Still Waiting for Mac Pro Updates, Suitable Intel Processors Due in Q4

[ArcaneDevice]

27-inch widescreen, 16:9 aspect ratio and 2560x1440 resolution.

Where else are you going to find that res in a 27-inch? Probably Dell and not much else.

Look around and you'll see that 99% of the 27-inch displays out there (and there aren't many) sport only a 1920x1080 res. Which is, funnily enough, what the majority of smaller 24-inch displays offer. Talk about wasting that extra 3 or so inches of 27 inches of space (in terms of desktop use.)

Sweet display indeed.

Well let's see ... 27 inches, 16:9 and probably a glossy screen? Why would I want that? When I can buy an NEC at 30 inches, 16:10 and matte screen?

Apple sell displays for watching iTunes video. It's one more product they stopped thinking about Pros for. Extra resolution is wasted in the monitor screens Apple now sell. They could start selling displays with a 1 million pixel x 1 million pixel resolution but it wouldn't be a benefit if it was a 16:10 17" screen.

 

[Marx55]

A Mac mini tower is a must. Quiet. Quad core. Something between the Mac mini and the Mac Pro. Because the iMac is a waste of display after three years or so! The mythical midrange Mac minitower at
http://www.macworld.com/article/58562/2007/06/midrangemac.html

 

[Umbongo]

Tell me about it.

27-inch widescreen, 16:9 aspect ratio and 2560x1440 resolution.

Where else are you going to find that res in a 27-inch? Probably Dell and not much else.

Look around and you'll see that 99% of the 27-inch displays out there (and there aren't many) sport only a 1920x1080 res. Which is, funnily enough, what the majority of smaller 24-inch displays offer. Talk about wasting that extra 3 or so inches of 27 inches of space (in terms of desktop use.)

Sweet display indeed.

You can get them from most high-end display makers.

Dell, DoubleSight, Eizo, NEC and Samsung all have them.

 

[ArcaneDevice]

I don't even get how someone can actually complain that Apple does not update their Mac Pro lines "frequent enough", in a thread which has a headline about Intel's roadmap. Apple does not choose when to update their Mac Pro's, they are 100% dependent on Intel for that.

Yeah because the CPU is the only thing about the Mac Pro's almost ten year old design that needs updating ...

and yes, it can be improved. Making the handles flush with the top of the case is a start. That way you can actually put things on top of it.

 

[realmike15]

You'll never get the headless (consumer) Mac tower...

Chris

I love how you think anything but a Xenon automatically makes it a consumer desktop. As if i7's aren't used in the professional world, or that Xenon's aren't more a server class processor than anything else.

I can tell just by your short statement, that you whole heartily and religiously believe that everything Apple does is exactly the way it should be. There's really no reason to continue this conversation. Cheers!

 

[redsteven]

Glad I bought one a week ago. A whole half year of using a lesser computer isn't a very attractive idea, especially having to sell it afterward.

You're still within the return period, right?

 

[Cisco_Kid]

It's time for an upgrade is right !

I have roughly 6K burning a hole in my MacPocket that will be replacing a Dual G5...... C'mon already Apple..... I'm like a child on xmas eve looking at the big boxes under the tree, hurry hurry, hurry

 

[snebes]

I love how you think anything but a Xenon automatically makes it a consumer desktop. As if i7's aren't used in the professional world, or that Xenon's aren't more a server class processor than anything else.

I can tell just by your short statement, that you whole heartily and religiously believe that everything Apple does is exactly the way it should be. There's really no reason to continue this conversation. Cheers!

Xenon headlights are used in ricers.

'Xeon' is the word you may be looking for. Just because professionals choose to use consumer grade hardware, doesn't mean the Mac Pro should.

 

[GregAndonian]

With FCP? Thats just one program that they kind of screwed up on. They will get it right. Other than that they haven't messed with the Pro users.

They didn't "kind of" screw up with FCPX. It was an enormous blunder of epic proportions, and because of it we're now seeing stories like this one:

http://postproduction.digitalmedian...rom-Apple-to-Adobe-via-a-Windows-7-PC-1627897

 

[Eric S.]

Of course not. Because they're money losers - and have been for a while now. The industry at large can barely get desktops to move as it is and you want Apple to introduce another one??

Yes, because I will always continue to want what I want and not what the market wants.

But I will say that when I first wanted a midrange upgrade was a time that Apple was still in that market, unlike today when it is not. That's why I went the hackintosh route about a year and a half ago, a route that has serious downsides.

A Mac mini tower is a must. Quiet. Quad core. Something between the Mac mini and the Mac Pro. Because the iMac is a waste of display after three years or so! The mythical midrange Mac minitower at
http://www.macworld.com/article/58562/2007/06/midrangemac.html

And that article is from 2007, when there may still have been a miniscule chance that it could happen. Unlike today.

