Are mac pros quiet?

Thinking about buying a barebones one (which still manages to be over $2k). just wondering about the fan noise

First of all, lets just say I've owned my fair share of Macs and PC's for the last 2 decades. Still have a garage full of 'em but that's another story. I'm real big into Home Theater. Recently did the upgrade to a Hi-Def projector and 110" screen. The room in my current house is kind of small (just 3-5 seats). With HT it's all about keeping the ambient noise down to maximize the sound quality of that Dolby Digital EX or DTS-ES movie your watching. And with the addition of a Playstation 3 in the near future DTS-HD and DolbyHD 7.1 sources will be available. I did the large HD in my Dual G5, put a elgato eyeTV Hybrid HD tuner on it and that was a painful experience. even though the G5 was on the opposite side of the wall, the two open archways into the theater area did nothing to mute the G5's fan noise, which went full force capturing and playing back anything having to do with hiDef. This sucked.
So I decided to do the MacPro BTO. Went with the Radeon X1900 XT, Bluetooth and wiFi options. Downgraded to the smallest Apple 160 HD as I ordered a WD5000KSD 500GB drive because of it's reputation as the quietest drive out there in it's class.
I have several Tivo's with upgraded 160GB drives in them. Again very quiet drives. Either one of them are louder than the MacPro! I even went so far as to put the Pro in the Home Theater (beside my seat) to see if that was viable. Running a DVI to HDMI connection to the projector, TosLink (optical) to the Amp and it was perfectly suitable as a full-on HTPC (home theater PC). I would never put one of the Tivo's in there because of the noise. The loudest thing in the room is the AE900 projector (one of the quietest PJ's out there). This was with 2 HD's installed in the Pro.
So. Don't give it a second thought. The MacPro is more than capable of living with you in tight quarters without the need for you to buy earplugs. Your refrigerator, the ceiling fan, the air rushing out of your AC will be more noticeable than the Pro.

Similar Messages

Which graphics cards are Mac Pro 1,1 (2006) compatible?

I suspect my graphics card is bad (though I could be wrong). At boot I hear the Apple sound but get no visuals whatsoever. No grey or blue or any other kind of screen. I tried resetting PRAM, holding shift, holding option, nothing works. The computer is stuck at the phase where the graphics card fan is on overdrive and it does not ever stop spinning. The card is an ATI Radeon that came stock with the Mac.
I found this article which shows which cards are compatible.
MY QUESTION: Are these the ONLY graphics cards my Mac Pro will support? Or can I install any PCI-E graphics card?

User Tip: Mac Pro silver tower (2006-2012) Replacement Graphics cards

Some Thoughts on the Mac Pro Design

The design of the Mac Pro raises some interesting questions, and I'd like to know if anyone on this forum has insight on these issues.
First, the use of riser cards for main memory is unusual in a consumer or small-business oriented PC design. Designers normally try to avoid this architecture because it adds cost and potentially slows the system. The higher cost comes from the additional connectors, mechanical support hardware, and interface circuitry necessary to drive the memory chip data across the logic board connector. (That's why the Mac Pro memory modules are fully buffered.) Placing the memory slots on the logic board (as in the G5 design) is significantly less expensive. Riser cards also have reduced memory bandwidth due to the additional capacitance and inductance associated with the longer signal traces between the memory and the CPU. The riser card approach is usually used only when there are packaging constraints (i.e., space constraints) that preclude placing the memory chips on the logic board, or when there is some plan to allow future expansion of the system by adding new hardware using the riser board connectors (e.g., additional processors or other devices).
The only explanation that I can find is that Apple was forced to this architecture by packaging constraints imposed by the carry-over tower architecture.
Second, the use of ECC memory in a consumer or low-end business machine is also unusual. ECC memory is typically used for high-reliability computers that process data for non-consumer applications where the consequences of corrupted data are substantial (as in computing at financial institutions, control systems for medical devices, etc.). ECC memory offers a level of data integrity, but is generally higher cost (more chips) and slower (it takes time to compute and compare the ECC codes) than non-ECC systems. Since Apple is using ECC, it would seem that they are either planning to sell Mac Pros in to high reliability applications, or they know something about memory bit failure rates that we don’t. The actual memory die used in the Mac Pro memory modules are standard DDR2 5300 parts, and are the same as those used in the Macbook Pro.
The overall design of the Mac Pro positions it well for use as a work station, and perhaps that was Apple's intent.
The price of the Mac Pro is remarkably low when compared to machines from Dell or Gateway. The good news seems to be that there is quite a bit of room for future price reductions in the form of a Mac Pro with a new case design and simpler memory architecture.
Macbook Pro 1.83 (15") Mac OS X (10.4.7)
Macbook Pro 1.83 (15") Mac OS X (10.4.6)

