Finally! Apple's answer to all those grandmothers wanting to browse the internet!

[MacJunky]

Normally I try to refrain from doing this sort of thing. In fact I think this is the first time I have started a thread just to post a link, but I feel that it must be said anyway.

*ahem*
Are your grandparents harassing you about needing a computer so they can use the internet to look up information about knitting, new card games and porn?
Well, look no further! Apple was listening to the elderly everywhere and has come to the rescue by updating their MacPro!
Apple - Mac Pro - Tech Specs
Not only will grandma's socks be knocked off and fly through the wall(and any people they encounter) but the speed alone will cause her to have a heart attack leaving you to inherit her computer. :P


Of course I am sure most of you are already familiar with the components in the MacPro and they are not all the highest of high end. However, it looks like a "reasonable" computer so I thought I would mention it. ;)

Processing
8-core: Two 2.8GHz, 3.0GHz, or 3.2GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5400 series processors
Quad-core: One 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5400 series processor

Enhanced Intel Core microarchitecture
12MB of L2 cache per processor (each pair of cores shares 6MB)
128-bit SSE4 SIMD engine
64-bit data paths and registers
Energy efficiency optimization
1600MHz, 64-bit dual independent frontside buses

Apple has also finally given us some newer graphics cards as well. Granted, they are not the best but then this is workstation class.

Graphics and displays

Double-wide, 16-lane PCI Express 2.0 graphics slot with one of the following graphics cards installed:
ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT with 256MB of GDDR3 memory and two dual-link DVI ports
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT with 512MB of GDDR3 memory and two dual-link DVI ports
NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 with 1.5GB of GDDR3 memory, two dual-link DVI ports, and one stereo 3D port

Multiple graphics card configurations including two, three, or four ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT cards
300W for up to four PCI Express graphics cards
Support for up to eight 30-inch displays
Support for digital resolutions up to 2560 by 1600 pixels
Support for analog resolutions up to 2048 by 1536 pixels
DVI to VGA adapter included
Dual-display support for extended desktop and video mirroring modes

The good thing about more cards is that now the Mac graphics card flashing community has more to work with and could potentially provide more options for people With MacPros looking for a better or just extra cards so that they they might well be able to get much cheaper ones on sale at NCIX or someplace.

It is somewhat annoying that the only quad core option is a BTO 2.8Ghz. But I guess "meh" would be appropriate here. Aside from that it is extremely annoying that one cannot order a MacPro without HD, RAM and GFX.
Link to the MacPro's customization thingy on the Canadian Apple store here.

To be honest I am still hoping for Apple to whip up a tower based desktop with the rough specs of the iMac and expandability close to that of the MacPro.(not using Xenons of course)

I must say, I do have a slight concern though. They say the four core model has one CPU, does this mean it uses a different mobo or do they have a way to only use one CPU on the same board that the eight core uses? The reason I am slightly concerned about this is that it could make upping to eight cores from four impossible unless the board could handle an eight core CPU. Also, replacement parts in the future might be somewhat harder to come by for the eight core model if it's board is specific to it.

Oh and by the way, if anyone is going to go all "Macz r suuu expensulamative!!!11!one!" on us and simply must post specs and links to PCs they claim are cheaper please ensure that you match the specs as close as possible. This includes CPU number and type, RAM amount and type(including number of slots) and other ports/connectors on the mobo(preferably including the internal wireless a/b/g/(draft)n and bluetooth 2.0 connectors on the mobo)

[qbattersby]

Hey in reply to your post about the MacPros, I personally have not had the opportunity to use one. But I hear they are very nice - expensive though none the less you pay for the name and quality.

I am responded though to mention you could buy an empty tower if you looked around enough and build your own MacPro. Check out The Official Mac Pro Website they sell a variety of parts although I have heard of some service complaints with Mac-Pro.com. Anyways it is possible to build your own machine - and if you really wanted you could buy a MacPro case and mod it for an ATX board and mod the PS for ATX 24pin connector and be laughing once you get OSx86 installed on it. I have my own "hack" I dont even use Windows anymore except for in Parallels.

My machine specs

MSI g965m (I know its shitty)
Core 2 Duo e6320
6GB DDR2 800mhz
1x500Gb SATAII 16mb
1x250Gb SATAII 16mb
1x250Gb external IDE
EVGA 7800GT CO with Thermaltake HR-03
Onboard ALC888 Sound (only 2.1 works, working on 5.1)
Onboard Realtek Ethernet (works)
2x 20" Acer Widescreen Displays @ 1680x1050 (both work with rotation)
Xbench score of 165 (pretty high when compared to a MacBook Pro)

Oh and BTW I am running Leopard 10.5.1 with the vanilla kernel

[vdf22]

[quote=MacJunky;33684]"Macz r suuu expensulamative!!!11!one!"[quote]
It's true. Whats the price? I'm guessing $9,999.99.:help:

[Mars]

Apple has been getting Intel's new toys early for quite some time now...

We should be seeing similar PC components relatively soon.

Those processors are lined up at $1500 each though, so $3000 for an 8-core system, before taking the rest of the system into account.

32GB of ECC RAM would be beautiful though, I'm tempted to go with ECC RAM for my next build.

Originally Posted by vdf22

It's true. Whats the price? I'm guessing $9,999.99.:help:

[Thund3rball]

Originally Posted by Mars

Apple has been getting Intel's new toys early for quite some time now...

We should be seeing similar PC components relatively soon.

Those processors are lined up at $1500 each though, so $3000 for an 8-core system, before taking the rest of the system into account.

32GB of ECC RAM would be beautiful though, I'm tempted to go with ECC RAM for my next build.

Hey don't complain you get Free Shipping!

[Cptn Vortex]

Hey man. I can sell you that same computer, for $7,000 off the price. Thank you. Just whipped this up at work.

[vdf22]

Originally Posted by Mars

Apple has been getting Intel's new toys early for quite some time now...

We should be seeing similar PC components relatively soon.

Those processors are lined up at $1500 each though, so $3000 for an 8-core system, before taking the rest of the system into account.

32GB of ECC RAM would be beautiful though, I'm tempted to go with ECC RAM for my next build.

Wow, I really underestimated Apple's ability.

[MacJunky]

*headkeyboard*
Don't buy RAM or drives from Apple.

Oh, and btw qbattersby, the stuff on mac-pro.com is way, way overpriced.. and their listed specs are sloppy.

[belgolas]

Summary Subtotal $2,399.00
Estimated Ship:
2-4 business days
Free Shipping



Click "Update Details" to reflect changes to system price and shipping.

Specifications

• One 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon (quad-core)
• 2GB (2 x 1GB)
• 320GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
• ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB (Two dual-link DVI)
• One 16x SuperDrive
• Apple Mighty Mouse
• Apple Keyboard (English) + Mac OS X

Sell the crappy graphics card and get a 8800 GTS 512
Still super expensive then building your own!