Apple Offers Sneak Peek of Completely Redesigned Mac Pro

[tallscot]

How much does it cost?

Does this thing do CUDA? AMD GPUs? If it doesn't do CUDA, Apple is putting a huge amount of eggs in the FCP X basket, because every Premiere Pro user will go out and get a Windows PC with CUDA acceleration, making it faster, for less than $1,000, IMHO.

 

[milo]

Does this thing do CUDA? AMD GPUs? If it doesn't do CUDA, Apple is putting a huge amount of eggs in the FCP X basket, because every Premiere Pro user will go out and get a Windows PC with CUDA acceleration, making it faster, for less than $1,000, IMHO.

OpenCL.

 

[Cameron Hood]

Revolutionary...

I wish they would have used the old design. I see no room for expanding hard drive space and I'm curious if the GPU will be upgradable.

expansion will all be external, of course. And I think it is amazing, another icon in the making. Watch for very bad copies in the very near future.

And I LOVE iOS 7....

Congratulations, Apple!

Cameron
unabashed fanboy

 

[tallscot]

OpenCL.

That is a huge mistake, IMHO. Premiere Pro, After Effects, Octane (which renders for Maya, Cinema 4D and other apps by using CUDA) will all be much, much faster on a cheap Windows PC with a decent CUDA-compatible video card (or 2).

I've been using Final Cut Pro X for a year now and I continue to get frustrated with its many issues. I'm rooting for it, though. I'm also ready for a new desktop computer (I have a Mac Pro 2008 that is reaching its upgrade limits).

If I end up switching to Adobe, I'd necessarily need to get a Windows PC because the speed difference would be huge.

CUDA is much faster than any CPU render. To give you an idea, raytracing a 3D scene in After Effects takes minutes on CUDA versus hours on the fastest Mac Pro using CPU renderer.

 

[kylepro88]

That is a huge mistake, IMHO. Premiere Pro, After Effects, Octane (which renders for Maya, Cinema 4D and other apps by using CUDA) will all be much, much faster on a cheap Windows PC with a decent CUDA-compatible video card (or 2).

I've been using Final Cut Pro X for a year now and I continue to get frustrated with its many issues. I'm rooting for it, though. I'm also ready for a new desktop computer (I have a Mac Pro 2008 that is reaching its upgrade limits).

If I end up switching to Adobe, I'd necessarily need to get a Windows PC because the speed difference would be huge.

CUDA is much faster than any CPU render. To give you an idea, raytracing a 3D scene in After Effects takes minutes on CUDA versus hours on the fastest Mac Pro using CPU renderer.

Actually greater and great OpenCL support is and will keep coming to the Adobe lineup.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6881/opencl-support-coming-to-adobe-premiere-pro-for-windows

Also, Grant Petty from Blackmagic Design said the new Mac Pro is "exactly what we've been waiting for!" and confirmed that Davinci Resolve 10 (9 used to require CUDA basically...) is going to run like a CHAMP on the new MP.

There's a ton of CUDA panic out there and it's unnecessary. This new MP and OpenCL is going to run really well.

See Philip Hodgetts blog post...
http://www.philiphodgetts.com/2013/...cc-resolve-et-al-work-fine-on-the-new-macpro/

 

[tallscot]

Actually greater and great OpenCL support is and will keep coming to the Adobe lineup.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6881/opencl-support-coming-to-adobe-premiere-pro-for-windows

Also, Grant Petty from Blackmagic Design said the new Mac Pro is "exactly what we've been waiting for!" and confirmed that Davinci Resolve 10 (9 used to require CUDA basically...) is going to run like a CHAMP on the new MP.

There's a ton of CUDA panic out there and it's unnecessary. This new MP and OpenCL is going to run really well.

See Philip Hodgetts blog post...
http://www.philiphodgetts.com/2013/...cc-resolve-et-al-work-fine-on-the-new-macpro/

OK, thank you for that. I'm a huge fan of the Mac and the Mac OS. I like many aspects of Final Cut Pro X. I love Motion. I hope this new Mac Pro and OpenCL are fast enough to justify what I expect to end up being a $4K system.

