New Mac Pro Octo released

Check out the new 3 GHz Mac Pro in the Apple Store. Previous models are still available at same price, so we don't have to feel too bad.

I completely agree James, it's exciting for those who want something now, but I too am looking for new GPU options (Apple versions of 8800s and R600 are both in the works so where are they?), BluRay, and I personally wish there were faster HDDs: 10,000 RPM anyone?
I seriously hope that Apple releases a revised model at WWDC but that's just another speculative wish that seems to be constant with me and Apple. I'm still waiting on LED display refreshes, a new iPod (I bought the first 5G and the revision isn't really a new gen), new MBs and MBPs with LED, new GPU options, etc. Don't get me wrong, I love Apple to death and I've been greatly satisfied with my 5G iPod and 1st Gen MPB but still....

Similar Messages

When is the Mac pro being released in th UK

Hi when is the New MAC Pro being released in the UK?

As soon as Apple announces it!

Help with buying a new Mac Pro

Hi all,
I'm currently in the market for a new Mac Pro, as I seem to be stretching the boundaries of what my MBP can do in a reasonable amount of time. After reading these forums for a while, I still have some questions/concerns about my needs that I hope someone can answer.
I will be using the Mac Pro for web development (CS4 and CS5 down the road), video editing on FCE, and possibly audio work in the future. I'm about to graduate college and am still somewhat unsure if I will be using more powerful software in the immediate future. One other thing, I tend to have a bunch of apps open at once (Mail, Safari, FF, VMWare, MSOffice, iCal, etc.), and I don't want to have to close them all out to get decent speeds when rendering video. I currently don't use any "Pro" apps (FCP/LogicPro), but I haven't ruled them out for future use.
Would I be better suited with the 2.66 Quad (possibly 2.93) or with a 2.26 Octo? I'm concerned the Quad would have a much shorter life with the 4 RAM slot limitation, but paying for the Octo and leaving a bunch of cores idle would not be ideal either. I'm planning on buying before SL release, because I want to be able to install it on my own terms.
Any input appreciated,
Ty

I think the quad has a lot of potential and even with 'only' 16GB RAM (4 x 4GB) you shouldn't be hurting.
Nothing you listed should be a significant bottleneck. And if that day comes, there will be equally more powerful bass level systems.
Most of the non-intense apps will only use a small small fraction of your resources. The 2.66 is nice and will throttle up or down as needed, and just surfing etc run @ 1.6GHz. iTunes for now is 'out of control' and buggy.
Q: you want to buy now also to use your student discount I assume.
Check these Store Specials for price / config
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/mac_pro

New Mac Pro 2.8 vs. Refurbished Mac Pro 3.0?

I'm trying to decide between a new Mac Pro 2.8 and a refurbished Mac Pro 3.0. The refurbished 3.0 is roughly $375 less. I'll be using this for a graphic design business, so we'll be routinely using CS3. Help me decide.

