mac pro, worth it or not?

[doomgiver]

thread only for discussing pros and cons of APPLE MAC PRO.
light applebashing allowed, no swearing, it gets you banned, seriously.

is the mac pro worth buying (hell no, im not touching anything that's been passed out of Apple's rear entrance, just asking around)???

ok, its got lots of xeons and an insane amount of ram, but what about graphics?
it does not support SLI/crossfire, im curious, how will it measure upto the other systems.... hmm?

quote wikipedia
When running Mac OS X, the Mac Pro currently does not support SLI or ATI CrossFire,[23] limiting its ability to use the latest "high-end gaming" video card products
unquote

applebashing - cue <insert song>
---------------------
quote :
System memory is often connected to a processor through a separate I/O controller. But Intel Xeon “Nehalem” and “Westmere” processors feature an integrated memory controller. By connecting memory directly to the processor, the new Mac Pro processors have faster access to data stored in memory, and memory latency is reduced.
: unquote

LOL. seriously apple, thats standard on all nehalem/westmeres

 

[thetechfreak]

I think Macs are mainly bought for bragging rights.

Cons- Wayy too costly.

 

[coderunknown]

similar workstations from HP & DELL will come lot cheaper. in short, if its not for home, please don't consider it.

 

[skeletor]

The motherboard of current Mac Pro comes with 3 full length PCIe slots - one x16 and two x4.

x16 and x4 aren't going to give you proper scaling anyways.

Secondly, nVidia and AMD don't have proper SLI/CF drivers for *nix operating systems (Unix and Linux) Mac OS X is Unix. You can blame Apple (most), nVidia and AMD - all three for this. Apple because they aren't interested in getting SLI and CF on their platform.

But yes, blame nVidia and AMD completely for crappy multi-GPU drivers on other platforms than Mac OS X.

Now, the new Radeon HD 6xxx are supported 100% after Mac OS X 10.6.7 release. No idea about GTX 5xx cards.

Lastly, it depends on what you want.

You can get a PC with great specs within 1.2 lakh and use Windows 7 on it. But if you like Mac OS X, then you can get a Mac Pro.

There's no argument regarding which OS is superior - Mac OS X Snow Leopard or Windows 7. Mac OS X is much better, much secure and more efficient. (now don't come up with Own2Pwn Safari kind of news. It's Safari being hacked, not the OS!) But Apple's premium is silly and not justified at all.

So, if you are willing to trade better hardware for a better OS, Mac Pro is for you. Else a kick arse Windows based PC. Having said that, there isn't anything which Windows can't do and Mac OS X can. Windows 7 is excellent and not bad at all. And if you game, then you'll end up installing Windows 7 on Mac anyways. But most of the games which I play these days, have their Mac version too. (Steam)

PS: I think those people who use Mac, Linux and Windows day in and day out are the only guys who can judge all the platforms properly. Fanboys can't do that.

 

[thetechfreak]

yeah, Steam is proving to be very useful and good to owners.

Apple's only trump card is Mac OSX.
Apple must give Sli or crossfire to justify hefty price tag

 

[doomgiver]

yep, as i thought, only for rich fanboys.

and safari is running within the os, so potentially the attacker can gain access to the system, although mac os being a balant rip-off of bsd, it might not crumble the way windows does.

 

[thetechfreak]

and safari is running within the os, so
potentially the attacker can gain
access to the system,

This is same problem Internet Explorer suffers from.

But Mac's really need to be sensibly priced.

 

[skeletor]

Who uses Safari anyways? Most of the Mac users I know are on Firefox 4 now.

 

[pauldmps]

^^ Everyone went offtopic there.

Back to topic, I believe that unlike some of Apple's products (iPod, iPhone, iPad, etc), the Macbooks are a complete wastage of money.

There are loads of better hardware available at a cheaper price. And there are better built laptops too like the Thinkpad & XPS series.

The iPod, iPhone & iPad gives you special features & a different form-factor UI that justifies paying for them. But the Macbook is simply a laptop. There are much better configs in much lesser price, so no competition here.

As for the OS, I'll stick to what the majority uses - Windows, until Apple decides to increase its OS market share & makes it available for non-Apple hardware.

 

[gagan007]

But the Macbook is simply a laptop.

Although I hate Apple as much as anyone else, but Macbook is not simply a laptop. It is an altogether different experience. I do not have any other reason to hate a Mac except for its price. There is not a single task that you can't do on a Mac. And if you have iPod and iPhone then having a Macbook is a boon.

I have used my friend's macbook pro and it was a delight. User experience is wayyyy better than Windows.

 

[utkarsh009]

^^i feel ubuntu has better ui than mac os x (and better animation and customizable eyecandy). i dont think anyone requires mac os x.

 

[thetechfreak]

^^i feel ubuntu has better ui than mac os x (and better animation and customizable eyecandy). i dont think anyone requires mac os x.

I really like when we drag and tha curve happens..

I kind of agree with second sentence..

 

[utkarsh009]

^^are you talking about wobbly windows while dragging? then it is also available in linux and much more.

 

[thetechfreak]

^^are you talking about wobbly windows while dragging? then it is also available in linux and much more.

Yeah that only....in Ubuntu

 

[sparx]

The answer depends on the type of user you are.

There are many people in multimedia field who prefer and even normal users who have the money just for its simplicity of use, great design, many use Apple proprietary softwares, therefore use MAC do to some reason.

Some people don't require a better performance for the work they do on MAC.

But for power users who prefer performance than looks and don't require simplicity would prefer anything that is not mac

 

[gagan007]

@utkarsh: thetechfreak is supporting you in both the sentences. I respect open source, though I have yet to try Ubuntu in near future...soon but you can't reject MacOS just like that. A fair question for which I expect an honest answer. Have you (both Utkasrh and thetechfreak) ever tried your hands on Macbook? I mean not the way we do in shops but like for a full day or so?

 

[thetechfreak]

Have you (both Utkasrh and thetechfreak) ever tried your hands on Macbook?

Only for few minutes in a Croma store...and few minutes at a friends place...

P.S- I stay in Guwahati and there is no way to try a Mac.

 

[utkarsh009]

i used it on my uncle's macbook just for few minutes.

 

[gagan007]

My opinion about Mac changed when I used Macbook Pro of my roommate. I hate to admit it to him (haven't done it yet), but loved it.

I think whoever has purchasing power should go for it.

See its like (I am not comparing speed of Mac and PC, it is just and example) why would you buy a Veyron for 16crore when you can purchase a Merc/BMW for 50lac. They both can touch maximum legally permissible speed limit anyways.

IMO those who have spare crores should go for Veyron. You won't say that Veyron is cr@p, will you?


Anyways it is my understanding. Opinions differ, that's what make each one of us a unique person.

 

[skeletor]

Back to topic, I believe that unlike some of Apple's products (iPod, iPhone, iPad, etc)

Fixed. You don't really get a better overall PMP than iPod touch within 10k. I'm by no means a fan of iPhone and the iPad.

the Macbooks are a complete wastage of money.

There are loads of better hardware available at a cheaper price. And there are better built laptops too like the Thinkpad & XPS series.

Have you ever used Mac OS X?

Most people think having an epic config is more than enough and they don't give a damn about the OS they're using. Funnily, the OS is the only thing which they'll be using all the time. And if that thing gives you headache, then what's the use?

If I had money, I'll definitely go for a Macbook Pro (the one with HD 6750). As far as better "built" is concerned, Macbook Pro has top notch built quality. XPS doesn't come close.