 

[peteullo]

New Mac Pro = G4 Cube

 

[rGiskard]

This is exactly where I'm worried about... I rather see a huge new Mac Pro with expandability possibilities then a thin looking design that disabled those options. I don't need a good looking machine, that's for the iMac fanboys, I need a machine I can build on for years to come like I've done with my current Mac Pro....

My question to you though, are you sure this machine enables you to bring in a new graphic card?

I'm sure it does not, which is why I said WTF in my post. Those are proprietary video cards made only for the iTube. They are plugged into slots on a PCB at the bottom of the iTube, but it's clear from the photos that removing/installing them isn't going to be a trivial task so we can be fairly certain that Apple will not sell upgrades.

Most people are not going to be interested in a $5000 computer with what amounts to non-upgradable video cards. Apple drank their own Kool Aid on this one...

----------

Actually greater and great OpenCL support is and will keep coming to the Adobe lineup.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6881/opencl-support-coming-to-adobe-premiere-pro-for-windows

Also, Grant Petty from Blackmagic Design said the new Mac Pro is "exactly what we've been waiting for!" and confirmed that Davinci Resolve 10 (9 used to require CUDA basically...) is going to run like a CHAMP on the new MP.

There's a ton of CUDA panic out there and it's unnecessary. This new MP and OpenCL is going to run really well.

See Philip Hodgetts blog post...
http://www.philiphodgetts.com/2013/...cc-resolve-et-al-work-fine-on-the-new-macpro/

This is why the non-upgradable video cards are so troubling. As OpenCL adoption blasts off, GPUs are going to see huge improvements in OpenCL performance. As THE new area of computing hardware growth we can expect huge strides with each new generation of GPUs. A Mac Pro with non-upgradable GPUs could not have come at a worse time.

 

[Phrygian]

If this were the case, wouldn't real Mac Pro users not have paid the Apple tax, and instead have gone the Hackintosh route? I mean, to be honest, a Core i5-3570K, gigabyte motherboard, 1 SSD, a 3TB SATA III, Optical drive, BitFenix Prodigy, and decent RadeonHD 6950 or latest NVidia would have only set you back roughly $800 instead of the $3200 spent on on a PRE-BUILT Mac Pro.

Just sayin'.

BL.

A hackintosh, due to the fact that it is not supported and actively discouraged by apple, is an enormous pain the the ass to build and keep updated.

 

[LagunaSol]

but it's clear from the photos that removing/installing them isn't going to be a trivial task so we can be fairly certain that Apple will not sell upgrades.

It seems a bit premature to make this assumption.

 

[bradl]

A hackintosh, due to the fact that it is not supported and actively discouraged by apple, is an enormous pain the the ass to build and keep updated.

Not really, at all. I got the Hack mini up and running within 2 hours of having all of the parts together, and that is from assembly to functioning desktop. Haven't had a problem since. It is a lot easier than you think, and no where near any trouble to update. The Combo updates take care of everything.

BL.

 

[DeepIn2U]

Kensington Lock - Missing?

Anyone else forgot to notice that there is no kensington or some form of security lock on the chassis?

 

[milo]

Most people are not going to be interested in a $5000 computer with what amounts to non-upgradable video cards.

"Most people" generalizations are always dangerous to make. People need powerful enough video cards, and these ship with ones that can handle three streams of 4k video. Is that really not going to be enough for "most people"? I've often heard that when they have done use studies on people with computers that have PCI slots, only a tiny minority actually add or swap a card. People always say they want the ability to upgrade and expand, but in real world use hardly any of them actually do it.