For post-production and audio work, having a quieter computer is one of the reasons I ordered a Mac Pro - quieter is good. And as my MDD dual 867Mhz is now as long in the tooth as I am, it couldn't come at a better time. I was really contemplating buying a quad G5 the past 6 months, but then heard the professional desktop would come out during the developer's conference, and I'm glad I waited. The price is absolutely - and insanely - great. Mine should be here on the 15th, and I'll be counting the hours. As for the risers, I'm willing to endure a few nanoseconds as a trade-off.
Regards,
Rube
G4 867x2 2Gb Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Mac Pro keeps crashing when using with KVM. where to start my investigation

hi guys.
i have recently ordered ATEN CS-1762 KVM switch (2 ports model) to control my Mac and PC with a single keyboard and mouse. This KVM supports USB and DVI. the problem i have is Mac crashing when i switch from PC. I contacted mfg lately and they are unaware of this issue due to not having Mac Pro to test with this appliance. They have tested it with Mac Mini, G4 and G5 though and all was OK. based on this they put a description that this box is compatible with Mac. Anyway, being relatively new Mac user i ask for your help.
here are my steps and some ATEN's thoughts:
1. accroding to ATEN tech support, i should power up my second computer after the first one was started and is running. firstly i start the Mac Pro, 5 mins after that i power up my PC.
2. When both computers are up and running (Mac is in KVM focus), i switch to PC and all seems OK. I have noticed though that if NumLock is activated during the PC session, I won't be able to switch back to Mac. However, even though NumLock is OFF i still may have troubles when switching back to Mac. So it is not the rule, but maybe the clue to start with..
NOTES:
1. if i start PC first, Mac won't start at all. The power led will be on, but there will be no picture on the monitor and it won't accept any keyboard/mouse inputs as well as it will be network inaccessible.
2. I tried looking into Mac's logs but need your help in getting this clear.
here is the log. as you will see it stops at 13:04 and then continues at 13:08 after reboot.
i've seen some parallel's VMs but i don't have Parallels installed. i used to have it, but then it never happened to work so i deleted it from the machine. can this be the case it is still somewhere?
pls guys, any thoughts are very welcome!!!
PS: i can cause Mac to crash the same way if necessary or if log looks inclomplete. the thing forgot to mention is: when Mac crashes and i reboot it, it will not necessarily boot up completely. i've noticed that i would have to reset the KVM switch prior to Mac's successful start up. so maybe i copied the wrong log (not the one immediately after the crash). pls advise here
Alex
EDIT: specs for machines are:
Mac Pro dual 2.6GHz, 1GB (+1GB aftermarket added half a year back, works perfectly), HDD 260GB, Nvidia 7300 256Mb.
PC - Supermicro dual xeon 1.6GHz, 4GB Ram, 4 x 36GB SCSI, Nvidia 5200 256 MB with Windows 2000 Server.
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: hi mem tramps at 0xffe00000
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: PAE enabled
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: 64 bit mode enabled
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: standard timeslicing quantum is 10000 us
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: vmpagebootstrap: 512109 free pages
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: migtable_maxdispl = 71
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: Enabling XMM register save/restore and SSE/SSE2 opcodes
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: 77 prelinked modules
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: ACPI CA 20060421
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement: ready
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: AppleACPICPU: ProcessorApicId=0 LocalApicId=0 Enabled
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: AppleACPICPU: ProcessorApicId=1 LocalApicId=1 Enabled
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: AppleACPICPU: ProcessorApicId=2 LocalApicId=7 Enabled
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: AppleACPICPU: ProcessorApicId=3 LocalApicId=6 Enabled
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: AppleACPICPU: ProcessorApicId=4 LocalApicId=0 Disabled
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: AppleACPICPU: ProcessorApicId=5 LocalApicId=0 Disabled
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: AppleACPICPU: ProcessorApicId=6 LocalApicId=0 Disabled
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: AppleACPICPU: ProcessorApicId=7 LocalApicId=0 Disabled
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: Copyright (c) 1982, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1993
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: using 10485 buffer headers and 4096 cluster IO buffer headers
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: Enabling XMM register save/restore and SSE/SSE2 opcodes
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: Started CPU 01
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: Enabling XMM register save/restore and SSE/SSE2 opcodes
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: Started CPU 02
