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Imagine a beowulf cluster of Quad Mac Pros...

Why doesn't Apple make this easier for us to do?

Because it prevents sales of new machines?

Let's see. I normally buy the biggest baddest Mac on the block when it comes out, but knowing that an 8 core machine would likely hit around MacWorld, I didn't by the quad core MacPro.

Had I known that Apple would allow updates, I would have purchased the quad core.

It works both ways Apple.

Extend the lives of our machines.

Can I put these in my Rev A iMac? It's the bondi blue one, and running Panther a bit slow...

and osx proved better at multicore usage / management on fair tests than xp, what a surprise

Yo! Apple! Slap one of those puppies into a MacBook Pro!

MDN Magic Word: i can't wait UNTIL they do it!

You're gonna have one heck of a long wait for anyone to put a Xeon processor in a laptop. It's made for server/work stations - not mobile applications.

"Why doesn't Apple make this easier for us to do?"

It's not just because Apple would like to see more systems sold, there is also the issue of would-be upgraders screwing up and then going to Apple to kiss it and make it well.

It doesn't matter if Apple noted clearly and in flashing ink that if you upgrade your machine's CPUs that you're on your own; there will be, in addition to the lawsuits being raised, time/effort/money/resources spent on dealing with customers screwing up their systems and expecting Apple to fix it.

Oh, and it's not just Apple that sees this sort of problem.

The most significant aspect of this story is that making an 8-core Mac Pro should be trivial. OS X already seems to support 8-cores out of the box.

I hope Apple releases an official 8-core machine before year's end. There's really no reason to wait until MacWorld for this. It could be just the thing to juice Mac Pro sales this quarter instead of usual pattern of pro buyers waiting until Mac Pro to make purchases. By releasing now, pro customers could be relatively confident not to wait until January for Mac Pro announcements.

I hope they release Mac Pro's with these chips soon. I am about ready to retire my G4 Quick Silver.

I need 10.5 more than eight cores. I hardly ever design enzymatic proteins, model fluid dynamics, replicate fusion reactions, and predict global climate changes as much as I used to. Still, if eight cores can rid me of the spinning beach ball of frustration I just might give eight cores a second look.

Does anyone know if audio applications like Logic or Digital Performer would benefit from eight cores?

Of course the REAL Dual Quad Mac Pro will have a lot more benefits and upgrades to discourage a person doing this to their dual dual-core Mac Pro. But it's nice to be able to.

Intel is selling the new Quad Core Xeons for around $1100 each.

Sony has released the PS3, but still short of blue diodes needed for full production. Thus who knows when a BlueRay DVD Dual Quad Mac Pro will arrive.

But in order to play BlueRay DVD movies on a Mac Pro, one will NEED a OEM BlueRay due to all the copy protection schemes being employed.

It's coming in Lepoard, nice Trusted Computing update to EFI firmware and Sony will be able to disable your BlueRay DVD if you install DVD ripping software right over the internet, before your OS has even loaded.

Welcome to DRM hell.

MacDude, I've missed you!