The Intel Powermac / Powermac Conroe / Mac Pro thread

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  • Reply 661 of 946
    chuckerchucker Posts: 5,089member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Thereubster

    Again (for the 3rd time in this thread)

    - The Mac Pro Will use Woodcrest and the Blackford workstation Intel Chipset.

    - At least 2 models will be Quad, if not all.

    - Apple will announce them sometime this month (June) shipping July. WWDC is TOO LATE, Dell and HP will be all over Woodcrest for DP workstations, Apple will not want to fall behind.

    - THey may put Conroe (Core 2 Duo) into some new form factor, maybe at WWDC.



    Thanks Mister Clairvoyant. Now, please give the naïve time-wasting unbelieving people here, which make up a majority of, oh, 95%?, a chance to actually discuss.
  • Reply 662 of 946
    whoamiwhoami Posts: 301member
    My ball of wisdom predicts a demo will show that Adobe CS2 in rosetta on a Mac Pro will be as fast as on a current G5!

    That would be a surefire way to sell towers for the next year while adobe gets their shit together.
  • Reply 663 of 946
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Northgate

    I don't get it.



    He has posts listed where they normally are (above location), and that's the real number. The huge half million number is fake, and part of his "location" field or a title or something.
  • Reply 664 of 946
    onlookeronlooker Posts: 5,252member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Thereubster

    Again (for the 3rd time in this thread)

    - The Mac Pro Will use Woodcrest and the Blackford workstation Intel Chipset.

    - At least 2 models will be Quad, if not all.

    - Apple will announce them sometime this month (June) shipping July. WWDC is TOO LATE, Dell and HP will be all over Woodcrest for DP workstations, Apple will not want to fall behind.

    - THey may put Conroe (Core 2 Duo) into some new form factor, maybe at WWDC.




    IMO What Apple does is Apples choice, and the chances of them worrying about falling behind seem minimal. If you actually think that a few weeks is considered falling, or even being behind so be it, but If a company is going to jump all over the first computer using woodcrest just because it is the first woodcrest computer Apple is going to fall behind regardless.

    Apple is not only about to make a presentation and give a glimpse as to how their new pro, and server lineup will look in the future with their new operating system, but they are probably going to show how it's all going to look to someone trying to integrate Mac's, and the Mac OS into a windows dominated company. If your company is not interested in that they probably are not even planning on seeing what Apple has to offer, but I sure would be curious. There is not a company worth a grain of salt that is going to start buying until they have a look at all their options, and if they think Apple could now be one of those options they already know, and they planning to wait for WWDC. So unless I'm missing something I think your "the sky is falling" "the sky is falling" routine is half baked, and totally pointless.
  • Reply 665 of 946
    Intel has SPEC scores for a 3.0Ghz Woodcrest system:



    http://www.intel.com/performance/wor...eon/intspd.htm



    INT/FP: 3057/2775



    (Apple reported 800/840 for the 2Ghz G5 )
  • Reply 666 of 946
    onlookeronlooker Posts: 5,252member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by whoami

    My ball of wisdom predicts a demo will show that Adobe CS2 in rosetta on a Mac Pro will be as fast as on a current G5!

    That would be a surefire way to sell towers for the next year while adobe gets their shit together.




    Now that would slap IBM right in the face. Dual 3GHz dual core Woodcrests kicking all beat hell out of a Quad G5. I say do it!
  • Reply 667 of 946
    macroninmacronin Posts: 1,174member
    Dual 3GHz dual-core Woodcrest CPUs with a nVidia QuadroFX 4500 X2 driving four (4) 30" ACDs...



    Max. RAM & max. HDDs...



    That's what I'm talking about...



