Apple Offers Sneak Peek of Completely Redesigned Mac Pro

[rascopico]

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?

No, not if you use one of the majority of pro software programs that run on CUDA.

You just have 2 Very expensive graphics cards to drive GUI monitors while using external NVIDIA cards in expensive thunderbolt chassis along with pro video cards.

 

[chadley_chad]

I'm sure most of the isheep fraternity will 'think' they love this, but from an apple user with his head not in the clouds, it just looks ridiculous and seems typical of apples desire to reduce everything in size and limit peoples ability to expand. A truly awful awful design, butt ugly and no doubt crazily priced ... Why Apple, why take something beautiful and turn it into something you'd find in a Dixons or Best Buy store rather than a pro machine in the 'serious power user' section. Jobs would be turning in his grave ... and so much for Ive (design God my backside!)

 

[yoak]

No, not if you use one of the majority of pro software programs that run on CUDA.

You just have 2 Very expensive graphics cards to drive GUI monitors while using external NVIDIA cards in expensive thunderbolt chassis along with pro video cards.

I'm not going to talk on your behalf, but it seems more and more companies in the video field are getting into Open GL.
Black Magic said that their next version on the color grading app Resolve 10 runs great on the new Mac Pro.
Adobe CC is starting down this path as well, and of course FCX.

I don't know what you use your Pro for so maybe it's no good for you though and that sucks of course.

I think it's great that nvidia gets a bit of competition, that is good for all of us at least

 

[chadley_chad]

I personally think it's super awesome, but I know the Mac Pro lovers aren't going to be happy. Expansion has moved external =|

EDIT: Though it does, indeed, look like a trashcan

Yeah, great idea, build something smaller then make upgrades external .... WHY!!!!!!

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It's the G4 Cube evolved. Except this time they don't need to sacrifice performance for size and appearance. The original Cube failed because it was underpowered, but 13 years of technological advancements have finally made this stuff possible again.

Can't wait to see benchmark comparisons when it comes out.

Apart from the cube looked good!!!!

 

[milo]

No, not if you use one of the majority of pro software programs that run on CUDA.

I wouldn't be surprised if part of Apple's strategy is to try and push developers to support openCL. Whether or not it will work remains to be seen, a good start would be if they did it in a big way with all their apps.

 

[cube]

No, not if you use one of the majority of pro software programs that run on CUDA.

You just have 2 Very expensive graphics cards to drive GUI monitors while using external NVIDIA cards in expensive thunderbolt chassis along with pro video cards.

Properly written software should support OpenCL, not just CUDA.

 

[RobynH]

MacPro, Beyond the Infinite

The first thing I thought of was the Monolith from 2001.

The gleaming black featureless surface emerges from the deeper blackness
( Dah . . . . . )

The tension builds as the camera pans over the mysterious shape
( Dah . . . . . )

In a flash of insight and a crescendo of music
the meaning behind this enigmatic stranger becomes suddenly clear
( DUH ! ! ! - DAH ! ! !)

A crumpled up piece of paper flies out of the void and lands in the hole.
( Score! )

 

[KiwiBob]

It's definately a Mac Pro but not as we know it Jim

The really high end users (think 4K movies, 3D and the like) will love it. Expense no problem users likewise.

Those of us who loved the Mac Pro for it's flexibility/expandability not so much. My ageing 1,1 has had upgrades to everything except processors so far and will now be treated to those if I can get ML running on it.

There's nothing I need in one of these tubes.

I suspect the market for the new Mac Pro will be far smaller than presently.

 

[Karlington]

iBin Pro

iBin Pro – The future of the pro waste disposal. Coming later this year.
http://www.ibinpro.com

 

[Xiroteus]

No Sd card slot is odd, people still have cameras.

 

[Billy Boo Bob]

I think they should have used this design for a mid-point machine between Mini and Pro (like a headless iMac type)... Then come up with something nice for a tower type Pro that can hold a bunch of HDs we already have as well as eSATA and other cards. Thunderbolt breakout boxes are not gonna be cheap any time soon.

 

[jake1776]

PIXAR -- think about it!

