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Graphics Powerhouse: ATI Radeon HD 3870 Mac & PC edition
Mac Pro users -- it's time to power up the graphics capability of your machine! ATI has announced the new Radeon HD 3870 Mac & PC Edition. Whether you're a serious gamer or a graphics designer, this new card features 256-bit 512MB GDDR4 frame buffer memory, 320 stream processors, twin dual-link DVI ports to run two 30" Apple Cinema HD displays, PCI Express 2.0 support, and more.One of our readers pointed out that you can even use the HD 3870 in Windows running in Boot Camp on a Mac Pro. The Radeon HD 3870 runs in any Mac Pro and will be available in late June for a MSRP of $219.Thanks to TJ & Seth for the tip!
My USB dilemma, can you help?
Here's my daily dilemma. Between work and family, we own 6 iPods (this includes our two iPhones), each of which has its unique playlists, podcast subscriptions and so forth. We also have a printer and scanner -- both used regularly, and an EyeTV tuner, again critical. We have an external microphone connector for Skyping and no fewer than three external disks. One is used for Time Machine, one for EyeTV recordings, one for my G4 backups. My G4, with its ten built-in USB ports and connection to a single powered USB 4-port hub, is on the fast-past to dying. It's not right on the edge yet but all the signs are there. It's time to move on. But what is going to replace that G4 with its surfeit of USB ports?
Early Mac Pros finally get their NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT Upgrade Kit
When Apple introduced the new Mac Pros, they came with new graphics cards... that weren't compatible with previous Mac Pros. This has caused some consternation amongst owners of the neglected machines, who have been wondering for a while when their problem-ridden video cards might get some Apple love. Fret no more, it's here.If you're looking for the extra power of the GeForce 8800 GT for your pre-2008 Mac Pro, head to the product page. And, as noted by my friend (and perturbed pre-2008 Mac Pro owner) Peter Boysen, there's actually a somewhat surprising price drop of about $70 from the previously available kits.Thanks Will, Chris and Peter!
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT upgrade kit available for older Mac Pro desktops
Owners of first-generation Mac Pros, rejoice. Unless you already laid down the cash for one of those upgrade kits meant only for early 2008 machines, that is. For the rest of you, Apple has delivered a new NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT upgrade kit built specifically for your machine. As expected, the card itself looks the same -- twin dual-link DVI ports, 512MB of dedicated GDDR3 RAM, etc. -- but the Apple store now carries two distinct products to distinguish between the card compatible with early 2008 rigs and the Mac Pros before it. If you've managed to hold off buying a new machine this long, you can order yourself an all new graphics card right now for $279.[Via MacRumors]
Mac Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.3
Yesterday, Apple gave Mac Pro owners an EFI Firmware update. Here's what Apple says about the update: This update fixes several issues to improve the stability of Mac Pro (Early 2008) computers. To complete the firmware update process, please follow the instructions in the updater application (/Applications/Utilities/Mac Pro EFI Firmware Update.app). The updater will launch automatically when the Installer closes.To download the firmware updater, open Software update or download the installer package from Apple's support downloads website.
Dear Aunt TUAW: Help me buy a Mac Pro
It's not often that we get to do an advice column here, but let's see how this goes. An email arrived at the office just the other day...Dear Aunt TUAW, I work in the engineering college of a large private university, where I manage 6 Mac-based labs. I just tried to order myself a brand new Mac Pro to replacing my aging PowerMac G5 and was told by my dean that the college would no longer be buying Macs because they had absolutely no place in the engineering industry. He said that from this point forward, the college "would only be buying Windows computers, period!"I know that he is wrong and that there are engineers that use Macs professionally and I can give a few examples to support that. If I am going to win this argument I'm going to need a lot of proof. Signed, Mac-lorn Admin Dear Mac-lorn Admin, Darling, didn't you realize the Mac Pro is a Windows machine, and a darned speedy one? Last time I checked, Boot Camp + Mac Pro = a Windows dream! The adult in us loves the reliability and UNIX backbone, but the kid in us loves the GUI and tasty frosting! Having a single machine that can do double or triple duty with Mac apps, BSD/Linux engineering power and Windows compatibility would be the envy of any right-minded academician. Still, we know that logic isn't going to sway that mean ole dean of yours. TUAW readers, can you help Mac-lorn? Leave us your testimonials about using Macs in your professional lives -- particularly in engineering or in higher ed -- in the comments. Love, Auntie T.