 

[dogbone66]

As a professional photographer who also happens to be a gamer, as nice as this looks for me professionally, I'm curious (worried) about how this will perform with games and also, by not being able to upgrade the video card what does the future hold for mac users who like to game? We may be a small subset of MP users, but to me this looks like a dead end for MP users who also like to game. The Nvidia 680 was just recently announced for Mac Pro, and the Nvidia Titan was rumored to be available for future Mac Pros. We'll be forced to buy a PC just for gaming. So, add that on to the additional expenses we'll incur already for all the stuff that was inside the computer which will now be outside the computer.

 

[fivedots]

As a professional photographer who also happens to be a gamer, as nice as this looks for me professionally, I'm curious (worried) about how this will perform with games and also, by not being able to upgrade the video card what does the future hold for mac users who like to game? We may be a small subset of MP users, but to me this looks like a dead end for MP users who also like to game. The Nvidia 680 was just recently announced for Mac Pro, and the Nvidia Titan was rumored to be available for future Mac Pros. We'll be forced to buy a PC just for gaming. So, add that on to the additional expenses we'll incur already for all the stuff that was inside the computer which will now be outside the computer.

Could just be me, but I feel like a Mac Pro would be overkill for most professional photography purposes. Most of the photographers I know (from wedding to commercial) have settled quite comfortably into iMacs with plenty of power to spare.

 

[Topper]

As a professional photographer who also happens to be a gamer, as nice as this looks for me professionally, I'm curious (worried) about how this will perform with games and also, by not being able to upgrade the video card what does the future hold for mac users who like to game? We may be a small subset of MP users, but to me this looks like a dead end for MP users who also like to game. The Nvidia 680 was just recently announced for Mac Pro, and the Nvidia Titan was rumored to be available for future Mac Pros. We'll be forced to buy a PC just for gaming. So, add that on to the additional expenses we'll incur already for all the stuff that was inside the computer which will now be outside the computer.

I wouldn't use this thing for gaming. There is no way in heck that these Firepro workstation cards will come close to the performance of Nvidia's 670, 680, 770, 780, or Titan for gaming. I don't care if they put them (AMD Firepro) in crossfire and use the LHC to accelerate them.

There are plenty of web sites that will verify what I am saying. This is just one of them:
videocardbenchmark.net

 

[LagunaSol]

As a professional photographer who also happens to be a gamer, as nice as this looks for me professionally, I'm curious (worried) about how this will perform with games and also, by not being able to upgrade the video card what does the future hold for mac users who like to game? We may be a small subset of MP users, but to me this looks like a dead end for MP users who also like to game. The Nvidia 680 was just recently announced for Mac Pro, and the Nvidia Titan was rumored to be available for future Mac Pros. We'll be forced to buy a PC just for gaming. So, add that on to the additional expenses we'll incur already for all the stuff that was inside the computer which will now be outside the computer.

There continues to be a gaping hole in Apple's lineup to replace the sub-$2000 Power Mac of yesteryear.

That said, I gave up on PC gaming. Too many hackers, too much hardware/gaming performance disparity between players.

I didn't think I could enjoy shooters on a console (PS3), but I've adapted to the controller just fine. I enjoy the hardware equality among players and the lack of hacks/cheats. (At least I haven't noticed any blatant examples.)

Still, Apple, sub-$2000 Power Mac please!!!

 

[Xiroteus]

expansion will all be external, of course. And I think it is amazing, another icon in the making. Watch for very bad copies in the very near future.

And I LOVE iOS 7....

Congratulations, Apple!



Cameron
unabashed fanboy

There are some smallish powerful computers, however now that Apple made this it will likely increase ten fold, some may even have ad card slots and optical drives while maintaining a nice design and size.

 

[prowlmedia]

I'm sure it does not, which is why I said WTF in my post. Those are proprietary video cards made only for the iTube. They are plugged into slots on a PCB at the bottom of the iTube, but it's clear from the photos that removing/installing them isn't going to be a trivial task so we can be fairly certain that Apple will not sell upgrades.

Most people are not going to be interested in a $5000 computer with what amounts to non-upgradable video cards. Apple drank their own Kool Aid on this one...

