For one, they could lower that $1800 increase in Australia back down and put the 8-core as standard again, sure it's 2x the performance but seriously, that's a huge increase.
I'd also make it so that (if possible, not sure if it is with DDR3 etc) allow users on the single-quad to have upto 32gb of ram.
I also want to be able to use crossfire with ATI cards.
Redesign the outsides.
Um... think that's all.
BTW - I'm not a fanboy of any company, they asked how I would change it so this is what I'd do.
lol man, its almost NEVER 2X the performance with 2 of anything. For this it's most likely 30-40%, you're better off just building one yourself or buying a PC(MUCH Cheaper). The highest I think is ATi 4770 which has 120% increase with second card in COD4, and 4890 has an average of 90% scaling.
@Game_playa I know, a lot of it is advertising but still, benchmark wise, there still has been a MASSIVE increase in performance. Defiantly no longer worth the money though. The old mac pros, I could build something that would be better, spec-wise for around $1500-$2000 over the mac pro which was $4000. Now it's $5800.. I can still build something for less - I just really wish I had that mac OS though.
Marty, I want it for the Adobe suite and some other apps but this doesn't mean that I can get a better hardware-spec machine for less than a mac pro. I don't want to start an argument because I don't have the time to debate but yeah, that's all I'm saying, macs are overpriced, even if they do come with an awesome OS, I can't justify spending an extra $3000 -$4000 for OS X.
@Ethan I'm talking about Australia's prices, Apple add a crap-load onto the price over here. It's $5800 for the base spec 8-core when I could buy a much higher spec custom build for $3000-$4000.
Chris, I agree that they're overpriced. On the other hand, RED One is like $40-50k with lenses and a workstation for Assimilate Scratch would cost you $15-40k. Depends how you look at the prices. I'd love to see a cheaper MacPro, though :-)
@d889 generally people who work with video etc need multiple monitors, I have a three monitor setup at the moment, soon to be upgraded. I render thinks at quad HD so yes, I do need multiple GPU's.
Adobe After Effects crash on more than 6 cpu and benchmark prove it work faster on windows. Also the multi-cores rendering is a gimmick because the bottleneck is the ram and hard drive especially for HD content. You work slower if you use the multi-processing. Before make a preview your computer need to save the scene for each different cpu. Most people I know uncheck multi-processor when working.
FCP I dont know really...
For adobe products, choose higher Ghz over more cores. A 3ghz dual-core will work faster than a 2.4ghz quad.
3D softwares of course are different. The GUI will be faster with more Ghz (especially simulation and IK) but more cores is always good for rendering. Ray Tracing is totally different than what AE or FCP use.
Adobe = Dual-core will do the job just fine, 3D = The more cores the best!!
Bobsley, first of all, I don't need to prove anything to you. Secondly, I AE and produce quad HD animations on my windows 2.8ghz dual core extreme LAPTOP with 4gb of ddr2 ram 800mhz. Sure I don't preview them at full res and thats exactly why I need a powerful machine.
Also, 6-cpu machine? What do you mean it crashes on a 6-cpu machine, wtf!?
HDD is the biggest bottle neck.. even so, why are you telling me this stuff?
It has to cost $1800 more to ship it down under the equator. They figure that if one pays that much for bandwidth, then one is surely willing to pay more for a Mac Pro.
There are only 4 DDR3 DIMM slots pre CPU bank. Hence the 16GB limit per CPU bank (4x4GB). Which is really a shame since this platform is triple channel and adding a 4th RAM stick to a bank of 3 will slow the memory bus down. A much better implementation would be to have 6 total DIMM slots per CPU, enabling two, triple channel memory sets. Apple however, chose a better looking CPU cooler that produced less heat over actually improving performance. A real shame for any Pro using this for video production.
Yes, but they've gone up $1800 over here, I'm saying that not only are they more expensive over here but they slapped on another $1800. Shipping hasn't gone up that much, nor has the dollar.
As for the memory, thanks for explaining that :) :P
Heu... actually im with you... as for the 6 cores thing, its just that AE will crash if you render using the full 8 cores, even with tons of memory. There is a fix fro that... someone have make a script to force AE to use only 6 cores of the 8. Maybe CS4 fixed that, I dont know.
Buying a 3500$ 8 cores computer for for AE is overkill right now as AE multi-processing implementation is quite crappy. A 1500$ i7 quad will do just as well.
Im only talking for AE because 3D apps of course will use the full 8 cores capability.
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For one, they could lower that $1800 increase in Australia back down and put the 8-core as standard again, sure it's 2x the performance but seriously, that's a huge increase.
I'd also make it so that (if possible, not sure if it is with DDR3 etc) allow users on the single-quad to have upto 32gb of ram.
I also want to be able to use crossfire with ATI cards.
