Apple Offers Sneak Peek of Completely Redesigned Mac Pro

[prowlmedia]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/workstation-graphics-card-gaming,3425.html

It isn't worth the price.

Oh dear... Of course it's not worth the price... but it's still going to be very good. The point is is you are buying one of these you want to do work on it and possibly play games.

Also much still up in the air about it. Who knows when it launches there may be a dual titan version

 

[Peace]

about time! but i think it only has 1 intel processor?

Up to 12.


Some of you people really need to go to Apple's website and look at the darn thing.

"The new Mac Pro is muscle through and through, starting with the new-generation Intel Xeon E5 chipset. With configurations offering up to 12 cores of processing power, up to 40GB/s of PCI Express gen 3 bandwidth, and 256-bit-wide floating-point instructions, you’ll never be at a loss for speed."

 

[lilo777]

From Apple:

Traditionally, pro computers have relied primarily on the CPU for their computing power. But as GPU performance has dramatically increased, software developers have begun to leverage that power in their apps. With the new Mac Pro, we looked ahead and engineered an even more powerful GPU architecture. Not only does it feature a state-of-the-art AMD FirePro workstation-class GPU with up to 6GB of dedicated VRAM — it features two of them. With all that power, you’ll be able to do things like seamlessly edit full-resolution 4K video while simultaneously rendering effects in the background — and still have enough power to connect up to three high-resolution 4K displays.

These won't do?

It might for some but that's not much. PC users could do this like forever? So what's the innovation here? Will you be able to use, say, latest Intel® Xeon Phi™ Coprocessor?

 

[Sandstorm]

New mac pro, looks nice. For me it's too bad they don't offer a "low cost" version with more consumer orriented internals like core i7 cpu instead to keep the cost lower

Yeah, that would be exactly what I'd want. As a graphic designer I need a powerful Mac. Top of the line Core i7 Haswell iMac would be good enough for me, but since I already have excellent screen (Thunderbolt Display) I'd consider buying a Mac Pro as my new computer. But I suspect it will be crazy expensive because of all the extreme-pro parts. :/

 

[samuraivara]

I've been waiting silently to see what they've been teasing at for so long now. I thought for sure that with Steve gone, they'd finally release a modest, modular "xMac" after all these years.

Instead, they release a MacMini Pro.

For years, I've been hoping for a simple desktop from Apple that would grow with my needs. I've never needed a workstation, but occasionally I like to replace my graphics card, or throw in an extra hard drive. I've needed a Mac Pro Lite. Apple consistently refused to deliver.

I've tried hackintoshes for the past 8 years, but they're always too much work to maintain, and too unstable. Eventually I just gave up.

And I didn't end up settling for an iMac, a Mac Pro, or a Mac Mini.

After DECADES of being an Apple fanboy - believing in the company when no one else did (much to the ridicule of all my friends) - Apple has made a Windows user out of me.

I would've never believed it to be possible.

Hate on me all you want. You are no longer my people.

-Clive

This sounds really sad.

 

[Toltepeceno]

I think it will help from a cooling perspective if nothing else...

You are probably right, it does look good for cooling.

 

[prowlmedia]

The missing 4 slot loading SATA III drives for starters. The multiple PCI slot expansion for another.

As already explained on the mac pro it will have a PCI expansion unit and I can definitely see the point of having drives external.

I know what you mean though of course... but we can only hope that this minimalism means there will be cost savings.

 

[2crazy]

It's about time to rethink these boxy Mini/Midi/Big Tower concepts. I wasn't actually interested in a Mac Pro, because I could have just put together a nice Hackintosh for much less. Finally something really new! I know many people hate it because nobody likes change.

Now, where are the new 4K Thunderbolt Displays?

 

[wilhoitm]

Thunderbolt IS PCI!

Of course it's a thunderbolt expansion chassis. How are you going to connect a chassis to the board otherwise?

Isn't Thunderbolt 2 too slow for the certain high end graphics cards like the Nvidia Titan?

Has anyone see what the expansion chassis looks like? I was hoping for a "Blade" type configuration?

 

[xnu]

and at 1/8 the price!!!! What a steal....

 

[lilo777]

Up to 12.


Some of you people really need to go to Apple's website and look at the darn thing.

"The new Mac Pro is muscle through and through, starting with the new-generation Intel Xeon E5 chipset. With configurations offering up to 12 cores of processing power, up to 40GB/s of PCI Express gen 3 bandwidth, and 256-bit-wide floating-point instructions, you’ll never be at a loss for speed."

Get real. 12 processors? It's just 2 processors with 6 cores each - nothing special here.

 

[capuzino]

Dual CPU

about time! but i think it only has 1 intel processor?

They say it can have "Up to 12 cores of processing power."
Intel E5's comes in 4,6 and 8 cores, so I'd say no -
There really is still possibility for 2 Intel Processor.

But in any case, this computer looks interesting, and at the same time, amazing. Just wondering the maximum RAM amount (and max size of the PCIe SSD)

 

[iBug2]

I'm hoping soo too. The site looks like it maybe could happen. But until someone in the media gets their hands on one (or if apple tells us one way or the other) we won't know

But it looks like even if the GPU's are upgradeable, they will be through Apple. There are no traditional boxes sitting in the chassis. The GPU's are stripped down to their boards. No off the shelf GPU can be brought into that form by the end user, or at least not easily.

