Apple Offers Sneak Peek of Completely Redesigned Mac Pro

[nick_elt]

Owww is this the year Thunderbolt is going to finally crack it!!! Can't wait too see all those reasonably priced expansion options hitting the shelves....

some would say the mac pro isn't reasonably priced, but if you are a large business that needs this type of equipment then you buy what is best for the job. This isn't a toy.

 

[JimMacFan]

Im just waiting for the "Oscar The Grouch" meme's.

 

[mytdave]

*Wow* in so many ways

Wow, the design of this new Mac Pro is amazing. I'm going to have to think about its functional expansion though...

But the other wow is the seemingly clueless posters here. I never imagined so many supposed Apple followers (and several WinPC trolls) who are completely ignorant of technology.

1. Go look at Apple's web site and learn something before posting.
2. Whether you like the shape or not, the engineering/design is undeniably phenomenal.
3. Can you say aluminum, not plastic?
4. It appears to have 1 CPU (future 12 core?), 2 discrete GPUs, 4 RAM slots, and 1 SSD slot.
5. RAM is "limited" presumably to 128GB, maybe 256GB. DDR3 is what Xeon CPUs use. GDDR5 is for GPUs (6GB).
6. Storage (SSD) will be "limited" presumably to 1TB, maybe 2TB with new flash chips.
7. The RAM and Storage (SSD) speeds are off the charts!! 60GB/s & 1.2GB/s holy cow!!!
8. Count them - 6 Thunderbolt ports. That's 120Gb/s of total bandwidth.
9. Count them - 3 simultaneous 4k displays. Wow.

I don't think you people quite understand how much power they've squeezed into this little cylinder. The former Mac Pro tower, maxed out with the highest end PCIe cards available doesn't come close to the processing capability of this new system.

Now for you yahoos that don't understand the significance of 4k video, let me try to help you. It is 4 times the resolution of HD, or about 8.3 million pixels per screen (vs 2 million). You don't just plug in a 4k screen like a regular monitor. VGA can't do it (ROFL), nor DVI. HDMI will barely support one 4k screen.

Some PC rigs hack together 2 DVI or 2 DisplayPort connections to a single screen to reach 4k - that's 1 screen. Nvidia's highest end GeForce card supports only ONE 4k display over HDMI. In PC land you would need 3 top-end, double-wide graphics cards attached to a motherboard with 3 PCIe x16 slots to do what this new Mac Pro will do with a simple Thunderbolt cable. No, PCs aren't running 4k all over the place without end. What a laughable statement... I know of no other system that can support three 4k displays.

The convenience of internal expansion capacity is arguable. Some people like all the stuff in one box. Other people don't care about that. It's a personal preference.

Do you need multiple terabytes of hard disk storage? You can easily add an external disk array to this new Mac Pro in capacities that will far exceed what was possible internally with the old Mac Pro. And since you can do it over Thunderbolt, a properly designed Thunderbolt disk array will give you far, far better performance than the old Mac Pro internal SATA connected drives.

How long do you think it will take for 3rd parties to make an external disk array that can hold, say 8 hard drives, and put it into a 6" black cylinder than will fit perfectly under the new Mac Pro? I bet you'll see one before the Mac Pro even ships.

You photo/video guys - what PCIe cards do you have that won't work in an external 20Gb/s (PCIe x8) expansion chassis? The only cards that require x16 slots are high end GPU cards, which won't be necessary considering the internal workstation level graphics on this new Mac Pro. Heck, half the stuff you're relying on PCIe cards for now can be done in software on this new system (once the software is written to do so).

I could go on and on, but this post is already too long as it is. There are so many technical details to explain (like why a Thunderbolt connected disk array will perform better than internal hard drives) that I can't do it here, and you people probably wouldn't read it all anyway, if you've even read this far.

 

[Sonicjay]

 

[genovelle]

This looks more like a sub-woofer for my speakers that a Mac Pro tower.

And I guess I was wrong about Apple keeping the 4x HDDs option internal, maybe they figure pro users will just have a Thunderbolt external storage tower? and where is the DVD, $89 option I guess?

This is going to fire up the DVD debate again

I think leaving it out makes more sense. It allows for options. Some always complained about whatever drive Apple used was not enough this or that. Ok, now they complain that they can add whatever they need, or nothing at all. I personally have used my CDR/DVD drive on my Mac 4 times in almost 5 years.

 

[floatingspirit]

Looks really cool, but It does remind me a bit of a garbage can

Actually, it's modeled after the spaceship campus they will build, just taller.

 

[xcodeaddict]

3. Can you say aluminum, not plastic?

Yes WE can, because we're British

Alooooominum?

