Apple Offers Sneak Peek of Completely Redesigned Mac Pro

[tjwaido]

Most Innovative Concept

After reading about this on Apple.com/Mac-Pro I have to say this is the most innovative computer Apple has created. Apple is truly full of geniuses, and this is coming from a person who's first look at this was... OMG, what have they done?! I can't wait to get a hold of it!

 

[Mac21ND]

This is one of the funniest looking Apple products I've seen. Is it a bin? Is it a toilet? Oh wait, it's a computer.

I like the design, but it just looks funny.

It will be another computer where someone will come into your office and say, "What's that???" and be super impressed. It's the same reaction people would have with the sunflower iMac or cube.

 

[bobborries]

Feel the Power

Coffee maker? Trash can? laugh all you want PC fanboys, you know Dell, HP and the rest will follow suit.

 

[RDStrong]

You obviously arent talking about the GPU performance when you say that, as its leagues ahead of what is available on the now classic Mac Pro.

I cant imagine you are talking about bandwidth in regards to your storage, as thunderbolt 2 has substantially more bandwidth than the sata connections you are using to connect your current HDD's.. So what exactly are you talking about?

I'm specifically thinking about the need to supplement the GPU for the purposes of rendering motion graphics.

Having internal expandability means that I can swap out the GPU and replace it with something that fits my requirements. [I also assume that] The RAM is also locked in that little cylindrical device so I can't replace it to increase the resources for After Effects.

I prefer options, which Apple has decided not to give me.

 

[Corax]

Made out of plastic? Seriously? Spend $1299 and get a nice aluminum iMac. $2499 gets me a plastic Mac Pro(predicting cost of the new Mac Pro)? Screw that.....

Seriously, do you like to make things up? The enclosure is entirely made out of aluminium.

Do your homework:
http://www.apple.com/mac-pro/index2.html

 

[kemal]

I, for one, will LOVE all the extra FireWire ports Phil mentioned. Don't suppose he meant Thunderbolt?

I'll put the new machine next to my Cube which is still currently on, connected to a 22" ADC display.

 

[Mac21ND]

Cylindrical circuitboard?

It's flat, based around an internal triangle. Apple.com has a great walkthrough.

 

[12dylan34]

I'd like to see some 16 core options. Dell and HP have them in their workstations.

 

[tpy]

It's sad that people here are mainly talking about plastic vs. metal. If this is representative of Apple's target audience, well yes they changed things in the right direction.

I'm mildly disappointed about the update --- especially only 1 CPU & 4 RAM slots. I will seriously consider going to Dell or HP in my next upgrade.

 

[WilliamLondon]

It seems like I see a lot of the same people complain when Apple introduces new things. It's kind of like watching talk shows where there is a manufactured fight every day.

After a while nobody pays attention.

And it seems like those people who say, "That's it, I've reached the end of my rope, you've gone too far, GOODBYE" are still around to do the same dramatic exit over and over again.

I'll wait til I actually see what the product is before I start my rant.

The most negative are the most vocal, but reading the comments here, those same negatives expected everything for nothing. Achieving backward compatibility 10 years, and forward compatibility 10 years, all new, all compatible and interoperable, all updated (but not changed), and all for a price that is something a bit south of a new Homer:

Yep, the negative nellies have something to complain about - just make sure their complaints are prioritised less than my, "there are not enough unicorns in this existence" complaint I lodged when I was 3 years old.

 

[chumpy34]

As a videographer, filmmaker, and a Mac Pro User for past 8 years, I absolutely love this new Mac Pro. I am just happy Apple did not forget us "pro users" and I am confident that this new machine will have everything I need for my editing needs. I knew storage would be external, writing was on the wall, so not upset about that and the portability of this will be great. I would guess the price point will be affordable, they tend to stick with old price tiers...

 

[\-V-/]

Sure, if you are the kind of person who spends $25k on a 4K 60"+ Flat Panel for your home, I could see this additional $5k-$10k HTPC for you.

Yeah... the ignorance is strong in that comment.

 

[carlsson]

Okay. I think it's georgeus.

