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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Desktops > Mac 8 Core - Displays Processor "Unknown"

Mac 8 Core - Displays Processor "Unknown"
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jhsteven
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Apr 23, 2007, 07:14 PM
 
I bought a Mac Pro 8 Core this weekend. When you display the system information splash screen it says "2 x 3Ghz Unknown" instead of "2 x 3 Ghz Quad Core Intel Xeon" the way it shows in the pictures of the machine. The system profile has the correct information indicating a total of 8 processors running at 3 Ghz. I spoke with Apple Tech support. US calls are evidently routed to India. On the second call I spoke with someone sufficiently familiar with English to understand what I was saying. They told me that the processor "Unknown" on the splash screen does happen but it was nothing to be concerned about as long as the system information is correct. Has anyone else run into this on any other Pro Mac Quad or Octo?
     
Peabo
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Apr 23, 2007, 07:19 PM
 
My 8-core does the same, although it displayed correctly when I first got it. I think it was after the security update that it exhibited this problem.
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jhsteven  (op)
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Apr 23, 2007, 07:43 PM
 
That's exactly what happened with my machine. When I first got it, it did display correctly. I just didn't know if it was the updates or the program loads which may have caused it or if somehow I had corrupted the OS.
     
Peabo
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Apr 23, 2007, 08:00 PM
 
I have a feeling it was the security update. If that's the case, the odds are it will be fixed in the next one they put out.
I may test this by installing the default 10.4.9 on an external disk then applying the update and checking.
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mduell
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Apr 23, 2007, 08:10 PM
 
Anandtech got the same result when they upgraded their Mac Pro with pre-production engineering samples.
     
Simon
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Apr 24, 2007, 03:48 AM
 
This bug has been reported by several MP users after applying the recent update. Chances are Apple forgot to update the lookup tables with the new MP code in the files replaced by the update. The next update should fix the issue. As long as Activity Monitor sees 8 cores it can be considered a cosmetic issue and you should be perfectly fine.
     
pheonixash
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Apr 26, 2007, 03:55 AM
 
Yea, Apple hasn't outsourced anything to India, they pulled out last year cause it was getting too expensive for them. You need to get your facts straight.
     
jhsteven  (op)
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Apr 27, 2007, 04:34 PM
 
Actually you are incorrect. I specifically asked the two "tech" people where they were located. Both said India. Try calling your local store and pressing the tech help button and find out where they send you.
     
almux
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May 18, 2007, 05:00 PM
 
I just received my Octo today and... made the automatic Security Update!
I also have the 2x3ghz unknown indication, but the Activity Monitor shows up with only 1 processor! I'm quite scared of that issue... And what if a simple new patch won't do it??
     
Obi Wan's Ghost
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May 18, 2007, 05:20 PM
 
Originally Posted by pheonixash View Post
Yea, Apple hasn't outsourced anything to India, they pulled out last year cause it was getting too expensive for them. You need to get your facts straight.
It wasn't the expense. It was poor quality programmers and support staff. Apple trained them for a month and found them useless. Then it hit them, like it will hit everyone else, that a lot of the coders in India lie about their abilities. Indian oursourcing companies have been systematically manipulating the media and lying about the quality of Indian software engineers and tech support to boost company (Indian IT and outsourcing companies) share prices. All this is on the verge of coming out as there are Indian programmers blogging about how they lied and how easy it is to get an outsourced job with minimal skills.

Back to topic, if I install Vista Ultimate with Bootcamp will Windows see all eight cores?
     
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May 18, 2007, 08:45 PM
 
Originally Posted by Obi Wan's Ghost View Post
Back to topic, if I install Vista Ultimate with Bootcamp will Windows see all eight cores?
Yes.
     
almux
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May 19, 2007, 01:43 AM
 
Originally Posted by Simon View Post
... ... . The next update should fix the issue. As long as Activity Monitor sees 8 cores it can be considered a cosmetic issue and you should be perfectly fine.
It doesn't seam like my Mac Pro acts like 8 cored! And the bad is: Activity Monitor is showing only 1 activity ... not 2, not 4 and not 8...
     
Peabo
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May 19, 2007, 01:59 AM
 
Select CPU usage from the 'Window' menu in Activity Monitor. Should show 8 bars.
Your About This Mac window said '2X' Unknown, so it's unlikely that only 1 core is working.
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Simon
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May 19, 2007, 04:41 AM
 
People, it's just a simple name label that's wrong.

Apple Menu > About This Mac > More Info... > Hardware Overview > Total Number of Cores
/Applications/Utilities/Activity Monitor > CPU

If you see eight cores and eight meters, there's no reason to worry.
     
almux
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May 19, 2007, 07:51 AM
 
;/ Ok the Apple gives me the right amount of CPUs and cores
but Activity Monitor yet shows this...
http://www.millpix.com/public/ActivMonitCPU.png

I will go though few tests these next days (once my complete network and apps installations are done)... and then i'll see what's up in the "real world"...

Thanks for your answers

almux
     
Peabo
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May 19, 2007, 12:05 PM
 
Originally Posted by almux View Post
;/ Ok the Apple gives me the right amount of CPUs and cores
but Activity Monitor yet shows this...
http://www.millpix.com/public/ActivMonitCPU.png

I will go though few tests these next days (once my complete network and apps installations are done)... and then i'll see what's up in the "real world"...

