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Korican100

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 9, 2012
1,202
613
I don't want to get the 6,1 if the 7,1 is around the corner. Does anyone have information around when the next release is going down?
 

koyoot

macrumors 603
Jun 5, 2012
5,939
1,853
I think that if Apple would want to go with Nvidia route, they would already update MP with Maxwell GPUs.

I think they are waiting for AMD Pirate Islands GPUs with HBM Memory.

Haswell EP CPUs, DDR4 RAM, Pirate Islands with HBM Memory.

GPUs will come out in february.
 

Tom-Create-Pro

macrumors member
Oct 15, 2014
58
0
UK
I think that if Apple would want to go with Nvidia route, they would already update MP with Maxwell GPUs.

I think they are waiting for AMD Pirate Islands GPUs with HBM Memory.

Haswell EP CPUs, DDR4 RAM, Pirate Islands with HBM Memory.

GPUs will come out in february.

Really can't see Nvidia happening in the nMP.
 

Cubemmal

macrumors 6502a
Jun 13, 2013
824
1
Really can't see Nvidia happening in the nMP.

Yup. Nvidia's like current and produce heat. AMD's have generally been more of the low power option, and Apple like low power components. Regardless if I recall correctly the 2013 nMP already is near the limit of what the PS can do, I don't think they can push it any further.
 

sigmadog

macrumors 6502a
Feb 11, 2009
835
753
just west of Idaho
I don't want to get the 6,1 if the 7,1 is around the corner. Does anyone have information around when the next release is going down?

I'm with you there. I'm really starting to feel the slowness of my 3,1 - especially when accessing files.

I thought I could wait for another year, but I'm starting to visit the Apple online store more, and lusting. Frankly, it's cutting into my porn time.

(kidding)
 

deconstruct60

macrumors G5
Mar 10, 2009
12,257
3,860
Yup. Nvidia's like current and produce heat. AMD's have generally been more of the low power option, and Apple like low power components.

That is largely a snapshot view from several years ago. Things are balanced a bit different right now.


Nvidia's current designs are being heavily influenced by their efforts to crack the ARM+GPU market. On strictly power they are lower than AMD. Apple's design decision is likely not unidimensional though. Cost, performance, and power probably all factor into selection.

AMD has not been slacking on OpenCL support which probably gives them an advantage in Mac Pro bake offs ( Nvidia's throughput numbers are up with their latest generation but they are still behind on compliance with the evolving standard. From a product lifecycle evaluation perspective they are still running a deficit). [ Intel hasn't been slacking in OpenCL support and that has helped push Nvidia out of other Mac designs over last year or so. ]


AMD has been more than willing to work with folks on embedded GPU designs (e.g., Xbox, Playstation, etc. ) ; which the Mac Pro is also. Nvidia not so much.

AMD is feeling some of the same CPU+GPU in same package thermal constraints, but haven't been pursuing it as hard in the discrete GPU space.

The Mac Pro's dual GPUs puts more component cost sensitivity on the table. Doubtful Nvidia has been will to flex as far as AMD has on this dimension.
 

deconstruct60

macrumors G5
Mar 10, 2009
12,257
3,860
I don't want to get the 6,1 if the 7,1 is around the corner. Does anyone have information around when the next release is going down?

Depends upon what your timeframe for "around the corner" is. Does that mean in the next 2-6 weeks? Then probably not. Next 2-3 months? there is some substantive probably there. Not coming for another 12-14 months? back much closer to the probably not category.


Last year's December Mac Pro was partially introduced last October (announce but not ship) . Similar with the 2012 iMac which announced in October but didn't ship until December. Apple rarely waits until mid-late Nov to announce a new product.

Given Apple hasn't said anything and it is practically November at this point puts a high damper on anything happening this year. However, the year is almost over. The bulk of the current Mac Pros didn't ship until 2014. So the next model not arriving until 2015 isn't a substantive delay.

There is little upside in Apple skipping the components that are largely available but the start of the new year. A bit of new board design and can get newer CPUs and GPUs, that are substantive improvements over current model.
The same CPU chipset and socket will work with E5 v4 models later 2015-2016 timeframe so they can just drop those in with some firmware updates. There will be better GPUs and GPU drivers in 12 months too but that is almost always the case anyway.

Is it worth loosing money because your current Mac (Mac Pro otherwise) waiting on a Mac Pro revision? In most cases it is probably not. In the case of "slower than I would like",then right now in the 'Goldilocks' zone where waiting another two months probably won't hurt too much. If Apple doesn't move by end of February 2015 then the company more likely off in the weeds again (e.g., drought between 2010 and 2013 Mac Pro).


Some folks may throw out that the Mac Pro is waiting on DisplayPort 1.3 or Thunderbolt 3. Those aren't "around the corner", but there is no good reason to hang up the whole Mac Pro system waiting on those either.
 

Cubemmal

macrumors 6502a
Jun 13, 2013
824
1
That is largely a snapshot view from several years ago. Things are balanced a bit different right now.

Agreed, but I simplified. I'm not an expert, but my understanding is that AMD has gone after performance by throwing silicon at the problem, just the same as Nvidia. But if you look at tflops/watt I believe AMD still comes out ahead, and in fact the R9 295x2 is presently the king of the hill for gaming GPU's (I have one).

In real world performance Nvidia might still come out ahead, because they have a simplified architecture that is easier for developers to optimize for (just parallelize it up). Whereas AMD has a 'more designed' architecture that squeezes more out of the silicon, but you have to develop for it.

You have good points, I don't know either way, but my feeling is they'll be staying AMD for various reasons.
 

