5560) +1200
$4399 dual quad 2.93 (2x X5570) +1600
$4799 dual quad 3.20 (2x W5580) +2000
In italic, what some people may dream of (included me). In bold, Apple's probable choices. Apple tax included.
Pricing would be slightly different if Apple chooses a different base model.
The Tylersburg/ x58 series has 4 different variants and all are designed to connect to the same socket 1366 CPUs and the same south bridge. Its much like the U3/4 families from the G5 days where there was the Light version for the iMac and low end PowerMac, a standard version, and a heavy version. In this case you have 1 QP/24, 1 QP/32, 2 QP/24, and 2 QP/32
Just like Apple used different variants of U3/4, there is nothing that says that Apple can use just one variant of the Tylersburg series and one alone. Apple could use the 1QP/24 plus Bloomsfield in a single CPU setting and 2QP/32 plus gainstown in a twin CPU setting.
Except that's never been the roadmap. It may be what rumor sites that make crap up said (including this one), but the i7 has always been a vague "Q4" 2008 and the Xeon has always been Q1 2009.
I sort of figured Intel would launch a few Xeon models around the same time as the i7, since they're basically the same thing and that would allow Apple to introduce new Mac Pros sooner, but that was never reflected in any roadmap. That was just my thinking.
Well, more recently, Intel has made some adjustments to the roadmap. But, somewhere, I had links with their slides showing it. That was a while ago though. And Anandtech, ARs and others AREN'T rumor sites, they're pretty well respected tech sites.