    ;^p
  • Reply 668 of 946
    My bets for the Mac Pro:



    -Two dual-core Intel Xeon 5100 (Woodcrest) processors across the line

    -Quad SLI

    -Up to 64 GB of quad channel DDR2 RAM and 2 TB of storage

    -Updated case design (black anodized aluminum, slightly taller, new thermal technology, no water cooling)

    -Up to 5x faster than Power Mac G5 Quad

    -Announcement in June; shipping in July as WWDC would be reserved for Leopard and a new midlevel Mac
  • Reply 669 of 946
    vineavinea Posts: 5,585member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by iNtel iNside



    -Updated case design (black anodized aluminum, slightly taller, new thermal technology, no water cooling)





    Thing is, if they did water cooling and moderate OC they'd have a speed advantage over pretty much everyone but Alienware...



    If they could use the Intel honeymoon period to cherry pick CPUs they'd have decent reliability.



    Vinea
  • Reply 670 of 946
    Quote:

    Originally posted by iNtel iNside

    My bets for the Mac Pro:



    -Two dual-core Intel Xeon 5100 (Woodcrest) processors across the line

    -Quad SLI

    -Up to 64 GB of quad channel DDR2 RAM and 2 TB of storage

    -Updated case design (black anodized aluminum, slightly taller, new thermal technology, no water cooling)

    -Up to 5x faster than Power Mac G5 Quad

    -Announcement in June; shipping in July as WWDC would be reserved for Leopard and a new midlevel Mac




    My bets:

    -2 dual core Xeon 5100s, at 2.0, 2.33, 3.0 GHz

    -Shipping with a 7800 or (maybe) a 7900 GT, BTO for 7900 GTO and 7950 whatever

    -Bluetooth and Wireless standard (a/b/g)

    -SLI support, maybe Quad SLI

    -Up to 32 GB RAM (8 x 4 GB FB-DIMMs)

    -Starting with a 300 GB HDD, but room for 2-3 more inside

    -Prices stay the same



    The 2.0 will ship with a smaller HD and lesser video card than the 2.33. It's a big leap for the lower two models because they stay the same clockspeeds (relatively), but add a processor, and the big guy adds .5 GHz.



    Apple can't put a Conroe in the low-end competitively, it'd be about $500 more than the competing Dell gaming station. Unless they intro a Mac (non-Pro), but that's another thread. The only Conroe that wouldn't be a joke in the low-end is the 2.67 one, which is only slightly cheaper than dual Woodcrests. Additionally, with all Quads, Apple could easily manage inventory by being able to just drop processors and video cards into their machines instead of having 2-3 different mobos to manage.
  • Reply 671 of 946
    onlookeronlooker Posts: 5,252member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ZachPruckowski

    My bets:

    -2 dual core Xeon 5100s, at 2.0, 2.33, 3.0 GHz

    -Shipping with a 7800 or (maybe) a 7900 GT, BTO for 7900 GTO and 7950 whatever

    -Bluetooth and Wireless standard (a/b/g)

    -SLI support, maybe Quad SLI

    -Up to 32 GB RAM (8 x 4 GB FB-DIMMs)

    -Starting with a 300 GB HDD, but room for 2-3 more inside

    -Prices stay the same



    The 2.0 will ship with a smaller HD and lesser video card than the 2.33. It's a big leap for the lower two models because they stay the same clockspeeds (relatively), but add a processor, and the big guy adds .5 GHz.



    Apple can't put a Conroe in the low-end competitively, it'd be about $500 more than the competing Dell gaming station. Unless they intro a Mac (non-Pro), but that's another thread. The only Conroe that wouldn't be a joke in the low-end is the 2.67 one, which is only slightly cheaper than dual Woodcrests. Additionally, with all Quads, Apple could easily manage inventory by being able to just drop processors and video cards into their machines instead of having 2-3 different mobos to manage.




    I'll play. I would just modify yours to add a NVIDIA Quadro FX 5500 as a video card option, and say probably not on the Quad SLI. But but two full speed 16X PCI-E lanes, yes. Oh, and the 3GHz Woddcrest is the 5160 not the 5100.
  • Reply 672 of 946
    I'm less familar with the Quadro series video cards. And when I said 5100s, I meant the family, not the specific processor.



