ictiosapiens
Aug 17, 04:37 AM
Does anyone seriously believe games today will show any significant improvement on a Mac Pro?
1. The video cards are underclocked compared to their PC equivalents on the Mac.
2. Generally, you are limited to a framerate of 60Hz anyway.
3. Most games are old ports, and need to run thru Rosetta.
When playing a game on a PC, you have DirectX to take full advantage of the hardware, and your processor is usually tagged consuming any and all cycles it can for the game. On a Mac, multithreading, and sharing the processor among apps seems to be the flow of the computing experience.
I'd predict a single Core2 Duo Extreme would still outdo a dual processor 3.0 Ghz Xeon Mac Pro when memory timings are nearly half of the Xeon on the Core2.
Bootcamp???
1. The video cards are underclocked compared to their PC equivalents on the Mac.
2. Generally, you are limited to a framerate of 60Hz anyway.
3. Most games are old ports, and need to run thru Rosetta.
When playing a game on a PC, you have DirectX to take full advantage of the hardware, and your processor is usually tagged consuming any and all cycles it can for the game. On a Mac, multithreading, and sharing the processor among apps seems to be the flow of the computing experience.
I'd predict a single Core2 Duo Extreme would still outdo a dual processor 3.0 Ghz Xeon Mac Pro when memory timings are nearly half of the Xeon on the Core2.
Bootcamp???
lsvtecjohn3
Apr 19, 02:57 PM
So the interesting fact is:
Verizon iPhone release didn't help Apple to stop losing marketshare although everyone said the deal will quadruple iPhone sales. :rolleyes:
iPhone Q1/11: 19 million (+ 2.5 million)
Android Q1/11: 38 million (+8 million)
Ouch. No wonder they are now sueing HTC and Samsung. If you can't beat them in the market, beat them in court. Apple must have learned that from Nokia (like they learned the choppy animations when you start third party apps in iOS 4.3.2 from Symbian).
iPhone: 4% of market, 50% of profit
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/10/30/iphone-4-of-market-50-of-profit/
So whats the point of market share if you're not making any money?
Verizon iPhone release didn't help Apple to stop losing marketshare although everyone said the deal will quadruple iPhone sales. :rolleyes:
iPhone Q1/11: 19 million (+ 2.5 million)
Android Q1/11: 38 million (+8 million)
Ouch. No wonder they are now sueing HTC and Samsung. If you can't beat them in the market, beat them in court. Apple must have learned that from Nokia (like they learned the choppy animations when you start third party apps in iOS 4.3.2 from Symbian).
iPhone: 4% of market, 50% of profit
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/10/30/iphone-4-of-market-50-of-profit/
So whats the point of market share if you're not making any money?
Dont Hurt Me
Sep 19, 08:08 AM
I can see this happening. The MacBook will now be available in five colors! ;)I wonder what flavor its GPU will be? GMA950 or something else? Apple will use more then just CPU cycles to show the difference? Same old 950 or something new?
mdntcallr
Jul 27, 11:39 AM
No that isn't true. The desktop Macs have socketed processors but the portables are soldered to the logic board - there are sites that do dissections of new machines and they confirmed it.
Replaceable: iMac, Mac mini
Soldered: MacBook, MacBook Pro.
Please don't post false and misleading information.
Chundles and the others are right. THE CPU is SOLDERED on to the logic board.
That said, it does NOT mean the CPU cannot be upgraded. There are mac upgrade companies which are soon to launch services where you can fedex in your laptop in, and within days, they will replace the cpu, solder expertly on a new one, and you will be very happy with a new / faster CPU.
honestly, right now i do not believe the power differential to be worth it. it would be better to wait for chips with a larger speed differential.
Replaceable: iMac, Mac mini
Soldered: MacBook, MacBook Pro.
Please don't post false and misleading information.
Chundles and the others are right. THE CPU is SOLDERED on to the logic board.
That said, it does NOT mean the CPU cannot be upgraded. There are mac upgrade companies which are soon to launch services where you can fedex in your laptop in, and within days, they will replace the cpu, solder expertly on a new one, and you will be very happy with a new / faster CPU.
honestly, right now i do not believe the power differential to be worth it. it would be better to wait for chips with a larger speed differential.
milo
Jul 28, 09:37 AM
Apple had better step its game up compared to the prices/specs rumored last week.
That list was probably something some random guy threw together, it didn't come from a real source and AI only posted it because it's been floating around (saying they didn't believe it).
