Let's rev up some excitement for the 2013 Mac Pro!

[StephenCampbell]

I have always been a tower person. I just can't stand the thought of not being able to easily insert or remove multiple hard drives.. add PCI cards, video cards, etc. And Apple's towers have always stayed in the game way longer than their all-in-one and laptop counterparts. For example, my 3.0GHz Mac Pro 1,1 has a geekbench score around 6500, still on par with the weakest machines currently being sold in 2012! An iMac or laptop from the same time period as my tower is not even in the same ballpark, with geekbench scores in the 2000s.

In any case, as my trusty machine has finally been pushed over the edge (by lack of Mountain Lion support) I am beginning to save up money to purchase the all-new 2013 Mac Pro. I expect to spend $4,000 - $6,000 on a full new setup with a new display and everything.

Anybody else definitely buying the new tower when it comes out, and already putting money away for it?

[JesterJJZ]

I was ready for this summer to go balls out on a new system.

[bearcatrp]

I moved on to windows. Good luck waiting.

[derbothaus]

I'm too tired from the last "excitement". I only deal in reality these days.

[DJenkins]

Pro users don't deal in excitement or waiting... they deal in what's available to buy right here today!

Just to add my jaded view

[TacticalDesire]

*Crickets*

But seriously. I think many of the people here are tired of being excited. By the time 2013 rolls around. The technology in the mac pros will be roughly 4 years old. That's an eternity in computer years. And there's really no concrete evidence there will even be a 2013 mac pro. It's all rumors and speculation. And the MP could very well be dropped.

[StephenCampbell]

I think that regardless of how old the components of the current Mac Pro technically are, Apple is well aware that it is more than adequate to perform what any professional would need it to, and since they have been rapidly expanding their mobile platforms, that's where the focus was the last few years.

Even my 2006 Mac Pro is still a beast and perfectly capable of doing any video/photo/etc work that a professional would need.

The current 12 core Mac Pro is 400% faster than mine.

And Tim Cook has confirmed that an all-new Mac Pro is coming. There is no need to update the pro tower every year, but there's no reason they wouldn't create an all-new, cutting-edge machine next year.

[JesterJJZ]

I wanna see some concept renders. Seems like even the people that like to do those lost interest and only design iPhones now too.

[MacDav]

Okay, I'll bite. I have a 2008 Mac Pro 8 core with 6 hard drives. It has been the best computer I've ever owned. I used to build all my own P.C.'s from scratch.
Since being able to boot Windows on my Mac I have no need to build a PC anymore. I have a bluray drive and am running Mountain Lion. I have no need to buy a new one as of now. If I can't upgrade to 10.9 when the time comes, then I may buy whatever is the latest at that time, but maybe not. I love my MacPro. It has served me very well.

[Macman45]

Originally Posted by StephenCampbell

I have always been a tower person. I just can't stand the thought of not being able to easily insert or remove multiple hard drives.. add PCI cards, video cards, etc. And Apple's towers have always stayed in the game way longer than their all-in-one and laptop counterparts. For example, my 3.0GHz Mac Pro 1,1 has a geekbench score around 6500, still on par with the weakest machines currently being sold in 2012! An iMac or laptop from the same time period as my tower is not even in the same ballpark, with geekbench scores in the 2000s.

In any case, as my trusty machine has finally been pushed over the edge (by lack of Mountain Lion support) I am beginning to save up money to purchase the all-new 2013 Mac Pro. I expect to spend $4,000 - $6,000 on a full new setup with a new display and everything.

Anybody else definitely buying the new tower when it comes out, and already putting money away for it?

Yep, I'm hanging although my upgrade year was 2013 anyway...Must haves include Thunderbolt, without it I will have to go for another Maxed out imac, but I do think they will include it in the new Pro range. I have too much stuff centred around Promise arrays not to have a thunderbolt connection...My current iMac is still going to fetch a good price with AC etc. too. Just got to wait! (and hope)

[StephenCampbell]

Originally Posted by MacDav

Okay, I'll bite. I have a 2008 Mac Pro 8 core with 6 hard drives. It has been the best computer I've ever owned. I used to build all my own P.C.'s from scratch.
Since being able to boot Windows on my Mac I have no need to build a PC anymore. I have a bluray drive and am running Mountain Lion. I have no need to buy a new one as of now. If I can't upgrade to 10.9 when the time comes, then I may buy whatever is the latest at that time, but maybe not. I love my MacPro. It has served me very well.

This is exactly why Apple hasn't been concerned with updating the tower the last couple years. The current one is even significantly more powerful than what you have.

I am certain a new one is coming.

[Macman45]

Originally Posted by StephenCampbell

This is exactly why Apple hasn't been concerned with updating the tower the last couple years. The current one is even significantly more powerful than what you have.

I am certain a new one is coming.

I hope you are right...We have already lost the 17" MBP... I'm lucky enough to have a top spec maxed out from last year...The last model they made before they killed it off...No rMBP here, I need real-estate..I hope your predictions are correct!..

[theSeb]

Originally Posted by TacticalDesire

*Crickets*

But seriously. I think many of the people here are tired of being excited. By the time 2013 rolls around. The technology in the mac pros will be roughly 4 years old. That's an eternity in computer years. And there's really no concrete evidence there will even be a 2013 mac pro. It's all rumors and speculation. And the MP could very well be dropped.

There is concrete evidence though and it's not just rumours and speculations. There was a very clear statement from Apple in this regard.

[twietee]

Originally Posted by theSeb

There is concrete evidence though and it's not just rumours and speculations. There was a very clear statement from Apple in this regard.

Let's not forget that his statement still leaves plenty of space for interpretation and speculations. Thank's Tim for that, at least it's not getting boring!