I was faced with the same question at the end of 2007. I had even picked up a new Mac Pro 2.66 quad core, but did not open it. I decided to return it, and fortunately the next day, the 2008 Mac Pros came along. I went with the 8 core 2.8. The 3.0 from 2006/2007 is already dated, and there is no way you will make it faster without spending a ton of money. The refurb unit you are looking at is 2 years old in design. It first came out in August 2006. The expansion slots are all PCIe 1.1 if I recall. With the newer machines they have 2 slots that are PCIe 2.0.
You also have to factor in the upgraded graphics card. Barefeats.com did a little comparison of the video cards, and the 2600 XT fared very well against the 1900XT that is what most folks upgraded to with the 2006 3.0 GHz Mac Pro. The 1900 xt is not a bad car, however, there is no guarantee that you will ever be able to put newer cards in that older machine. There is conjecture that the 8800 GT card that was released for the Early 2008 Mac Pros may work in the older units, but that is not a done deal yet. The 2600 XT does fairly well with Motion.
The 3.0 also ships with 1 GB of RAM while the 2.8 8 core ships standard with 2 GB of RAM. Granted, you will want additional RAM, but you still come out ahead with the early 2008 8 core unit. You do not need to overspend on RAM. Otherworld Computing sells great RAM. I have Apple RAM, OWC RAM, and the Techworks RAM (sold by OWC) in my Mac Pro. I cannot tell the difference and I have had no crashes. 4 GB of RAM is about 219 bucks at OWC.
As for any video or graphics work that you may want to do, the 8 core unit is much more robust for crunching the compression. Compressor can take advantage of the multiple cores. Barefeats.com also did some benchmarking of the 2.8 octo core and the 3.0 octo core unit from 2007. The early 2008 unit was just about even because of the improved L2 Cache and the improved front side bus speed. Overall, the early 2008 units are great performers. The 2.8 quad core should be just about even with the 3.0 quad core in terms of speed. The 2.8 octo core is faster yet, and is about even with the older 3.0 octo core MP. The reason for this is that the 2008 Mac Pros have a faster front side bus and a bigger L2 cache.
I think you are wasting your money going with a discontinued unit, that has questionable upgradeability paths in regards to video cards, fewer cores, a slower bus speed, less RAM, slower RAM, and less L2 Cache memory. As an aside, the early 2008 Mac Pro features PCIe 2.0 slots, whereas the 2006 Mac Pro does not.
As for adding a second DVD drive, you can get the drives for about 30 dollars. They are not expensive like they used to be.
In regards to all of the stuff floating around about Leopard, I do a lot of graphics, including Final Cut Studio 1, and Creative Suite 3. I have had few issues. With the latest Leopard upgrade, and the recent updates with the other programs, Leopard runs every bit as good as Tiger did. The only recurring theme I have seen that has not been resolved with the newer systems and hardware has been the drivers for audio gear and recording. Otherwise, the new machines are very stable and speedy.
Other folks have went the refurb way and have been very happy. Some folks went with the newer machine, and they are happy. Only you can decide what makes the deal the best for you. Do not base everything on the higher priced Crucial RAM. Oh, one other thing that you get with the early 2008 Mac Pro is a nifty aluminum keyboard. After using this keyboard you will not want to use anything else.
Good luck with your decision. I know it is difficult.

Questions about buying a new Mac Pro for 4k video editing.

Hi everyone,
I'm currently looking into buying a new mac pro and I have a few questions. I'm a filmmaker/freelance editor looking to get a system that can handle any/at least most 4k formats that I might throw at it, and will hopefully last me around 7 years or so, like my last mac pro has. I've saved up about $5,300 and am becoming more obsessed with getting it asap, but am willing to wait a bit and save up more if necessary. I also play the occasional elder scrolls or civilization game, and might run windows on the new system as well. So here are my questions:
1. I've read rumors that a newer build could be released this year, with newer processors and graphics cards. Is there anything to point to when? I tend to buy things a month before a newer version is released, and I'd like to prevent myself from doing it this time around..
Here's the Build I'm looking at:
6 core
2 D700s
base ram to be upgraded myself to 32Gb (2x16Gb cards leaving 2 slots empty to expand to 64Gb later)
512Gb-1Tb internal hd
2. Should I be considering the 8 core? I'm not too excited about the additional $1500, but I want a system that will last.
3. Is getting the two 16Gb chips of ram and leaving two slots empty a bad idea?
4. I currently work with FCP studio 2 and love it. Not sure whether to go with FCP X, or adobe. Any thoughts?
5. I'm not finding many deals for cheaper ram and hard drives. OWC's prices seem to be comparable to Mac's. I want to do the ram so I have room to upgrade to 64Gb later, but are there any hard drives out there that would make it worth upgrading it myself?
I appreciate any insights you might have. I plan on getting a decent raid and 4k monitor in the next year or so, but for now just want a base system that will keep me editing and will be ready for 4k when I take that next step.