Actually I like the one with 2 slots. Perfect for all those people wanting 2 drives. :-)
But it would make way more sense to lose the "slot" and go with a standard tray loading drive. It's very impractical to give users the ability to add an optical drive...but require it to be a laptop model.
you can't make a statement like that. that's like saying "i hate general electric air conditioners." what the heck? all CPU's (and air conditioners) do the same thing.
You don't think there's a significant difference between different models of CPU? :eek:
How about Mac Midi?
I've thought about Mac Mid, but just doesn't seem quite right. Mac Midi is funny, but would confuse music guys (unless it actually had midi ports).
So if the new iMacs are using 64-bit merom or conroe chips, what is the likelihood of them offering 4Mb of RAM?
Current macs can handle 4 gigs of ram, if you get the expensive 2 gig chips. 32 bit limits you to 4 gig, doubt iMacs will handle more than that for a while.
That list was probably something some random guy threw together, it didn't come from a real source and AI only posted it because it's been floating around (saying they didn't believe it).
Actually I like the one with 2 slots. Perfect for all those people wanting 2 drives. :-)
But it would make way more sense to lose the "slot" and go with a standard tray loading drive. It's very impractical to give users the ability to add an optical drive...but require it to be a laptop model.
you can't make a statement like that. that's like saying "i hate general electric air conditioners." what the heck? all CPU's (and air conditioners) do the same thing.
You don't think there's a significant difference between different models of CPU? :eek:
How about Mac Midi?
I've thought about Mac Mid, but just doesn't seem quite right. Mac Midi is funny, but would confuse music guys (unless it actually had midi ports).
So if the new iMacs are using 64-bit merom or conroe chips, what is the likelihood of them offering 4Mb of RAM?
Current macs can handle 4 gigs of ram, if you get the expensive 2 gig chips. 32 bit limits you to 4 gig, doubt iMacs will handle more than that for a while.
whatever
Jul 20, 07:37 PM
yeah, what he said. Apple does not have to distinguish powermacs from servers with processor speeds. People (businesses) who need servers are not going to buy powermacs to do the job even if they are a little bit faster or cheaper; they are going to buy real rack-mounted servers.
Now you're not thinking like a competitive company that needs to continue to make money.
Sun is on the ropes and Apple now has a chance to soar in and take a lot of business from them.
Now you're not thinking like a competitive company that needs to continue to make money.
Sun is on the ropes and Apple now has a chance to soar in and take a lot of business from them.
aiqw9182
Apr 10, 12:40 AM
Hoping for some better multi-core support(although probably going to have to wait for Lion for the newer QuickTime engine) and a UI that isn't from the 90's:
http://www.candlerblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/03_ambit_fullscreen-300x232.jpg
^ Final Cut on Mac OS 9
Final Cut on Tiger/Leopard/Snow Leopard:
http://adobe-discount.com/product_images/o/apple_final_cut_express_hd_4__90390.jpg
Only thing that's changed is the scroll bars.
http://www.candlerblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/03_ambit_fullscreen-300x232.jpg
^ Final Cut on Mac OS 9
Final Cut on Tiger/Leopard/Snow Leopard:
http://adobe-discount.com/product_images/o/apple_final_cut_express_hd_4__90390.jpg
Only thing that's changed is the scroll bars.
SuperCachetes
Mar 22, 06:53 PM
Oh yeah... and here's a fun little nugget for those who like to tout Obama's coalition:
Here's a little fun little nugget for those who say "Obama's just Bush all over again."
UN Resolution 1441 (2002) was drafted by the US and UK, and presented at the UN by Bush.
UN Resolution 1973 (2011) was drafted by France, Lebanon, and the UK, and not presented by the US.
Like you, I would rather us not be involved at all - but we hardly have quite the same hand in this latest business as we did when we went WMD-hunting...
Here's a little fun little nugget for those who say "Obama's just Bush all over again."
UN Resolution 1441 (2002) was drafted by the US and UK, and presented at the UN by Bush.
UN Resolution 1973 (2011) was drafted by France, Lebanon, and the UK, and not presented by the US.
Like you, I would rather us not be involved at all - but we hardly have quite the same hand in this latest business as we did when we went WMD-hunting...