But - It lacks the real power of a PRO desktop! Where do I put my four internal HDD's? My three PCI graphic cards? My internal RAID card? And so on...
I don't want external things on my working area!

They could have made it twice the size and it would still be a delicious piece of equipment.

Now I'm just disappointed...

 

[portishead]

I know there's an adapter, but why sacrifice a TB port and require an adapter for something you KNOW you'll need? Why create unnecessary wifi traffic?

Ethernet and power plug should be in the base, the rest of the ports should swivel like a lazy susan (switch from motion sensor to another sensor then). Or somehow there should be a division between -never need to see it ports, -sometimes need to see it ports, and -always want it accessible ports.

Battery backup would be nice.

How does the motion sensor work?

Anyways, do want.

It has dual gigabit ports on the back man!

 

[dmax35]

They didn't mention configurations. "Good, Better, Best"?

The details are listed.

http://www.apple.com/mac-pro/

 

[eyehop]

It's polished aluminum, and in addition to its computing performance, it will make a great space heater. Now if it would also have an integrated subwoofer.

 

[Peace]

I know there's an adapter, but why sacrifice a TB port and require an adapter for something you KNOW you'll need? Why create unnecessary wifi traffic?

Ethernet and power plug should be in the base, the rest of the ports should swivel like a lazy susan (switch from motion sensor to another sensor then). Or somehow there should be a division between -never need to see it ports, -sometimes need to see it ports, and -always want it accessible ports.

Battery backup would be nice.

How does the motion sensor work?

Anyways, do want.

It's got gigabit Ethernet.

 

[Umbongo]

And only 4 memory slots... they are going to have to be BIG modules! 16GB-32 per slot!? Do they even exist yet?

Yes they do. 16GB is barely more expensive than two 8GB and 32GB are about $1,000 each.

 

[Cursor]

Maybe I'm missing something, but where are the Thunderbolt ports?

 

[iBug2]

I'd like to see some 16 core options. Dell and HP have them in their workstations.

With one CPU? This thing doesn't look like a dual CPU design. I see only one CPU in the walkthrough.

 

[relimw]

I think what worries me about this design, is that in 5 years, how do I upgrade the internal GPUs? How much ram can I really stick in there? Some things need the full (or at least 16 lanes of PCIe) to work right, can TB handle that much data without becoming saturated?

 

[prowlmedia]

2x Thunderbolt 2 cables into a chassis should do it, no?

There are 6... upto 36 devices can be plugged in

Daisy chain the new macpros and you have the fastest network going. you'll be able to access someone else's machine and use the same video they are etc.

 

[quagmire]

Seriously, do you like to make things up? The enclosure is entirely made out of aluminium.

Do your homework:
http://www.apple.com/mac-pro/index2.html

I posted that before the information was posted up. From the pictures on Apple's slides it looks to be plastic.

You can't say without knowing it was aluminum that it doesn't look like plastic.

Ever since the Mac Pro went live on Apple.com, I have been admitting I was wrong.

 

[mrxak]

Unbelievable. For years Apple was criticized for not changing the design. They finally move to something truly revolutionary and you lament the loss of the old design? Expansion is no longer needed in one case. Thunderbolt 2 makes expansion external and removes the need for a large, unwieldy box. But some people lament the loss of the box because they are unable to think outside of one.

Pros have never complained about the old design, except maybe that the handles dug into the hands rather sharply. It was utilitarian, it was functional, it got the job done in a cool, quiet enclosure.

Non-pros commented on it sure, but none of those people actually own Mac Pros, or will be buying this new computer either. They thought it was ugly, but any pro knows that the inside was a thing of beauty. If Apple is listening to people not in the market, and decided to make this, then well they've ruined things for everyone.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Love almost everything about this. You can tell Apple put a lot of thought behind the design. Yes, it's unconventional, but that's when Apple is at it's best. The design makes it super easy for anyone to make basic upgrades and I love that. It also allow you to stick it in the corner with zero clearance so it saves desk space.

The only thing I worry about is that this machine is really very dependent on Thunderbolt, which so far has been a dud.

Can't wait until "later this year." Hopefully this machine was built on 10.9 and that is the only thing holding it back.