 

[WardC]

My 3.33GHz 6-core is plenty fast, especially with 12GB of of RAM and an SSD as my boot disk, with a RAID0 as my data storage drive...

But next time around, I am going with the "big Kahuna" -- yes, the 48-core 5.7GHz beast Of course, that might be a few years down the road.

 

[Lesser Evets]

GAH. The Pro tower is way overdue. Sure, better processors soon... there are always better processors soon. You can see the sales of lap vs. desk: the newer computers are all plenty fast for almost everything outside high-power pro applications. Those towers will have a rapidly slimmer and slimmer "must-have" market as the computer processors jack up in the next few years. No wonder Apple doesn't push their MacProgress too hard anymore, but I doubt they'll drop the towers until later this decade, if then.

 

[crazy dave]

I mildly disagree. I think the Mac mini still deserves a place in the Apple lineup. It was originally aimed at the Windows switcher crowd as a drop-in replacement for their old Wintel box. Dump the beige box, plug in your existing monitor, kbd, mouse, and boom: you're a Mac user. For much less than even a base-model iMac.

But if you don't have a computer yet, or you're looking to add another Mac to your household or office or something, the Mac mini isn't necessarily such a good deal. Especially if you spring for the Cinema Display, which is $999 for either the new Thunderbolt or older Mini Display Port model.

The white plastic MacBook served its purpose. The first one served as the transition from the iBook marketing name to MacBook and was part of the first wave of Intel-based Macs back in 2006. And it was the last plastic computer Apple made (not counting the iPhone 3GS, which outlived the plastic MacBook.) Steve Jobs announced the MacBook Air as "the future of laptops," and evidently he meant it.

I agree it had a purpose and may still for another year or so, but on the desktop side, if I had to choose which of the three (Mac mini versus iMac versus Mac Pro), would get chopped, then I'd go with the Mac Mini. Like the MacBook it had a purpose, but now I'd say its usefulness has narrowed with the introduction, expansion, and popularity of other product lines which can replace its functionality. Given Apple's penchant for non-overlapping product lines, the removal of the mini seems the most likely eventuality.

As for laptops, we'll probably see the gradual merger of the air and pro lines into one continuum as Apple phases out optical drives (they may wait another year to do so on the iMac and Mac Pro) and internal mobile discrete graphic cards on laptops - relying on Intel Ivy Bridge integrated graphics for when the laptop is mobile and thunderbolt enabled discrete graphic cards either in stand alone peripherals or as part of a cinema display for when the laptop is docked. I suspect the optical drives will go first and the discrete graphics will go later as thunderbolt gets faster. Although, internal mobile discrete graphics cards could go at the same time on laptops - after all the 13inch Pro already lacks a discrete graphics card. Still, they may keep different form factors for the 15+ inch models simply for space, but eventually ...

Well long term prognostication is fun, but ultimately meaningless. That's the way I see it.

 

[crazy dave]

And that article is from 2007, when there may still have been a miniscule chance that it could happen. Unlike today.

Actually I think there may be a greater chance today than 4 years ago, but that's just me. You could read my posts above and on page 1 for why.

 

[Davesc36]

The sales statistics comparison between laptop and desktop sales should be no surprise to Apple since the cost of their 4core Mac Pro is still more than double the price of a 6core PC. I've been a Mac user since the IIe days and have done nothing but sing the praises of Apple over the years, but the prices are ridiculous on the current Mac Pro lineup and I would hate to see what price they would tag onto a newer version. I'm a video editor and have already been disappointed with the Final Cut Pro X bomb. Nothing would surprise me at this point if they gave up on the Mac Pro line.

 

[relimw]

Heck no! If I wanted a "consumer" machine we would get an iMac. I need the xtra power and cores. I'm grinding this G5 to the ground. Cant wait to get a 12 core machine.

I regularly push my dual core, dual CPU 3GHz hard, I'd really like to upgrade soon. I seriously considered upgrading on the last cycle but it didn't quite offer enough for a CPU I keep for 5 years on average, I'd also like to see the Nvidia cards come back as a standard item, nothing like extra horsepower if your programs can take advantage of it.

 

[iBug2]

Yeah because the CPU is the only thing about the Mac Pro's almost ten year old design that needs updating ...

and yes, it can be improved. Making the handles flush with the top of the case is a start. That way you can actually put things on top of it.

You have got to be kidding me...

 

[relimw]

Actually, my G5 is 7 years old or so. I realize that the current Mac Pros are WAY faster then my G5 but from what I have gathered the performance increase in the new Pros is going to be really significant. So yeah, it hurts to think about spending the money on a device which is about to get a big upgrade. Or I can build a PC (gag) for much less then I can get a current Pro for. I grant that I may be looking at the issue wrong.