Popeye206
Apr 11, 02:26 PM
That's why god created the internet.......:D
Yeah.... but it sure is fun to go to the Mall and see all the stores with just a few shoppers each until you hit the Apple store which is almost always packed with people. :)
Yeah.... but it sure is fun to go to the Mall and see all the stores with just a few shoppers each until you hit the Apple store which is almost always packed with people. :)
guzhogi
Jul 14, 03:37 PM
I have Mirror Door. How can I burn DVD (top) and CD (bottom) at once via Toast? I have tried and nothing worked, Toast only focus 1 thing at a time. Or am I wrong? :confused:
Make a copy of Toast and use one copy for one drive and the other copy for the other drive.
Make a copy of Toast and use one copy for one drive and the other copy for the other drive.
DeVizardofOZ
Aug 27, 02:46 AM
That's exactly what I wanted to say...there are 10 whiners in this MR board that make a lot of noise, compared to 1,000,000 out there that don't...so we always have the impression that Apple is faltering, which is totally nonsense.
What matter are the independent reports and the statistical data that show, continuously, how Apple leads the pack in terms of support, reliability and MTBF; the rest is anecdotal evidence.
It's not only about industrial quality, which often depends on outsourced companies, overseas workers and contractual enforcement. It's also about giving the support a customer needs...and Apple is second to none in that.
You are talking crap. It is only about industrial quality. Nothing else.
There are simply too many individual issues with the new MB and MBP here, and I do not want to repeat them. Mostly hardware, but some are related to using OSX and MSOS. You can read, so do that.
APPLE has been 'second to none' in the eyes of APPLE users, compared to who? I think MAC OS is fantastic, but it does not mean, that all those who switch now to APPLE have to accept hardware lemons to get this OS... Absolutely no excuse for over 25% crap products delivered to the customers...
Everybody knows that APPLE could have had a 40+ market share, but decided not to license out. We all would be happier now, but JOBS decided against that years back. So now we are talking about a less than 5% market share... JUst do your math: If they had a 40% share WW, we would hear millions screaming about their lemons...
It seems there's too much luck involved when buying an APPLE product right now.
When they finally get their QC act together I will gladly buy their product.
Cheers, and no hard feelings.
What matter are the independent reports and the statistical data that show, continuously, how Apple leads the pack in terms of support, reliability and MTBF; the rest is anecdotal evidence.
It's not only about industrial quality, which often depends on outsourced companies, overseas workers and contractual enforcement. It's also about giving the support a customer needs...and Apple is second to none in that.
You are talking crap. It is only about industrial quality. Nothing else.
There are simply too many individual issues with the new MB and MBP here, and I do not want to repeat them. Mostly hardware, but some are related to using OSX and MSOS. You can read, so do that.
APPLE has been 'second to none' in the eyes of APPLE users, compared to who? I think MAC OS is fantastic, but it does not mean, that all those who switch now to APPLE have to accept hardware lemons to get this OS... Absolutely no excuse for over 25% crap products delivered to the customers...
Everybody knows that APPLE could have had a 40+ market share, but decided not to license out. We all would be happier now, but JOBS decided against that years back. So now we are talking about a less than 5% market share... JUst do your math: If they had a 40% share WW, we would hear millions screaming about their lemons...
It seems there's too much luck involved when buying an APPLE product right now.
When they finally get their QC act together I will gladly buy their product.
Cheers, and no hard feelings.
rmwebs
Mar 26, 04:54 AM
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8G4 Safari/6533.18.5)
This might explain the shambles that is 10.6.7.
Last release before Lion - semi-brick your machine to force an upgrade.
iOS 4.3, last release before iPhone 5 - murder your battery to force an upgrade.
You've guessed it, I'm not very happy with Apple at the moment. So which is it; underhand tactics, sloppy Q&A or declining standards?
Probably all three ;) The QA team has gradually got worse and worse over the last few years. Apple have become more and more greedy, and you can bet the Mac OS coders cant be bothered to work on its ancient codebase when across the office a group of people get to play with the newer (granted still based on Mac OS) iOS.
This might explain the shambles that is 10.6.7.
Last release before Lion - semi-brick your machine to force an upgrade.
iOS 4.3, last release before iPhone 5 - murder your battery to force an upgrade.
You've guessed it, I'm not very happy with Apple at the moment. So which is it; underhand tactics, sloppy Q&A or declining standards?