 

[G4DP]

Design is stunning, will be interesting to see the final cost, if this is anywhere near £4,000 i'll be seriously impressed.

My only concern is that it'll suck in dust more than any dyson ever has.

 

[avkills]

Up to 12.


Some of you people really need to go to Apple's website and look at the darn thing.

"The new Mac Pro is muscle through and through, starting with the new-generation Intel Xeon E5 chipset. With configurations offering up to 12 cores of processing power, up to 40GB/s of PCI Express gen 3 bandwidth, and 256-bit-wide floating-point instructions, you’ll never be at a loss for speed."

Get with the times, a 12-core Intel processor is still technically a single processor, with multiple cores.

-mark

 

[montom]

Can't wait to run a dozen Text Edit windows on this bad boy! Vrooooom!

 

[twilcoxen]

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.....

Not seriously, it's actually made out of machined Aluminum.

I suspect your price is low too.

Read about it, if it isn't for you, dandy, it isn't for most people, it isn't supposed to be.

 

[woody reed]

I've been a pro user for many years and have never needed to rack mount anything. Tunnel vision, my friend.

Great for you. I guess my tunnel vision is based upon personal use. In a music studio it needs to move from room to room. There are no "real" thunderbolt options for audio interfaces "yet". So TB2 to PCIe expansion chassis for now. Not that I've seen a TB2 chassis yet. Where does it sit? On top the macpro? And I need 4 slots at the moment. And drive bays? For me, getting it all neatly into one movable space and no hanging cables is important. It very much looks like a standalone beauty. Unfortunately, it needs other hardware for it to be of use. No doubt a very sexy design. But just not practical in my working environment. "yet". The current MacPro is behind, now this one leap frogs. Let's see how fast TB2 hardware catches up.

 

[xcodeaddict]

Think about the bus speeds...

To everyone complaining that there's no internal option for drive upgrades, maybe consider the bus speed of SATA, which is currently 6Gbps... and then consider the bus speed of the thunderbolt 2 ports which the new Mac Pro has adopted - 20Gbps!!

Also, consider the form factor required for the internal bays - a standard 3.5" fixed drive, VS the new externalised design, where the drive/device shape has no limits.

See why? I do.



PS: "Plastic"? Nope:

 

[SPUY767]

The design intrigues me, but I fear that this may be more PowerMac Cube than MacPro.

 

[jrswizzle]

Odd, my trashcan is a rounded rectangle and looks nothing like the new Mac Pro.....



So, just like hating the name "Mavericks" because two politicians you don't agree with used the term, the comparison of a cylindrical computer to a trash can is trolling at its ugliest.

I wonder how many other things are cylindrical?

 

[Philter]

Agree 100%. If Apple had announced a new Mac Pro that looked like the current one, everyone would be complaining about no innovation. So instead Apple comes out of nowhere with a design that is unlike anything else they have done in the last few years and ... people complain. I just watched the walk-thru on Apple.com, it's a gorgeous machine and they put a TON of thought into this, I for one, can't wait to get one.

Who cares how it looks when it's going to be in a machine room or in a desk? And I really did not hear ANY power users begging for a freakish new design. It's a damn tool, not a fashion statement.

 

[Essenar]

Lol. I'm so happy I don't need a Mac Pro. If I did for any reason, I would be vastly disappointed. As an engineer, I am comfortable with expandability, viable upgrade paths and a performance that can grow with me. Apple seems fixated on the whole, you get the power of the year you bought and nothing after, approach.

This Mac cannot feasibly have full PCI-Express slots for GPU's. That means it uses AMD's on board discrete GPU's. They are separate and have their own memory bus but make no mistake, they are not discrete cards.

My Hackintosh is smooth as butter, updates like a champ and fully upgradeable. I'll stick to it and my MacBook Pro Classic. I will probably "upgrade" to the Haswell Air 13" because I need something lighter but I'm not going to invest into this Mac Pro.

And by the way, dismissing peoples' legitimate, warranted criticism with trashy comments like "go back to W8" makes you a disgrace to Apple. We are supposed to be challenging each other so the brand gets better. I honestly feel like OSX is the greatest operating system ever. We deserve hardware to match it. Apple continually lets the "think simple" designers get their hands on hardware revisions. The design goals for a MacBook are vastly different from a production workstation. Overall, it's going to be a sad 10 years for Mac Pro. It will probably die after this. Welcome to the world of MacBooks. RIP Mac Pro. This is the Gamecube of Mac Pro's,

 

[SPUY767]

Design is stunning, will be interesting to see the final cost, if this is anywhere near £4,000 i'll be seriously impressed.

My only concern is that it'll suck in dust more than any dyson ever has.

What computer doesn't?

 

[iBug2]

Get with the times, a 12-core Intel processor is still technically a single processor, with multiple cores.

-mark

Well, now that I looked it up, I don't see any 12 core Ivy Bridge Xeons on Intel's roadmap, so this thing might have 2 CPU's inside.