I wish people would stop saying things like these. It's not as simplistic as that. We are professional users who have certain needs, and want machines which will be up to the increasing demands of modern apps. Just because Apple finally redesigns the Mac Pro it doesn't mean that the new design is an actual improvement.

Information is scant, no release date, no price, no information about how much RAM this thing supports, or if there is any space in there for any internal drives. The initial information seems to indicate that this is not a machine that people could upgrade easily. The apparent lack of internal PCI-E slots might be an issue for many users (graphics users, audio users, etc).

Thunderbolt 2 seems exciting, but Thunderbolt 1 so far has had a very limited amount of support from 3rd party companies. It's nice that they included USB 3 at least.

It all remains to be seen...but don't make it sound like we're a bunch of ungrateful *******s because we're not. We have needs, so that we can make a living, pay our bills and support our families, and if the machines that are available to us limit our ability to do those things...they we have every right to complain!

The people on here claiming to be "pro users" are telling me that they have greater needs than the largest animation studio in the world? REALLY? REALLY? some of you apple haters need to get a life. If Pixar is going to be showing off this new machine--how bad can it really be?

----------

The first thing I thought of was the Monolith from 2001.

The gleaming black featureless surface emerges from the deeper blackness
( Dah . . . . . )

The tension builds as the camera pans over the mysterious shape
( Dah . . . . . )

In a flash of insight and a crescendo of music
the meaning behind this enigmatic stranger becomes suddenly clear
( DUH ! ! ! - DAH ! ! !)

A crumpled up piece of paper flies out of the void and lands in the hole.
( Score! )

Funny... I called my friend in Phoenix and told him the exact same thing. 2001 Space Odyssey.

 

[chadley_chad]

so strange, for years we had to read that Apple should bring out a new MacPro now we have it and have to read they should have kept the old one. -To some you can make it never right-.

For us pro's the performance is the only what matters, and that seems to be promising. Who cares about outside storage, (on my MBP 17 I have 48 TB connected via Thunderbold and that needs extension soon....not to mention our MacPros every single one has 60TB via eSata so Thunderbold 2 is highly appreciated)

That's funny; I thought pros also cared about storage, backup, redundancy and expansion ... Looks like Apple is giving Pro users a retail offering at a pro price ... Gotta be a mug to buy it!

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

Yeah, great idea, build something smaller then make upgrades external .... WHY!!!!!!

So that the people who don't need 3 empty HDD bays or built in optical drives can have a far smaller machine...

It's called progress - live with it.

 

[Xiroteus]

So that the people who don't need 3 empty HDD bays or built in optical drives can have a far smaller machine...

It's called progress - live with it.

It's something, doubt I could call it progress, just different.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

However, here are the issues I have with it.

1. Power button looks like the only power button is on the back I/O panel, so every time I want to turn it on, I have to fumble through the wires on the I/O panel to turn it on. From what I could tell, I could not see any power button anywhere else, from what they showed us. Now, that doesn't mean it doesn't exist, just didn't see it, yet.

2. The Headphone and Mic Jack is on the back I/O panel, again forcing me to turn it access it.

3. No front USB ports, again forcing me to turn it to plug in.

4. Memory Card Readers, no sign of this either. Can you see a pattern here?

5. No expansion. But since I have never owned a MAC before, not sure I will need to expand outside what it already has.

6. Optical drive...no sign of it. Again, doesn't mean it is not there, just didn't see it. I know, plug it into either the USB or Thunderbolt



Now, with the 6 Thunderbolt 2.0, 4 USB 3.0 and 2 Ethernet, you can have a bunch of items connected to it and keep your desk just as cluttered as before.

But like I said, I love the design, just how functional will it be for those who have Mac Pros already???

1. The machine is 9-inches tall. 'Searching' for the power button is hardly an issue.

2. Drama! I mean, they're so difficult to locate.

3. Again, there's four of them so not difficult to miss...

4. Get a dongle for about the price of a Coke.

5. Thunderbold/USB caddy.

6. External. If you can afford a Mac Pro, you can afford to buy a cheap drive and plug it in when you actually need it.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

I've got another concern: I get the whole cooling idea, but unless it comes with 'legs', it's going to just suck everything off the floor and deposit it on the inside. Pretty soon, any advantage to designing it like a nuclear plant cooling tower will be lost on the dust, filth, and bugs sucked up into it.

