MacPro, 2x6 cores (for a total of 12) for $2499 at Bestbuy.com Apple has it for $3799

[Roland00Address]

I do not know how this is possible, but bestbuy.com has the Apple Mac Pro Workstation (aka the big huge box with no monitor for professsionals) 12 core for $2499.99.

Apple sells this same computer for $3799.99
Amazon sells this same computer for $3,629.97

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Apple%26...7613&cp=1&lp=1

Apple® - Mac Pro - 2 6-Core Intel® Xeon® Processors - 12GB Memory - 1TB Hard Drive
Model: MD771LL/A
SKU: 4837613

Warranty Terms - Parts 1 year limited
Warranty Terms - Labor 1 year limited
Product Height 20.1"
Product Width 8.1"
Product Weight 41.2 lbs.
Product Depth 18.7"
Processor Brand Intel®
Processor Two Intel® Xeon®
Processor Speed 2.4GHz 6-Core (Turbo Boost up to 2.67GHz)
Cache Memory 12MB shared L3 per processor
System Memory (RAM) 12GB
Type of Memory (RAM) DDR3 SDRAM
Hard Drive Type SATA (7200 rpm)
Hard Drive Size 1TB
Graphics ATI Radeon HD 5770
Video Memory 1GB GDDR5
Network Card Dual 10/100/1000Base-T Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 connectors)
Wireless Networking Built-in AirPort Extreme wireless networking (802.11a/b/g/n); Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
Available Expansion Slots 3 full-length PCI Express 2.0
USB 2.0 Ports 7 (2 front, 3 back, 2 on keyboard)
IEEE 1394 Ports 4 (2 front, 2 rear)
Keyboard Description Apple® keyboard with numeric keypad
Other Control Devices (mouse, etc.) Wireless Magic Mouse
Operating System Platform Mac
Operating System Mac OS X Lion
UPC 885909610600

Note this model is upgradable to 64 GBs of memory. It has 8 slots and uses ECC memory.

 

[Roland00Address]

Note the processors used in this are called Intel® Xeon® Processor E5645.
An E5645 is a downclocked xeon version of the intel i7 970 six core (Gulftown). Apple never upgraded to sandy bridge-ex.

Unless you have specific software (that can take advantage of 12 cores and 24 threads) a 3770k will be faster due to the more ipc, and having a 45% clock speed (ghz advantage).

If you have the right type of software, that can take advantage of all those cores and threads, the dual socket e5645 has triple the cores.

Awesome deal if you need a mac production station.

 

[douglasb]

It's possible because it is relatively old technology, and this isn't really an area of the market that Apple competes in right now.

They also cut some corners as far as relatively little RAM for a system like this, a pretty cheap HDD, a mid-range video card that is 2 generations behind current, and no Blu-Ray. Apparently there is no "Thunderbolt" or whatever Apple is pushing instead of USB 3.0 (which it also doesn't have). For some odd reason, it has IEEE 1394 "Firewire" instead, which is almost totally useless now. Supposedly no HDMI either, although I can't image that the 5770 doesn't have it. The RAM is also ECC, so it will be expensive to upgrade.

3770k is roughly 40-50% cheaper, too. And it leaves you with at least some chance of upgrade path (not that anybody ever upgrades the hardware in a Mac, though). Socket 2011 is a much better upgrade path than 1366, no doubt about it.

Honestly, I would have a hard time recommending this machine to anybody at this price. At $3,600+, it's an enormous rip-off.

 

[douglasb]

Amazon immediately pricematched this, plus free shipping with Prime. That ought to tell you that it was overpriced to begin with.

Also, take this as a pretty clear sign that the new Mac Pro is going to be released soon. They are liquidating old inventory.

 

[Rakehellion]

Also, take this as a pretty clear sign that the new Mac Pro is going to be released soon. They are liquidating old inventory.

This. I'm glad to see the price drop because it means Apple is finally updating the Mac Pro after three or four years of neglect.

I'd usually just buy the first gen Mac Pros and upgrade the CPUs.

 

[Tegeril]

This is selling more or less at the price it would cost to build one yourself. Plus it's not built yourself and a hackintosh that you have to maintain.

 

[Rakehellion]

At $3,600+, it's an enormous rip-off.

It's $2499. And if you don't know the difference between an i7 and a Xeon and avoid ECC memory because it's expensive, then no, it probably isn't for you.

 

[exar333]

It's $2499. And if you don't know the difference between an i7 and a Xeon and avoid ECC memory because it's expensive, then no, it probably isn't for you.

