These concerns are different/more specific than what you made in your last post...and thus if compatibility is a big issue...then I can certainly see your concerns.
If firewire GPU's are so "incompatible"...why would Apple use them in the new Mac Pro...unless firewire GPU's are the future of graphics. And if it's not the future of graphics...it would sure seem to be an awfully big gamble on Apple's part.
Hopefully Apple knows a heck of a lot more than we do!
- Nick
Hey Nick,
Nah not "firewire" GPU's... ATI FirePro is a Workstation based GPU. Dont get me wrong they are great, very powerful. But not feature rich as a lower cost gaming GPU such as the Radeon series. nVidia has two separate GPUs as well. Their workstation card is the Quadro and gaming GPU is the Geforce series.. Now not sure if you have ever worked with many Workstation cards or software that uses them. But the software must be written for them. For example Solidworks 3D modeling software is wrote for ATI FirePro GPUs. Think they have a patch for Quadros as well. But the point is that it works very very well on a FirePro, but even if you buy the lastest and fastest Radeon, it will just not perform very good at all on the Radeon. Why, simply it was wrote for Workstation GPUs. Now lets take Crysis or even World of Warcraft. Put them on a 4 year old Radeon or Geforce and it will run reasonably as one would expect. But play that game on a FirePro or Quadro workstation GPU and it will just not run hardly at all. You would be begging for a onboard intel HD4000 GPU because the game has been written for consumer grade gaming cards.
Point is FirePro workstation GPUs are wonderful, powerful even. But they are business oriented, not home user oriented. So unless your thing is setting at home watch Seti-at-home numbers crunch using your GPUs, your not going to be as happy as you would from not being able to play a game or two. But if games are not your thing, they more then likely you will be just tickled to death with the FirePros.
Hope I havent confused anyone here, perhaps I wasnot clear before. That happens when I am half a sleep posting. Anyhow thats my fault.. Sorry for that.
Now if Apple wants to carry on with only FirePro as their GPU of choice, then o well. My little complaint over here is meaning less anyway. Its more of a sad eye..
I just really feel there is a huge gap from say a i7 Mac Mini to the new Mac Pro. I would really love to see the Mac Mini get high end gaming GPU. It has the physical room inside if one gives the 2nd HDD slot. Now heat would still be a concern more then likely.. But if Apple could get with Lucent Logic and make even an intergrated GPU work with the intel HD4000 like they can do on my gaming PC. Then they would easily close the performance GAP between the two systems.
Now I know the iMac has a independent GPU, but I am not fond of all-in-ones or paying for their overpriced cinema displays. They are nice, but not my thing. Unless they became full Retina displays, then pehaps if there was not a price increase.. But now I am rambling..