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Any rumors or a new Mac Pro?
- Thread starter Ethosik
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If Apple was planning on updating the Mac Pro in November they would have mentioned this at the October event. These rumors are just click bait.
While I see the frustration of not having an updated Mac Pro, WHAT would they have done? 2x 6GB GPUs seem to be VERY nice for productivity. Note that these are not made for gaming.
Sure I can get a used 2012 classic Mac Pro, but that is even OLDER technology. And buying one of those in 2017 is more insane than buying a 2013 Mac Pro which is the current generation provided by Apple.
It seems like now would be the time that they can finally update this computer. Get rid of those stupid Thunderbolt 2 ports for an industry standard USB-C. Remember, we are not in the late 90s and early 2000s where processor generations are a HUGE difference. People are still using 2010 or earlier systems in 2016 almost 2017 for productivity work!
Other than VR and VRAM, GPUs are starting to feel that way too. I didn't really notice a massive difference between a GTX 680 and a GTX 980. Sure I could increase a few settings in games from medium to high. But it is not like it was a MUST upgrade. The 1080 did feel like a bigger bump even from the 980, but that might have been a placebo since I got a 144Hz monitor at the same time and me playing more optimized games.
Looking at the current Mac Pro, it would be nice if they updated it to include 32GB of RAM standard and 512GB SSD as standard. Other than that, it seems like a perfectly good machine, even in 2017. I am still using a 2010 Mac Pro people!
Sure I can get a used 2012 classic Mac Pro, but that is even OLDER technology. And buying one of those in 2017 is more insane than buying a 2013 Mac Pro which is the current generation provided by Apple.
It seems like now would be the time that they can finally update this computer. Get rid of those stupid Thunderbolt 2 ports for an industry standard USB-C. Remember, we are not in the late 90s and early 2000s where processor generations are a HUGE difference. People are still using 2010 or earlier systems in 2016 almost 2017 for productivity work!
Other than VR and VRAM, GPUs are starting to feel that way too. I didn't really notice a massive difference between a GTX 680 and a GTX 980. Sure I could increase a few settings in games from medium to high. But it is not like it was a MUST upgrade. The 1080 did feel like a bigger bump even from the 980, but that might have been a placebo since I got a 144Hz monitor at the same time and me playing more optimized games.
Looking at the current Mac Pro, it would be nice if they updated it to include 32GB of RAM standard and 512GB SSD as standard. Other than that, it seems like a perfectly good machine, even in 2017. I am still using a 2010 Mac Pro people!
What difference does it make? A new mac pro at this point would be something where everything is soldered to one piece with no user replaceable parts. Here are the new specs 512mb ram soldered to board, 256gb SSD soldered to board, 512mb GPU soldered to board, no ethernet port wifi only and one thunderbolt port. If we are lucky one usb. It is over. New Mac Pro isn't helping Apple gave up on Pro users and now it is all about "Pro" users.
Clearly they're not waiting for a specific CPU or chipset design; the newly released MacBook Pros have Skylake rather than Kabylake. Really disappointing they continue to be silent about this. Not even a 2013-style 'sneek-peak'.
They care so little about it in fact that on their own site they have it pictured with an Apple Cinema Display.. which they don't make or sell any more.
There have been;
New Xeon CPUs
DDR4
New PCIe SSDs in M.2 (SM951, SM961)
New GPUs
Advances in SFX PSUs
Thunderbolt 3
USB-C
And from Apple;
...
They care so little about it in fact that on their own site they have it pictured with an Apple Cinema Display.. which they don't make or sell any more.
There have been;
New Xeon CPUs
DDR4
New PCIe SSDs in M.2 (SM951, SM961)
New GPUs
Advances in SFX PSUs
Thunderbolt 3
USB-C
And from Apple;
...
That would be because the Kaby Lake CPUs appropriate for a MacBook Pro will not be released by Intel until 1H 2017. So Skylake is all that is available. Frankly, I am of the opinion Apple wanted to release the MBP at WDCC and then launch a new version with Kaby Lake 9-12 months later when Intel released the CPUs, but the Touch Bar wasn't ready so they had to wait until now. Chances are we'll still see a KL update by WDCC 2017.
As for the Mac Pro, I honestly wonder just how much better the machine would be with Haswell-E and the AMD W7100/W8100/W9100 (D310/D510/D710) series GPUs. It looks like the main benefit Haswell-E brings is DDR4 memory, but with the drawback that it is reported to draw more power and generate more heat than the Ivy Bridge-E and that might have been an issue for the Mac Pro's power and cooling systems.