Probably all three ;) The QA team has gradually got worse and worse over the last few years. Apple have become more and more greedy, and you can bet the Mac OS coders cant be bothered to work on its ancient codebase when across the office a group of people get to play with the newer (granted still based on Mac OS) iOS.
meanmusic
Aug 27, 10:33 PM
Core 2 Duo is here. Looks like Toshiba is first out of the gate with Core 2 Duo laptops:
http://www.toshibadirect.com:80/td/b2c/pdet.to?poid=347885&coid=-30600&seg=HHO
http://www.toshibadirect.com:80/td/b2c/pdet.to?poid=347885&coid=-30600&seg=HHO
Henri Gaudier
Aug 26, 04:34 AM
Every time I read a thread on Apple's reliability or Apple's service I rarely see my experiences mirrored but this time there seems to be a lot of disatisfied people out there. I've had nearly a dozen Macs and everyone has either died or needed something major correcting. And everytime the service from Apple has been diabolical. EVERYTIME. Often native Dutch or German centres I think. How can this be with all of these Apple are great stories? "Our customer satisfaction is very high" Schiller *****!! And as for the Indian call centre closing down as quickly as it opened remark - well that just shows you Apples attitude to workers rights doesn't it. Globalisation crap. Apple are a wank capitalist corp that designs nice products and then they get someone else to make them in the cheapest way possible. All this idolatry. There service may be good in the US for whatever reasons, pride or US consumer expectations but when they travel abroad they don't give a *****. Trust me. If only there was some way out but after the thousands I've spent on software... there's no changing.
hayesk
Mar 26, 02:39 PM
Yet another unimpressive "major" update to an O/S that's showing it's age and irrelevance. (Hell it's already to most consumers nothing more than "That thing you gotta hook your iPad up to to make it work.) Compared to the iDevice world, the computer side of Apple has ground to a halt. Is it intentional I wonder...? ;)
Enough!! Combine MacOS and iOS already!!! The transition is so painfully slow, would someone else in tech get off their lazy ass and prod these guys to move a LITTLE quicker?!?
Consumers don't care about the OS at all, on a desktop or on an iOS device. They care about using their computer to do tasks. The more the OS becomes invisible to the user, the better.
I also have to laugh at the people complaining that Lion has nothing to offer at the same time they are complaining that it's turning into iOS. Do you want the OS to progress or stay the same? Make up your minds. What do these people want Lion to have. I'm guessing they can't imagine anything beyond including some third party utilities that they already use.
Enough!! Combine MacOS and iOS already!!! The transition is so painfully slow, would someone else in tech get off their lazy ass and prod these guys to move a LITTLE quicker?!?
Consumers don't care about the OS at all, on a desktop or on an iOS device. They care about using their computer to do tasks. The more the OS becomes invisible to the user, the better.
I also have to laugh at the people complaining that Lion has nothing to offer at the same time they are complaining that it's turning into iOS. Do you want the OS to progress or stay the same? Make up your minds. What do these people want Lion to have. I'm guessing they can't imagine anything beyond including some third party utilities that they already use.
LagunaSol
Mar 23, 09:33 AM
Exactly. What people don't understand is that the iPad market is more comparable to the iPod Touch then the iPhone for which there still isn't any competition.
They're in denial.
They're also waiting for the "inevitable" buy-one-Android-tablet-get-one-free deals that are sure to happen (just like with smartphones). Right? ;)
They're in denial.
They're also waiting for the "inevitable" buy-one-Android-tablet-get-one-free deals that are sure to happen (just like with smartphones). Right? ;)
Silentwave
Jul 15, 01:12 AM
What about 4 SATA II Drives? This way I can have a mirrored 1TB RAID [clicks heals]
The speed of a RAID with the security of mirroring.. it doesn't get mucho better :)
You mean SATA 3Gbps? Sata II is often confused with Sata 3Gbps and has not been brought to market yet, unfortunately. the sata people even have a page explaining the difference on their site :confused: . the good part though is they're planning 6Gbps and IIRC 12 as well.
I want sata3g or SAS or both.
The speed of a RAID with the security of mirroring.. it doesn't get mucho better :)
You mean SATA 3Gbps? Sata II is often confused with Sata 3Gbps and has not been brought to market yet, unfortunately. the sata people even have a page explaining the difference on their site :confused: . the good part though is they're planning 6Gbps and IIRC 12 as well.
I want sata3g or SAS or both.
bigmc6000
Aug 11, 04:50 PM
Well now you ignorant yankie ;) Firstly the mobile phone penetration in Europe is about 99% or maybe slighly more. You should really travel a bit to get some perspective.