----------



This is why the non-upgradable video cards are so troubling. As OpenCL adoption blasts off, GPUs are going to see huge improvements in OpenCL performance. As THE new area of computing hardware growth we can expect huge strides with each new generation of GPUs. A Mac Pro with non-upgradable GPUs could not have come at a worse time.

You keep saying that these are non-upgradeable. Do you know that for sure? No one else does. I suspect there will be a Nvidia version at some time - but they developed this form factor with ATI and well, no one else has made one yet.

The fact is they have given a sneak peek - we don't know what the final product options will be.

 

[Eidorian]

There are some smallish powerful computers, however now that Apple made this it will likely increase ten fold, some may even have ad card slots and optical drives while maintaining a nice design and size.

Just get a Mini-ITX board with Thunderbolt on it. It is not terribly special.

 

[prowlmedia]

Does this thing do CUDA? AMD GPUs? If it doesn't do CUDA, Apple is putting a huge amount of eggs in the FCP X basket, because every Premiere Pro user will go out and get a Windows PC with CUDA acceleration, making it faster, for less than $1,000, IMHO.

Adobe already supports some Ati cards / OpenCL in premiere / after effects and I am sure that will only get more attention when this comes out.

Cuda is proprietary to Nvidia and there is not muh reason to Use it over Open CL now as I understand it - Nvidia had the jump at the start.

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

There continues to be a gaping hole in Apple's lineup to replace the sub-$2000 Power Mac of yesteryear.

That said, I gave up on PC gaming. Too many hackers, too much hardware/gaming performance disparity between players.

I didn't think I could enjoy shooters on a console (PS3), but I've adapted to the controller just fine. I enjoy the hardware equality among players and the lack of hacks/cheats. (At least I haven't noticed any blatant examples.)

Still, Apple, sub-$2000 Power Mac please!!!

I think there's a "gaming" gap in Apple's Mac lineup period. No iMac has a good enough video card either and one shouldn't have to buy a monitor with their new computer if they don't want one (but the Mac Mini is even worse for gaming). Apple has always treated gaming like a chicken/egg thing. They intimate if more gaming arrives they might support it (well we are seeing some controller support options in iOS7 now) and YET who is going to buy a Mac without proper gaming hardware being available? Is a catch-22 and it's killing Mac gaming. The sad thing is that with Boot Camp, there IS a real use for gaming hardware even if OSX doesn't get all the support right away. The problem is Apple REFUSES to offer gaming level hardware. Yes, you can get a Hackintosh, but then you can do the same instead of a Mac Pro. It doesn't change the fact that Apple is ignoring an entire market segment and that we OSX users have to pay for their lack of vision (but hey, they're making money...so they must know best, right? I'm sure that's why their stock has been dropping like a stone, lately because they KNOW what they're doing).

 

[driftless]

I don't why folks are surprised that Apple does not make a "gaming" computer. That is often a DIY niche and it certainly does not command Apple level premium pricing. Certainly Mac Pros buyers, for the most part, are not purchasing these machines to play games.

 

[chadley_chad]

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.

So what about those that do (you know, the user base the Mac Pro was originaly designed for!!!)

Funny sort of progress that - taking a machine originally designed for the pro market (hence the expandability) and completely destroying its ability to do the exact job it was designed to do!

Thats not progress, that's stupidity and the reason why Apples share price will continue to plunge (despite the fact people like you will continue to turn a blind eye to this nonsense and back em to the hilt ... as they reduce features, turn you to their proprietary technology and bleed your wallet dry! Good luck with that - ill buy from a manufacturer that can give pro users the expanability they need/want and an optical drive ... Cause Id rather have one than have Apple tell me I don't need one!!!) baaaaa

 

[Carouser]

If I was looking to invest in a company or contract some work out to one, and they said 'well, you know we're some money-making professionals because it's so important that the optical drive has to go inside the computer case' I'd think I was talking to junior high kids.