Gross and excessive computer build.

[Auld]

Mac Mini is still a mobile chip, not a xeon. I can't add a Fibre/SAS card for >1000MB/s storage, I can't add a video I/O card or a beefier GPU (or 2). Makes it pretty sucky for any application in my business. Thunderbolt is making in roads here, but ultimately its still a shared bus.

Smaller form factor Mac Pro would be awesome.

We will know about the future before the end of March is my guess.

Older Mac Pros don't necessarily support the newer GPUs.

[Ash_Williams]

I'm saying they can soup up the internals in the Mac mini at a later time.

[Auld]

Let me stop you there.

The Mac Mini is not an appropriate form factor, you cant "supe up" the internals. It is not big enough to accomodate the power/heat dissipation required to run a beefier a chipset and it cant take cards. If they changed it to be bigger, it would cease to be a Mac mini.

New product line is a possibility though.

[Ash_Williams]

Just you watch, Apple knows the Mac mini has potential they won't let its form factor stop them. Plus with the way technology is going its only a matter of time before a desktop as powerful as a $3.5K ends up inside a Mac mini.

I have a top of the line current Mac mini and heat isn't really a big issue despite me having it running all day long with 4 Minecraft servers. Ivy Bridge in a Mac mini will be interesting to see.

Apple doesn't need a new product line for things they already have. Anyways, OP if you go with a Mac Pro you had better look into aftermarket graphics unless you think the card that comes with it should be enough.

[steve_rogers42]

Spend 3k+ on mac pro, void warranty with $500 graphics card that wont fit/work/isntdesigned for it... yea good advice chaps.

wait for mac's sandy-e lineup, westmere is good, but the extra's that come with sandy-e would be worth the cost.


looks like our budget is forming for this diet...

[Juiceness]

=\ didnt want to wait but looks like I have too.

[Auld]

Spend 3k+ on mac pro, void warranty with $500 graphics card that wont fit/work/isntdesigned for it... yea good advice chaps.

wait for mac's sandy-e lineup, westmere is good, but the extra's that come with sandy-e would be worth the cost.


looks like our budget is forming for this diet...

Wow, probably don't give advice on things you know nothing about.

Buying a compatible graphics card and upgrading your Mac Pro does not void warranty. In fact Apple have guides for people to swap out their own RAM and hard drives etc.

[steve_rogers42]

Yea fair enough things have changed with Mac excepting what is and what isnt a modification for warranty agreements

Still, if you damage components whilst installing said modification/expansion then your not covered, so say, if you installed a 580/79XX card and broke something your quite out of luck.

If your buying mac, stick with whats available from the mac store, otherwise you will be forum whoring your way through trouble shoots to get things to co-operate.

[Shinanigans]

http://www.originpc.com/thebigo-config.asp

8 grand and they give you a 2500k?...

I actually built my own PC.
I have never bought pre-built computers.

heh, i didn't mean you

[Auld]

Yea fair enough things have changed with Mac excepting what is and what isnt a modification for warranty agreements

Still, if you damage components whilst installing said modification/expansion then your not covered, so say, if you installed a 580/79XX card and broke something your quite out of luck.

If your buying mac, stick with whats available from the mac store, otherwise you will be forum whoring your way through trouble shoots to get things to co-operate.

what? If you break anything on any product your warranty wonn't cover it. No warranty covers accidental damage.

Mac Pro's would have to be the easiest machines to install things in. Almost everything is modular.

For the record I am not suggesting you buy a card and flash the firmware to get it to work with a Mac Pro. Obviously buy an upgrade card that is certified for the Mac Pro.

[Lurk]

There is still a market for Mac Pro's in the professional video space, on a rough guess its worth in the vicinity of $1billion per year in revenue. Less than 1% of Apple's total revenue and therefore likely to be scrapped.

But there is definitely a need for them.

I kind of agree with this, but can attest against it. We do some (very basic) video editing and digitising of footage at my workplace for some clients of ours, and the video guys used to get ~$5k Mac Pros each (this was about five to six years ago now). We came up on the replacement of these machines earlier this year, and opted to go with a high-spec'd iMac instead for each. Surprisingly good performance, big screen, Mac OS X, etc for about a third of the total price of a Mac Pro + Display kit.

Of course, we're not the super high end editing suites, but just found it interesting. The performance out of the new iMac models with good CPU chips and GPU chips is definitely enough for your low to middle end video and multimedia suites now. If they make the performance better, I can definitely see it ousting the Mac Pro to where the Mac Pro editing moves to a different model of "do it on a server". Curious to see what happens to that industry.

Anyway, sorry for adding to the derailing, but just thought I'd add in that.

[Auld]

@ Lurk - thats exactly what we sell to people doing that kind of work. A new 27" iMac with 8-16GB RAM, SSD and if the are using uncompressed footage a 12TB Thunderbolt array. Freaking awesome boxes for the $$$ and very tidy looking in front of clients.

Unfortunately they don't cut the mustard for heavy VFX work. Also some application are not yet compatible with Thunderbolt Video I/O options, which means you cant check a grade or broadcast out.

[Juiceness]

So much desire to purchase it now, despite being a horrible move.

I am a very impatient person.

[Juiceness]

And that was the end result.

[Ash_Williams]

Holy. ****. Sex.

How much did it all come to?