The Mac Pro and the Nvidia 8800

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
Could Apple potentially be conspiring with Nvidia to make a splash with the Mac Pro announcement by having the 8800 CPUs, to be released as early as August, available as a BTO option?



The 8800GTX and 8800GT are Nvidia's next two high-end cards, the GTX being somewhere between $500 and $600 and the GT being one or two hundred dollars cheaper.



It just seems opportune for Apple to release their new flagship model, often haranged for having insufficient GPU options, with something absolutely spanking.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    Maybe as a BtO option. Honestly, I don't see Apple spending more than $300 on the low-end Mac Pro and $400 on the high-end for a video card.



    That would, however, rock because of the discounts it would bring to the 7xxx line.



    What features does it bring over the 7900s, aside from DX10?
  • Reply 2 of 11
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ZachPruckowski

    Maybe as a BtO option. Honestly, I don't see Apple spending more than $300 on the low-end Mac Pro and $400 on the high-end for a video card.



    That would, however, rock because of the discounts it would bring to the 7xxx line.



    What features does it bring over the 7900s, aside from DX10?




    It's totally a gaming card. So more pixel pipes and shaders. IMO they should make Quadros standard across the line. Low-end ones are cheaper and will be much more useful.
  • Reply 3 of 11
    placeboplacebo Posts: 5,767member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ZachPruckowski

    Maybe as a BtO option. Honestly, I don't see Apple spending more than $300 on the low-end Mac Pro and $400 on the high-end for a video card.



    That would, however, rock because of the discounts it would bring to the 7xxx line.



    What features does it bring over the 7900s, aside from DX10?




    Shader Model 4.0, High Dynamic Range-compatible antialiasing, and a kick-in-the-pants speed boost.
  • Reply 4 of 11
    zazzaz Posts: 177member
    Not to derail, but I am a little ignorant on the matter?



    Would not 3rd party GPU cards for the standard windows PC now be something a Mac Pro could use? assuming there were drivers?



    It just seems if Apple offers a base model of 'A' and I buy a higher model 'B' via some retailer it should work, should it not.



    Like, say a ATI X1600 and I replace it with a X1800?



    Thoughts?



    T
  • Reply 5 of 11
    placeboplacebo Posts: 5,767member
    We're hoping to god "yes" but so far it's seemed "no" so the least we can hope for is fair prices and wide selection through Apple.
  • Reply 6 of 11
    slugheadslughead Posts: 1,169member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ZachPruckowski

    Maybe as a BtO option. Honestly, I don't see Apple spending more than $300 on the low-end Mac Pro and $400 on the high-end for a video card.



    Last time it was $60 on the low end and $150 on the high end.



    Apple includes shite for stock cards in their Powermacs; presumably the trend will continue with Intel.



    They tend to offer at least 'one top of the line' video card, but it's an over-priced BTO option. Last time they even offered a quadro for less than MSRP (they neglected to adjust the price as time went by and now it's overpriced again).



    I'm hoping that with the release of Intel machines, I'll finally be able to buy a card made for "windows" and put it in my Mac. I'm really getting tired of being locked in to 5 or 6 video card options, all of them for way too much money.



    When I buy an Intel Mac, I'm selling my PC. All my gaming will be done through Boot Camp. Therefore, I'm holding out for a reasonable graphics option. I will not buy another locked-in computer.



    Wish me luck!
  • Reply 7 of 11
    slugheadslughead Posts: 1,169member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by theapplegenius

    It's totally a gaming card. So more pixel pipes and shaders. IMO they should make Quadros standard across the line. Low-end ones are cheaper and will be much more useful.



    The quadro has little performance advantage for any task 90% of people would use it for.



    The only advantage comes with specific 3D rendering tasks in an extreme minority of programs, most of which aren't even available on mac (but now, with boot camp....)..



    Regardless, the 7x00 series is fantastic, great for Apple's 'core' technologies, a high-end gaming card, and best of all, CHEAP compared to quadros.



    I know a few game designers who all swear by 7x00's with SLI instead of Quadros.. the performance advantage is not even noticable, according to them, and the price makes them an incredible bargain compared to the quadros.



    If they're going to include a high-end card as a stock option, include a GAMING card, as you get the best bang for your buck.
  • Reply 8 of 11
    Quote:

    Originally posted by slughead

    Last time it was $60 on the low end and $150 on the high end.



    Apple includes shite for stock cards in their Powermacs; presumably the trend will continue with Intel.



    They tend to offer at least 'one top of the line' video card, but it's an over-priced BTO option. Last time they even offered a quadro for less than MSRP (they neglected to adjust the price as time went by and now it's overpriced again).





    Well, the iMac has an x1600. Therefore, Apple has to include a $150 7600GS at bare minimum. Which is like $150 already. And if a Conroe is the low-end model, they've gotta have something better, because Conroes compete with XPSes directly.
  • Reply 9 of 11
    onlookeronlooker Posts: 5,252member
    8800GTX and 8800GT seem possible.

    I remember Nvidia's debut of the Geforce 3TI on the PowerMac years ago when Apple released the G4 quicksilver.



    Weather, or not there is an 8800 GPU shipping this early or not is another matter entirely,

    I think we should see some pretty good graphics options from Apple.

    Depending on the Motherboards "surprise" configuration there could be various options ahead of us, but I expect to see a few of these as optional. Hopefully the X2's as BTO.



    NVIDIA Quadro FX 5500 ( X2 ? )

    NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 X2

    GeForce 7950 GX2

    GeForce 7900 GTX
  • Reply 10 of 11
    placeboplacebo Posts: 5,767member
    Well I'd preorder an 8800GTX even if it meant mid-September delivery. I can live with that. I can't live with placing my preorder and having the 8800GTX be released while the damned computer is being Fedexed to my house.
  • Reply 11 of 11
    jchenjchen Posts: 70member
    It would certainly be nice to see the introduction of a unified graphics chipset driver from nVidia for OS X, likewise, Catalyst equivalents from ATI.



    The Quadro's advantage primarily results from having optimized drivers for technical precision, specificity, and additional professional features within 3D/CAD type applications. Professional renders will generally yield some inaccuracies on the regular line whereas the Quadro produces better results. Essentially, they are the same processor (different names) but the Quadro GPU will perhaps go through more rigorous testing to make sure that it conforms to higher standards. On the PC side, you'll often see people softmodding their existing nVidia cards (provided that the GPU stepping allows for such modification) to Quadro lines. This softmod will allow regular cards to obtain all of the additional features present on the Quadro line.



    The premium for the Quadro line is due to a more rigorous testing process to make sure that they can handle the precision-oriented calcuations without producing x number of errors. The development cost for Quadro drivers is also a contributing factor. Couple these R&D increases with existing price discrimination and you have a business model.
Sign In or Register to comment.