I liked mine. But after 5 years with it and no upgrade path, I had to move on. Imagine if it had Apple Silicon back then. Thermals wouldn’t have been an issue. I still like the look of it.
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Apple Launched the Controversial 'Trashcan' Mac Pro 11 Years Ago Today
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Loved the design. And if they re-released it with Apple SoC, and kept the RAM and SSD upgreadeable as a Studio, it would be an instant buy for me. The current Studio and “modular” Pro have much less upgradability. But its not as controversial because of years of Apples grooming and also because of the crazy performance and headroom Apple SoC provides. One of the coolest products released at the wrong time.
I never knew anyone that had one, but I did enjoy looking at these at the Apple Store. It was a lot smaller in person that I expected, even though I watched the apple presentation. Cool device, but never had any interest in one.
I know a couple people that use Mac Pros, and they both skipped this generation entirely.
I know a couple people that use Mac Pros, and they both skipped this generation entirely.
A lovely design, but lacked the upgradeability the Mac Pro needed. However, it would have made a great consumer machine if they had engineered some of the cost out, with simpler finishes, etc.
I wish there was a reasonably priced current Mac with an internal SSD slot.
I wish there was a reasonably priced current Mac with an internal SSD slot.
Holmes, you can get a $6,999 model for under $500? What-da-want???
Agreed, maybe if you have friends working in Apple, they should proposed this. The new Mac Pro is no longer as extensible as before anyway, so this Trash Can design just works really well for Silicon. I bet they can even do the Apple M4 Extreme and it'll still cool it.
Macofalltrades (no affiliation) has them starting at about $150 for a 3.7Ghz quad core or $180 for a 3.5Ghz six core. You could probably find similar models for less on auction sites. Those seem like pretty good deals. I’m picking one up to use as a music server for no reason other than that they look cool.
The Mac Pro has been a joke since the trashcan generation. The first gen G5 was cool and even the Intel replacement. The trashcan tried new direction. It actually made sense for a bit with more miniaturization see Steam Machines. But that didn’t last. And even the 2019 redesign going back to Tower still feels dumb. The Mac Studio just does it better than all of them.
I think all Mac Pros are good looking machines and honestly, (considering the time at which they were released), couldn't say any one is cooler/better looking than another but that particular model - what a ridiculously compromised appliance it was.
I did buy one and tried for a while to convince myself that it was a good buy. Returned it when I came to my senses. But as a second hand buy at $300 it becomes a whole different prospect.
I had one some years ago, it had a dodgy graphics card and would crash unpredictably. It was an expensive mistake and I should have kept my 2009 model.
Does it do it better than all of them? I mean does it really?
No.
It doesn't accept PCI cards better than even a PowerMac G3.
I was thinking the other day how useful would it have been to have had an iPad and an Apple Pencil for my undergraduate studies. When I started studying the only iP
I was thinking the other day how useful would it have been to have had an iPad and an Apple Pencil for my undergraduate studies. When I started studying the only iPad being sold was the iPad 2 and the Apple Pencil 1 was 7 years away
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
I used to ridicule (to myself) this idea until I got older... and- at least in perception- it is absolutely true. In younger days, a week seemed like a long time and month was a really long time. Now I feel like if I blink too many times in a row, a week roars by and the months seem to be accelerating too.
It's December already? Christmas 2023 seems like only a few weeks ago.
To the youngsters reading this (and rolling your own eyes based on some understanding of the hard physics associated with passage of time), make the most of your abundant time now: the accelerator comes for all. Instead of burning the abundance on nothing, put that time towards some high-quality "something": creations/experiences/learning/etc.
Each birthday seems to add a bit more dilithium to the warp chamber. If I was to call the "starting to notice" year, I put it at about 40. If you are short of it, you have about 40 - X to load the abundance with tangible "something." After about 40- when you too start to notice- there's no buying bonus time. It will just (seem to) burn faster and faster. Your sense of being in control of how you use your time swings to feeling like you increasingly lose control of it.
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I agree that the Mac Studio is the Apple Silicon version of the trashcan Mac Pro.
I did warranty hardware repairs at the time, and the trashcan was hands down the worst Mac repair experience up to that point. The most common issue was liquid damage. The owner would spill their drink near the Mac, which would suck it up through the bottom intake vent. The liquid would get pulled over the base board that connected the CPU to the GPUs, oxidizing all the connections. This ruined the 4 main boards of the system. Apple rated warranty repairs based on the number of parts used, causing the shop to lose money on every single trashcan repair.
All Macs with bottom air intakes (Studio and mini these days) should be elevated high enough off the surface to not suck in liquid. The G4 Cube was fantastic for that, literally floating several inches in the air on plexiglass. This was a solved problem 24 years ago.
I did warranty hardware repairs at the time, and the trashcan was hands down the worst Mac repair experience up to that point. The most common issue was liquid damage. The owner would spill their drink near the Mac, which would suck it up through the bottom intake vent. The liquid would get pulled over the base board that connected the CPU to the GPUs, oxidizing all the connections. This ruined the 4 main boards of the system. Apple rated warranty repairs based on the number of parts used, causing the shop to lose money on every single trashcan repair.
All Macs with bottom air intakes (Studio and mini these days) should be elevated high enough off the surface to not suck in liquid. The G4 Cube was fantastic for that, literally floating several inches in the air on plexiglass. This was a solved problem 24 years ago.
Earlier this year, I retired my Trash Can Mac Pro, which I purchased new within days of its original release. I felt so lucky to have found one available at my local MicroCenter. I used it as my main photo/music studio hub. I remember one time counting the peripherals attached to it--21 in total, and not a hiccup. Ran flawlessly for more than 10 years. The ONLY reason I retired it was due to some musical hardware no longer updating their firmware for Intel Macs. I donated it to a local nonprofit organization that refurbishes old tech hardware and sells or gives it to other organizations (schools, etc.). When I brought it in, the guy at the receiving counter shouted out "someone's donating a trashcan Mac Pro" and several other guys came out to see. Was really fun!! They loved it so much!
No. mGPU use is still pretty common to this day for prosumers—especially for AI and rendering work
The issue was lack of far more capable and powerful GPUs beyond AMD’s capabilities compared to Nvidia who also happen to still have far superior mGPU interconnect tech today.
This design was ahead of its time that would abe benefited from Apple Silicon and NVLINK and even DX12U tech (Bootcamp)
I disagree. The Cheese Grater 2019 Mac Pro is better than the Studio, including its excellent MPX modules with PcIe slots that simultaneously supported regular GPUs
well... got there... seems to run quite snappy to be honest. just browsing in safari and window management seems quicker than Monterey. which was unexpected tbh
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Using it as we speak . Still beautiful, quiet & powerful .
Would not have been able to afford it on day one though
that's for sure !
Happy holidays to all
Would not have been able to afford it on day one though
that's for sure ! Happy holidays to all
Just ahead of its time honestly. It would’ve been a great Apple Silicon product, but was doomed from the start with Intel.
I'd want to pay around $100. That's about how much I paid for my iMac G4 and PowerMac G5. They're not needed so I don't want to pay too much.