12-core Apple Mac Pro orders are go
By Thomas Ricker 
posted August 9th 2010 4:51AM
posted August 9th 2010 4:51AM
[Thanks, Nathan]
posted August 9th 2010 4:51AM
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Wow. Other than the processors, the rest of the base specs are pretty crappy.
@Mike10010100
It's a workstation-class machine... not a gaming rig.
@Michael Scrip it's a mac... I mean you need those 12 processors to run flash on it effectively.
For $5,000, I could buy 4 PC's each with 6GB RAM, 1TB HDD, ATI Radeon HD 5770, and a single, quad-core Xeon.
Awesome, but just not worth it.
@Michael Scrip
Just saying. Even for a workstation, the graphics aren't even in the right class...
I'm pricing it out now. Just seeing what the Apple tax is.
@John Stathakis
Make that a quad-core i7.
@John Stathakis
As I understand it the only difference between the 6 core i7 and the Xenon are that the Xenon has a second input-output line (Quick Path Interface) that talks directly to the other CPU. The i7s have that disabled.
They do this so they can drive up the price for server models. lol
@Mike10010100 by xenon (the headlamps) u really mean, Xeon, right?
@Mike10010100
I'll stick with a hackintosh if I want another apple product. They are wayyy to expensive.
@Mike10010100
All these are from Newegg, links available upon request.
2x Intel Xeon X5650 Westmere 2.66GHz 12MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 95W Six-Core Server Processor BX80614X5650
$2049.42
2x Kingston ValueRAM 3GB (3 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM ECC Unbuffered DDR3 1333 Server Memory Model
165.98
1 TB Hard Drive: around $89 Source? Common knowledge. Only 119 if you want a 2 TB.
Motherboard? Most likely a modified EVGA Classified SR-2 (let's assume)
$650
Power Supply: Corsair AX1200: $300
So far, $3,254.40
Graphics card:SAPPHIRE 100283L Radeon HD 5770
$170
Case? I'll be gracious and say $150
Oh yeah, almost forgot. CD drivex2....Hell, let's just throw 2 Blue ray drives on there, for kicks! $120
And the piece de resistance: Windows 7 Ultimate: $180. Less with student discounts.
Final price?
$3,874.40
Thanks folks, I'll be here all week! *takes bow*
@12102
Whoops. Silly n. I always think of the element.
@John Stathakis Yeah but four slower computers doesn't help you while you are editing video.
@Mike10010100 It's a Mac Pro. It's not for your dumb ass you all morons. Only pros purchase it and Apple doesn't market it for your Fandroid asses. Please for god sake stick to your PC (Piece of Crap) windose and stay the F out of this. I have no idea why Engadget put this article in Fandroid Land. Now, since your not too smart selves can't take the truth just vote my comment which has burned your Microsoft ass, negative and send it to oblivion. It's a work station which is made for professionals who knows the value of OS X and runs Pro Apps. Again, NOT YOUR FANDROID ASS.
@John Stathakis Yes please buy PCs. Please stay out of Mac. We don't have place for dumb PC (Piece of Crap) lovers.
@Raytem Down rank in 3...2..
@Mayd This is what exactly most of these Fandroids who only use their PC for posting stupid comments on Engadget don't understand.
@Raytem
Rofl. Every application for OSX has an equivalent application for Windows. Windows 7 is on par with OSX, if not better. They're equally as easy to use. And now I've just proven that you can buy the same PC for a lower price, a significantly lower price.
And the only thing you can come up with is personal insults? Yeah. Who's the dumbass?
@Raytem
You speak English bad yes.
@Raytem
Lol. If you get downvoted, it's because you're wrong and annoying, while being highly insulting. Along with narcissism, we can chalk up anger management issues and martyr complex.
Isn't this such fun?
@Jonnyinter Exactly cause truth hurt Fandroid ass faster then anything.
@Raytem HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
@Mike10010100 Wow, you know so much about anger. Coming from experience?
It's because I own one of these and I know the value of it which your dumb ass, obviously don't.