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: Enabling XMM register save/restore and SSE/SSE2 opcodes
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: IOAPIC: Version 0x20 Vectors 64:87
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: Started CPU 03
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: ACPI: System State [S0 S3 S4 S5] (S3)
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: Security auditing service present
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: BSM auditing present
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: disabled
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: rooting via boot-uuid from /chosen: BE5A00F3-0C3D-4125-9DE4-3F2193D3DAA8
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: Waiting on <dict ID="0"><key>IOProviderClass</key><string ID="1">IOResources</string><key>IOResourceMatch</key><string ID="2">boot-uuid-media</string></dict>
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: USB caused wake event (EHCI)
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: FireWire (OHCI) TI ID 8025 built-in now active, GUID 0016cbfffe6cfb5c; max speed s800.
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: Got boot device = IOService:/AppleACPIPlatformExpert/PCI0@0/AppleACPIPCI/SATA@1F,2/AppleAHCI/PRT0 @0/IOAHCIDevice@0/AppleAHCIDiskDriver/IOAHCIBlockStorageDevice/IOBlockStorageDri ver/ST3160812AS P Media/IOGUIDPartitionScheme/Customer@2
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: BSD root: disk0s2, major 14, minor 2
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: jnl: replay_journal: from: 3560448 to: 7934976 (joffset 0x48b341000)
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: HFS: Removed 9 orphaned unlinked files
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: Jettisoning kernel linker.
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: Resetting IOCatalogue.
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: PXS1: family specific matching fails
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: Matching service count = 1
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: Matching service count = 2
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: Matching service count = 2
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: Matching service count = 2
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: Matching service count = 2
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: Matching service count = 2
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: NVDANV40HAL loaded and registered.
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: PXS1: family specific matching fails
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: Previous Shutdown Cause: 3
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost kernel[0]: IPv6 packet filtering initialized, default to accept, logging disabled
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost mDNSResponder-108.4 (Jan 8 2007 20: 39:46)[30]: starting
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost memberd[38]: memberd starting up
Apr 18 13:03:38 localhost DirectoryService[42]: Launched version 2.1 (v353.6)
Apr 18 13:03:39 localhost lookupd[44]: lookupd (version 369.6) starting - Wed Apr 18 13:03:39 2007
Apr 18 13:03:39 localhost kernel[0]: AppleIntel8254XEthernet: Ethernet address 00:17:f2:01:63:16
Apr 18 13:03:39 localhost configd[34]: No AirPort Driver found.
Apr 18 13:03:39 localhost kernel[0]: AppleIntel8254XEthernet: Ethernet address 00:17:f2:01:63:17
Apr 18 13:03:39 localhost diskarbitrationd[37]: disk0s2 hfs FDAB59BA-2B84-3AD5-AF66-4BD8CFA20261 Macintosh HD /
Apr 18 13:03:40 localhost lookupd[55]: lookupd (version 369.6) starting - Wed Apr 18 13:03:40 2007
Apr 18 13:03:42 localhost kernel[0]: Intel8254x -- Link Up -- 00:17:f2:01:63:16 -- called by interruptOccurred() --
Apr 18 13:03:42 localhost /System/Library/CoreServices/loginwindow.app/Contents/MacOS/loginwindow: Login Window Application Started
Apr 18 13:03:42 localhost kernel[0]: -- Auto-Neg Advertise Reg (04d) = 0xde1, Link Partner Ability Reg (05d) = 0x41e1, Gig Advertise Reg (09d) = 0xe00, Gig Link Partner Ability Reg (10d) = 0x4000
Apr 18 13:03:42 localhost mDNSResponder: Adding browse domain local.
Apr 18 13:03:43 localhost loginwindow[62]: Login Window Started Security Agent
Apr 18 13:03:46 localhost kernel[0]: Intel8254x -- Link down -- 00:17:f2:01:63:17 -- called by enableHardware() --
Apr 18 13:03:46 localhost kernel[0]: -- Auto-Neg Advertise Reg (04d) = 0xde1, Link Partner Ability Reg (05d) = 0x0, Gig Advertise Reg (09d) = 0xe00, Gig Link Partner Ability Reg (10d) = 0x4000
Apr 18 13:03:46 Alexs-Computer configd[34]: setting hostname to "Alexs-Computer.local"
Apr 18 13:03:46 Alexs-Computer TabletDriver[71]: RunApplication called while eRelaunching
Apr 18 13:03:52 Alexs-Computer configd[34]: executing /System/Library/SystemConfiguration/Kicker.bundle/Contents/Resources/enable-net work
Apr 18 13:03:52 Alexs-Computer configd[34]: posting notification com.apple.system.config.network_change
Apr 18 13:03:52 Alexs-Computer lookupd[82]: lookupd (version 369.6) starting - Wed Apr 18 13:03:52 2007
Apr 18 13:03:52 Alexs-Computer ntpdate[94]: can't find host time.euro.apple.com\n
Apr 18 13:03:52 Alexs-Computer ntpdate[94]: no servers can be used, exiting
