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Let's rev up some excitement for the 2014 Mac Pro!

If Apple leave such a long period between updates will you move on?

  • I'll look into moving my setup to a Windows environment

    Votes: 4 8.3%

  • I am heavily invested in my Mac and would be forced to remain Apple

    Votes: 16 33.3%

  • I don't know

    Votes: 3 6.3%

  • My work does not require CPU updates every year

    Votes: 25 52.1%
  • Total voters
    48
A

All Taken

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 28, 2009
780
1
UK
Just a twist on the 2013 thread.

I wanted to ask the community the following, as Professionals using the machine to make a living, do you foresee yourself sticking with the Apple ecosystem in future if Apple does not introduce a 2014 Mac Pro?

That is if we have such a long gap between updates as presently seen. I see many users complaining, rightly so, about the lack of updates thus far but many also say 'This time only, if they do this again i'm out'

So i'm curious - will you stick with the Mac Pro line if Apple maintain such a large gap between updates?

The 2013 Mac Pro I'm sure will be different, fingers crossed in a good way - but looking forward....

This thread is not to spark unrest it's just a genuine question on what YOU would do.
 
E

elvisizer

macrumors 6502
May 29, 2003
310
24
San Jose
I'm still happily chugging along with my much-upgraded early 2008, so I'm firmly in the 'my work doesn't require CPU updates every year' camp.
 
B

Badagri

macrumors 6502a
Aug 9, 2012
500
78
UK
elvisizer said:
I'm still happily chugging along with my much-upgraded early 2008, so I'm firmly in the 'my work doesn't require CPU updates every year' camp.
Click to expand...

Sadly though Mountain Lion is the last OS for this model, regardless of it being upgradeable and 64bit EFI/cpu's. :/

That is just pathetic.
 
Lesser Evets

Lesser Evets

macrumors 68040
Jan 7, 2006
3,527
1,294
I'm fine with my 2006, having been upgraded with 2 used processors.

It's snappy! Snappier than these current desktops just released. I'm fine through 2014 sometime. Then I need to update to a new MacPro.

They can do releases of Pros every 2 years and I'd be fine. 3 years is the edge of unease. If they drop the Pro... I might drop Apple.
 
S

scottsjack

macrumors 68000
Aug 25, 2010
1,906
311
Arizona
Lesser Evets said:
I'm fine with my 2006, having been upgraded with 2 used processors.

It's snappy! Snappier than these current desktops just released. I'm fine through 2014 sometime. Then I need to update to a new MacPro.

They can do releases of Pros every 2 years and I'd be fine. 3 years is the edge of unease. If they drop the Pro... I might drop Apple.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty much where your at. On one hand if Apple gave me back my three grand I would probably get a maxed out HP h9. It looks just about perfect.

On the other hand I'm still extremely happy with my 2010 3.2 quad Mac Pro. A $500 investment on a 3.33 hexacore and an the addition of an SDD would put its performance way past what I really need.
 
W

Wardenski

macrumors 6502
Jan 22, 2012
464
5
I really don't understand how a Mac Pro can be much different to what it is aside from form factor. I think the gullible are waiting for the "Apple magic".
 
thekev

thekev

macrumors 604
Aug 5, 2010
7,005
3,343
Badagri said:
Sadly though Mountain Lion is the last OS for this model, regardless of it being upgradeable and 64bit EFI/cpu's. :/

That is just pathetic.
Click to expand...

It may be, but that's not something you can really know at this point.
 
Dr. Stealth

Dr. Stealth

macrumors 6502a
Sep 14, 2004
813
739
SoCal-Surf City USA
Sticking with Apple

I make my living with my MP.

I recently upgraded from a 2007 MP 2,1 to a 2010 5,1. A 5 year stretch. I would still be using my 2,1 had Apple not voted me off the Island with 10.8.

That said, I'm perfectly happy with the 5 year use of my MP and can't imagine having to update my current MP for another 5 years.

I did a stint at IBM recently in Boulder, CO and actually came across a document that stated that current computer hardware has a average life of 5 years. As simplistic as that sounded, as a general statement I could not disagree.

I still believe most of the people complaining are not the pros making a living but the "computer enthusiasts" that constantly seek bleeding edge tech. And I don't think it will ever change.
 
D

d-m-a-x

macrumors 6502a
Aug 13, 2011
510
0
wish i had some rev left. the news that 10.8.3 supports 7*** amd graphics did nothing for me
 
A

All Taken

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 28, 2009
780
1
UK
Slow Programmer said:
One choice is missing - "Have already moved to a different platform."
Click to expand...

This is a Poll for users still using a Mac Pro and waiting to update in 2013 - it is then asking if no update after 2013 for X years would you leave the platform etc etc.
 
B

Badagri

macrumors 6502a
Aug 9, 2012
500
78
UK
thekev said:
It may be, but that's not something you can really know at this point.
Click to expand...

Apple doesn't seem to make it a habit supporting older computers unless it's 2 years. Look at the 2006 Mac Pro's that got the heave.

The 2008 Mac Pro was the last model on the list for Mountain Lion. I wouldn't be surprised if it's ditched next year for 10.9.
 
slughead

slughead

macrumors 68040
Apr 28, 2004
3,107
237
Badagri said:
Apple doesn't seem to make it a habit supporting older computers unless it's 2 years. Look at the 2006 Mac Pro's that got the heave.

The 2008 Mac Pro was the last model on the list for Mountain Lion. I wouldn't be surprised if it's ditched next year for 10.9.
Click to expand...