The late 2013 Mc Pro uses Intel Xeon ECC processors (error correction), and as far as I know Intel has not announced any newer Intel Xeon processors than those in the late 2013 Mac Pro. I would not expect to see an update to the 2013 Mac Pro until the end of 2015 at the earliest and probably later than that.
If time is not an issue, then you should be quite happy with the 6 core 2013 Mac Pro. It will do an excellent job with 4K video footage. And, yes, I would suggest getting the best raid system you can afford. That is actually more important than processor speed since I/O is frequently the bottleneck when doing multi camera video or 4K video.
I have the latest version of Adobe's Premiere Pro 2014 CC installed on my late 2013 Mac Pro and i have used it a bit without problems. However, I find it much much slower to edit with than FCP X. Also be advised that if you Google you will find several individuals on the Adobe Forums who purchased the late 2013 Mac Pro and have not been able to use it with Premiere Pro CC because of either a hardware incompatibility or software issues between Premiere Pro CC and BMD's Resolve. It is quite possible that I have not experienced these problems because I have not made very demanding projects with Premiere Pro CC on my 2013 Mac Pro.
I strongly recommend FCP X. Apple released FCP X before it was ready, and many early users were unwilling to take the time to learn how to use this very different NLE which is not track based. Apple has over the last 3 years since FCP X was released, issued more than 10 updates (all free), and the program is stable and blazingly fast. I urge you to check out the FCP X training offered by Ripple Training and/or Larry Jordan. Both are inexpensive, and worth every cent. Watch their training videos and you will be up to speed in FCP X in no time at all, and you will wish you had switched a long time ago.
If you can afford the 1 TB of PCie internal flash storage on your Mac Pro, then by all means get it. For me 1TB is well worth the cost.
As far as editing 4K video, the format of the video will be important to the ease of editing. For example, I am able to edit in its native format (XVAC S) several streams of 4K video form my Sony FDR-AX100 with no problems. If I were editing Sony's XVAC format used in their professional 4K cameras, that might pose a problem that would require transcoding. Similarly for other 4K formats. XVAC S is an easy format to edit natively because it is essentially a high bit rate h.264 format.
Best of luck on whatever you decide to do, and happy editing.
Tom

After Effects CC and new Mac Pro with FirePro D700

Hello
I'm about to purchase a new Mac Pro, 64GB RAM, SSD 512, Two AMD FirePro D700. Working with post-production software basically use Adobe After Effects CC, my doubt is whether the normal After Effects continue working on this new machine. If it is fully compatible with this video card and if all resources will have a better income. And what can you tell me about the Ray-Traced with these video cards.
Thank you.

• Adobe does not support AMD cards with their ray-trace renderer, and are unlikely to do so in the future.
• Cinema 4D Lite, included with AE CC, uses the CPU, not the GPU, for rendering.
• The third party plugin Video Copilot Element 3D is GPU dependent, and they have pledged support for the Mac Pro display cards.
• Adobe has hinted at substantial improvements to AE multi-threading efficiencies in a coming release. The implication is that more CPU cores will be better utilised in the future.
I will be buying a new Mac Pro soon too. What the above tells me is that After Effects will continue to be best served by faster and more multi-cored CPUs, rather than better GPUs. For my money, I will stick with the cheaper D500 GPUs, and get a better CPU option.

Buying a new mac pro, new things to consider?