@Raytem
*sigh* Can you refute my numbers? No. Because they're fact. Fact: this mac is overpriced. Fact: you lash out and call names and spout how there's some intrinsic "value" in a Mac Pro that is unaccountable and worth $1200 or more.
I speak because you obviously have a problem. lol
@Mike10010100 If that would be the case, Pros won't be buying macs and BTW Pros can't afford their machine breaking down every other day or virus eat it the moment you connect to Internet.
@Raytem Maybe the truth hurts that this is overpriced stuff :o if Mac OS X is only 30 dollars (upgrade :P). why do they need to build a machine then that is 1500 dollars more expensive with the same specs than a Windows Computer.
Btw a Mac is also a PC because its also a personal computer...
btw you dont have the premium warranty included in the 5000 Mac pro -_-.
@Mike10010100
Don't worry about it Mike... Many professionals interested in this machine will pay the additional money to avoid assembling your big NewEgg shipment, and to run OSX.
That's how professionals roll.
.
@SomEngangVar Ooohhh, please don't hit that negative vote button too fast or your PC will break down and will give you BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH.
@Mike10010100
I'm sure if you calculate the cost of components of a car, it's cheaper than the price you pay at the dealer. But do you want to build, support, test, and troubleshoot the car, or do you want to just go to a dealer, pay up, and drive one? The target market of the Mac Pro is not a DYI-er like you.
@Raytem
Rofl. Macs have the exact same break-down rate as anything else in the industry. These parts are exactly (if not better) than the parts that Apple uses. Viruses only happen to people who download porn and don't check the file type. Or click "virus.exe" hoping that it will give them a cookie! Macs can also get viruses, you know.
@hey buddy
Professionals really love wasting money, eh? All for a brand. And assembling a computer is pretty darn easy, especially if you're a techie, which is the kind of person who would buy this type of computer.
@Michael Scrip Yeah but generally big mac workstations like this are used to do CGI or other graphics work. They need big big floating point GPUs The 5770 ain't it. I could see something CUDA like a pair of nvidia 460s being a good option, and still not requiring a whole other power supply, but if a single 5770 is the best you can buy they've hosed themselves out of half their market.
@pika2000
Cars have millions of moving parts and deal with volatile material. They need to be assembled by a professional or someone who has a ton of time on their hands. They require extremely precise and special machinery to assemble. They are intrinsically more complicated than assembling a computer. In other words, stop it with the car analogies, and come up with something more similar.
Each part has their own warranty. Most come with 2 years factory.
@Mike10010100 -- "And now I've just proven that you can buy the same PC for a lower price"
EVERY TIME a new Mac Pro come out... someone posts a NewEgg parts list. You haven't done anything special.
Go ahead... build a 12-core Windows PC for $3900. Hell, you could start a business by converting video editors and pro photographers to Windows... and sell workstation-class PCs to them.
You could also show them why saving money on hardware is the most important thing... and make them forget about support and warranties.
@Mike10010100 The value is, I've been using one for over 3 years for video editing and everything else, except gaming, for that i have PS3 and Xbox 360, and not even once, are you ready, this might give your PC heart, heart attack, not even once my machine break down, I know it's hard to believe and you MS users never heard of it. Matter of fact, it runs as fast today as it did when I bought it. I'll pay more again to have that peace of mind.
@bombastinator
No kidding. I keep saying that the GPUs are crap. People keep saying "It's for rendering! Shut up!"
RENDERING IS DONE MORE AND MORE BY THE GPU. Seriously.
@Mike10010100
For the target market of Mac Pros (same thing with Dell, HP, and all companies with a business lineup), their time is more valuable, and it would actually be cheaper to just buy a supported computer than shopping at Newegg and building their own workstations.
Heck, I even stop building my own computers. Sure, it was cheaper when I was in college and jobless, but now, it's actually more expensive to build my own computer than simply buy a pre-built one when I add my hourly wage times the time I would spend building/troubleshooting one.