Not that they have a legitimate reason for dropping the older computers, but they have even less reason to drop the 2008 since it supports EFI 64... It'd be hard to justify.
 
Lesser Evets

Lesser Evets

macrumors 68040
Jan 7, 2006
3,527
1,294
The biggest pain in the ass for moving to Windows is buying the loads of expensive software suites needed to make that jump. Also the time to learn the Windows suites of what I use on Apple's Macs. Uhg. It's a double-no: time and money gone!

Wardenski said:
I really don't understand how a Mac Pro can be much different to what it is aside from form factor. I think the gullible are waiting for the "Apple magic".
Click to expand...

Gullible? Hopeful.

I agree, though. They might compact the internals and external design. We all hope the processors make a titan leap to 2x the processing power of the 2010s or more, in late 2013. And add in the USB 3 and TB, etc.

What would be best are Apple-designed über-performance Pro chips. Doubt it will happen, but it might happen later in the decade. Intel's rung of Pro-capable CPUs is so barren. Such a move might mean OSX is in the trash and iOS gets a layer added to make it an OSX-type operating system. It is the logical move which will happen before 2020.
 
thekev

thekev

macrumors 604
Aug 5, 2010
7,005
3,343
Badagri said:
Apple doesn't seem to make it a habit supporting older computers unless it's 2 years. Look at the 2006 Mac Pro's that got the heave.

The 2008 Mac Pro was the last model on the list for Mountain Lion. I wouldn't be surprised if it's ditched next year for 10.9.
Click to expand...

It remains to be seen. They don't go out of their way to support older models, as in they won't do any extra work to keep them on the list. It's not quite a foregone conclusion. If someone asked, I would simply tell them not to count on support past ML. It's more significant to me today than it would have been in the past. A lot of software I use has moved to subscription models either in general or for upgrades. At the same time, if Apple doesn't support it, the developers don't either. It means I have to plan updates accordingly.

If we're talking about 4+ years, it's typically time for a new machine. The reason the 2008 could be seen as an exception is due to the kind of weak in between upgrades at similar price points. If we saw something based on Sandy or Ivy, it could be much more significant. A used machine would also be worth it if you need more memory. In 2008 applications were still basically restricted to 32 bit versions, so the crazy price of ram on that model wasn't as big of a deal.
 
S

spock2112

macrumors newbie
Apr 11, 2012
6
0
Why only "Move to Windows"? In my scientific research domain, *nix boxes are the norm and it's these heavy lifting workstations (rather than the office software) machines that would get replaced. I've already had to bring in one 16-core Linux box as more horsepower was needed in the lab. Currently, if one of the many Mac Pros dies, I'll replace it with a Linux box. Wholesale migration would be tough and if Apple comes up with a suitable replacement, I'll stick with Apple (it's so nice to have one box that does it all). But, if we're not seeing 16-core Mac Pros that'll do 128G or more of RAM, I'll be bailing. The question then becomes does the whole group (~30 machines) slowly slide off of Apple in the process?
 
-hh

-hh

macrumors 68030
Jul 17, 2001
2,550
336
NJ Highlands, Earth
All Taken said:
This is a Poll for users still using a Mac Pro and waiting to update in 2013 - it is then asking if no update after 2013 for X years would you leave the platform etc etc.
Click to expand...

Well, that certainly explains why the voting option of "...couldn't wait, so bought a 2012, so I can now make it to 2014..." wasn't listed.


-hh
 
SDAVE

SDAVE

macrumors 68040
Jun 16, 2007
3,574
601
Nowhere
You can definitely do the same things in Windows as you can under OS X.

However, OS X is a lovely OS (of course it has issues as well!) that I can't stand the Windows OS at all and will hinder my ability to do any work on it. Also the Macs are very good looking as well so they make your office/home/whatever look good :)

In the end, I'm definitely more productive under OS X than Windows. I was a Windows user for over 13 years before moving to the Mac. Would hate to go back and definitely won't.
 
N

nilk

macrumors 6502a
Oct 18, 2007
691
236
Lesser Evets said:
I'm fine with my 2006, having been upgraded with 2 used processors.

It's snappy! Snappier than these current desktops just released. I'm fine through 2014 sometime. Then I need to update to a new MacPro.

They can do releases of Pros every 2 years and I'd be fine. 3 years is the edge of unease. If they drop the Pro... I might drop Apple.
Click to expand...

My 2006 is also doing fine. I just bought a pair of E5345 CPUs that I'm going to put in (replacing original 2.0GHz so this should make a big difference). I haven't even put SSDs in this machine yet, which I will do next year some time. I've got Mountain Lion running on it using Chameleon bootloader. And ATI 5770 works great for my modest graphics needs (Aperture and FCP X are the main things). I only have 11GB RAM, so there's still some room for improvement there, but it's not like RAM for the Mac Pro 1,1 is cheap, but I might add a little bit more after I add an SSD.

This should also last me through 2014, assuming I don't have issues running future versions of OS X. But I'm not sure if I'm going to buy a Mac Pro again. My next main machine may just be a MacBook Pro (probably a classic MBP so I can swap out the optical drive and have SSD + HDD) as I am starting to need portability more and would be better off putting more money into a more powerful laptop than spreading my money between a desktop and a laptop. Maybe the next major Mac Pro update will change my mind on this, but I think this is unlikely.

I'm actually disappointed with the lack of official upgradability of the Mac Pro (should've known that from the history of Apple, but I thought things would be different in a machine that was basically an Intel-based PC), so I'm not as enthused about the Mac Pro anymore, even though I'm able to keep it going with unsupported upgrades/hacks. Maybe I will do a Hackintosh instead some day...
 
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