Hello all,
Below is the question I posted in may along with someone's response. I'm wondering if I should still go with the response I received considering the new release of the mac pro 12 core. Did anything change that I need to note in my purchase or is the below response suitable? THANKS!!!!!
my question:
I need some help in choosing the right specs for my mac pro. I am looking for a computer that will help me in running my small business and keep my art portfolio organized. I'll probably be running several programs at a time (ex. mozilla, itunes, adobe bridge, dreamweaver, illustrator, and photoshop). More specifics below
What i'll be using it for:
building a few websites
managing my small business
large photo file editing
keeping business files, artist receipts, etc
cataloging my art portfolio (large photo files)
storing photos, music, and short videos
graphic design
infrequent film editing
infrequent sound editing
what programs i'll be using:
CS5 (mostly photoshop, illustrator, bridge, dreamweaver)
iphoto
itunes
maybe minimal finalcut/soundtrack pro
maybe minimal aftereffects
Advice?
My concerns are that it needs to run pretty smoothly with multiple programs open, no overheating, plenty of space for file storage and application support.
Hello washleyill,
My advice would be to buy the standard configuration 2.66GHz Quad Core (i.e. 3 x 1GB RAM, 640GB hard drive) from the Apple store, with the exception of the graphics card which you can buy as a CTO option for $200.00. It is well worth the upgrade from the GT120 - I know, because I upgraded myself last November after using a GT120 for 4 months.
With regard to the memory, if you can afford it now, buy 4 x 4GB from OWC now. If not, I would suggest that you buy 2 x 4GB now, and then add another 2 x 4GB in the future. 16GB of RAM is a much better option than 8GB for your requirements. You can sell the 3 x 1GB RAM to OWC in "part exchange", and there would be little difference in price for 2 x 4GB to the CTO option of 4 x 2GB.
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/Mac-Pro-Memory#1066-memory
Instead of buying 2 x 1TB hard drives as a CTO option, you could purchase 2 x 1.5TB or 2 x 2TB HDDs for less money, and you would still have the 640GB. Spare drives are always useful. I use my original 640GB as a spare emergency system boot drive (OS and applications) in an external enclosure.
Another alternative is to wait a few more weeks, in case the rumours of the introduction of a new Mac Pro range in June have any foundation.
Regards,
Bill

Interesting questions you have posed here.
I am thinking about upgrading from my MB to a MBP and I too intend to run a similar set of programs, and with large RAW photo files in Aperture. I find my MB is struggling and I dont want to invest any money in upgrading it, I will use it as a back up. I like the MBP and the 13" screen version is so handy and portable.
Have you made your decision yet...or are you still sitting on the fence like myself..?
Regards
Paul

Sond problems on new Mac Pros (2010)??? Buying new tower advice.

Hi all!!!
Has any one here have sound problems with the new Mac Pros (2010)??? I hear they
still have sound "pops" or something like that as with the 2009 MP. I'm looking
to buy a new MP since my G5 tower just died today (RIP) so need a new tower but need
to know if this sound issue is still there. BTW any advice on what I should buy for my next tower
would be welcomed too!!! I have a 2.5mhz LC G5 and I basically work with Photoshop, iMovie, Final
cut Express and almost every thing else and games too. I herd that the single 6 core (3.33mhz) is
a wise choice compared to a 12 core. Can I still use my 10.5 OSX (PPC) on the new Tower and then
update it to 10.6? Will be getting 12gigs of ram from OWC, NOT paying $1000+ to get 12 gigs from
Apple. Can I still use my 1.5GB/s(speed) hard drives? I know that the Mac Pros uses the 3Gb/s HD if
so I could fill the Mac Pro with my 2 G5's HD.
Thanks for any advice!!!!
Serge
Message was edited by: Serge Lebel

Hey there!!
Why would Apple continue offering that vid card in the store as an option and still talk about
it in the Mac section of it's web site???? Are you sure it's not the PC version of the 5870? I didn't
read any info on the net about it (AppleInsider, MacRumours etc...) I've just made a search on Yahoo
and Google and it says that it affects the 5770 too and what I could read it's PC related here's the
clip:
"+*AMD has confirmed that a previously reported issue of grey lines or screens with certain Radeon HD 5000 GPUs affects both the 5700 and 5800 series.*+
+Earlier this week, it emerged that many 5000 series users were experiencing problems with crashing and grey or colored lines appearing on his or her display. The grey screens and hangups were occurring while users were gaming, watching movies or in some cases, when the computer was just sitting idle.+
+When users contacted customer service they were told the issue was caused by a *Windows 7 update*. ATI recommended a clean install of the graphics card driver as a possible fix, stating this had solved some users problems. The ATI Catalyst 10.1 release notes (published Wednesday) note the problem as a known issue; however, *it's described as a problem affecting users of all versions of Windows and not just Windows 7.*+
+Today Dave Erskine, an AMD spokesperson, informed us that, "only a small number of ATI Radeon HD 5800 series and ATI Radeon HD 5700 series cards are exhibiting the behavior," and that the team is closing in on a fix for the apparently software related issue.+
+"The team is testing a driver hotfix and initial tests indicate that it resolves the issue," Mr Erskine said. "We need to test it further but we expect to make the hotfix available shortly."+
So I don't think its Mac related. Thanks for the info but still getting that Vid card anyway.
Thanks