Apr 18 13:03:55 Alexs-Computer configd[34]: target=enable-network: disabled
Apr 18 13:04:15 Alexs-Computer configd[34]: posting notification com.apple.system.config.network_change
Apr 18 13:04:15 Alexs-Computer lookupd[148]: lookupd (version 369.6) starting - Wed Apr 18 13:04:15 2007
Apr 18 13:04:15 Alexs-Computer SystemStarter[41]: "/Library/StartupItems/Tablet" failed security check: permissions
Apr 18 13:04:17 Alexs-Computer kernel[0]: Parallels Workstation Hypervisor started.
Apr 18 13:04:17 Alexs-Computer kernel[0]: Parallels Workstation VMM Main driver started.
Apr 18 13:04:18 Alexs-Computer kernel[0]: comparallels_kextPvsvnic: Ethernet address 00:01:23:45:67:89
Apr 18 13:04:19 Alexs-Computer SystemStarter[41]: Parallels VirtualMachine drivers (149) did not complete successfully
Apr 18 13:08:25 localhost kernel[0]: hi mem tramps at 0xffe00000
Apr 18 13:08:25 localhost kernel[0]: PAE enabled
Apr 18 13:08:25 localhost kernel[0]: 64 bit mode enabled
here couple more logs right at the moment of crash (found in paic.log). hopefully then can shed som elight on the troubles:
pls advise
Wed Apr 18 13:04:16 2007
panic(cpu 0 caller 0x001A429B): Unresolved kernel trap (CPU 0, Type 14=page fault), registers:
CR0: 0x8001003b, CR2: 0x00004000, CR3: 0x01019000, CR4: 0x000006e0
EAX: 0x23a3d578, EBX: 0x00000000, ECX: 0x00001000, EDX: 0x00004000
CR2: 0x00004000, EBP: 0x2544bc18, ESI: 0x23a3d578, EDI: 0x00004000
EFL: 0x00010206, EIP: 0x0019637c, CS: 0x00000008, DS: 0x00000010
Backtrace, Format - Frame : Return Address (4 potential args on stack)
0x2544b9d8 : 0x128d08 (0x3cb134 0x2544b9fc 0x131de5 0x0)
0x2544ba18 : 0x1a429b (0x3d0e4c 0x0 0xe 0x3d0670)
0x2544bb28 : 0x19ada4 (0x2544bb40 0x23a39578 0x2544bb98 0x84ae50)
0x2544bc18 : 0x84b148 (0x23a39000 0x2 0x2544bc68 0x1a1738)
0x2544bc38 : 0x8393d4 (0x2544bddc 0x0 0x2544bc68 0x4b0000)
0x2544bd18 : 0x6ca33a (0x23a39000 0x2544bdaa 0x2544bdaa 0x84)
0x2544bd78 : 0x6be697 (0x3c34000 0x2544bdaa 0x2544bdaa 0x84)
0x2544bdf8 : 0x6a72e3 (0x3c34000 0x1 0x2544be48 0x1a1738)
0x2544be18 : 0x6aee4a (0x553f8000 0x0 0x3ff96a27 0x3d87)
0x2544be78 : 0x546b55 (0x3c34000 0x2544beac 0x1 0x1a26ce)
0x2544bec8 : 0x54a1d0 (0x3a21e00 0x3 0x3f60ddf8 0x3d87)
0x2544bee8 : 0x54bc8d (0x3a21e00 0x7abf 0x5cbd220 0x5cbd160)
0x2544bf28 : 0x39c536 (0x3a21e00 0x3a40280 0x8 0x2)
0x2544bf78 : 0x13d7d9 (0x3a40280 0x3a87e78 0x0 0x0)
0x2544bfc8 : 0x19ac1c (0x0 0x0 0x19e0b5 0x397fcec) Backtrace terminated-invalid frame pointer 0x0
Kernel loadable modules in backtrace (with dependencies):
com.apple.NVDAResman(4.5.2)@0x6c9000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.2)@0x5e0000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily(1.4.5)@0x69f000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IONDRVSupport(1.4.5)@0x6ba000
com.apple.iokit.IONDRVSupport(1.4.5)@0x6ba000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.2)@0x5e0000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily(1.4.5)@0x69f000
com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily(1.4.5)@0x69f000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.2)@0x5e0000
com.apple.iokit.IOHIDFamily(1.4.10)@0x531000
Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 8.9.1: Thu Feb 22 20:55:00 PST 2007; root:xnu-792.18.15~1/RELEASE_I386
Wed Apr 18 17:06:26 2007
panic(cpu 1 caller 0x001A429B): Unresolved kernel trap (CPU 1, Type 14=page fault), registers:
CR0: 0x8001003b, CR2: 0x00004000, CR3: 0x01019000, CR4: 0x000006e0
EAX: 0x23a4d578, EBX: 0x00000000, ECX: 0x00001000, EDX: 0x00004000
CR2: 0x00004000, EBP: 0x25443c18, ESI: 0x23a4d578, EDI: 0x00004000
EFL: 0x00010206, EIP: 0x0019637c, CS: 0x00000008, DS: 0x04080010
Backtrace, Format - Frame : Return Address (4 potential args on stack)
0x254439d8 : 0x128d08 (0x3cb134 0x254439fc 0x131de5 0x0)
0x25443a18 : 0x1a429b (0x3d0e4c 0x1 0xe 0x3d0670)
0x25443b28 : 0x19ada4 (0x25443b40 0x23a49578 0x1 0x4065004)
0x25443c18 : 0x84b148 (0x23a49000 0x2 0x25443c48 0x713bbf)
0x25443c38 : 0x8393d4 (0x25443ddc 0x0 0x25443c68 0x7116c2)
0x25443d18 : 0x6ca33a (0x23a49000 0x25443daa 0x25443daa 0x84)
0x25443d78 : 0x6be697 (0x3c61c00 0x25443daa 0x25443daa 0x84)
0x25443df8 : 0x6a72e3 (0x3c61c00 0x2 0x25443e28 0x1e)
0x25443e18 : 0x6aee4a (0x523e0000 0x0 0xfd8e30e2 0xc93)
0x25443e78 : 0x546b55 (0x3c61c00 0x25443eac 0x2 0x1a26ce)
0x25443ec8 : 0x54a1d0 (0x3a21e00 0x3 0xfcf5a332 0xc93)
0x25443ee8 : 0x54bc8d (0x3a21e00 0x1917 0x4336be0 0x4336b20)
0x25443f28 : 0x39c536 (0x3a21e00 0x3a40280 0x8 0x2)
0x25443f78 : 0x13d7d9 (0x3a40280 0x3a39ff8 0x0 0x3303)
0x25443fc8 : 0x19ac1c (0x0 0x0 0x19e0b5 0x5cb2144) Backtrace terminated-invalid frame pointer 0x0
Kernel loadable modules in backtrace (with dependencies):
com.apple.NVDAResman(4.5.2)@0x6c9000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.2)@0x5e0000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily(1.4.5)@0x69f000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IONDRVSupport(1.4.5)@0x6ba000
com.apple.iokit.IONDRVSupport(1.4.5)@0x6ba000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.2)@0x5e0000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily(1.4.5)@0x69f000
com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily(1.4.5)@0x69f000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.2)@0x5e0000
com.apple.iokit.IOHIDFamily(1.4.10)@0x531000
Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 8.9.1: Thu Feb 22 20:55:00 PST 2007; root:xnu-792.18.15~1/RELEASE_I386