John

Is there a particular reason you have to upgrade today?

 

[The Captain]

...

What i don't understand is why they can't concentrate on both! Sony for example do a very good job of making brilliant professional level broadcast AV equipment, yet are just as good at making consumer gear like netbooks and camcorders and such.

Why can't Apple thrive in more than one area?

THIS!

Every time I see some post by some fanboy telling pro's they don't make up enough of the market so "suck it" I think about how stupid and short sighted they are. Sony, JVC, Panasonic are all consumer companies that make top notch pro equipment. Hell they pride themselves on it, they treat it like a combination of Formula 1, and a skunk works. Sure there is not the big money in that market, but the tech they develop for it drives the consumer stuff they do make in mass. Apple need to get that back, but alas I feel that arrogance has become a cultural component at apple, and they feel they don't need any small but high demand market to drive them to come up with better ideas.

 

[relimw]

Slim the chasis up a bit, and allow it to support ANY AMD cards from the HD 6xxx and up (with exception to the 6990 for obvious reasons). It's complete rubbish that a Mac Pro can't use standard COTS PCI E cards.

I completely agree with being able to use any standard PCIe cards, it sure would make things easier, and I could stick any I/O and/or graphics card I want in there. It's about the only thing left towards using common hardware across all hardware.

 

[Eric S.]

Actually I think there may be a greater chance today than 4 years ago, but that's just me. You could read my posts above and on page 1 for why.

I think it is just you. I would like to see it, but I don't think so.

Where are the rumors of a new 2U form factor? Can you point me to a source for that? Thanks.

 

[scottrichardson]

I own the top of the line model from 2009. 8 Core 2.93Ghz. 16GB RAM. OWC Mercury Pro 240GB Boot SSD, plus 2 x Vertex 2 in RAID 0 for other files. Plus a Caviar Black 2TB for media. The graphics card is the Radeon 4870 512MB. It's been a great machine, and would probably last me another 2 years or so.

However, I AM a sucker for new tech. Depending on what I can get for my current tower, I might upgrade. My Dream machine would be running 4 x 480GB OWC Mercury 6G SSDs in RAID as one big volume, and running a Thunderbolt external RAID for Backups. Yep that's gonna cost an insane amount of money, just for the SSDs. But I really want one big, fast volume instead of having multiple volumes. I'd like, for once, to make use of the OS X file structure and use the documents/pictures/movies folders in my user folder instead of having everything spread across drives.

So my next (dream) machine will be:

12 or 16 core XEON ~3GHz
32GB RAM
4 x 480GB OWC Mercury 6Gbps SSDs in RAID 0
Radeon 6980 2GB GPU
2 x 27" Thunderbolt Displays
Promise R4 External RAID

That's gonna cost me like $16,000 AUD. ****.

 

[winston1236]

Heck no! If I wanted a "consumer" machine we would get an iMac. I need the xtra power and cores. I'm grinding this G5 to the ground. Cant wait to get a 12 core machine.

Agreed, that would be a terrible decision.

 

[crazy dave]

I think it is just you. I would like to see it, but I don't think so.

Where are the rumors of a new 2U form factor? Can you point me to a source for that? Thanks.

I was afraid you were going to ask for that. It was a Macrumor article from earlier this year. I'll see if I can dig it up. I saw it repeated a couple times elsewhere but they may all have been referencing the same source rather than confirming through multiple sources.

EDIT: Found it. I was mistaken about the form factor - it was 3U. (https://www.macrumors.com/2011/04/21/apple-developing-narrower-rackmountable-mac-pro-prototypes/) It may be pure speculation, but it makes a lot sense to me given Apple's other moves specifically with OS X and OS X Server.

 

[doctor-don]

I'm very disappointed in this. I need a new desk top NOW as my G5 simply won't suffice any longer and I was really looking forward to getting a new Mac Pro. However, I can't see buying the current Mac Pro either given how much faster the upgrade will be and what I can build a PC for. I hate to say it but I'm going to be forced to build a Windows box and simply deal with not having OS-X then buy a Mac Pro in a couple of years when the PC has more or less paid for itself.

John

If you really need a new computer now, buy a refurbished Mac Pro now, and then sell it when the new ones are released. You'll easily get 90% of your investment back on the refub when you sell it in a few months. Maybe more.

My 2008 Mac Pro (8-core, 16 GB RAM) has served me well, and I like features in the newer Mac Pros, but I would consider upgrading only if it started giving me problems.

Really? Would you rather go to a PC and then come back in a couple of years than upgrade your G5 (which is what, 4-5 years old) to a computer that works perfectly fine and is waaaaay faster than your G5 just because you'll know there will be a faster one in a couple of months? Honestly that's very illogic to me...

Poster said buy a refurbished Mac Pro, not a PC.