New Mac Pro keeps looking for a server that isn't there

So, I just got my new Mac Pro (Mountain Lion 10.8.2) the other day. I used MIgration Asssisant to transfer most files from my old Power Mac G5. Computers were connected thru a hub.
Then I turned on file sharing on the old machine to get some other info transferred. I then shut down file sharing, physically disconnecting the hub and connecting the new Mac Pro to my DSL modem with an ethernet cable.
Now when I boot up the new machine, I get a message
"There was a problem connecting to the server 'Joe Blow's Power Mac G5'.
"The server may not exist or it is unavailable at this time. Check the server name or IP address, check your network connection, and try again."
I get this message three separate times ove a couple of minutes.
Under the "Go" button in the Finder menu, I've clicked on "Connect to server..." and cleared the old mac out of the list.
What am I missing??
Thanks

Common causes of this issue include the following:
Aliases in the iPhoto, iTunes, or iMovie library pointing to the server.
Bookmarks in the Preview application.
See iMovie Troubleshooting: Connection Failed, Server Does Not Exist
Otherwise, proceed as below.
Please read this whole message before doing anything. This procedure is a test, not a solution. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it. Step 1 The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account. Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. For instructions, launch the System Preferences application, select Help from the menu bar, and enter “Set up guest users” (without the quotes) in the search box. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.” While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your personal files or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin. Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem? After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it. *Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing. Step 2 The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login. Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Boot in safe mode* and log in to the account with the problem. The instructions provided by Apple are as follows:
Shut down your computer, wait 30 seconds, and then hold down the shift key while pressing the power button.
When you see the gray Apple logo, release the shift key.
If you are prompted to log in, type your password, and then hold down the shift key again as you click Log in.
Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs.
The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
*Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t boot in safe mode.
Test while in safe mode. Same problem?
After testing, reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of steps 1 and 2.

Is it worth the upgrade to a new Mac Pro?

I have a question about the new Mac Pro. I have a 1st Generation Mac Pro (the one released in 2006). I primarily use it to do a lot of motion graphics and video editing/effects. I use Final Cut Pro, Motion (I have FCS 2), After Effects, Cinema 4D, etc. Would it be worth upgrading to the newer Mac Pro? Would I notice much difference in rendering speeds, working with 3D, etc?
My current Mac Pro has 5 GB of Ram, and the NVidia GeForce 8800 GT graphics card; 2 x 2.66 GHz Dual-Core Processors
I'm really debating on selling my Mac Pro and purchase one of the 2009 Mac Pros but only if I would really notice much of an overall difference.
Thanks in advance for any answers and input!

Hi, it really depends on what you plan to do with the computer. If running windows in 64 bit mode is a worry for you, then I would trade your 2006 for at least a 2008 mac pro. The Harpertown mac pros are still considered by many just as fast as the 2009, if not faster in some things. Remember, it is hyper threading that gives the 2009 their power and the speed of 1066mhz DDR3 memory.
If you plan on just using the mac pro for light video editing and encoding and using pro apps, the 2008 mac pro will be more than enough. I had a 2006 mac pro going from a G5 Quad. Once I found out that I really enjoy running windows on it and the thought of a new cinema display, I decided to trade my 2006 for the 2008. Sometime in the next few years, I will then trade up my harpertown for the Nehalem mac pro and so forth.
You are right! very few people these days have 2000+ dollars to spend outright on a computer, but I got a great deal on my 2006 trade which was 1850 - the 2008 3.0 harpertown for 2300.00

27 inch iMac, can it be used as a Monitor for the New Mac Pro?

Hi
I was wondering if it was possible to connect the new Mac Pro, that is coming out Autum 2013, to an iMac 27 so as to use the iMac as it's monitor?

Check this article: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3924
I would say: yes, according to above article new mac pro should match requirements but until new mac it's not released yet there won't be more info.

Can I put an older OS (Leopard) on a new Mac Pro?