NOT a great deal by any measure, but not bad. You can build a modern E5 Xeon with a few less cores, but overall much faster, with more RAM for the same or less money. If needing a 'Mac' is required, I would still say wait. Apple is supposed to refresh the Pro line in 2013 and expect to see dual LG2011 layout that will run circles around this machine.

As always, get the most basic Apple offering and then upgrade yourself (extra CPU, RAM, HDD, etc.).

 

[douglasb]

It's $2499. And if you don't know the difference between an i7 and a Xeon and avoid ECC memory because it's expensive, then no, it probably isn't for you.

I quoted $3,600 because that is Apple's retail price for it, and it is being considered a "hot deal" in comparison to Apple's normal retail price (which never drops as technology ages, by the way).

I know the differences between ECC and non-ECC RAM, obviously, and I assume that most people here do as well. Personally, I avoid ECC memory because 1) I don't have a motherboard that takes it, and 2) I have no reason to buy such a motherboard because I don't need parity. I mentioned the fact that it is expensive because 12 GB is not a lot of RAM for a system like this (presumably to be used for a video rendering workstation), so you are looking at additional cost to get this configured as it should be. SSD would probably be a good idea, too. So you are looking at putting several hundred more dollars into this to get a workstation that isn't configured like it came from the last decade. Everything else in it is serviceable, but those are 2 must-have upgrades, IMO. Especially if you are doing any sort of rendering.

The comparison to an i7 is that, for a lower price, you can get an i7 that outperforms this Xeon in the vast majority of applications for most users. The only reason I would ever consider this machine is if I could only use Final Cut Pro, and need to buy a workstation immediately. Otherwise, I would wait for the new Mac Pro.

Even as far as Xeons go, this is dated. It is a Gulftown Xeon. The current generation is Sandy Bridge-EP, and we can expect to see Ivy Bridge-based Xeons in the near future. I think that buying the next generation of Mac Pro at $3600 is a much better deal than buying this.

 

[philipma1957]

this is a good deal if you must have a mac have 12 core software and need 96gb ram as it will take 6 sticks of 16gb ram.


it will use 6 of these

https://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=D313GR16LH


it uses fw800. it can handle 4tb hdds.

add a ssd and it will use a sata II ssd if you can find one. it is sata II interface.

It liked samsung 810/470

In less then 4 months the new model will drop and this will be outdated. and yeah the video card is old.

 

[Childs]

I quoted $3,600 because that is Apple's retail price for it, and it is being considered a "hot deal" in comparison to Apple's normal retail price (which never drops as technology ages, by the way).

I know the differences between ECC and non-ECC RAM, obviously, and I assume that most people here do as well. Personally, I avoid ECC memory because 1) I don't have a motherboard that takes it, and 2) I have no reason to buy such a motherboard because I don't need parity. I mentioned the fact that it is expensive because 12 GB is not a lot of RAM for a system like this (presumably to be used for a video rendering workstation), so you are looking at additional cost to get this configured as it should be. SSD would probably be a good idea, too. So you are looking at putting several hundred more dollars into this to get a workstation that isn't configured like it came from the last decade. Everything else in it is serviceable, but those are 2 must-have upgrades, IMO. Especially if you are doing any sort of rendering.

The comparison to an i7 is that, for a lower price, you can get an i7 that outperforms this Xeon in the vast majority of applications for most users. The only reason I would ever consider this machine is if I could only use Final Cut Pro, and need to buy a workstation immediately. Otherwise, I would wait for the new Mac Pro.

Even as far as Xeons go, this is dated. It is a Gulftown Xeon. The current generation is Sandy Bridge-EP, and we can expect to see Ivy Bridge-based Xeons in the near future. I think that buying the next generation of Mac Pro at $3600 is a much better deal than buying this.

Most people who would consider buying this are not normal consumers. I have the 3Ghz version at work, and its still a beast. The biggest downside to this is the lack of Thunderbolt, but more than likely the person would have a FC cards connected to 10Gbps storage or SAN.

 

[DominionSeraph]

1 year limited with Geek Squad tech support makes me cringe.

You can get a T5600 with dual Sandy Bridge EP 8-core E5-2650 (2GHz, 2.8GHz turbo) with 16GB and a 4GB Quadro K5000M (Kepler GK104). with 3 year NBD for $3k from Dell Outlet.

Good price for a 12-core mac pro, but if you're not constrained to OSX, there are certainly much better workstations out there.