ok so i experimented a little with the hardware and here what i have to the moment:
1. i thought that the usb kb could be the case for mac os to crash so i disconnected the cable from the KVM and plugged normal apple kb to the mac.
2. however when i tried switching back to mac, the machine crashed again.
from what i noticed for the last few days 'working' with this kvm switch was the screen resolution changing while i was switching. meaning the screen flickered for couple of times prior to showing 1280x1024 that was set up in the system. during flickering the resoution became 1024x768. i 've seen it pretty clearly, just it was for half of a second.
also when powering up both machines, they were starting with 1024x768 and not 1280x1024 as was set up. i had to manually change the screen resolution on both machines (pc and mac) every time after successful start up.
so by far my understanding is that kvm switch forces monitor for 1024x768 during switches and on start up. it also causes the OSes (win2K and MacOSX) to lose 1280x1024 and accept 1024x768 as if the monitor was changed and couldn't operate at a higher resolution.
having said that i uploaded this info to kvm mfg (ATEN) and couple more mac forums so that this info may help someone else when ordering a kvm for mac. at the same time i am still open for any thoughts, advices and crazy ideas to get round this bug.
alex

Mac Pro Thunderbolt, USB3, etc. hardware upgrades...

Feeling a bit left out in 2 years since I bought my Mac Pro with no real hardware upgrades for my Mac Pro.
Can anyone comment on what they've done to keep their Mac Pro updated with the latest?
- Thunderbolt. I was surprised this wasn't in the updated 2012 Mac Pro. Has anyone heard of any third party thunderbolt cards? I've gone ahead and purchased a Thunderbolt hard drive for my Mac Book Air that also has a FireWire 800 port. I'm planning on using Apple's Thunderbolt to FireWire adapter (intended for MBA and MBP laptops) in reverse and use the adapter on the Thunderbolt hard drive to connect it to my Mac Pro tower's FireWire 800 port. At least this way when Thunderbolt does arrive for us I can just stop using the adapter. Apple genius said this should work, but I guess the proof will be when I go to copy lots of data (something Macs already struggle with) http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD464ZM/A
- USB 3.0. Has anyone found a good reliable USB 3.0 card for the Mac Pro? Again I was surprised Apple left this out of the 2012 refresh. I like the faster speeds over FireWire 800 and if folks have found a good working USB 3.0 card that works I'll gladly put one in my tower. I looked at the La Cie USB 3 PCI add on card, but haven't heard anything about native support for it from Apple. http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?id=10493
- Display card. Anyone have recommendations on a better display card than the default one Apple shipped? Apple's original ATi Radeon HD 5770 works like crap with HDMI (mini display port or DVI), especially to my new Samsung 27" HDMI monitor. I'd love to get a new Apple Thunderbolt Display and refuse to buy the antiquated Apple Cinema Display. Seeing Apple's new Mac Mini with both HDMI and Thunderbolt gives me hope, but the Intel HD Graphics 4000 chipset seems pathetic. I did like that Apple gave the new iMac a NVIDIA Kepler GPU so maybe there is hope for the Mac Pro yet.
- Anyone find anything useful to put in the extra optical drive slot? The dream of a BlueRay recorder with Lightscribe support and Mac drivers seems long dead. I'd love to see some innovation like a removable SSD drive bay or something better than the coffee cup holder it has become.
Ramblings on what has and hasn't been working for me...
If there are Mac Pro users who like to work in the dark I would highly recommend the Moshi Luna backlighted keyboard. It works great and allows me to video edit without having to strain my eyes with uncessary room lights in order to see the keyboard. It sure beats the USB powered LED I was using to shine a light on Apple's extended keyboard! I still have to switch from Apple's Magic Trackpad to Magic Mouse when I bootcamp to Windows 7 (the trackpad drivers are not robust enough under Windows unless someone has found a solution).
I also ran into a horrific issue with Paragon's HFS+ Win 7 drivers hosing my Mac drives when I tried to use Sony's PMB software to copy HD movies to my Mac drives (NEVER AGAIN).
Any thoughts you have I'd love to hear!

Asus makes a card but it only works with certain motherboards made by them. Doesn't exactly have to be installed 'at the factory' but could be interpreted as such.
Until I start seeing PCIe graphics cards that support Thunderbolt either directly with a Thunderbolt connector on the card or an internal Display Port to Thunderbolt connector I'm not sure I would want a display that connects only with Thunderbolt.
HDMI and Display Port is well tested technology. Many displays are available.
Limited (i.e. none to my knowledge) options at this time for discreet graphics cards that support Thunderbolt. So either you use either the Intel integrated graphics chipset (low performance) for video or a non-Thunderbolt display with a discreet graphics card.
If you daisy chain devices you have to share the bandwidth much like you do with Firewire.
Thunderbolt is great for laptops a small footprint computers because it extends the PCIe architecture outside of the computer giving you the option of using higher data capacities associated with PCIe. But since Mac Pros already have four PCIe slots why would you want to use up 4 PCIe lanes for a dedicated interface that is still in it's infancy?

Using Mac Pros as business servers

I'm advising a company that's setting up a new greenfield site. It's only about 50 people, at most, so the needs are quite light, apart from some medical imaging, though that's also not likely to be that heavy. The main application runs on linux.
Their IT people are very much old-fashioned old-school, microsoft mindset. They want lots of servers in a rack, with a SAN on fibrechannel, and tons of expensive windows software.
As far as I can see, their needs will be much better met with 3 x Mac Pros (1 on Mavericks, 1 on Linux and one as backup/failover) + thunderbolt connected 4TB drives x 4 ( 8TB for data, 8 TB for failover backup). With 21" iMacs for all 25-50 users. This seems to me massive overkill.
I've done a costing. The windows solution, without PCs included and without software, comes to 10 times the price of the above. So, from a simply cost point of view, the Mac solution is obviously much better. The performance of Mac Pros with direct thunderbolt storage is going to be far superior to the SAN solution.
The main objections I expect are going to be:
- Reliability - are mac pros as reliable as rackmounted blade devices? - I've specified 3 x Mac Pros so there's a whole spare machine in case of failure, and the site will run quite adequately, on just the one, so there are actually two levels of fail-safe.
- Support - IT will have to get linux & mac training
The problem I have is MTBF figures for Mac Pros vs Windows Blade environments. I'm certain that they are much better, but that's no good. Are there any published figures on reliability? And, while we're at it, TCO, price/performance?
It would be really useful to have something that works in a business case.

