Yes, please, but in Space Gray...?
Going to a dual SoC configuration would not double the SSD...?
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Alleged 'Mac Studio' Renders Surface Ahead of Tomorrow's 'Peek Performance' Apple Event
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Yes, please, but in Space Gray...?
Going to a dual SoC configuration would not double the SSD...?
There's only so many you can support with an M1 Pro/Max, going by the MacBook Pro - which appears to offer 1 extra TB4 and 1 HDMI (presumably as DisplayPort internally) c.f. the regular M1. Nothing that wouldn't fit on an Intel Mini case.
..and the current Mini case was big enough to support a desktop Intel i7 (...or, before that, a mobile-class CPU and an optical drive and a spinning rust HD...) so it shouldn't need to get much bigger to cool a M1 Max that can work in a MBP...
Plus, it just looks ugly. A Mac Mini without the "mini" bit. Unless they've made space for a couple of 2.5" hard drives/SSDs or some other form of internal expansion but... flap! oink!
These rumours are getting so all-over-the-place that I'm bracing myself for just an iPhone SE and watch bands tomorrow...
If these supposed mac mini or mac studio are within the $2K price range, then I am definitely canceling my MBP order and getting one of these. Don't need a $4K laptop that is always connected to my external monitors and doesn't go anyway, when I can get a maxed out mac mini for somewhere in the $2K range that has the same specs. Plus, I can keep my MBA and use that if I need to travel with it.
I highly doubt this render is accurate in any way. First, as others mentioned, it looks like a G4 Cube (I had one!) sawed in half but with visible ventilation ports at the bottom (which will never happen, in my opinion). What are they using all that space for? A M1 Max MacBook Pro seems to work fine without all that AND it includes a battery! Second, is it going to be truly expandable in some way, that design would not appear to accommodate any sort of standard expansion card except maybe additional drives. Lastly, this would be extremely awkward to rack mount.
User-Expandable Memory: No
User-Expandable Storage: Yes (via external connected to the Thunderbolt ports)
If this render is accurate, I can only presume it is so tall to handle 1 or 2 half-length, full-height PCIe cards for video and/or audio workflows.
I don’t care what it looks like just that it’s performance is increased and improved. I’ve got a macmini m1 and I love it.
Let's say this is a true render of it, I'd hope the vents along the bottom are correct as they look like those on my Late-2013 Mac Pro, and I like those. It would be in keeping with the MBP design language to have four feet underneath, too, and the "Mac mini" name on the base like on the MBPs.
The power supply is built-in, so on the back there's a pill-shaped vent horizontally across the bottom.
Taking something else from the 2013 Mac Pro I'd like the locking switch there, which when unlocked allows you to lift the top case off, revealing just space for some extra SSDs. I wouldn't expect to see the motherboard, just a black cover over it.
Because you can lift off the top I wouldn't expect wireless charging on there, unless they include the coils in the top and have power connectors that click together when the case is closed, kind of how the power button on the top of the 2019 Mac Pro only works when the case is properly closed.
I'd expect the ports to be 6 x TB4, 4 x USB-3, 1 x Gigabit Ethernet (option to upgrade to 10Gb), 1 x normal power lead (not the magnetic one from the 24" iMac), 1 x HDMI, 1 x headphone jack.
CPU? Likely 1 x M1 Pro/Max. I doubt it'll be a dual-CPU machine. It might be an option, but not cheap as you're basically doubling the RAM.
Price-wise, hmm... Current Mac mini 512GB SSD, 16GB RAM is £1,099, so to add all the ports and the newer chip(s)... £1,499 for 512GB SSD, 16GB RAM, and the lowest M1 Pro available (8-core CPU, 14-core GPU). That, in the current 14" MBP is £1,899 so that's £400 less for the lack of screen and some additional ports, and £400 more than an existing M1 Mac mini?
(I am usually wrong on these things, but the joy is in guessing.)
The power supply is built-in, so on the back there's a pill-shaped vent horizontally across the bottom.
Taking something else from the 2013 Mac Pro I'd like the locking switch there, which when unlocked allows you to lift the top case off, revealing just space for some extra SSDs. I wouldn't expect to see the motherboard, just a black cover over it.
Because you can lift off the top I wouldn't expect wireless charging on there, unless they include the coils in the top and have power connectors that click together when the case is closed, kind of how the power button on the top of the 2019 Mac Pro only works when the case is properly closed.