    In terms of Quad SLI, I think Apple wants to support graphics users here, and SLI is huge now. If Apple wants to say "We're the top-quality computer builder", they need to embrace stuff that is here, but not big yet, like Quad SLI or quad-core. They're doing that with EFI and Firewire 800 already.
  • Reply 673 of 946
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,425member
    I think SLI is a hoax quite honestly. It's great if you want to run your games with Anti-Aliasing but if someone is running a production application they don't necessarily need SLI but rather certified drivers that perform and are stable.



    Anytime you design a solution you have to weight the components from a holistic view. Does it make sense to add 300 watts of graphics power which will require more cooling work? Will your productivity really increase?



    Apple hasn't always kept up with the Jones' but at the same time they seem more adept at avoiding the hype that emanates from PC land where Bigger is always better.



    I'd like to see a low end Conre Mac Pro followed by two to three upper Woodcrest based systems. One PCIe 16x slot is find because I can do SLI in a slot if I really need it.



    Give me at least another drive bay and internal RAID options and I think we'd have a winner here. Oh yean I'd like to see Apple double or even triple the amount of Firewire bus. External stuff is hot right now in audio.
  • Reply 674 of 946
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by hmurchison

    I think SLI is a hoax quite honestly. It's great if you want to run your games with Anti-Aliasing but if someone is running a production application they don't necessarily need SLI but rather certified drivers that perform and are stable.



    Anytime you design a solution you have to weight the components from a holistic view. Does it make sense to add 300 watts of graphics power which will require more cooling work? Will your productivity really increase?



    Apple hasn't always kept up with the Jones' but at the same time they seem more adept at avoiding the hype that emanates from PC land where Bigger is always better.



    I'd like to see a low end Conre Mac Pro followed by two to three upper Woodcrest based systems. One PCIe 16x slot is find because I can do SLI in a slot if I really need it.



    Give me at least another drive bay and internal RAID options and I think we'd have a winner here. Oh yean I'd like to see Apple double or even triple the amount of Firewire bus. External stuff is hot right now in audio.




    Years ago, when there were more high end GPU manufacturers, there were solutions that had two and even four GPU's on a board. Of course, they didn't use much power in those days, and so didn't get hot, but it was fantastic at the time.



    I'd rather see two GPU's on one double slot board now, than two double slot boards in SLI or Crossfire.



    And those four board SLI's are a real joke.
  • Reply 675 of 946
    onlookeronlooker Posts: 5,252member
    I'm in for just two full speed 16x PCI-E lanes. Which can give you regular SLI. That way you can have it if you want it. SLI on one card is a joke though. It's not the same because you cant use it in 3D. It gives you limited memory as well. Two 16X PCI-E lanes would give those who want it on one card or two the option of having it. It's the best of both worlds, and then 3D users could bennifit as well.
  • Reply 676 of 946
    You know, I was looking at dual-core, dual-processor workstations, and I'm having a hard time pricing a DIY model at under $2500. If Apple does a Quad in $2k or so, which it can financially with a Woodcrest-based system and their bulk discounts, then it'll look pretty darn impressive for any company.
  • Reply 677 of 946
    mwswamimwswami Posts: 166member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ZachPruckowski

    You know, I was looking at dual-core, dual-processor workstations, and I'm having a hard time pricing a DIY model at under $2500. If Apple does a Quad in $2k or so, which it can financially with a Woodcrest-based system and their bulk discounts, then it'll look pretty darn impressive for any company.



    I just configured a dual dual-core Xeon Dell 490 Precision Workstation for little over $2000. It includes 2 3.2 GHz Dempsey Xeons, 1Gb memory, nVidia Quadro NVS 285 (2DVIs), 16X DVD+/-RW, 250GB SATA hard drive and Windows XP Pro. You should be able to configure 2 Woodcrest 5130s (2GHz, $315 each) or 5140s (2.33GHz) for similar price after the 26th.



