# Mac Rumor Thread :)



## pulse (Jul 26, 2010)

Well I thought it might be an idea to post a Mac Rumor's Thread, as there is allot of speculation regarding the update of the Mac Pro, iMac, and some sort of touch pad thingy 

Anyway I've just found this on a website called Desktop review (just to note, similar information is appearing on different websites)... so if anyone has anything to add feel free.

WRITE UP on Desktop Review Website:

Coming off the news that Mac desktop sales are surprisingly strong, rumors are circulating that Apple will be spending tomorrow updating their stores and site with new Cinema Displays and Mac Pros - as well as launching a new product entirely.

It wasn't so long ago that Apple released the exciting new 27-inch iMac - unfortunately, they left Cinema Display fans yearning. Topping out at 30 inches, the Apple Cinema Displays are gorgeous, but the 2560x1600 resolution feels just a bit last-gen when the iMacs offer a whopping 2560x1440 in a form factor thats three inches smaller. For those playing along at home, that's roughly 101 pixels per inch versus 109 pixels per inch, respectively.

Jon Gruber, famed Apple enthusiast and owner of the Daring Fireball blog, is suggesting that tomorrow will bring a number of updates, including, finally, a 27-inch Apple Cinema Display with the same resolution as the 27-inch iMac all-in-ones. Does that mean the 30-inch Apple Cinema Display will be discontinued, sold as is, or replaced by an even higher resolution screen? The first of these is the most likely, but anything could happen.

The Mac Pro is also due for a substantial update, with almost eight months since its last speed bump. The Mac Pro is one of the most beautiful and elegant desktops currently sold by manufacturers, but its iconic metal case hasn't been changed in close to four years, and even then it was barely changed from the PowerMac G5 tower, released seven years ago last month. Given the recent radical updates to the Mac Mini design, an updated Mac Pro look is sensible, but by no means certain.

Finally, there are a number of rumors floating around concerning Apple's introduction of a wireless, Bluetooth-enabled, multitouch trackpad device meant for use with desktops such as the iMac and Mac Pro (and presumably any PC, should drivers be made available for Windows).

Ever since the company introduced the multitouch-capable Magic Mouse, rumors have been circulating regarding the trackpad's existence. Ever since Engadget posted a leaked picture, the rumors have been flowing faster and faster, with further claims supporting the possibility of some sort of handwriting recognition in addition to the (at least two-finger) multitouch operation.

Enjoy,
Anthony


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## JMDNYC (Jul 27, 2010)

Forget the rumors: here's the official press release

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/07/27macpro.html


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## manyfingers (Jul 27, 2010)

swanky.. :wink: 

http://www.trustedreviews.com/peripherals/news/2010/07/27/Apple-Magic-Trackpad-Gets-Official/p1 (http://www.trustedreviews.com/periphera ... fficial/p1)


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## Nick Batzdorf (Jul 27, 2010)

They need a Bluetooth keyboard with a numerical keypad, or a stand-alone keypad. (In other words, that's what I'd like sitting next to a wireless keyboard, not a trackpad.)

Mac Pos...well, they're getting more powerful and the psychology is for everyone who has a previous machine to turn green.  But the software we use hasn't entirely caught up with the machines they've had out for almost three years.

As I've posted before, this is a first in the history of technology. Until now, music software has brought the gnarliest machines available to their knees.


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## Mike Connelly (Jul 27, 2010)

Nick Batzdorf @ Tue Jul 27 said:


> But the software we use hasn't entirely caught up with the machines they've had out for almost three years.



Very true. Logic doesn't even support all the cores on the previous generation of 8 core machines. Although I hope that this will put some pressure on Apple to update Logic to use all the cores (including the hyperthreading cores, which it actually does use on the quad machines). It looks like Logic is just limited to using eight cores (HT or full cores), anything beyond that just sits there completely idle.


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## JT3_Jon (Jul 27, 2010)

Ok, I'll be the first to ask....

Which will be better for heavy sample & synth based music production, a single 3.33 GHz 6-core Intel Xeon W3680 processor Mac pro, or the two 2.93 GHz 6-core Intel Xeon X5670 processors (12-core) Mac pro? The 16GB of ram on the 3.33 seems like a limitation, and though the 2.93 can hold 32GB its single processor speed is slower. :?: 

I'm a little disappointed USB 3.0 wasn't included. I remember a time when apple was setting the curve, not waiting to add things as a later as a new selling point. "Now with USB 3.0!"  

I'm still considering getting a used/ refurbished 2008 3.2 Quad core. Are these new macs significantly better? I guess that will depend on how much they cost!'

edit: Mike also brought up a good point that the computer is only as good as the software its running. As a Logic user I would be very upset if I spent $6000 and was still maxing out logic songs because the program isn't optimized to use all the available resources (and while I wait for an update the computer continues to loose its value). I'd love to avoid that if possible.


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## Mike Connelly (Jul 27, 2010)

The 4/6 core version only having four ram slots is definitely a big limitation.

The older machines are a decent option but keep in mind that the 2008 versions don't have hyperthreading (which Logic uses at least some of the time). The 2009 quad actually shows up as eight cores in Logic and gives a decent speed boost over the previous generation. But the newer 8 core machines still only show up as eight, so not much of a difference from the previous generation (or from the quads for that matter). More ram slots in the 2008 though, right?

Apple really needs to get on the ball and actually support all those cores or music guys might as well keep buying old machines. 

Overall I'd say a disappointing update, I don't think they should be shipping quads at all, at least not at that price, and only having four ram slots makes no sense in what is supposed to be a workstation class machine.

What would make sense is eight cores of xeon (and nine ram slots, after all it is triple channel ram), and switch the quad to i7 with cheaper mobo, ram, etc. Just doing that would let them drop the price a lot. Xeon is expensive and the only real advantage is multiple CPU so shipping it in a single chip/quad configuration makes no sense when i7 gives pretty much the same performance at a much lower price.


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## mattmurray8 (Jul 27, 2010)

For those of you that are interested in the 6-core pricing of the MP's, I just did a bit of research.

The chipset of the 6-core is $999 vs chipset 8-core $387 x2

This could possibly mean that the 6 core could be *more* than the 8 core. I guess we'll find out.

Another interesting find:
W3680 6-core (3.33ghz) chipset only supports 1xQPI 6.4GT/s (1333 DDR3)
E5620 8-core (2.4ghz) supports 2xQPI 6.4GT/s (1033 DDR3)

So is having the extra QPI really that important compared to the extra 1Ghz of processing power and extra memory speed?


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