Unfortunately, Skylake doesn't offer an appropriate CPU (the performance workstation CPUs appear to be designed for dual sockets) and Intel has yet to say what Kaby Lake will offer in the workstation space.
With Skylake, the Xeon processors split into two groups: the -EP is 2-8 socket, and the -W (for workstation) is single socket. They use different chipsets and sockets.
Is that a problem? The current Mac Pro uses dual processor capable CPUs anyway, doesn't it? Even though it is a single socket only computer.
Half of the complaints would vanish if Apple would adjust the price of the Mac Pros. If they can't get their suppliers in order to release one with a spec increase then lower the price of the outdated models.
Good that you're using 2010 model as well I. You might just stick with that until mp becomes legacy.
The four and six core MP6,1 use single socket E5-1600v2 CPUs, the eight and twelve core use dual-socket capable E5-2600v2 CPUs.
I agree for today, but I meant a year ago. The context I was replying to was about preventing "half of the complaints" we've been seeing.
I know it's not strictly for this part of the forum, but some of the recent news highlights as well how puzzling the MacBook is.
USB-C only, even the 2016 model. Why? I can't understand why Apple designed themselves into a corner on this.
Any future Mac Pro at this stage (if ever) will naturally have TB3 with USB-C-style ports, but I would expect USB-A not to go AWOL; thinness isn't a design concern for this product line just yet. Well... ahem, I guess it is, but it's still big enough to actually physically fit the ports anyway.
Does anyone even actually sell USB-C Flash drives yet?
USB-C only, even the 2016 model. Why? I can't understand why Apple designed themselves into a corner on this.
Any future Mac Pro at this stage (if ever) will naturally have TB3 with USB-C-style ports, but I would expect USB-A not to go AWOL; thinness isn't a design concern for this product line just yet. Well... ahem, I guess it is, but it's still big enough to actually physically fit the ports anyway.
Does anyone even actually sell USB-C Flash drives yet?
If your current system is going strong don't worry about it until next April or May. If there's no announcement by then, and you're still worried, I wouldn't upgrade to a 2013 nMP, I would begin switching over to an HP or Dell workstation. There's no point to buying a nMP if the Mac Pro is EOL.
It's Apple being ahead of the curve - just as they were with USB-A.
I believe it is quite reasonable to expect the peripheral market going forward to quickly adopt USB-C as the standard - the dongles will be for the folks with older machines that don't have USB-C.
All the major vendors appear to have USB-C models out now.
if there is to be a new Mac Pro, it will be made when Intel releases the V5 iteration of the E5 Xeons. currently thought to be coming late in Q2 2017. many will be up in arms over the 3.5 year gap between releases. Apple's response will simply be, courage.
And, again, this silence is the one thing which really is a slapping us into the faces: I would be more than happy to wait if I would be told that it is a finite amount of time they want me to wait. Communication beats courage, apple.
Probably a iMac bump coming around Q1- 17 or latest by this March thing. iPads and Macs in the same dog and pony show have happened in past October rollouts before. If iPads shifting from Oct to Spring then some Macs could with them too. ( especially if Intel keeps their current desktop CPU roll out cadence. which is putting those CPUs into Q1-Q2. )
The MacBook was also skipped in October because slightly bumped in Q1 in 2016. It too is going to be due. ( version 2 of butterfly keyboard , perhaps TB v3 if room , updated gen 7 ( Kaby Lake) CPU-GPU. )
There is a window for the Mac Pro here. Other desktops at the same time.
iOS , tvOS , watchOS. Apple has four operating systems to cover. Most likely WWDC is going to be far more a software even than a hardware one from now on. Since it is a software developers conference, there really be no huge disconnect over that.
Not a Mac Pro event. If Apple is still dragging their feet they may do another "sneak peak" because at this point the drumbeat of "Mac Pro is dead" will probably be the loudest it has ever been. It has been an Mac Pro excuse event ( '12 and '13 )..... "we are doing something but the dog ate our homework so we aren't ready yet. "
Practical nonsense. For the last 6 years Apple has rolled out some Mac product in October, not November. Probably will get another Mac product next October. They have had announcements in October and you can't get it shipped until Nov-Dec., but they announcement has come in October each time.
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