I'd expect the ports to be 6 x TB4, 4 x USB-3, 1 x Gigabit Ethernet (option to upgrade to 10Gb), 1 x normal power lead (not the magnetic one from the 24" iMac), 1 x HDMI, 1 x headphone jack.
CPU? Likely 1 x M1 Pro/Max. I doubt it'll be a dual-CPU machine. It might be an option, but not cheap as you're basically doubling the RAM.
Price-wise, hmm... Current Mac mini 512GB SSD, 16GB RAM is £1,099, so to add all the ports and the newer chip(s)... £1,499 for 512GB SSD, 16GB RAM, and the lowest M1 Pro available (8-core CPU, 14-core GPU). That, in the current 14" MBP is £1,899 so that's £400 less for the lack of screen and some additional ports, and £400 more than an existing M1 Mac mini?
(I am usually wrong on these things, but the joy is in guessing.)
Zero shots of the rear or any I/O, that's what we're interested in.
Remember previous chatter around a modular Mac mini design.
Remember previous chatter around a modular Mac mini design.
It would come with 25 ports, SD card, Ethernet, USB-A, B, C, mini and regular size displayport, DMI, VGA, Firewire and serial port, there would be also spare holes just in case kids want to plug their toys.
Apple is listening its customers and has declared war to dongles
Apple is listening its customers and has declared war to dongles
Assuming this render is somewhat accurate, I could see the entire aluminum outside being able to lift off at where it meets the vents. Easy access to add more m.2? It would be fantastic to be able to add in a couple 2TB m.2 sticks for scratch space or file storage. It would be my ideal computer.
A few have mentioned that the trash can Mac Pro had vents along the bottom, too. However, I'd like to point out that both that machine AND the G4 Cube had massive vents on the top to allow for an updraft. If they need the space and vents at the bottom (inlet) then there needs to be something near the top (outlet).
Considering the MacBook Pros did not support it, I would not hold my breath unless it is handled via an external chip and not by the Apple Silicon SoC.
Thunderbolt 3 does support DisplayPort 1.4 so we should be covered, there.
Apple Silicon ships still produce heat, just not nearly as much as comparable x86 processor. The M1 Pro and Max still requires active cooling for peak performance, hence why the 2021 MBPs are so chonky. My 14" M1 Pro still gets fairly warm when playing Cities: Skylines or a similar CPU/GPU intensive task, though the fans stay whisper quiet. A design like this could accommodate the thermals of a rumored Jade 2C or 4C chip with quiet cooling, whereas if you stuck an Alder Lake i9 desktop chip in that enclosure it would either melt or sound like a turbofan jet engine taking off.
It’s taller to accommodate a custom half-height half/length (so, 1/4 sized) NVIDIA card that will have Ti3080 specs and cost $8000
OWC best get busy making a proper matching footprint TB4/USB4 storage chassis to sit underneath the Mac Studio; two M.2 NVMe SSD slots for a striped project files array, and two 3.5" SATAIII HDD slots for a mirrored Time Machine back-up array...!
Most full-height PCIe cards are about 120mm tall, which is just under five inches...
I would think the majority of the internal volume is filled with a heat sink that covers the SoC, RAM, & SSDs...
This is probably set up just like the Mac mini, where the mobo is actually hanging upsidedown from the top of the chassis; air intakes from the bottom and into a blower fan, air blows thru heat sink and out back venting...
That’s such an uninspired render. I don’t think the current Mac mini design is long for this world (it will get smaller this generation or next), so it makes zero sense for Apple to release a new product line based on that design.
Render aside, the rumor of extra height and multiple M1 Max processors makes me wonder if Apple isn’t developing something like Intel’s NUC compute element for the Studio and Mac Pro. Basically each element would be self contained with CPU, ram, and ssd. It would slot into a daughter board (Intel uses PCIe), and you could slot in one more additional compute elements next to the first. Intels NUCs use one compute element and one graphics card in two PCIe slots, but I expect a Mac studio to accommodate two compute elements and a Mac Pro to accommodate many more. Probably completely off base, but it’s something more inspired than that render.
Render aside, the rumor of extra height and multiple M1 Max processors makes me wonder if Apple isn’t developing something like Intel’s NUC compute element for the Studio and Mac Pro. Basically each element would be self contained with CPU, ram, and ssd. It would slot into a daughter board (Intel uses PCIe), and you could slot in one more additional compute elements next to the first. Intels NUCs use one compute element and one graphics card in two PCIe slots, but I expect a Mac studio to accommodate two compute elements and a Mac Pro to accommodate many more. Probably completely off base, but it’s something more inspired than that render.