Mac Pro Mini mod is almost the midrange tower Mac you've always wanted
Sure, we think the iMac is a nice machine, but sometimes you want to add a PCI card or six, and when the cheapest beslotted Mac starts at a whopping $2,799, mods like Hideo Takano's Mac Pro Mini just make you wonder what could have been. Of course, there are no slots in this bad boy either since it's based around a stock Mac mini with a 2.33GHz processor upgrade, but it is a mighty impressive effort -- actually, check out Hideo's whole Mac Mod Lab site for even more sick Mini mods.[Via Unplgged]
MacBook Air, Mac Pro updates available
Who says this Tuesday arrived without updates? MacBook Air users can launch Software Update this morning and find SMC Update 1.0, which adjusts the use of the (very tiny) internal fan. If you've been having fan issues with your Air, let us know if this patch knocks them out. Also, the ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT Firmware Update is available for the Mac Pro. The change this update offers is "system stability" according to Apple. How exciting.As usual, we ask that you let us know if you have any trouble after applying these updates.
GeForce 8800 GT upgrade causes headaches for some Mac Pro users
It looks like Mac Pro users wanting to get in on some of the latest and greatest action without ditching their old system altogether are still out of luck, despite a recently released "upgrade kit" from Apple that got some of their hopes up, and caused some consternation for anyone that actually took the plunge on one. As a number of users have reported on various discussion forums (one of which is linked below), the $349 GeForce 8800 GT upgrade kit only works in the newest Mac Pros, and not the older models, due to their lack of support for PCI-Express 2.0. That little detail was indicated as requirement by Apple, although many apparently assumed the cards would work because of the inherent backwards compatibility in PCIe 2.0. As you might expect, many users are none to pleased with Apple actions on the matter, with some claiming that the company's interested only in getting customers to buy a new system instead of prolonging the life of their old one. Shocking, we know.[Thanks, John]Update: Nvidia's Director of PR emailed us to let us know that the company is "in the middle of bringing out an upgrade kit based on the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT solution for all Intel-based Mac Pros." What's more, this upgrade kit "should be out in a few weeks." So there you have it, folks. We'll see if they deliver as promised.Update #2: Minor correction: it seems that Apple didn't indicate that PCIe 2.0 was a requirement from the start. That all-important detail was only added to the description on January 15th, or six days after the cards originally went on sale.
Penryn Mac Pro and Xserve hands-on
We don't know what you're looking for, but outside a few minor cosmetic changes (like one RAM riser board being upside down now) and a few technical changes (like SAS drive support, dual 16x PCI-E slots, etc.) Apple's new high performance Penryn Xeon machines -- the Mac Pro and Xserve -- look just the same as they were two weeks ago. Except faster now -- according to their site, anyway. Sorry to disappoint, though, Apple didn't demo the quad PCI-Express slots running eight simultaneous 30-inch monitors. Maybe next time.%Gallery-14132%%Gallery-14133%
Penryn-based Mac Pro gets benchmarked
It's just been a short two days since Apple rolled out its latest Mac Pro update, but that was apparently more than enough time for the folks at Primate Labs to get their hands on one and put it through its paces. They only got the 2.8GHz model, however, so they weren't quite able to fully back up Apple's claims that it's the "fastest Mac ever," but that's not to say they didn't find plenty to be impressed with. In particular, while the new system trailed the older, 3.0GHz model in floating point performance, it edged it out in integer, memory and stream performance -- a feat all the more impressive considering the new 2.8GHz Penryn system is a fair bit cheaper than its speedier predecessor. Of course, those less concerned with saving a few bucks can opt for the new, top-end 3.2GHz model, which should give you plenty of benchmark bragging rights until Apple dishes out its next update.[Via AppleInsider]
New Mac Pros and Xserve
Well, as Nik posted a bit earlier this morning, the Apple Store is indeed down worldwide. As commenters in that post noted, Apple has updated the Mac Pro line before major trade shows before, and as commenter John pointed out, Apple has just updated the front page of Apple.com announcing upgrades to the Mac Pro and Xserve line. I think it's a pretty safe bet that these machines will be available as soon as the Apple Store comes back online.So what are the specs? For the Mac Pro the machines are now 8-core standard (!) running up to 3.2 Ghz each (and this is on the new 45 nanometer Quad-Core Xeon). "Fastest Mac ever" is a phrase bandied around a lot -- but in this case, it's absolutely true.From the press release, the basic configuration ($2799 US) includes: two 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon processors with dual-independent 1600 MHz front side buses; 2GB of 800 MHz DDR2 ECC fully-buffered DIMM memory, expandable up to 32GB; ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT with 256MB of GDDR3 memory; 320GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive running at 7200 rpm; 16x SuperDrive™ with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW); two PCI Express 2.0 slots and two PCI Express slots; Bluetooth 2.0+EDR; and ships with Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse. Full CTO options are detailed in the press release linked above.As for the Xserve, it now includes built-in accelerated graphics to drive up to a 23" Cinema Display and front facing USB 2.0 ports. It is also taking advantage of the new Intel 45 nanometer core technology.The basic configuration ($2999 US) includes: a single 64-bit 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Xeon processor with 12MB of L2 cache and a 1600 Mhz front side bus; 2GB of 800 MHz DDR2 ECC FB-DIMM RAM, expandable up to 32GB; a single 80GB SATA Apple Drive Module; dual Gigabit Ethernet on-board; internal graphics; two FireWire® 800 and three USB 2.0 ports; and an unlimited client license for Mac OS X Server version 10.5 Leopard. The unlimited client license for Leopard OS X Server is pretty fantastic, as are the power and cooling specs. Full configuration details can be found in the press release here.
