Mac Pro?

[Joseph Duchesne]

Hi,
I'm just wondering a few things about the hopefully soon to be released Mac Pro, and I'm not a huge fan of the rumor sites filled with big headed 17 year olds (like myself). I'm curious as to what exactly an Intel tower would mean for me when I buy one (either when they first come out, or after a revision that impresses me).

Windows:
If I have Windows installed through Boot Camp, will my Mac graphics card work well with it? Will I simply be able to install another (windows) graphics card in the PCI-whatever system if I wanted to (or would that suck for reasons unbeknownst to myself)? And the same for other (windows) PCI cards, will I just be able to install them and use them in windows?

Processors:
I'm guessing that initial models will come out with dual core and dual core- dual processor models, perhaps dual core- quad processor, I'm not sure. Is the motherboard or whatever part interfaces with the processor (I'm a little fuzzy on the specifics) differ significantly, or will I possibly be able to buy a second processor? Will the processors likely be swappable as newer ones come out?

You:
How many of you are waiting for a serious desktop? Vote in the Poll unless you have something else to say.

I understand that this computer and all speculation surrounding it is purely hypothetical, but I know that there are lots of people here who are very knowledgeable in the realms of hardware and Mac rumor-mongering.

[Leisure Suit Lurie]

I guess it depends on whether the graphics card has drivers for OS X...and I'd imagine most wont.

As for adding more CPUs, I'm sure someone like Powerlogix will offer it.

[OneSadCookie]

Apple provides Windows drivers for their hardware (including graphics) with bootcamp. I assume the same'll be true for the Mac Pro, though the wider variety of graphics cards will obviously make it a little harder.

I don't see why you wouldn't be able to put a standard Windows PCIe card into your Mac and use it with Windows, but you shouldn't expect it to work with Mac OS X... and I doubt you want to switch cards every time you reboot ;)

Whether you'll be able to add a second processor to a single-processor model depends on several factors -- obviously, whether the motherboard has an unused processor socket, but also, there are two possibilities for the chips that will appear in the Mac Pro -- "Conroe" is incapable of being used in a multiprocessor configuration (though it is dual-core), where "Woodcrest" is fully functional. Current speculation is that Apple may use Woodcrest for the top-of-the-line model, and Conroe for the other two.

Personally, I don't think that the towers are usually good value for money, so I bought the Intel iMac, and I'm very happy with it. I've still got 17 months before I'm allowed to upgrade again, too, so I'd better stay happy with it :)

[FreakSoftware]

There's no difference between the cards hardware-wise is there? It's just that someone needs to write the drivers?

Regarding the computers..... I've been comparing my PowerMac (2.3 w/ 9800 SE) and my friend's (2.0 w/ 9600 XT) to the new iMac (2.0 w/ X1600 XT) and i'm pretty much finding it's practically a dead even match for games. Some games run a lot better under Windows (Halo) others don't have much of a difference. To buy a new machine it really needs to be rockin' fast at games and the iMac isn't any faster than our current machines, so it's not quite worth it to sell the G5's and buy iMacs. We want to play America's Army mostly which is Windows-only (and free) and having to pay about $400-$600 for a machine that's just as capable graphically (CPU-wise the iMac wins hands down, but we're both OK with that speed) isn't too appealing.

If the Mac Pro is like über better... I'll consider it. Hopefully new iMac revisions will have faster processors and better graphics cards.

Hey, uhhh..... SLI... is that possible/practical/feasible in the new towers?

[OneSadCookie]

The difference between the cards tends to be in the firmware, hence why flashing PC cards will often work.

I'm not an expert on SLI, so take this with a grain of salt:

The PCIe PowerMac G5 has slots in a 16/4/8/4 configuration, which isn't a possible configuration either for NVidia's SLI or ATI's Crossfire, so if they continue that layout, no.

However, some of Intel's motherboards do support ATI's Crossfire (though not NVidia's SLI), so the technology is available should Apple wish to take advantage of it. If they did, they'd need to do a 16/16/4/4 layout, or something... maybe 16/8/4/4 is enough?

(The reason that they do 16/4/8/4 currently is so that you can use double-width cards in the best lanes)

Of course, even if the hardware support existed, you'd still need driver support (which'd presumably exist on Windows, if not Mac OS X) and application support (which exists on Windows).

[FreakSoftware]

Ah. I wondered why no one had hacked together a demo in a PowerMac before.

[BeyondCloister]

The last poll option represents two completely different things and would have been better as separate items. However I guess if money was not a problem then all of us would be getting the new computers :)

[PowerMacX]

Yes, the last one could be read as "I'm happy I'm broke" :p

[Joseph Duchesne]

The last one concentrates on two decisions with the same result. And of course, if we all had piles of cash, why wouldn't we buy a new mac?

[FreakSoftware]

The last one concentrates on two decisions with the same result. And of course, if we all had piles of cash, why wouldn't we buy a new mac?

Cause they SUCK. :rolleyes:

[Carlos Camacho]

The difference between the cards tends to be in the firmware, hence why flashing PC cards will often work.
True about the firmware, but the "often work" part isn't. Visit "StrangeDogs" BBS (THE place for flashing cards for Macs), and you'll see the 100's of "failed" (and costly) experiments.

I'm curious about the form factor of new Apple desktops. Will they change it a little (like the mobile line), with perhaps some downsizing of the case, or a completely different case? To me, those G5 cases looked nice but were WAAAAY to big.

Cheers,

[PowerMacX]

To me, those G5 cases looked nice but were WAAAAY to big.

And WAAAY too heavy to lift by those hand-cutting, sharp aluminum handles... :(

[FreakSoftware]

I think they'll leave it roughly the same size and shove more stuff in. To go from four hard drives, two optical drives, and three PCI slots to the G5 was a big step down. There was a rumor that Intel came back with a prototype Mac Pro design and the motherboard was teeny and Apple said to make it bigger. So... take that as you will.

[skyhawk]

now that they are officially out:
Are your opinions the same as they were a few weeks ago?

[PowerMacX]

now that they are officially out:
Are your opinions the same as they were a few weeks ago?

Well, I said:
And WAAAY too heavy to lift by those hand-cutting, sharp aluminum handles...

Now, they replaced hot air (which made it sligthly lighter :p ) with 4 hard drives + a second optical drive...

Ouch. (http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41264000/gif/_41264300_xray_hand_203.gif)

[BeyondCloister]

now that they are officially out:
Are your opinions the same as they were a few weeks ago?

Yes. They did not announce the one feature that would have ensured I buy one - filling my bank account with lots of money so still broke so no MacPro :(

[FreakSoftware]

now that they are officially out:
Are your opinions the same as they were a few weeks ago?

I was dead on. Same size, but back to four hard drives and two optical drives. :)

I rule!

:p

[akb825]

They are tempting, but I doubt I will buy a new computer until after I graduate. My tower still serves me quite well, and my MBP serves all my Intel needs.