"Our Pro customers like you are really important to us. Although we didn't have a chance to talk about a new Mac Pro at today's event, don't worry as we're working on something really great for later next year. We also updated the current model today.

We also announced a MacBook Pro with a Retina Display that is a great solution for many pros."

I like how he says we didn't had a chance to talk about the MacPro. Everybody who says that this is a clear indication of a refresh rather than a complete redesign is wrong imho.

[Mengele]

I have been 100% ready to drop $3100 on a new iMac since March. But Apple has dragged their feet so long that Ivy Bridge will be 6+ months old by the time they release it for the iMac.
So, Apple's procrastinating cost them $3100. I bought a 1,1 MacPro with an HD5770 instead and its good enough to hold me over for another year at least.

They spoiled everyone getting first dibbs on Sandy bridge hardware in 2011, now I regret not buying an iMac back then....

[theSeb]

Originally Posted by twietee

Let's not forget that his statement still leaves plenty of space for interpretation and speculations. Thank's Tim for that, at least it's not getting boring!

"Our Pro customers like you are really important to us. Although we didn't have a chance to talk about a new Mac Pro at today's event, don't worry as we're working on something really great for later next year. We also updated the current model today.

We also announced a MacBook Pro with a Retina Display that is a great solution for many pros."

I like how he says we didn't had a chance to talk about the MacPro. Everybody who says that this is a clear indication of a refresh rather than a complete redesign is wrong imho.

Indeed. That's how they like to operate. There is plenty of space to interpret that statement in many ways. It it still a mystery to me what exactly they are planning to put in there. Considering the timelines of Ivy Bridge Xeon (3rd quarter), we might have to wait for a long time in 2013 until we see something. Unless they are going to use Sandy Bridge Xeons, but that will result in people crying about how outdated the Mac Pro is. It's all a bit of a pickle.

[chedda]

Could it be that apple are switching processors again ? I did see some news about the power 7 chip running at 5+ Ghz. They did it before i don't see why they won't again if the road map suits them.

[theSeb]

Originally Posted by chedda

Could it be that apple are switching processors again ? I did see some news about the power 7 chip running at 5+ Ghz. They did it before i don't see why they won't again if the road map suits them.

No, there is 0% chance of that happening.

[MacDav]

Originally Posted by chedda

Could it be that apple are switching processors again ? I did see some news about the power 7 chip running at 5+ Ghz. They did it before i don't see why they won't again if the road map suits them.

I don't see it. I have a dual G5 gathering dust in the corner. Apple dropped Ibm
for many reasons. Staying with Intel makes it easier to poach Windows users
because they understand the Intel model numbers and roadmap. It's possible they could go with Ibm only for the MacPro, but it seems highly unlikely they would. Yes it's an awesome processor, but it's not going to happen.

[bearcatrp]

Kind of strange that when apple was using PPC chips, no malware was ever reported against mac computers. Since they switched to intel, seems more and more are reported. Hmmmmm.

[-hh]

Originally Posted by twietee

Let's not forget that his statement still leaves plenty of space for interpretation and speculations. Thank's Tim for that, at least it's not getting boring!

"Our Pro customers like you are really important to us. Although we didn't have a chance to talk about a new Mac Pro at today's event, don't worry as we're working on something really great for later next year. We also updated the current model today.

We also announced a MacBook Pro with a Retina Display that is a great solution for many pros."

I like how he says we didn't had a chance to talk about the MacPro. Everybody who says that this is a clear indication of a refresh rather than a complete redesign is wrong imho.

Tim's statement (above) is full of opportunities for diverse interpretations. We shall we what transpires whenever it eventually comes to be...personally, I suspect a change.


In the meantime, I noticed yesterday an interesting pair of tidbits that have some inferences on the rate of sales of Mac Pros. This was from my 2012 MP that I ordered around 3 weeks after the refresh:

1) CoconutID reports...
Build date on this Mac Pro - between 18-24 June 2012.

2) the OEM 1TB boot drive that came in the machine ...
Created: Tuesday, February 21, 2012 7:55 PM

Gosh, it seems kind of odd that a HDD would have been allowed to sit around for four (4) months before it was installed, doesn't it?

IMO, what's more likely is that the entire machine had been sitting around as "Work In Progress" at a stage where the RAM, CPU and S/N hadn't yet been assigned...and in this regards, it suggests that Apple had 4 months of inventory onhand even after the initial bump of 'refreshed' MacPro sales had been cleared through.


-hh

[theSeb]

Originally Posted by bearcatrp

Kind of strange that when apple was using PPC chips, no malware was ever reported against mac computers. Since they switched to intel, seems more and more are reported. Hmmmmm.

One has nothing to do with the other. Using the same logic I can show you that global warming can be attributed to the reduction in numbers of pirates worldwide.

Correlation does not imply causation. Switching to Intel has not made OS X any more, or less, secure.

[slughead]

YAY! Time for the update we should've gotten over a year ago!

GPU Released after 2009!

Processor after 2010!

Holy cow it's THE FUTURE!

:P

[Pressure]

Originally Posted by slughead

YAY! Time for the update we should've gotten over a year ago!

GPU Released after 2009!

Processor after 2010!

Holy cow it's THE FUTURE!

:P

Yeah, it's hard to muster any kind of excitement with the outlook.

However, I do feel my Early 2008 Mac Pro 3,1 is getting quite old but I might as well wait for the Ivy Bridge Xeon equivalent now (not like we will get a Xeon Haswell for the foreseeable future).

[xgman]

Folks, Apple could simply change it's mind and deliver us nothing at all. I wouldn't count on this, but great if it does come to be.