I suppose the 'third party market' will come up with a stand do put it on that will cut the amount of trash being sucked into it, but for those that don't buy those products, what then? Or, does the air flow actually go from the top down rather than the bottom up. And I don't care where you place the computer, it's going to ingest crap. Hair, dust, dirt, carpet fuzz. Cigarette smoke.

Heck, I have to vacuum out my Mac Pro every few months and it's on a tile floor and a clean office!

Maybe they will run the fan at a slow speed to stop it from ingesting so much crap, but even that poses problems then with environmental conditions.

I am still a skeptic.

How did the Pixar demo turn out? Any reports yet?

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1. The machine is 9-inches tall. 'Searching' for the power button is hardly an issue.

It's 9.9 inches tall... That's almost ten inches... Size does matter, especially that 0.9".

They could have made it 1" by 4" by 9" for the full 2001 Space Odyssey tie-in...

 

[milo]

I've got another concern: I get the whole cooling idea, but unless it comes with 'legs', it's going to just suck everything off the floor and deposit it on the inside.

With the much smaller size, I assume more people will put it up on a desk instead of on dirty carpet on the floor. Unless it's sitting in a pile of dirt, the issue of sucking in dirt and dust is similar to every other computer with a fan.

I'm dying to hear details on the Pixar demo too, I'm surprised there hasn't been coverage of it.

 

[laurenr]

You don't know whether or not Steve Jobs had any input into its design.......

Its gorgeous, genius, and completely innovative. Thats a full aluminum shell, not plastic. I don't have any need for one personally or business wise, but I sure wish that I did.

I totally agree, the new design is so completely innovative. Looking at it, I totally see Steve Jobs as having inspired it:

Am I the only one that sees a tribute here?:

From a purely aesthetic point of view, I look at that sleek black cylinder, and I see that signature black Turtleneck.............

 

[dandeco]

Look at those Thunderbolt ports! It's official; Apple is considering Thunderbolt to also be the future standard for capturing/transferring digital video for editing. I think some camcorders even have direct Thunderbolt connection too! And of course Apple came out with a FireWire to Thunderbolt adapter, but has anyone here ever had any luck capturing MiniDV video with said adapter? Our college might get a few for their TV studio if that's the case (though as of now, we have only one Mac with a Thunderbolt port. The others still have FireWire 800 )

 

[Phrygian]

the least professional design for a "pro" model i could have possible envisioned.

 

[blouis79]

I.... it won't be long before we see circular drives which stack up underneath it, and fit into the design seamlessly. It would make sense in that case to include some sort of connecting pins on the underside, which would eliminate the use of cables.

There is always the mother ship to dock with!

With all the interfaces on one small panel, it really does make a "dock" connector or mother ship docking bay easy. I have no doubt Sir Jonathon has thought a lot about cable management.

Side-by side docks are more likely that top-to-bottom docks. And that is required for thermal management - can't have hot box underneath to cook the Mac.

Will make the most awesome looking cluster supercomputer ever. A hexagonal dock with 6 macs and base station with storage would be an awesome server.

A cluster supercomputer of such servers should be going in the basement of the mother ship.

 

[Rossatron]

hmmm, why do you say it can't be upgraded? i mean, looking at the memory (as an example), what stops you from upgrading it? don't you just need to get pcie card that will fit (no fan)? anyway, that's what i got from their website http://www.apple.com/mac-pro/ i guess i'm missing something here, and would appreciate explanation

 

[manghangson]

huh?

the least professional design for a "pro" model i could have possible envisioned.

Perhaps a tuxedo paint job would suffice?

 

[saba01]

...goodbye expansion options, upgrade options, and keeping this going for as long as they've been doing with the current models... yeah, here we have a gorgeous design, technologically great, only it's giving NO option for any upgrade your hardware... that effectively kills it for me. Good machine, just not for me especially for the price they'll be wanting for it... and no I don't know the price but you don't have to be a time traveller to see into the future and know it's not going to be cheap at all....

If you want "cheap" go Dell