We'll see what it turns out to be ... it will *all* depend on price ...
I don't see any way that it can even be at the same price point as previous Mac Pros. The Xeon chip is about a grand. And custom tech on the graphics cards... TB2 ports... etc. It'll be 3 Grand on the low end is my bet. Or maybe there will be a 2500.00 option with only 1 vid card.. if that's even possible.
#601475 - 08/30/1303:12 PMRe: The new Mac Pro
[Re: NucleusG4]
six_of_one
Pool Bar
Registered: 04/19/02
Posts: 4474
Loc: Alexandria, VA
Well, who knows what Apple gets in volume pricing for things like chips, cards, etc. And the price will also depend on their markup -- Apple is known for their horrendously large margins, but this *could* be a winner if they decided to shave a something off. I won't go as far to say a loss-leader, since with the Mac Pro there really isn't any synergy with other Apple products like there are with the iProducts, but maybe they'll try more for volume with this and price appropriately. Regardless, it'll be interesting to see what their philosophy this time around will be ...
Back in The Day™ I always judged a new Mac tower kitted out the way *you* wanted it would set you back $5,000. That estimation later lowered to $3,000 with the newer generations of Mac Pros ... so I'm thinking a reasonably-tricked-out model at $3,000 will be a relative winner. A base model in the low $2,000s could be a hit. $5,000 will kill it dead, just like the cube: neat tech but overpriced ...
Now comes the hard part.... If it is within my reach financially... do I plunk the money down and become an early adopter? This has hurt me before when items had technical/hardware issues initially. Have to weigh that against my "want it now" fever.
Not a very good advantage towards the consumer by doing this.
The MacPro isn't for the average consumer, thus the name 'Pro.'
With that much video power built-in, it's going to be years and years before software tech comes along that requires more. By then, most pros are upgrading anyway.
Remember, there's a wide gap between 'want' and 'need.' And many users (especially pros) think they 'need' a lot of things that they really do not.
If you need evidence of this, look no further than the iPhone.
_________________________ The Graphic Mac- Tips, reviews & more on all things OSX & graphic design.