Redesign the outsides.
Um... think that's all.
BTW - I'm not a fanboy of any company, they asked how I would change it so this is what I'd do.
lol man, its almost NEVER 2X the performance with 2 of anything. For this it's most likely 30-40%, you're better off just building one yourself or buying a PC(MUCH Cheaper). The highest I think is ATi 4770 which has 120% increase with second card in COD4, and 4890 has an average of 90% scaling.
@Game_playa I know, a lot of it is advertising but still, benchmark wise, there still has been a MASSIVE increase in performance. Defiantly no longer worth the money though. The old mac pros, I could build something that would be better, spec-wise for around $1500-$2000 over the mac pro which was $4000. Now it's $5800.. I can still build something for less - I just really wish I had that mac OS though.
game_playa:
We buy mac pros to be to have more power in Color, FCP, Affter Effects and likes. For COD4 $500 PC will do, srsly.
Marty, I want it for the Adobe suite and some other apps but this doesn't mean that I can get a better hardware-spec machine for less than a mac pro. I don't want to start an argument because I don't have the time to debate but yeah, that's all I'm saying, macs are overpriced, even if they do come with an awesome OS, I can't justify spending an extra $3000 -$4000 for OS X.
Just buy the 8 core model at base spec and add the good stuff yourself. At any rate you won't end up spending $3000 more.
@Ethan I'm talking about Australia's prices, Apple add a crap-load onto the price over here. It's $5800 for the base spec 8-core when I could buy a much higher spec custom build for $3000-$4000.
@Ethan sorry, correction, they are $5899 so really, $5900.
Chris, I agree that they're overpriced. On the other hand, RED One is like $40-50k with lenses and a workstation for Assimilate Scratch would cost you $15-40k. Depends how you look at the prices. I'd love to see a cheaper MacPro, though :-)
unless you are rending stuff at like 3000x2000 or whatever (you get the point, basically 4k ... maybe even 2k) you dont need 2 video cards.
@d889 generally people who work with video etc need multiple monitors, I have a three monitor setup at the moment, soon to be upgraded. I render thinks at quad HD so yes, I do need multiple GPU's.
things, not thinks xD
Adobe After Effects crash on more than 6 cpu and benchmark prove it work faster on windows. Also the multi-cores rendering is a gimmick because the bottleneck is the ram and hard drive especially for HD content. You work slower if you use the multi-processing. Before make a preview your computer need to save the scene for each different cpu. Most people I know uncheck multi-processor when working.
FCP I dont know really...
For adobe products, choose higher Ghz over more cores. A 3ghz dual-core will work faster than a 2.4ghz quad.
3D softwares of course are different. The GUI will be faster with more Ghz (especially simulation and IK) but more cores is always good for rendering. Ray Tracing is totally different than what AE or FCP use.
Adobe = Dual-core will do the job just fine, 3D = The more cores the best!!
Bobsley, first of all, I don't need to prove anything to you. Secondly, I AE and produce quad HD animations on my windows 2.8ghz dual core extreme LAPTOP with 4gb of ddr2 ram 800mhz. Sure I don't preview them at full res and thats exactly why I need a powerful machine.
Also, 6-cpu machine? What do you mean it crashes on a 6-cpu machine, wtf!?
HDD is the biggest bottle neck.. even so, why are you telling me this stuff?
It has to cost $1800 more to ship it down under the equator. They figure that if one pays that much for bandwidth, then one is surely willing to pay more for a Mac Pro.
There are only 4 DDR3 DIMM slots pre CPU bank. Hence the 16GB limit per CPU bank (4x4GB). Which is really a shame since this platform is triple channel and adding a 4th RAM stick to a bank of 3 will slow the memory bus down. A much better implementation would be to have 6 total DIMM slots per CPU, enabling two, triple channel memory sets. Apple however, chose a better looking CPU cooler that produced less heat over actually improving performance. A real shame for any Pro using this for video production.
@MacOS Dad
Yes, but they've gone up $1800 over here, I'm saying that not only are they more expensive over here but they slapped on another $1800. Shipping hasn't gone up that much, nor has the dollar.
As for the memory, thanks for explaining that :) :P
Heu... actually im with you... as for the 6 cores thing, its just that AE will crash if you render using the full 8 cores, even with tons of memory. There is a fix fro that... someone have make a script to force AE to use only 6 cores of the 8. Maybe CS4 fixed that, I dont know.
Buying a 3500$ 8 cores computer for for AE is overkill right now as AE multi-processing implementation is quite crappy. A 1500$ i7 quad will do just as well.
Im only talking for AE because 3D apps of course will use the full 8 cores capability.
@Bobsley
One of my mates has CS3 on his 8-core mac pro, I'll ask him about it - I didn't even know about this, thanks for pointing it out though!