And secondly, GSM has user base of over 1 billion while CDMA as you said has some 60m users. Which one you think would be more interesting market to cover for a new mobile phone manufacturer? And there is really no question of "we'll see which one wins" because GSM won a long long time ago, hands down.
But you're really forgetting 1 thing. International Trade Mark/patent law is a pain in the @$$!!! I wouldn't blame Apple for 1 min to keep it in the US for at least a test run. That way they should be able to keep the patent breaker-reverse engineers off their back for a least a little while (i.e. why copy something if you can't even use it anywhere other than where it's patent protected).
If the rest of the world would get a handle on international trademarking and patent protection I don't think we'd have this issue of different standards of EU vs USA...
And secondly, GSM has user base of over 1 billion while CDMA as you said has some 60m users. Which one you think would be more interesting market to cover for a new mobile phone manufacturer? And there is really no question of "we'll see which one wins" because GSM won a long long time ago, hands down.
But you're really forgetting 1 thing. International Trade Mark/patent law is a pain in the @$$!!! I wouldn't blame Apple for 1 min to keep it in the US for at least a test run. That way they should be able to keep the patent breaker-reverse engineers off their back for a least a little while (i.e. why copy something if you can't even use it anywhere other than where it's patent protected).
If the rest of the world would get a handle on international trademarking and patent protection I don't think we'd have this issue of different standards of EU vs USA...
S i
Sep 19, 08:24 AM
I wish this board would block automatically "************" and replace it with "************" so this tired so-called-joke would end someday.
Huh? :confused:
Nice :D
I'm going to be p*ssed right off if Apple roll out a measly chip update as this latest rumour states. They need to keep up in order to attract the switchers....& keep them. Switching can go both ways of course. Let's see some other MBP updates too, so the wait translates to something positive.
@babyj
I'll "bitch & switch" because I go where I feel I can get competitive advantage (rolling many aspects into this). I'm bitching first as a courtesy to Apple. Is it better if people slip off quietly & buy PCs? If community unhappiness hastens some kind of Macbook attention from Apple then that's great.
Huh? :confused:
Nice :D
I'm going to be p*ssed right off if Apple roll out a measly chip update as this latest rumour states. They need to keep up in order to attract the switchers....& keep them. Switching can go both ways of course. Let's see some other MBP updates too, so the wait translates to something positive.
@babyj
I'll "bitch & switch" because I go where I feel I can get competitive advantage (rolling many aspects into this). I'm bitching first as a courtesy to Apple. Is it better if people slip off quietly & buy PCs? If community unhappiness hastens some kind of Macbook attention from Apple then that's great.
THX1139
Aug 20, 12:11 AM
That's okay. No worries. I just get a little defensive when I spend $5000 on a new system, and then see you posting about how it'll be better with Clovertown. But that's my problem I guess. :rolleyes:
Anyway, it's all cool.
Yeah... me too! LOL!! :D
As for Toast and Handbrake performance... well that's all well and cool, but I have little use for those apps on such extreme level. I can't think of an instance where I would run Toast more than once or twice a week. Maybe I should get netflix and build a library of illegal movies?? Nah... I will be using my Macpro for creative work instead. FCP, Motion, Shake, Lightwave, Maya etc... I realize that comparisions with Handbrake and Toast are being made just to show how the cores are utilized, but frankly, I don't give a damn about those apps. They show me nothing. Now if you get into comparing heavy duty Professional apps that take full advantage of all cores at native speeds, then I'm excited. For example, Newtek Lightwave has been announced as UB "very soon". Lightwave is a fully multicore application that should test the strength of the Macpro when it comes to rendering. I'd love to see those benchmarks compared to G5!
Newtek Press Release (http://www.newtek.com/news/releases/08-01-06f.html)
Anyway, it's all cool.
Yeah... me too! LOL!! :D
As for Toast and Handbrake performance... well that's all well and cool, but I have little use for those apps on such extreme level. I can't think of an instance where I would run Toast more than once or twice a week. Maybe I should get netflix and build a library of illegal movies?? Nah... I will be using my Macpro for creative work instead. FCP, Motion, Shake, Lightwave, Maya etc... I realize that comparisions with Handbrake and Toast are being made just to show how the cores are utilized, but frankly, I don't give a damn about those apps. They show me nothing. Now if you get into comparing heavy duty Professional apps that take full advantage of all cores at native speeds, then I'm excited. For example, Newtek Lightwave has been announced as UB "very soon". Lightwave is a fully multicore application that should test the strength of the Macpro when it comes to rendering. I'd love to see those benchmarks compared to G5!
