Apple Developing Narrower, Rackmountable Mac Pro Prototypes?

nanofrog said:

There's not a lot of venting on the back (nor ability to install a fan in push mode), so it's likely as a means of moving additional heat out of the PCIe zone, and pull it out through the PSU (not as hot when mixed with cool air drawn in around from the front of the case past the ODD's, so it shouldn't be hot enough to cause damage to the PSU).

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That all makes sense, but again, the plate is without vents. And even if they would go through the whole plate (which they don't), the PSU itself is still sealed, so no way to get hot air from the back of the PCIe section. If it gets any air from that section through the small holes that are in the plate that separate the sections, it gets cold air from the PCIe fan since the PSU's fan sits in front of the unit in close proximity to the PCIe fan. (wow, even I don't understand what I just wrote... ).



Edit: This is a shot from my 2009 machine. As you can see, the plate doesn't have vents. This is the ODD bay but the part where the PSU sits looks the same.

Transporteur said:

That all makes sense, but again, the plate is without vents. And even if they would go through the whole plate (which they don't), the PSU itself is still sealed, so no way to get hot air from the back of the PCIe section. If it gets any air from that section through the small holes that are in the plate that separate the sections, it gets cold air from the PCIe fan since the PSU's fan sits in front of the unit in close proximity to the PCIe fan. (wow, even I don't understand what I just wrote... ).

Edit: This is a shot from my 2009 machine. As you can see, the plate doesn't have vents. This is the ODD bay but the part where the PSU sits looks the same.

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From the other image, it appeared as if the vents did go through.

I'd expect some of the heated air from the PCIe section does make it in, but not much (i.e. up at the very front of the case, were it would mix with cool air that enters the front of the ODD bays).

Either way, there doesn't appear to be enough heat movement from one section to another to cause any problems.

gnomeisland said:

If not this year then soon I predict Apple will revamp the MP to be a module system tied together using TB. Of course, I hope they'll wait until the 100GB TB spec is ratified and in use, otherwise it will be a step backwards. But overall I think it could be a serious improvement for the MP. You buy the "brain" you want (mini ala i3/i5, a middle brain with Desktop i5/i7, and a "pro" brain with 1 or 2 Xeons. The brain would be CPU, RAM, USB, and TB (and perhaps wireless and ethernet). You can buy storage containers and video containers as you need.

This system would be easily and quickly standardized (commoditized) giving continuing Apple's tight fist of control but letting them spin off the lowest margined, fasting changing areas of video processors and storage.

I personally think it will work a bit like RED's cameras ushering a new era of embedded and server room technology. You could have a fanless I/O station and/or monitor sitting on your desk with all the fans and heavy lifting equipment isolated somewhere else.

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I agree this is is a good idea, but I highly doubt Apple will be the company to do this. Apple likes to decide what you need and tightly integrate it into a complete package. Modularity is not their thing.

What has me wondering, is how Apple might support the 14 SATA devices that the X79 chipset will natively provide. Presumably, they will determine that their average customer only needs X SATA ports, and the rest will be left unexposed. With TB support, this may not be that big of an issue for those that really need or want 10-12 drives.

VirtualRain said:

What has me wondering, is how Apple might support the 14 SATA devices that the X79 chipset will natively provide. Presumably, they will determine that their average customer only needs X SATA ports, and the rest will be left unexposed. With TB support, this may not be that big of an issue for those that really need or want 10-12 drives.

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They already provide fewer USB ports than the ICH10 actually provides (12 on the chip, but Apple only provides access to 5), so it's certainly possible this sort of thinking could be applied elsewhere.

I also wonder what else they would consider denying access to in the X79 (i.e. RAID functionality in particular).

nanofrog said:

They already provide fewer USB ports than the ICH10 actually provides (12 on the chip, but Apple only provides access to 5), so it's certainly possible this sort of thinking could be applied elsewhere.

I also wonder what else they would consider denying access to in the X79 (i.e. RAID functionality in particular).

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Isn't Apple using usb connections for other hardware?

Bluetooth come to mind, the physical connection may not me nothing like a usb port or header but a usb connection may still provide the means to connect the Bluetooth mini board...

On the PSU subject, since Transporteur confirms that there are no vents from the HDDs going into the PSU Area, the only thing that could justify movin the PSU to the bottom area of the case would be.. having the power cable closer to the ground lol

On the top location, it does serve to balance the existence of the 2 ODD, allowing that separate airflow area.

chaosbringer said:

Isn't Apple using usb connections for other hardware?

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Likely (Bluetooth). But I don't see it accounting for the other 7 ports on the ICH.

chaosbringer said:

On the PSU subject, since Transporteur confirms that there are no vents from the HDDs going into the PSU Area, the only thing that could justify moving the PSU to the bottom area of the case would be.. having the power cable closer to the ground lol

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If you go back to post 187 (very bottom), you'll see my take on baffles.

The more recent post was based on the concept the baffle between the PCIe/HDD and PSU/ODD sections had vent slots in it (misinterpretation of a photo).

I fear the only server we will get will be an iPhone server with App store only deployments. Those things make money for Apple and would be similarly as emasculating as showing up with a MacMini for your data centers.

gnomeisland said:

If not this year then soon I predict Apple will revamp the MP to be a module system tied together using TB. Of course, I hope they'll wait until the 100GB TB spec is ratified and in use, otherwise it will be a step backwards. But overall I think it could be a serious improvement for the MP. You buy the "brain" you want (mini ala i3/i5, a middle brain with Desktop i5/i7, and a "pro" brain with 1 or 2 Xeons. The brain would be CPU, RAM, USB, and TB (and perhaps wireless and ethernet). You can buy storage containers and video containers as you need.

This system would be easily and quickly standardized (commoditized) giving continuing Apple's tight fist of control but letting them spin off the lowest margined, fasting changing areas of video processors and storage.

I personally think it will work a bit like RED's cameras ushering a new era of embedded and server room technology. You could have a fanless I/O station and/or monitor sitting on your desk with all the fans and heavy lifting equipment isolated somewhere else.

Click to expand...

Genius. Combined with the cloud computing and virtualization technology, a glimpse of the future emerges.

Erwin-Br said:

It's not going to happen. If Apple was still interested in offering a rack mountable system they would have redesigned the X-Serve instead of the Mac Pro.

Where is the logic in dropping a perfectly fine rack-mountable system, because apparently it wasn't sold enough, and then convert the Mac Pro workstation to... a rack-mountable system?! They could've dropped the Mac Pro and rebrand X-Serve to Mac Pro instead. Same result.

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Which is probably exactly what they're going to do. It just makes better marketing (and fetch a higher price) to describe it the way they're describing it.

zephonic said:

I would imagine the rack ears to be optional so that you can still put it on your desk ... horizontally.

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HA! Back to the Amiga 2000 and 1986.

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After 8 years of a pretty iconic design, I would be really surprised if Apple didn't set out to out-do themselves with the long-awaited hardware update. I think the reader above hit it on the head when he mentioned a modular system tied together with Thunderbolt. I had the same idea myself when staring at a pile of legos recently - if you could split the hardware up into individual bricks, you'd really be able to configure the "mac of your dreams". And despite the fact that Apple discontinued the XServe, there is still a market for rack mountable hardware. The problem with the XServe was largely it's price and the fact that it served a relatively exclusive market. At $3000, there were simply cheaper options out there for most installations. A more configurable Mac Pro, however, could really be exactly what that market needs to create a justifiable cost-to-benefit ratio. With the recent announcement of Lion Server as simply an add-on to 10.6, it would give the end user the option to create a server out of any Mac Pro. In fact, that might be exactly what Apple's thinking