3U Xserve?

3U seems big just for heat concerns. I could see a 2U, but with a 3U unit I'd imagine more Processors.. Maybe a 4 to 6 processor unit. I wonder how loud this unit will be?

With the current size of the G5 heatsink the G5 xserve would have to be 3U. There is no way that they can make the current G5 in a 1U enclosure. But, they might be working on some sort of new way to cool the G5. . .

my next computer

quad 2.2 ghz g5 :)

If the can make a 2 or 3 u exserve more efficient(power/space/heat) than having 1u I'm sure they will not hold back. It will be disapointing if the do not keep a 1u for the lower end users.

we will just have to see

if they did 3U, i bet they'd line up 10 procs. That would be incredibly sweet.

If you are tight for space, would three G4-based Xserves be better than one G5-based Xserve? Or to put it differently, what is the compute power per cubic inch between a 1U G4 Xserve and a 3U G5 Xserve?

Originally posted by Laslo Panaflex
With the current size of the G5 heatsink the G5 xserve would have to be 3U. There is no way that they can make the current G5 in a 1U enclosure. But, they might be working on some sort of new way to cool the G5. . .

With the PowerMac setup they were concerned with noise so they put on massive heatsinks. This allowed them to avoid putting a fan on the heatsink. That's not the case with the xserve. Granted I'd think they'd like to make it quieter, but I don't think that's a real concern. Most server are very loud. It's all about performance.

Yeah, have you ever heard an Xserve? It's like a pair of GE F404's spooling up to full military power.

Trust me, they make the wind tunnel MDD G4 sound like a whisper.

Originally posted by pgwalsh
With the PowerMac setup they were concerned with noise so they put on massive heatsinks. This allowed them to avoid putting a fan on the heatsink. That's not the case with the xserve. Granted I'd think they'd like to make it quieter, but I don't think that's a real concern. Most server are very loud. It's all about performance.

Yeah, I understand, but you really think they can put a G5 in a 1U enclosure with your CURRENT knowledge of the G5, I don't think so. That's does not mean they don't have lower heat producing chips from IBM or a better way to cool the things. I just think that it is more feesable for apple to make a 3U xserve, considering if it comes out soon they would have to have been working on the designs for a while and have to design for the then current hardware. Sure will will see a 1U xserve, just not anytime soon.

-end opinion

The current Xserves use blowers, not fans. They are more than adequate for cooling G5s. As a previous poster noted, they are very, very noisy. The cooling approach taken in the PowerMac G5 is very quiet, and that's why it takes so much space.Unless Apple's gotten some flak about the Xserve's noise, they wouldn't go to 3U just for cooling considerations.

mustang_dvs:

its loud, but I soo want one :)