Thanks for your answers

almux
Once again: Select CPU usage from the 'Window' menu in Activity Monitor. Should show 8 bars.

The window you posted a screenshot of is normal no matter what CPU you have.
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C.A.T.S. CEO
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May 19, 2007, 12:28 PM
 
Originally Posted by almux View Post
;/ Ok the Apple gives me the right amount of CPUs and cores
but Activity Monitor yet shows this...
http://www.millpix.com/public/ActivMonitCPU.png

I will go though few tests these next days (once my complete network and apps installations are done)... and then i'll see what's up in the "real world"...

Thanks for your answers

almux
You should be getting this (except with 8 bars instead of 2, this was taken on my CD MacBook):



Originally Posted by z0ne81 View Post
Once again: Select CPU usage from the 'Window' menu in Activity Monitor. Should show 8 bars.

The window you posted a screenshot of is normal no matter what CPU you have.
Do what he said.
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cgc
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May 19, 2007, 01:06 PM
 
Originally Posted by Cadaver View Post
Yes.
But it won't use all of them... My quad may get up to 50% total CPU utilization but rarely exceeds 50%.
     
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May 19, 2007, 02:50 PM
 
Originally Posted by cgc View Post
But it won't use all of them... My quad may get up to 50% total CPU utilization but rarely exceeds 50%.
So what?
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cgc
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May 19, 2007, 04:55 PM
 
Originally Posted by C.A.T.S. CEO View Post
So what?
Deleted...see post below...
     
cgc
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May 19, 2007, 04:58 PM
 
Originally Posted by C.A.T.S. CEO View Post
So what?
I'm was replying to this post:

Originally Posted by Obi Wan's Ghost
"Back to topic, if I install Vista Ultimate with Bootcamp will Windows see all eight cores?"
     
Obi Wan's Ghost
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May 19, 2007, 05:08 PM
 
Originally Posted by cgc View Post
I'm was replying to this post:
I asked the question because previous versions of Windows supported fewer CPUs in a workstation. You had to use Windows NT Server etc to get 8 CPU/core support. I was Googling and couldn't find any user experiences of Vista on an eight-core box.
     
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May 19, 2007, 06:21 PM
 
Originally Posted by cgc View Post
I'm was replying to this post:
Yes, I know, so what if it only uses %50 of the CPU? Most of the time a computer doesn't use all of its CPU...
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Obi Wan's Ghost
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May 19, 2007, 06:46 PM
 
Can anyone confirm Vista Ultimate supports 8 cores? Windows 2000 only supported 2 cores. XP had an addition which allowed 4 cores to show up with hyperthreading enabled CPUs or dual dual-core. Windows Server 2003 only supports more than 4 cores in Enterprise Service Pack 2 and Datacenter versions. I can't find any confirmation about Vista supporting more than 4 cores.
     
mduell
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May 19, 2007, 07:29 PM
 
Originally Posted by Obi Wan's Ghost View Post
Can anyone confirm Vista Ultimate supports 8 cores? Windows 2000 only supported 2 cores. XP had an addition which allowed 4 cores to show up with hyperthreading enabled CPUs or dual dual-core. Windows Server 2003 only supports more than 4 cores in Enterprise Service Pack 2 and Datacenter versions. I can't find any confirmation about Vista supporting more than 4 cores.
You're confusing CPUs and cores. Microsoft licenses by the CPU, not by the core.
Windows XP Pro and Windows Vista Biz/Ultimate all support as many cores as you can fit in 2 CPUs. Windows 2000 Pro supports 2 CPUs, but may not support multiple cores per CPU since it was deprecated before multicore became available (or at least commmon).
     
Obi Wan's Ghost
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May 19, 2007, 07:58 PM
 
Originally Posted by mduell View Post
You're confusing CPUs and cores. Microsoft licenses by the CPU, not by the core.
Windows XP Pro and Windows Vista Biz/Ultimate all support as many cores as you can fit in 2 CPUs. Windows 2000 Pro supports 2 CPUs, but may not support multiple cores per CPU since it was deprecated before multicore became available (or at least commmon).
To clarify, Microsoft says nothing of cores or CPUs specifically. It uses the terms 2-way SMP, 4-way SMP, 8-way SMP, etc.

Since Windows SMP support has traditionally seen cores as individual CPUs in the Task Manager I still need to know exactly what does Vista see when installed on a Mac Pro. Someone must have installed Vista and checked by now.
     
mduell
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May 20, 2007, 01:24 AM
 
Originally Posted by Obi Wan's Ghost View Post
To clarify, Microsoft says nothing of cores or CPUs specifically. It uses the terms 2-way SMP, 4-way SMP, 8-way SMP, etc.

Since Windows SMP support has traditionally seen cores as individual CPUs in the Task Manager I still need to know exactly what does Vista see when installed on a Mac Pro. Someone must have installed Vista and checked by now.
And they've clarified (when multiple cores first became hip) that 2way/4way/etc means the number of sockets, irregardless of the number of physical cores or virtual threads. Here's an 8 core Mac Pro running XP with all 8 cores in use.
Vista Home supports 1 CPU socket with any number of cores/threads. Vista Biz/Ultimate supports 2 CPU sockets with any number of cores/threads.
     
   
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