Korican100

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 9, 2012
1,202
613
More like a 6,2 before 7,1 sees light of day.

what does that mean? Like an update? Or a an "iphone S" version?

----------

Depends upon what your timeframe for "around the corner" is. Does that mean in the next 2-6 weeks? Then probably not. Next 2-3 months? there is some substantive probably there. Not coming for another 12-14 months? back much closer to the probably not category.


Last year's December Mac Pro was partially introduced last October (announce but not ship) . Similar with the 2012 iMac which announced in October but didn't ship until December. Apple rarely waits until mid-late Nov to announce a new product.

Given Apple hasn't said anything and it is practically November at this point puts a high damper on anything happening this year. However, the year is almost over. The bulk of the current Mac Pros didn't ship until 2014. So the next model not arriving until 2015 isn't a substantive delay.

There is little upside in Apple skipping the components that are largely available but the start of the new year. A bit of new board design and can get newer CPUs and GPUs, that are substantive improvements over current model.
The same CPU chipset and socket will work with E5 v4 models later 2015-2016 timeframe so they can just drop those in with some firmware updates. There will be better GPUs and GPU drivers in 12 months too but that is almost always the case anyway.

Is it worth loosing money because your current Mac (Mac Pro otherwise) waiting on a Mac Pro revision? In most cases it is probably not. In the case of "slower than I would like",then right now in the 'Goldilocks' zone where waiting another two months probably won't hurt too much. If Apple doesn't move by end of February 2015 then the company more likely off in the weeds again (e.g., drought between 2010 and 2013 Mac Pro).


Some folks may throw out that the Mac Pro is waiting on DisplayPort 1.3 or Thunderbolt 3. Those aren't "around the corner", but there is no good reason to hang up the whole Mac Pro system waiting on those either.

Good Points. I believe also that Apple is not in a rush to update their most powerful product. Maybe it can also be attributed that its manufactured in the US, so there is more overhead costs to begin a new line of Mac Pro. That could delay the next release? This is just all an assumption.

But I am going to pull the trigger. Thanks for your input
 

mrxak

macrumors 68000
I believe Apple is ideologically opposed to CUDA and will choose AMD regardless of what Nvidia technology is available. Looking at Nvidia hardware and trying to predict the next Mac Pro release is probably a waste of time.

This isn't a slight against CUDA, or Nvidia's implementation of OpenCL, I just think Apple wants OS X developers looking at OpenCL as the way forward. After the OpenCL vs. CUDA war is "won" among high performance programs on OS X, then Apple will base their hardware decisions on other factors and if Nvidia is there with sweet cards and a great OpenCL implementation, Nvidia will be back in the running.

Personally I think the nMP will be updated early next year. I believe all the pieces will be in place, and there's no technical reason for Apple not to release something. I don't think Apple wants to have a repeat of the cMP's long release cycle. Apple figured out what they wanted to figure out for the nMP, and now that they've invested all that money in development they're going to want to keep the hardware fresh. The only reason I think it might get delayed is if they get distracted by the Apple Watch. Apple does have the tendency to have trouble doing more than one thing at a time.

I've been very tempted by the nMP in recent months. The main thing that keeps me from buying is the whole first generation thing. The accounts of early adopters I've heard are all positive, but part of me is really curious just how much better the next generation will be. A switch to DDR4 is kind of a big deal. And who knows what tweaks are coming.
 

GoKyu

macrumors 65816
Feb 15, 2007
1,169
23
New Orleans
Wow, I can't believe the new model has already been out nearly a year. I sure hope the price comes down even a bit for the next model. I decided against getting the new Mini - I think I'm just gonna jump in and get another Pro to last me another 6+ years...My early 2008 just died on me a few months ago, but what an amazing machine :)
 

mrxak

macrumors 68000
Wow, I can't believe the new model has already been out nearly a year. I sure hope the price comes down even a bit for the next model. I decided against getting the new Mini - I think I'm just gonna jump in and get another Pro to last me another 6+ years...My early 2008 just died on me a few months ago, but what an amazing machine :)

Those cMPs were truly incredible machines. My 4,1 has easily been the greatest computer I've ever owned. The best put together, the nicest to work with inside, the most stable. I hope the new ones will live up to that legacy. They are unfortunately far less upgradable, but there's not much point in crying about it now. Hopefully they last 5 or 6 years like the old model, just as solid as the day they were taken out of the box.
 

calaverasgrande

macrumors 65816
Oct 18, 2010
1,291
161
Brooklyn, New York.
if past history is any indicator, no time soon.
The Mac Pro wasn't upgraded more than every 2 years in it's heyday.
And laptops have kind of displaced desktops in most roles that the Mac desktop used to occupy. As well as the Mini and iMac eating away at that share of users. The Pro is not a machine that moves enough units to justify frequent re-engineering, or managing diverse SKUs of replacement parts.

I'd not expect a new Pro until TB3 chipsets are out and the next USB spec is solid.
 

ssls6

macrumors 6502a
Feb 7, 2013
592
185
if past history is any indicator, no time soon.
The Mac Pro wasn't upgraded more than every 2 years in it's heyday.
And laptops have kind of displaced desktops in most roles that the Mac desktop used to occupy. As well as the Mini and iMac eating away at that share of users. The Pro is not a machine that moves enough units to justify frequent re-engineering, or managing diverse SKUs of replacement parts.

I'd not expect a new Pro until TB3 chipsets are out and the next USB spec is solid.

There was a
2006
2008
2009
2010
2012
2013

So I think 2015 is a safe bet since 2014 is about over
 
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