MacPro hardware limitations?

asolo · Aug 19, 2006

Not sure this belongs here but it is along my intended "swltching" path so I'm doing it anyway.

Originally intended to learn the OS on iMac -- which I've now had for two months -- and maybe a year down the road after MacPro intro and stabilization move on up. Now the the MacPro is here. However.....

1) Specs for built-in optical drive are pretty dull. (CD-burning at 24x -- blah!) My understanding is that optical drives for this unit are NOT interchangeable with aftermarket units. Not user-serviceable. Is that right?

2) Same for HD's. I am left with the impression that HD bays will NOT accomodate HD's other than Apple's own. Is that right?

I may have this wrong but I presently have the impression that this new unit is pretty limited in these ways which, if so, is very disappointing for me to learn. Am hoping to be informed I've got it wrong.

PowerBookG4 · Aug 19, 2006

1) I belive this to be true.

2) I am prety sure hard drives can be upgraded later with after market ones, like the current macs. The only thing that makes me curious is the fact that they are swapable with out wires, so any hard drive can fit in there I believe, but currious if the mac comes with all 4 hard drive "trays" to add hard drives to it, or if you have to buy those from apple.

dtravis7 · Aug 19, 2006

The Manual on the Mac Pro SHOWS you how to change the optical drive and how to install a 2nd drive. My friend owns one plus I have the manual. My friend bought a 16x Dual Layer Sony and installed it in 2 minutes. Works perfectally.

You can install pretty much any SATA Hard Drive.

PowerBookG4 · Aug 19, 2006

dtravis7 said:
You can install pretty much any SATA Hard Drive.

So opening the mac pro and looking inside it comes with the hard drive brackets..

london · Aug 20, 2006

I am thinking about either getting a Mac Pro or an Opteron Workstation.

The Mac Pro is a powerful beast at a good price for a workstation. I’m thinking of getting the 2.6 GHz model.
I’m leaning towards the Mac Pro but I have a few concerns.
If any of you guys can help me with this, would be great.

1) First of all is the graphics. Can I SLI or cross fire the Mac Pro?

2) Am I limited to the graphics cards Apple offer? (A PC the 7900 and 7300 use the same driver, so can I use a 7900 in the Mac?)

3) I want to add a raid card I have 7 Hdds on my current rig. Where would I put them? 4 Drive bays are not enough. As I will be running Windows and Mac OSX on separate Hdds. Can I put the hard drives in the drive bays backwards and connect then to the PCI-E raid card?

4) I know a 2.6 GHz Xeon will now beat a 2.6 GHz opteron, for the most part. But I heard the Mac pro’s(intels) are still in the dark ages. Sharing the system RAM memory for both CPU’s and not using separate memory and memory buses for each CPU. Is this True? (This is where Opterons have always killed intels hands down) Apples website does not say. Apples website also does not mention memory bandwidth speed, just cpu bandwidth speed. This makes me think this is true. Memory bandwidth is very important for what I do. I hope the Mac Pro Cpu’s don’t share the same memory.??

5) What kind of sound chip or card does the Mac Pro have? Is it any good for Pro sound production?

I really like the look of the Mac Pro. It looks like a great machine. I’m just concerned of some of the limitations. I really need the flexibility to add Hdds as I need and want to be able to use what graphics card I want.

That’s all. Thanks for any help in advance.

PowerBookG4 · Aug 20, 2006

london said:
I am thinking about either getting a Mac Pro or an Opteron Workstation.

The Mac Pro is a powerful beast at a good price for a workstation. I’m thinking of getting the 2.6 GHz model.
I’m leaning towards the Mac Pro but I have a few concerns.
If any of you guys can help me with this, would be great.

1) First of all is the graphics. Can I SLI or cross fire the Mac Pro?

2) Am I limited to the graphics cards Apple offer? (A PC the 7900 and 7300 use the same driver, so can I use a 7900 in the Mac?)

3) I want to add a raid card I have 7 Hdds on my current rig. Where would I put them? 4 Drive bays are not enough. As I will be running Windows and Mac OSX on separate Hdds. Can I put the hard drives in the drive bays backwards and connect then to the PCI-E raid card?

4) I know a 2.6 GHz Xeon will now beat a 2.6 GHz opteron, for the most part. But I heard the Mac pro’s(intels) are still in the dark ages. Sharing the system RAM memory for both CPU’s and not using separate memory and memory buses for each CPU. Is this True? (This is where Opterons have always killed intels hands down) Apples website does not say. Apples website also does not mention memory bandwidth speed, just cpu bandwidth speed. This makes me think this is true. Memory bandwidth is very important for what I do. I hope the Mac Pro Cpu’s don’t share the same memory.??

5) What kind of sound chip or card does the Mac Pro have? Is it any good for Pro sound production?

I really like the look of the Mac Pro. It looks like a great machine. I’m just concerned of some of the limitations. I really need the flexibility to add Hdds as I need and want to be able to use what graphics card I want.

That’s all. Thanks for any help in advance.

cross posting is greatly frowned upon here, so is thread highjacking.

dtravis7 · Aug 20, 2006

PowerBookG4 said:
So opening the mac pro and looking inside it comes with the hard drive brackets..

Yes, all the slides are there from the factory. Even the screws are there in the Optical tray for thd 2nd drive.

For those in doubt, here is the Manual straight from Apple.

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/MacPro_OpticalDrive_DIY.pdf

Manual on Hard Drive Installation.

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/MacPro_OpticalDrive_DIY.pdf

A list of DIY Manuals for the Mac Pro.

http://www.apple.com/support/manuals/macpro_diy/

Marl Huss · Aug 20, 2006

There are some articles on anandtech that explains all about the addition of new hard drives (as well as costs) and the types of Optical drives you can use now and in the future.

They seem to believe its quite future proof, as well as the possiblilty you might be able to put in a clovertown because of the cross compatibility with the current design (though doing so would be a lot of work and void your warrenty.)

asolo · Aug 20, 2006

dtravis7 said:
Yes, all the slides are there from the factory. Even the screws are there in the Optical tray for thd 2nd drive.

For those in doubt, here is the Manual straight from Apple.

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/MacPro_OpticalDrive_DIY.pdf

Manual on Hard Drive Installation.

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/MacPro_OpticalDrive_DIY.pdf

A list of DIY Manuals for the Mac Pro.

http://www.apple.com/support/manuals/macpro_diy/

Great reply, Travis. Thanks for these sites/info. Feeling bad that I didn't find it for myself.