I know that - but, and this may surprise you, the Windows blade environment, with a SAN, that is being proposed costs 10 times more than a 3 x Mac Pro set up.

Potential Switch to Mac Pro

I may be switching to a Mac Pro from a PC and had a few questions. I have worked a lot with *Nix so I like the idea of switching due to OS X being based on that.
Here are my questions:
1.I am seeing a lot of problems with Leopard on these boards. I have noticed though that a lot of them seem to be from people upgrading and not many from brand new computers. Am I correct in that assumption?
2.I have a Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 running DD-WRT, should that work with a Mac Pro?
3.I have a bunch of fonts on my XP Pro system since I do a lot of creative work (photo,web,video,etc) can they be put on the Mac Pro without issue?
4.I have seen a few problems with people saying the usb hub in their cinema display causes problems, is it just the cinema displays or any monitor?
5. Are Mac Pros prone to overheating? If so is there something I can do to avoid that? I live in Reno,NV and it can get hot during summer so that is a worry for me.
Sorry for all the questions but I just want to make sure I cover all my bases before making a huge switch. To be honest I used to be a die-hard PC fan and didn't like Macs except for the OS and now that it looks like Vista may be the new ME and I want something different I figure it may be a good time to eat some crow and switch
TIA!!
Message was edited by: PlaneGeek

I can only comment on a few of the items.
1. I haven't had any 'real' problems with any of my upgrades to Leopard on my various machines. Leopard has been very stable for me.
3. GFTrout is right on the fonts, but there are solutions for PostScript fonts. Here is [one|http://guides.macrumors.com/UsingWindows_and_X11_PostScript_Fonts_in_Mac_OSX].
5. None of my Mac Pros are prone to overheating. It can get pretty hot here in OKC too. I wouldn't think you would have problems unless the room it was in wasn't air-conditioned. My office at home in the summer (with AC on) usually ends up being in the upper 70's to lower 80's during the day (west-facing with windows.) As for avoiding overheating, it is wise to keep the MP off of the floor, plenty of air circulating at the front of the MP and a decent amount of space behind the MP for exhaust. The exhaust can get pretty hot so you want air to be able to get behind the MP to dissipate that heat.
Hope this helps...
D.

RAM for early 2009 Mac Pro 4,1

I have the above system (2 x quad-core 2.26 GHz Xeon) with 20 GB RAM: 4 GB x 2 and 2 GB x 6; I'd like to go to 32 GB or more. Apple and Kingston list 4 GB modules being the largest for this system, but OWC sells 8- and 16-GB modules for it. I may not be able to buy from OWC (institutional purchase, preferred suppliers). I'd prefer to install the 8's (or even 16's) so as not to lose too much by taking out the 2's. Two questions:
1. Recommended upgrade path to say 32 or 40-48 GB? I've read that Pros from 09 should get RAM in multiples of 3.
2. Can I install any DDR3 PC3-8500 1066 MHz ECC 240 pin memory? Or is the appropriate memory more specialized.
Thanks much. This RAM headroom plus a good SSD will get me more years out of this system.
Andrew

GHz in those processors can make a difference with any type of processing.... when people bought the 2009, some went dual only to have 8 DIMM slots was all, and CS5/6 users have regretted that (does better with fewer and faster clocked cores).
Did you send an email to OWC and tell them your purchasing limitations and needs, they may have other institution buyers.
People go out on their own - not through Apple - to update the firmware to add support for newer processors and for DDR3 1333. MacRumors has thread on 2009 upgrade. http://forums.macrumors.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1
Those Kingston DIMMs are Mac Pro and Xserve, and should be fine, just buy full sets.
I found these that should be fine. And I like that they sell pairs and best to buy together to insure compatiblity.
http://www.amazon.com/16GB-DDR3-1066-PC3-8500-1066Mhz-Apple/dp/B0098MLFJG/
This site specializes in tips for Mac Pro
http://www.macperformanceguide.com - sponsored by OWC too (he's tech and highend graphic user)

Upgrade Mac Pro 1.1 from 10.5 to 10.6 issues

I'm trying to upgrade my Mac Pro 1.1 from 10.5.8 to 10.6
I have an original mac OS 10.6 disc bought online. It fails to load saying disc not readable.
machine specs are:

Mac Pro
Mac Pro (Late 2013)
MacPro6,1
MP61.0116.B04 (EFI 2.0)
2.20f18 (SMC 2.0)
Mac Pro (Mid 2010)
MacPro5,1
MP51.007F.B03 (EFI 1.5)
Mac Pro (Early 2009)
MacPro4,1
MP41.0081.B07 (EFI 1.4)
Mac Pro (Early 2008)
MacPro3,1
MP31.006C.B05 (EFI 1.3)
Mac Pro (8-core)
MacPro2,1
MP21.007F.B06 (EFI 1.2)
1.15f3 (SMC 1.1)
Mac Pro (Original)
MacPro1,1
MP11.005C.B08 (EFI 1.2)
1.7f10 (SMC 1.1)
Above are the versions you should have. I think the versions are live links to articles that will produce the downloads. From:
EFI and SMC firmware updates for Intel-based Macs - Apple Support

Da quando ho sul mio IPAD AIR la versione ios 8 ho diffiicotà a fare gli aggiornamenti collegandolo a ITUNES 11.2 sul mio MAC pro OS X 10.6.8 qualche ltà a fare gli aggiornamenti collegando ipad a ITUNES 11.2 sul mio MAC PRO mio mac pro

da quando ho aggiornato il mio IPAD AIR a IOS 8.1 ho difficoltà a fare aggiornamenti collegandolo a ITUNES 11.4 sul mio MAC PRO OS X 10.6.8.
Qualche suggerimento?