 

[Glideslope]

Probably going to start at $5,000

Nope. $4,999.

 

[xcodeaddict]

Image

How long did that take? Wow, I'm veryyyyyyyy impressed with your meme image - please make post cards of it and sell them - you are a genius, and should be recompensed as such.

 

[Glideslope]

Yes WE can, because we're British

Alooooominum?

Well played O'l Chap!!

 

[wiz329]

Everyone makes fun of the complainers, and there will always be complainers, but perhaps some of them are justified.

1. GPU

First, kudos to Apple for actually taking GPU performance seriously this time. However, big question #1: are these user replaceable/upgradable? What type of form factor are we looking at? For some the use of ATI vs. nVidia is non-negotiable.

2. CPU

Big question #2: is this a single socket workstation? If so, if offers only 12 cores/24 threads (at best). Why limit your flagship workstation in this way? We have had 12 cores already for years now. Why not introduce a dual socket model with 24 cores/48 threads. Not everyone needs one, but I'm sure there are plenty of video professionals out there who could use the rendering power.

3. Expandability

Why have all the extra cords to attach ESSENTIAL things like extra storage? No one can afford all SSD-storage anyways -- at this stage in the game HDDs are still absolutely necessary, especially for those storing/backing up HD video. Why make this external? You lose all of the "footprint" and "noise" advantage the new Mac Pro supposedly brings.

As someone said, "If a car could omit seats for passengers, I’m sure they would get a lot smaller and more efficient, too. Until the trailer for carrying passengers was attached."

Additionally, how will folks who actually NEED PCIe expandability fair? Good luck attaching that fibre channel card. Even if it is possible via TB, now instead of one SIMPLE box, you've got a million cords attaching this mess of a workstation together.

4. RAM slots

Maybe most people don't need more than 4 slots/64GB of memory, but many actually do. The only way to get this is if a dual socket version is offered (unless you buy 32BG modules, which are prohibitively EXPENSIVE).


Conclusion:

Don't get me wrong, this is an incredible piece of engineering for what it is. The cooling system is fantastic, its a beautiful piece of machinery, and it will be nice to finally have up-to-date CPU and GPU. But why is Apple so obssessed with miniaturizing the form factor of a Desktop workstation, and scattering out essential functions all over the place with expansion boxes? It also seems likely (but unconfirmed) that due to its size, it will not be a dual socket workstation, which limits its compute power and the amount of RAM in it.

Listen, Apple, its cool that you designed a great computer. But you didn't really need to. All most Mac Pro users needed was a big box with USB3 and Thunderbolt and the new CPUs. This did not require a new design that compromises the basics like installing even a single hard drive, and limiting the memory slots. You don't “get” that boxes connected with cables is inelegant, more expensive, and depends on existence of products that are very limited in selection (e.g. Thunderbolt choices and cost).

 

[GSVNotInvented]

There is a great opportunity here for some enterprising hardware designers to fill the space left by the old MacPro's footprint to back pack some sort of hot plugable drive enclosure for the new VERY much smaller 2013 Mac Pro's.
I wouldn't be surprised if we see the return of GPU break out boxes too.
Thinking out of the box is not good enough any more.
You have to think out of the tube. Or Turbine as I like to look at it.

 

[Larry-K]

Like the 17" MacBook Pro I'd say Apple is doing away with the dual CPU configuration for the simple fact that it only accounts for a smaller percentage of their Mac Pro sales and with desktop sales being in a slump Apple is going to try and draw in a larger crowd of more average "pro-sumers" that are willing to pay more to step up from the iMac.

Well, let's see if they show up, I'm not sold on this by any means.

 

[hleewell]

Anyone else think it's ugly...

At first yes. The sleek, shiny piano gloss jpeg doesn't help either.
But when they show the rationale behind the design, it becomes
a sweet sexy machine

 

[nick_elt]

The info wasn't posted yet when I said that. Looking at the CG pics it does look like black plastic.

I stand corrected now that apple stated it is aluminum.

Not sure why they showed us the cg pics, doesn't do it favours whereas it actually looks better in real life imo.

 

[shumatec]

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

They do, it's called the Mac mini. Custom configure with i7.

 

[hleewell]

But why is Apple so obssessed with miniaturizing the form factor of a Desktop workstation,

They need to show they are innovating. Always.
That is their selling point. But the utter lack of
internal expendability is a concern. This is just
1.0, let's see how Apple build a whole system based
on this "baby Pro"

 

[mxz]

Some PC rigs hack together 2 DVI or 2 DisplayPort connections to a single screen to reach 4k - that's 1 screen. Nvidia's highest end GeForce card supports only ONE 4k display over HDMI. In PC land you would need 3 top-end, double-wide graphics cards attached to a motherboard with 3 PCIe x16 slots to do what this new Mac Pro will do with a simple Thunderbolt cable. No, PCs aren't running 4k all over the place without end. What a laughable statement... I know of no other system that can support three 4k displays.

