new mac pro

[assagai]

man, i'm glad i didn't buy a mac pro a few weeks ago.
Does anyone know if it will be possible to get the previous mac pro at a discounted price now that the new ones are out? or will they just vanish like they usually do when a new product appears?

anyone have any 'inside info' ?

 

[drew137]

You'll start seeing specials in about 6 weeks or so I guess, Core won't release the new units till they are out of d units probably! I bought my one at a steal and I'm glad I took it because the new upgrade is so dissapointing IMO.

 

[drew137]

It's also great they didn't change the chassis so they still look the same on the outside

 

[assagai]

You'll start seeing specials in about 6 weeks or so I guess, Core won't release the new units till they are out of d units probably! I bought my one at a steal and I'm glad I took it because the new upgrade is so dissapointing IMO.

2.4x the speed is not exactly disappointing imho (that is, if apple's website info is to be believed)

i hope i can get the current 8 core at a reasonable price, no way i'm dishing out 35k for one now
core generally doesn't keep much stock, so we'll see

 

[drew137]

If my memory serves me correctly the new ones have less L2 cache? The old model had 12?

 

[assagai]

If my memory serves me correctly the new ones have less L2 cache? The old model had 12?

it's a completely new architecture and they're claiming it's 2.4x faster then the previous model..

not to derail the thread though... price drops? anyone?

 

[drew137]

My bad give it a week once Core has pricing and opens back orders for the new ones the old model's price will drop prob somwhere around the 30 mark?

 

[assagai]

My bad give it a week once Core has pricing and opens back orders for the new ones the old model's price will drop prob somwhere around the 30 mark?

yeah i guess... if the new one comes in at 35 though (3299 usd) then i guess it's a no-brainer

 

[PeterCH]

it's a completely new architecture and they're claiming it's 2.4x faster then the previous model..

not to derail the thread though... price drops? anyone?

http://www.apple.com/macpro/performance.html
It's 1.7x faster than the previous generation max. Where did you get 2.4x?

 

[assagai]

http://www.apple.com/macpro/performance.html
It's 1.7x faster than the previous generation max. Where did you get 2.4x?

over here:
http://www.apple.com/macpro/features/processor.html

first benchmark on the page...

anyway it's not 2.4x overall - but there is a definite performance boost

 

[PeterCH]

over here:
http://www.apple.com/macpro/features/processor.html

first benchmark on the page...

anyway it's not 2.4x overall - but there is a definite performance boost

Hmmm... their rendering and SPEC_INT benchmarks do not match. The render is probably more real world performance you can expect. Now Compressor Slow Motion and Deinterlacing (with Motion Compensation) can probably run at 2 days instead of 6 days for 30 min of footage

 

[koffiejunkie]

over here:
http://www.apple.com/macpro/features/processor.html

From that URL:

"A new bidirectional, point-to-point connection — called QuickPath Interconnect — gives the Intel Xeon “Nehalem” processor quick access to the disk, I/O, and other Mac Pro subsystems."

Sounds like Intel finally got something like hyper transport...

 

[PeterCH]

From that URL:

"A new bidirectional, point-to-point connection — called QuickPath Interconnect — gives the Intel Xeon “Nehalem” processor quick access to the disk, I/O, and other Mac Pro subsystems."

Sounds like Intel finally got something like hyper transport...

Though the performance of pre-QuickPath Intel computers still beat that of AMD HT products.

 

[koffiejunkie]

Though the performance of pre-QuickPath Intel computers still beat that of AMD HT products.

Well, yes, but that's got nothing to do with the HT. The Intel chips are just faster at the moment. HT is not an AMD product - ever seen the Power6?

 

[assagai]

so i see zastore have dropped the price of the previous-gen mac pro to 28999 - what do you guys think? worth it, or is it better to start saving up for the new one?

 

[PeterCH]

so i see zastore have dropped the price of the previous-gen mac pro to 28999 - what do you guys think? worth it, or is it better to start saving up for the new one?

Depends on what you want to do with it.
I'm assuming it's processor intensive or you'd have gotten a MBP, MB or a Mini,
even an iMac. If that's the case - saving up might be a better way to go and with the global crisis, we may see the price of these Macs drop further,
maybe the new MP will cost the same as this one.

 

[assagai]

well the new one is already being advertised here for around 41000, so i'm pretty sure i'll be paying more for a new one - the old one is still a pretty powerful machine though...
the other macs are not really an option for me because of the type of peripherals i need to connect and i need lots of hard drive space, not to mention the processor power....

 

[StbA]

so i see zastore have dropped the price of the previous-gen mac pro to 28999 - what do you guys think? worth it, or is it better to start saving up for the new one?

Worth it.

 

[assagai]

hmmmmmmmmm

tough call