Yes, you're right. Apple does not seem to support OS X 10.6.8 anymore. This OS is not compatible with iCloud services. iOS8 and OS X depend in many functions on iCloud and many apps do as well. And iTunes 12 is indeed not compatible with OS X 10.6.8.
Although it's probably not the answer you like: If you want your iDevices on iOS8.1 to work with your Mac, you have to upgrade.
I don't know anything about your Mac Pro but minimum requirements for OS X 10 are Mac Pro 9 (early 2008 or later). I would advice you not to upgrade yet, but wait until version 10.2 is released. You can update your iPad air and your iPhone directly with wifi for the time being.

Can a Windows PC HD be erased using my Mac Pro?

I have an older Windows PC that I want to clean for recycling. I would like to use my Mac pro to do that job, and then hopefully
also clean an Imac that barely is usable (it runs but has to use the Windows monitor. Can any one advise on this, Please????
Thanks in advance.
Tom_______

Let's sort this out. You have a PC you plan to chuck out and want to use your Mac Pro desktop computer from Apple to erase the PC's drive so your info doesn't leak out of your control. You also want to do something similar to the drive on an iMac desktop computer. And you want us, on the MacBook Pro portables forum, to help you.
After pointing out that there are Mac Pro specific forums here...
Yes, you can take the drive out of the PC, stick it in an empty bay on the Mac, then use Disk Utility to do a Security Erase and wipe it clean. Just be sure that both computers are OFF before putting or pulling drives from them. If Disk Utility does not offer an Erase option, select the DEVICE corresponding to the PC's drive, go to the Partition tab and select 1 Partition in the Partitions tab. That will cause the drive to be repartitioned and be erasable again. This happens if the drive is in NTFS format, which OS X cannot write to.
As for the iMac, no need to take the drive out to erase. Restart in Recovery Mode (Command R prior to the startup chime) and use the Disk Utility there to erase the Macintosh HD volume, then Install OS X from scratch.
For more specific details, refer to the Mac Pro and iMac forums.

Looking for Thunderbolt 2 RAID Array options that can match the new Mac Pro's quietness -- or at least come close!

Maybe it is too early to talk about anything beyond the Pegasus2 Series (http://www.promise.com/promotion_page/promotion_page.aspx?region=en-global&rsn=1 00) when it comes to Tunderbolt 2 storage options. Looking for something on the order of 8 to 12 usable TB of redundant storage or possibly a JBOD option of 4 bays. This is coming close but I do not think it is Thunderbolt 2 (http://www.g-technology.com/products/g-raid-thunderbolt).
Either way -- looking for users experience not only on usable Thunderbolt 2 solutions but more importantly noisiness. I want to upgrade my existing Mac Pro to one of the new ones and I have found the old one to be nearly unnoticable in a quiet desktop environment. Would love to find the same peace and quiet when migrating to the new form factor that is going to need external storage to match what I have been used to inside the old Mac Pro.

Not your quiet storage, but then I would put it in a cool closet or small room off to the side :-)
http://www.macgurus.com/store/Item/ARC8050 ( I was assuming but maybe not, that it would support RAID6 which is always preferable for larger arrays. Seems to have most features you want for 8 drives). MacGurus "Burly" are never quiet but they are rugged and well tested.
Migrating storage will be a concern. I don't like the noise from my older SATA OWC dual-drive metal enclosure though suppose to be 'acceptable' unless they have improved the fans they are out for me.
OWC for Thunderbolt products.
Helios enclosure (the new dual-slot Helios PCIe chassis)
… moving various hard drives into Thunderbolt cases
USB3 hard drive enclosure.
For those without eSATA enclosures, a simple eSATA to USB3 adapter might do the trick.
USB3 is plenty fast to house two hard drives.
OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual.
Available now starting at about $430.
review of the OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual.
Some upcoming new TB2 enclosures:
http://www.sonnettech.com/product/thunderbolt/index.html
http://gigaom.com/2013/12/21/the-technology-gap-between-the-old-and-new-mac-pro- could-cost-you-a-mini/

Early Intel Mac Pro--what are my graphics card upgrade options?

I bought my Mac Pro in June, 2007 and want to improve my ability to use it for games--right now it's a bit of a dog in that respect. I have a 3 GHz dual Quad-Core processor setup that my hardware overview says is a MacPro2,1 model identifier. My stock graphics card is the GeForce 7300GT using the PCIe bus. Any help would be greatly appreciated--I know there are some expensive cards out there for newer models and that there is some discussion on what is compatible with earlier models like mine, but I would hope that my $5,000 system has no viable upgrade path for this.
Rocketman

The card is dead silent on idle. I haven't tried it on any games yet, but with 720p HD content like .mkv files playing in VLC, the fan only goes up to 20-25%, and even at that I can't even hear it.
Idle fan speed is about 5%
Idle temps are 63 deg celcius (note that its summer, and my ambient room temps are hot)
Note these temps and fan speeds are under Windows 7 on ATI CCC. I can't get the temps and fan speeds under OSX, but I doubt they are different, the card is very quiet. And yes it does work under bootcamp
Aside from maybe dual flashed PC 1GB 4870s in crossfire, this is most likely the best gpu upgrade you can do presently; it is the best upgrade if you want to stay with apple oem parts.
There is always the dark horse: the GTX 285 from nvidia, however I doubt (wish) that it will be supported for 1st gen MPs. It's possible, though highly unlikely.

