By: Ricardo B (ricardo.b.delete@this.xxxxx.xx), August 5, 2014 2:30 pm
Room: Moderated Discussions
Kevin G (kevin.delete@this.cubitdesigns.com) on August 5, 2014 11:11 am wrote:
> And yeah, the current Mac platform is bad even though it is the same x86 base components. The
> Mac Pro has turned into a tube with memory being the only internal expansion. Some iMac models
> now don't even have memory expansion. Apple's laptop line got rid of memory expansion a few years
> ago. The entire concept of upgradability has mostly been purged from Apple's line up.
>
> This is one of the reasons why people do yearn for the PowerPC era in retrospect. Those systems
> were obscenely upgradeable. The first AGP G4 systems in 1999 could later be upgraded all the
> way to dual 1.8 Ghz G4e chips six years later. Sure, a G5 crushed a system with such an upgrade
> in performance but at significantly higher cost. Apple also shipped the G4's with 64 bit PCI
> slots so there was bandwidth to add things like a SATA card or a Gigabit NIC.
That's a silly argument.
The un-expansible trash can is a new thing, which has nothing to do with x86.
For the first 6/7 years of x86 based Macs, the Mac Pro were typical expansible (and very good) workstations.
The last incarnation could take up to 2 6-core Xeons, 32 GB RAM, 4 PCIe cards and a bunch of SATA internal drives.
And it's not like DELL and HP aren't making expansible workstations based on the same Xeon chipsets.
Again, it all comes down to people inventing reasons to miss the PowerPC.
> And yeah, the current Mac platform is bad even though it is the same x86 base components. The
> Mac Pro has turned into a tube with memory being the only internal expansion. Some iMac models
> now don't even have memory expansion. Apple's laptop line got rid of memory expansion a few years
> ago. The entire concept of upgradability has mostly been purged from Apple's line up.
>
> This is one of the reasons why people do yearn for the PowerPC era in retrospect. Those systems
> were obscenely upgradeable. The first AGP G4 systems in 1999 could later be upgraded all the
> way to dual 1.8 Ghz G4e chips six years later. Sure, a G5 crushed a system with such an upgrade
> in performance but at significantly higher cost. Apple also shipped the G4's with 64 bit PCI
> slots so there was bandwidth to add things like a SATA card or a Gigabit NIC.
That's a silly argument.
The un-expansible trash can is a new thing, which has nothing to do with x86.
For the first 6/7 years of x86 based Macs, the Mac Pro were typical expansible (and very good) workstations.
The last incarnation could take up to 2 6-core Xeons, 32 GB RAM, 4 PCIe cards and a bunch of SATA internal drives.
And it's not like DELL and HP aren't making expansible workstations based on the same Xeon chipsets.
Again, it all comes down to people inventing reasons to miss the PowerPC.