We have an XSAN environment that is still using G5 servers and has some G5 workstations. One of the G5 workstations has just died and we need to replace it, however, the new computer will surely come with Snow Leopard on it which is not compatible with the G5 servers. Documentation indicates that you shouldn't clients that are running later OS versions than what the XSAN servers are running. I'm told that Apple does something to new Mac Pro's (any Mac for that matter) that make it so that I can't install an older OS on it than what shipped with it. Is that TRUE?

Every machine has an ID code to tell Apple what type it is, so they COULD use that to prevent you from loading an older OS. But why should they go to the trouble? The primary reason they require the same OS that it was delivered with or later is that Apple makes hardware changes or adds peripherals later that aren't supported by earlier releases.
Instead of going to the extra work of developing drivers for new hardware compatible with an older OS, Apple devotes their time to making a new OS release compatible with older hardware. I think that's a bigger benefit for most of us.
If you have to run old software that simply won't run on a newer machine, you will have to make sure you maintain your old hardware and don't update it. We keep an old machine around to run an old version of Quark. But we wouldn't want our business to rely on the whole company doing that.

Buying a new Mac Pro

Hello,
After many happy years with my G4 and using my MacBook Pro for higher end editing I am finally getting around to replacing the G4 with a brand new Mac Pro.
It will be used manly for video editing so I will get the best model available.
Here is my questions.
1. Does anyone know when the next best thing, so to speak, will be released by mac? If I buy the Two 3.0GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon, will a better one be released soon after.
2. Does anyone know a good graphic card for video editing? I have been cutting HD projects but have never really been techy enough to know how to configure to get the best out of a computer.
3. Is it worth filling all the drive space with drives and RAIDing them up.
4. Is there anything else I maybe forgetting?

1. Does anyone know when the next best thing, so to speak, will be released by mac? If I buy the Two 3.0GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon, will a better one be released soon after.
Only Apple knows the answer to this question. We have no insights or information on what new products/software Apple may introduce in the future.
2. Does anyone know a good graphic card for video editing? I have been cutting HD projects but have never really been techy enough to know how to configure to get the best out of a computer.
There are presently only three video cards from which you can choose. All are generally more than adequate for video editing. If high speed video is a must then you should upgrade to the ATI X1900 card.
3. Is it worth filling all the drive space with drives and RAIDing them up.
Only if you need the storage space. However, you will find it is cheaper to buy additional drives third-party than have them pre-installed at purchase. You might consider reading this article to learn more about RAIDs.
4. Is there anything else I maybe forgetting?
Only you know.

What are your opinion on the new mac pro

I feel while radical its too limiting thereby loosing fuctionality. But I also knw how the iSheeps would follow their iSheperd blindly. There making this kind of thunderbolt for everything the norm. I also know that the PC companies brought this on themselves they failed to innovate followed intel and nvidia to blindly with there xeons and quadro. The 3 major pc makers market professional workstations that you would probaly sell ur kidney to get one we have the z820 while very powerful its just 2 xpensive. Let's take for example the imac is the best bang for d buck most beautiful all in one if hp had used say a normal 3770k and a gtx 680m 4gb dat would have brought the price of the z1 down drastically. Let's say d average joe wants to be an editor, compositor, colorist. if u goole pc workstations hp z820 and dell T7600 would pop up but they are dam so xpensive hp consumer PCs are garbage. If there is onething apple knows the average pro does not want to be bothered with specs. I think the pc industry brought this on themselves. Wat of the smaller custom builder they focused so much on gaming big megatron design like cases with all the talk of FPS is every thing. My only prayer is that asus, msi gigabyte should stand up aganist apple and start releasing sexier designs, unless I fear even adobe is not safe cos most editors would gradually drfit back to FCPX sad wen inferior products triumphs a superior one. Pls drop ur thoughts also ur opnions as editors in your location the general trend. I hate to be locked in a garden where I am told this is what I need. I love choices.