Newtek Press Release (http://www.newtek.com/news/releases/08-01-06f.html)
Moyank24
Apr 28, 04:11 PM
Because there was never a question of wither or not any of those men were born in the US, with Obama the past was always a bit hazy as to if he was actually born in Hawaii or thats just what his parents told him. Obviously he doesn�t remember BEING BORN in hawaii..his parents could have just told him that.
But now we have proof and its all over with there�s no need to be calling names about it.
What exactly was a bit hazy? He provided proof 3 years ago.
The only thing that is hazy is your argument against racism. Different color, funny name...a bunch of white conservative bullies. Sometimes 1 + 1 does equal 2.
But now we have proof and its all over with there�s no need to be calling names about it.
What exactly was a bit hazy? He provided proof 3 years ago.
The only thing that is hazy is your argument against racism. Different color, funny name...a bunch of white conservative bullies. Sometimes 1 + 1 does equal 2.
mc68k
Dec 7, 12:47 AM
well i bought a delorean s2. hadn't seen it come up before in the used lot, and ive been checking pretty much every time. was at the bottom of the list and i had to sell a few of my cars before i could buy it. 517K! not even something i can win high HP races with, but damn cool :cool:
NebulaClash
Apr 25, 01:39 PM
Ah, the perfect storm! A (probable) bug that does not clip the data the way Google does it, a story that gets reported months ago and then it forgotten, a new story that appears and blows it way out of proportion, news articles that imply Apple is SPYING ON YOU (even though Apple does not get this information), and lots of ignorance spewed all over the Web.
Natually this leads to stupid lawsuits. This is America, dammit!
*sigh* This is turning into another Antennagate, misinformation and all. Steve is going to have to do more than that email to get people to shut up about what is a very small issue that is being exploded into a very large misinformation campaign.
Natually this leads to stupid lawsuits. This is America, dammit!
*sigh* This is turning into another Antennagate, misinformation and all. Steve is going to have to do more than that email to get people to shut up about what is a very small issue that is being exploded into a very large misinformation campaign.
amin
Sep 14, 10:53 PM
I have noticed this emphasis as well; not being an expert on this issue myself though, would you care to shed light on how their coverage is an exaggeration and why we shouldn't be worried about it?
I am no expert, and I am not denying that this issue matters. However, I see no cause for concern unless someone provides some decent evidence that it matters. It strikes me as odd that they (at AnandTech) put so much emphasis on explaining the theory behind a "problem" without making any competent effort at illustrating an example of the problem. When you go to configure a Mac Pro, the Apple page says the following about memory: "Mac Pro uses 667MHz DDR2 fully buffered ECC memory, a new industry-standard memory technology that allows for more memory capacity, higher speeds, and better reliability. To take full advantage of the 256-bit wide memory architecture, four or more FB-DIMMs should be installed in Mac Pro." Yet AnandTech chose a 1GB x 2 RAM arrangement to compare the Core 2 Extreme and Xeon processors. Using this setup, which effectively cripples the Mac Pro memory system, they find it to be at worst 10% slower than the Conroe Extreme (in a single non real world usage benchmark). Meanwhile in any comparison that utilizes the four cores, the quad Xeon whoops ass by a large margin.
I am no expert, and I am not denying that this issue matters. However, I see no cause for concern unless someone provides some decent evidence that it matters. It strikes me as odd that they (at AnandTech) put so much emphasis on explaining the theory behind a "problem" without making any competent effort at illustrating an example of the problem. When you go to configure a Mac Pro, the Apple page says the following about memory: "Mac Pro uses 667MHz DDR2 fully buffered ECC memory, a new industry-standard memory technology that allows for more memory capacity, higher speeds, and better reliability. To take full advantage of the 256-bit wide memory architecture, four or more FB-DIMMs should be installed in Mac Pro." Yet AnandTech chose a 1GB x 2 RAM arrangement to compare the Core 2 Extreme and Xeon processors. Using this setup, which effectively cripples the Mac Pro memory system, they find it to be at worst 10% slower than the Conroe Extreme (in a single non real world usage benchmark). Meanwhile in any comparison that utilizes the four cores, the quad Xeon whoops ass by a large margin.