    Apple current low end PowerMac is priced at $1999 with 512Mb RAM, 160Gb drive, and NVIDIA GeForce 6600 LE but with only 2 cores. I am really hoping that Apple will be able to offer a machine similar in hardware specs to Dell's (with 2 5130s) for about $2199.



    I need/want the machine for Java Programming. Since Apple support for Java always lags behind Solaris, Linux, and Windows (no JSE 1.6 betas yet on Apple), I may be forced to buy a Dell with Linux instead. I have plenty of Macs though including a dual 2.5G5 PowerMac, 2 XServers, and a Intel Mini and a MBP to keep me happy ....
  • Reply 678 of 946
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by mwswami

    I just configured a dual dual-core Xeon Dell 490 Precision Workstation for little over $2000. It includes 2 3.2 GHz Dempsey Xeons, 1Gb memory, nVidia Quadro NVS 285 (2DVIs), 16X DVD+/-RW, 250GB SATA hard drive and Windows XP Pro. You should be able to configure 2 Woodcrest 5130s (2GHz, $315 each) or 5140s (2.33GHz) for similar price after the 26th.



    Apple current low end PowerMac is priced at $1999 with 512Mb RAM, 160Gb drive, and NVIDIA GeForce 6600 LE but with only 2 cores. I am really hoping that Apple will be able to offer a machine similar in hardware specs to Dell's (with 2 5130s) for about $2199.



    I need/want the machine for Java Programming. Since Apple support for Java always lags behind Solaris, Linux, and Windows (no JSE 1.6 betas yet on Apple), I may be forced to buy a Dell with Linux instead. I have plenty of Macs though including a dual 2.5G5 PowerMac, 2 XServers, and a Intel Mini and a MBP to keep me happy ....




    I have friends who program Java on a 12" Powerbook.
  • Reply 679 of 946
    mwswamimwswami Posts: 166member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by melgross

    I have friends who program Java on a 12" Powerbook.



    I do server level programming so I usually need/want multiple CPU machines to test with high levels of concurrency so the Powerbook is not an ideal platform. I have used my MBP for short durations when I travel .... it's quite adequate but it sometime has heating issues.



    Apple has good support for Java but it usually takes them a long time to provide the latest releases and sometime these releases are tied to the OS releases which can be a lot of time to wait.



    Curremtly, Apple supports JSE 5 but I want to move over to JSE 6 because it has several new APIs. JSE 6 betas have been available for some time now for the other platforms (in fact, you can get weekly builds) but I don't expect to see Apple supporting JSE 6 for several months. I may even be waiting till Leopard.
  • Reply 680 of 946
    emig647emig647 Posts: 2,455member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by mwswami

    I just configured a dual dual-core Xeon Dell 490 Precision Workstation for little over $2000. It includes 2 3.2 GHz Dempsey Xeons, 1Gb memory, nVidia Quadro NVS 285 (2DVIs), 16X DVD+/-RW, 250GB SATA hard drive and Windows XP Pro. You should be able to configure 2 Woodcrest 5130s (2GHz, $315 each) or 5140s (2.33GHz) for similar price after the 26th.



    Apple current low end PowerMac is priced at $1999 with 512Mb RAM, 160Gb drive, and NVIDIA GeForce 6600 LE but with only 2 cores. I am really hoping that Apple will be able to offer a machine similar in hardware specs to Dell's (with 2 5130s) for about $2199.



    I need/want the machine for Java Programming. Since Apple support for Java always lags behind Solaris, Linux, and Windows (no JSE 1.6 betas yet on Apple), I may be forced to buy a Dell with Linux instead. I have plenty of Macs though including a dual 2.5G5 PowerMac, 2 XServers, and a Intel Mini and a MBP to keep me happy ....




    Don't count on it. Apple has never been competitive on prices..... ESPECIALLY with Dell.
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