Show me reasonably priced 4K displays, please. In fact, show me any 4K displays with Thunderbolt.

Do you need multiple terabytes of hard disk storage? You can easily add an external disk array to this new Mac Pro in capacities that will far exceed what was possible internally with the old Mac Pro. And since you can do it over Thunderbolt, a properly designed Thunderbolt disk array will give you far, far better performance than the old Mac Pro internal SATA connected drives.

Ah yes, no worries, for $3000, you can get a really nice Thunderbolt RAID. Plus 4 drives, that's probably around $3500. That's not including the price of the actual Mac pro.

You photo/video guys - what PCIe cards do you have that won't work in an external 20Gb/s (PCIe x8) expansion chassis? The only cards that require x16 slots are high end GPU cards, which won't be necessary considering the internal workstation level graphics on this new Mac Pro. Heck, half the stuff you're relying on PCIe cards for now can be done in software on this new system (once the software is written to do so).

Uhh, no no. How about Kepler-based Nvidia Quadro cards that support CUDA, which is used by most of the high end video software today, including Adobe, Blackmagic? Nvidia Tesla cards for use in multi-GPU systems? Red Rocket cards for debayering Red 4K and 5K raw footage? They all need X16 slots.

I am sure it is possible to kit out the Mac Pro with several Thunderbolt devices to support whatever needs they have, but in the end it's going to be so ridiculously expensive, it will be much, much cheaper to buy a high end 16-core dual CPU PC with all the PCIe, RAM and hot swap SATA slots you will ever need.

 

[genovelle]

HELL NO! I'm going to have some many wires and now I'm going to have to not only pay for an over priced plastic computer (that is super powerful don't get me wrong) but I'm going to have to invest in overpriced Thunderbolt drives! WTF APPLE! Also have to buy a CD Drive for making DVD's.

I'm sure you can always just us a USB 3.0 cheap drive since it has 4 of those ports. And by the way, its metal.

 

[ColeHarris]

TWELVE CPU CORES

DUAL PRO GRAPHICS CARDS

what the hell kind of prosumer machine is that? you really have no idea what you're talking about do you?

Compared to currently available options yes this is a PROsumer machine, if you were at all informed you'd realize that. Tell me this image screams PRO to you:

PRO's don't want pretty little trash cans to sit next to our monitors, we don't care about polished aluminum or any of that crap. All we want is the most power with the most expandability and the most options possible. Period.

----------

This machine does not concern you; muppet.

Yeah Apple has made that quite clear!

 

[Larry-K]

Everyone makes fun of the complainers, and there will always be complainers, but perhaps some of them are justified.

As someone said, "If a car could omit seats for passengers, I’m sure they would get a lot smaller and more efficient, too. Until the trailer for carrying passengers was attached."

Think of this as a key you can attach to your actual car with a Thunderbolt Adapter.

 

[unclegit]

After vacuuming dust from the insides of my Mac Pro every time I open it (to swap HDDs, add SSD, install eSata, add more RAM, etc.), I would appreciate a Mac Pro which is designed to filter air coming through it. I'm sure it will be more reliable for more years if that dust does not accumulate internally.

My bet is the air passes only though the central column that's used as a heat sink - which means the rest of the chassis can be sealed against dust vs traditional designs that vent air through the entire chassis.

So it'll be actually less dusty inside as a result of the design change.

 

[RCarver]

Total garbage. In another attempt to be different, they've managed to overreach and make something that no one other than a total fanboy will purchase. Sad that my MacPro will likely be my last.

 

[mxz]

PRO's don't want pretty little trash cans to sit next to our monitors, we don't care about polished aluminum or any of that crap. All we want is the most power with the most expandability and the most options possible. Period.

This is long time coming. Garage Band, Final Cut X... iMovie for iOS. The new Mac Pro will be amazing for editing DSLR footage and doing effects and what not. It, however, will NOT be for debayering 4K/5K/6K RED footage, rendering complex CGI or After Effects compositions and it will not be used in high end production. Because these tasks still require a lot of CPU and a helluva lot more GPU power.

The prosumer market. That is what they are after, that is where the money is. Let's just all finally realize this and move on.

 

[Rocketman]

So it keeps your coffee hot too? Just need a bigger mug now

First MacPro accessory. Coffee and tea riser.