@Mike10010100
I'd totally have one...as long as I didn't have to pay...you know like, living THE DREAM :P
@Raytem
My machine has never, not once, broken down. You have exactly the same chance of a regular PC breaking down as a custom. And customs are easier to repair, inasmuch that you know exactly what went into the PC. Macs have exactly the same failure rate as the rest of the market. Stop it with the FUD.
@Michael Scrip
Support? Each piece comes with at least 2 years factory warranty.
@pika2000
That's what an IT department is for. I mean, you ARE working for a company right? (wages)
Small businesses will be on a budget and will want a cheaper computer that can do just as much.
Larger businesses have an IT department that takes care of the building and support.
Either way, you win.
@Mike10010100
It's an analogy. If you're going to nitpick, then handling computer components is not an easy task either. You're assuming that the target market of the Mac Pro are DIY-ers like you. Normal people don't even want to open a computer case.
How about this analogy then. It's cooking food yourself vs eating out. If you ever eat out, then you're no different than buying the Mac Pro per your own reasoning as cooking your own food is cheaper. :rolleyes:
@Raytem
lol...
you just dont stop do you?
Blue Screens Of Death are about as common as the mac error screen. I've only had one once in this year. And it was to stop a stupid display driver from damaging the OS.
@Mike10010100
Really? You want your IT people to spend their time shopping at newegg and building computers? Get serious. There's a reason why HP, Dell, etc all have business lineups. :rolleyes:
@pika2000
Food is a consumable product. Not a capital investment. Once you eat food, it's gone. Also an inaccurate analogy.
DIY components require a screwdriver. That's it. Maybe a little thermal paste, but that sometimes comes with the proc or mobo.
@Mike10010100
Guessing you've never worked for a design agency? The designers here all use Macs for a very good reason - they don't want to think about what is going on in their computer. They just want to do their job
Your completely missing the target market for this. The people who will buy this most likely are NOT techies. They will be professionals who just want to get on with their work. The designers here wouldn't have a clue how to assemble a computer, and the IT department wouldn't want to spend additional time building machines.
While I personally like to build machines myself, I can at least see the point of this (though I agree that it is overpriced!)
@wickywills
Design agencies have budgets and IT departments. More power for less money is good from anyone's perspective.
Why would they have to worry about their computers? That's what the IT department is for. And PCs don't break down as much as Apple would have you believe.
@Michael Scrip
whats the difference nowadays? none, except price. technically the ideal parts for a fast workstation for some cad action would be ideal for a gaming rig too. scientific calculations? the same deal. movie editing? pretty much the same nowadays(gpu accelerated).
workstation label can fetch bigger money for the same hardware, at least in marketers mind, like nvidias game of naming identical cards with quadro instead of geforce, for years, to pump the price up and get a bigger return on the same cores.
@Mike10010100
You just can't build PC with similar specifications in $150 worth of casing. It just won't work.
@Mike10010100 -- "assembling a computer is pretty darn easy, especially if you're a techie, which is the kind of person who would buy this type of computer."
Just because you know how to "assemble" a computer doesn't mean everyone else can.
No company, large or small, wants to build their own computers... even if it will save them money on *hardware*
As I said before... support is also a big factor. You didn't factor that into your NewEgg price quote. Your parts list doesn't tell the whole story.
If a company or a university needs 200 new computers... do you think they wanna build them in-house? If they did... then Dell would have lost every business contract they have by now.
And even if a company needs one Windows workstation... they're still gonna call HP and order one.
Only geeks build their own computers... and that's a small percentage of the population.
@mushaboom
Why not? There are massive cases with many included fans for $150.
@Michael Scrip
"support is also a big factor. You didn't factor that into your NewEgg price quote. Your parts list doesn't tell the whole story."
How many times do I have to repeat this? IT departments exist for a reason. Each part comes with at least a 2 year factory warranty for free replacements.
Then large businesses are stupid. Why would they go around wasting money on a product that is equivalent to a cheaper product?
@pika2000 man it takes less than 30 min to assembly a PC(wtf it has 5 parts in it) and more than 2 hours to install & configure software! And i dont think any pc or mac comes with your software installed!
I got it, you know everything about pc's!