Apple updates Mac Pro -- "the fastest Mac we've ever made"
It's the week before Macworld 2008, and Apple's updated the Mac Pro with Intel's new 45nm quad-core Penryn Xeon 5400 (Stoakley) CPUs at up to 3.2GHz. The new 8-core config is $2,800, and Apple's Phil Schiller is calling these machines the "fastest Mac we've ever made" (not that we'd expect the newest machine would be anything but). Standard options: 2GB of 800MHz DDR2 RAM ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT (256MB) 320GB drive, 16x DVDRW Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, (2) PCI Express 2.0, (2) PCI Express slots That fancy new Apple keyboard they've been shipping with iMacs No Blu-ray, as rumored, but it can be configured with plenty of hard drives (as usual), RAID, NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT or NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 graphics cards, and 802.11n. Why do we feel like Apple threw these up today just to screw with everyone at CES? (Actually, it's because Intel is announcing all those new chips -- we get that.)
Apple bringing Blu-ray macs to Macworld?
This one's a bit of a no brainer: Apple's going to have to ship a next-gen disc drive at some point this decade, and Macworld 2008 is as good a place as any. Apple also has a friendly history with Sony, has Blu-ray happy Disney in its pocket and is on the Blu-ray consortium, so the Blu-ray format seems a bit of a shoo-in. Analyst Shaw Wu thought he'd made the prediction all the same, and while his track record isn't close to immaculate, we'd say he's got a pretty safe bet here. However, Shaw does say that there's a small possibility of Apple picking a hybrid drive just to stay clear of the format wars. Rumors of the drives come alongside word of a major overhaul of the Mac Pro internals, so it seems like the timing is right, but we'll really never know until Steve takes the stage and starts clicking us through the keynote. Wu also has word of a "MacBook mini" or "MacBook slim," iTunes rentals, some sort of "external HDD storage / dock / streaming device that can work with MacBook mini as well as Airport Extreme," and an Apple TV upgrade down the road to allow for more web content and perhaps a TV tuner. Shaw doesn't play the rumor game super conservative, but it sure is a lot more fun this way.
Refurb Mac Pros back on the Apple Store
Dealmac reports this morning that the Mac Pro towers have returned to Apple's refurb clearance stock, with the Octocore model available for $3399, a full $600 below new retail. The rest of the line shows up as well (scroll down through the refurb page for all the choices); shipping is also free, which is a big help for those heavy, heavy machines.It may be a smidge late to pick up a tower for Christmas, but the good news is that if you were planning to pick up a hefty Mac before Macworld Expo in January -- since laptops are more likely to see revisions than the big iron -- you can now pick up a pre-owned model for less.
Macbook ultraportable and Penryn Mac Pro due for Macworld, 3G iPhone in June?