The 2 biggest problems with the new Mac Pro are the complete reliance on Thunderbolt for expansion and the Proprietary GPU modules. What happens when those Fire Pro cards are EOL and new GPU's are available. Will Apple go to any of the GPU manufacturers and get newer modules manufactured. Considering the applications that are moving to GPU processing, that was really a very bad idea simply because of the Minimum order quantity Apple will have to make to run another module. Apple will not be able to pull from the general video card supply which means they will be solely responsible for any production numbers required to manufacture to begin with. I personally expect this to be a major limitation as time goes on.
The complete reliance on Thunderbolt for expansion really was bad idea and not ready for prime time. TB2 has the total bandwidth of a PCI-E Gen 2 5x. That is the entire pipe available to pump any video output data, high performance storage, I/O devices, and any number of devices available as time goes on especially video cards. Those trying to GPU process through that pipe are going to find that latency is way to much a problem to get that done. If Lightpeak was out and had the bandwidth of PCi-E Gen 2 or Gen 3 16X then I would say great. There is just to small a pipe and to much device moderation at the TB controller to do this now. The major problem that will develop from this later is when Lightpeak is out for the PC and devices start moving there. Where will Apple be with the Mac Pro when it's entire expansion is legacy in 1 to 2 years. As a final note Thunderbolt 2 is just Thunderbolt 1 with 1 bidirectional channel in stead of 2 unidirectional. This is not a major improvement over the original.
The final consideration though not a major problem yet is the limit to 6 Core Xeons. This is likely due to the heat the 8 Core Xeons generate combined with a centralized cooling design. One of the major reasons to get a Dual Xeon is the 8 Core CPU options. Without that then there really is far less reason to get a Dual Xeon over a single 6 core and eventually 8 core workstation. This is a sacrifice that will reveal more later than now.
Considering the Mac Pro is meant to be the flagship platform for Apple's Pro market, there are really way to many limitations on this one to compete with the PC equivalents. There is only so much OSX will add to any system.
Eric
ADK

WHY AFTER EFFECTS STILLS SO SLOW IN THE NEW MAC PRO?

I have the new mac pro with this settings:
3 GHz 8-Core Intel Xeon E5
64 GB 1867 MHz DDR3 ECC
AMD FirePro D700 6144 MB
Software OS X 10.9.2
And the AE performs slower than in my old mac pro. I have set the preferences as seen on all those tutorials on this site, I have an SSD external disc for cache files, memory and multiprocessing settings correctly...and previews are very very slow, and I can not even render a single comp without waiting 10 minutes. I am very disappointed and frustrated with this situation...
Am I missing something?

I don't understand why it's even up to the user to figure out what settings are best. Isn't the application in a vastly superior position to know what its resource constraints are at any given moment? Instead I have to try rendering a couple of comps, kill the render, fix the render queue since AE STILL doesn't offer a graceful way to quit and resume renders.
I have to say that one of the attributes of AE that consistently disappoints me is multiprocessing and its accompanying memory management policies. I regularly produce hundreds of network graphics at a go, and I can never reap any benefit from multiprocessing, because AE has to load the entire project into each core, instead of just loading the comps it needs to render at any given time. Similarly, a project that requires 400 heavily-automated versions (a regular occurrence for some of my Latin America clients, where graphics have to be versioned for multiple feeds and languages) can simply choke AE. If it could load this stuff into memory on-the-fly (or at least offload some of it when memory gets tight), this wouldn't be a problem, and I sincerely doubt the performance would be worse than it is now. This is on a previous-gen Mac Pro with 48 GB RAM, so, while not strictly state-of-the-art, it's no slouch.
Heck, even opening some of these projects just to browse their contents is a painful 30-minute process, as AE apparently has to not only load everything into memory before I can even do anything, but, judging by how it hangs for many minutes at 99% on the progress bar, it also seems to be evaluating all the expressions in all the hundreds of comps (presumably so it can render the project thumbnails). And yes, I've tried splitting the projects up, but this leads to its own complications, particularly when revisions come in a week or two later.
I don't want any of this to sound overly negative, since I know AE has a small team and this sort of stuff isn't trivial to implement. I do appreciate this application and all it does, particularly for me creatively and professionally. I just get a bit tired of seeing new releases come every year and this stuff seems to go unaddressed.

New Mac Pro Octo released

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