Apple can be justly proud. These Nehalem Mac Pro's are amazing!

hi Everyone,
No questions today; just comments.
My Mac Pro, 8-core 2.66/12GB's ram (4x2 + 4x1), Intel X25 M 160GB SSD boot and apps drive plus three 300GB Velociraptors, and ATI's 4870 graphics card, arrived late Tuesday and, while other work needs have pulled me off of working on it full-time, I've managed to get enough time in to get things up and running and I have to say I am more than impressed.
You know how a curve of expectation takes place in us while we wait for some new thing to join our lives? Often, we can be quite on the mark but, in this case, I was way off. This computer is way more than I expected! Apple has more than 'done it again'. The functional design of the structural layout is awesome. So, so clean and clear. Putting the RAM in was pure fun. The way the whole mother board pulls out of the machine... smart design or what eh? The PCIe slots; how they are, where they are, how we add things into them: brilliant! And the hard drive system with it's direct connecting by simply sliding the drive trays all they way in only to be locked in tight when we close up the case with the case side's lever doing double duty with the drives and the panel. Again, brilliant.
And the performance... I've barely touched the surface but I cannot wait to have my first serious day of working in my CAD program.
The machine's very quiet too. Startup brings a rather load fan whirring out of the graphics card but that quickly settles. Adding to this the SSD's silent operation and the Velociraptors' very pleasant hum, tick, tick, tick, tick... the machine is a joy to listen to.
I will be adding a good hard drive controller card and setting up a couple of RAID 0 sets eventually but, for now, everything's just running straight up. And it is great. Added to this already great experience is the LED Cinema Display I purchased along with it. I can't say enough good about this display. It is hugely impressive and, again, has absolutely knocked the socks off of my expectations. The image quality is incredible. I quickly connected and installed my Huey Pro color calibration gizmo and, voila´, superbly brilliant imaging. The monitor makes seeing so, so easy and it delivers a level of virtual three-dimensions unlike any monitor or tv I've ever seen. Huge kudos to Apple. They've done us a great thing here. Can't wait to see what they release when they put out a whole line of these LED monitors. The 24" size is excellent but what other sizes are coming? I'd be thrilled if they put out a 27" model. And what will be the new 'big monitor' size? I imagine not 30"... No point doing that. They need to put out a 33" or so version. And for what prices? Certainly the $1,000 Canadian dollars this 24 cost feels like decent value. I hope they get it together and put decently long connecting cables on them. That's one bug-bear I'm coping with now. I need a 2 meter Mini DisplayPort extension cable but the technology's too new... No one's making extension cables for them yet!
So, while Apple made us wait longer than is more often the case, this release of the new Mac Pro's is extremely satisfying. Congratulations Apple. You've more than done it again!
Yours in computer wonderland,
JQ

One, going from a G5 Quad to this pci access is a dream come true. I don't have an earlier intelamac to compare it with so maybe you're right though. Still I don't see any reason why people would have a problem with this on the new machines.
Two, the storage write performance surprised me too but I'm not upset about it, the numbers for both are still very high, and I'm wondering what software and hardware changes in the future might do about that.
Three, I guess machines and sensitivities differ, but my Mac is virtually silent. The only thing I hear is the fans on the video card when I start up and that goes away in seconds. The noisy ATI card reputation is not being lived up to in this case.
After just shelling out thousands for an 08 Mac Pro I can understand your reasons for not spending thousands more on an 09 model. But overall by most tests I've seen the 09's smoke your machine, and I believe they were not just produced for their capabilities now, but for what's coming in the future.
Like me with my Quad though, you'll just have to wait a few years, with me many years, to see the benefits of getting another machine.
To Leslie... Putting blue ray into the new macs would have highly inflated their already very expensive prices. Windows machines can get by with it because they are so cheap, and cheaply made, to begin with. I'm pretty sure the program Toast can make blue ray disks, and there's a plethora of devices to attach to a mac to do so as well.
And don't be so cynical about offsite reviews of products. I've read many scathing articles about products advertised on their websites. And if you've been reading articles about Macs as long as I have, you'd realize that the toughest articles on Macs come from people who are heads over heels Mac devotees.

HT1420 i am trying to add all my apps on my mac pro that are on my phone like Facebook,you tube but it wont eve find them in the app store that i already downloaded in the past! what do i do please help!!

i just bought a mac and deauthorized all other computers to activate this one, i wanted to know can you have apps on the mac like your phone or a shortcut icon for youtube or facebook, it wont let me get in to the apps this may be a bad question but are the apps even needed for the mac pro or just for the iphone. i would like a short cute instead of having to go to safari and put the web address in every time i want to go on face book . please help thank you

The apps that you have on your iPhone will only work on iOS devices i.e. an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch - your Mac uses a different operating system, OS X. You can get some apps/programs for your Mac e.g. you should have a Mac App Store icon, possibly on the dock at the bottom of the screen, and/or in the Applications folder :
If you are using Safari to access Facebook or other sites then you should be able to add bookmarks for them to itvia the Bookmarks menu at the top of Safari (command-D is the keyboard shortcut for adding a bookmark). If you are using a different browser, then again you should be able to bookmarks for your favourite sites.

Are mac pros quiet?

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