We've taken a "don't stop believing" approach to Apple ultraportable rumors up to this point, and there's no reason to think these "fresh" predictions from CNBC's Jim Goldman are anything different, but they at least serve as a nice refresher in the lead up to Macworld in January. Goldman predicts the new Pro laptop will be half the thickness of the MacBook Pro, the hard disk will be replaced with NAND storage, and Apple will be selling the thing for $1,500 -- the same price the black MacBook currently goes for. He's purportedly citing sources that claim to have seen the product, and says that the laptop is supposedly due to show up at Macworld. Jim's sources also say that the 3G iPhone is supposed to hit shelves by late May or early June of next year, which beats out some industry predictions of a late '08 release.Of course, since it's just a month before Macworld, it's about time the rumor mill heated up a little beyond incessant Macbook and iPhone rumorings, and MacBidouille is stepping up to stoke the flames. The French rag is claiming that the Mac Pro will get bumped to an 3.2GHz eight-core Penryn setup (totally believable) featuring NVIDIA QuadroFX graphics (sure) with a BTO Blu-ray burner available (maybe), and that DVD Studio Pro will be renamed Disk Studio Pro and refocused on BD authoring (another definite maybe). On top of that, MacBidouille also claims that OS X 10.5.2 will be released, and that it will be "the largest and most important intermediate system update ever released by Apple." We're a little less sure we buy that, but as always, only time and Steve will tell.[Thanks, L2 and Mark]Read - Jim Goldman predictionsRead - MacBidouille predictions
Apple releases Hard Drive Update 1.0 for iMac and Mac Pro
Got a Mac Pro or a Core 2 Duo iMac? Feel like installing 1.4 MB worth of updates for your hard drive? Sure you do. Apple released Hard Drive Update 1.0 earlier today, providing important bug fixes and firmware revs for the drives in these machines. What exactly it's doing, we can't say -- but that's where you, our loyal beta testers readers come in. If you install the update, let us know what happens.Thanks Laurie
Apple ships RAID cards for Mac Pro and XServe
Let me ask you something: do you like fast storage? Redundant, fast storage? Lots and lots of gigabytes of fast, redundant storage? Sure you do, buddy -- but what's with the software RAID on your Mac Pro or your Intel-based XServe? That's so last week, now that Apple is shipping the RAID cards for Mac Pro and XServe; you can now do hardware RAID 0, 1, 5, or (Mac Pro only) 0+1 arrays of SATA drives, or superfast SAS drives on the XServe, for the precise mix of speed and reliability that you're craving.Formerly only available as build-to-order options but now shipping as add-in parts for $999 each, the cards come with a raft of requirements. First, they're only for the machines mentioned above; G5 XServes are out of luck. Second, you can't mix and match drive types on the XServe, it's all SAS or all SATA please. Third, a minor point, barely worth mentioning really, but both these cards are listed as requiring some sort of OS update. Yes, on the heels of this morning's announcement of the MacBook revisions, we now have a total of three pieces of Apple hardware that demand Leopard to work at all.Update: Clarified that the cards were previously available as BTO parts. Note that even though the specifications say Leopard-only for these cards, existing RAID cards (and possibly these as well, for anyone brave enough to spend a grand to test them) continue to work with Tiger.via Apple Hot News -- thanks Nelson
Apple's waiting on Intel's Penryn for revamped Mac Pros?
Apple's desktop warrior Mac Pro doesn't get half the play of Apple's laptops and iMac in the rumor mill, but that doesn't mean there isn't plenty of pent up love for the beastly machine. AppleInsider is reporting that Apple has a revision ready with a significant overhaul of the internals. Apparently what's holding things up is Intel's 45nm Penryn chips, which should be available around the middle of November. Of course, rumors had the Mac Pro in quite similar shape last year, with Apple holding up production for upcoming Clovertown chips. Those arrived right on time, but Apple held up the 8-core Mac for five months in anticipation of Creative Suite 3. The theories this time around are that now that demand is raging for pro machines thanks to Adobe's quite successful product, Apple's going to try to get a new high-end machine -- which could be up to 45 percent faster -- out the door as soon as possible. Rumored specs top out at dual quad-core Xeon "Harpertown" chips running up to 3.2GHz with 1600MHz bus and 12MB of L2 cache, which would be 8 cores of thunder indeed. Who knows if Intel can be shipping enough of those by the end of this year to warrant a Mac Pro release, but it seems like however it goes down, professionals are going to have a new and pricey toy from Apple before too terribly long.
Forget iPhones and iPods, the Mac is where it is at
We've been a little loopy about the iPhone around these parts, it is true. However, that tends to happen with any new product Apple releases, I mean we are sort of expected to exhibit a little more than passing interest in what the good folks in Cupertino are up to. That being said Fortune's Brent Schlender has penned a very good article about the great bugaboo of the Mac Web: market-share.Schlender contends, and I agree, that while Apple's market-share is in single digits Apple is still sitting pretty. Every quarter more and more people are snapping up Macs (the iPhone/iPod halo effect perhaps?) which is very good for Apple's bottom line. Apple has fairly high margins on Macs, and even a slight up tick in market-share translates to lots and lots of dough for everyone's favorite fruit company (this is what I call the 'BMW theory of computer success'). Despite the fact that Apple dropped 'computer' from its name, the Mac is still a pillar of its success. The other two are some phone and a music player of all things![via The Mac Observer]
