Apple Reveals All-New Mac Pro With Up to 28-Core Processor and 1.5TB of RAM, Starting at $5,999

[curtvaughan]

Seems like it might be exactly what actual users (not MR forum Apple-hate posters) need. Looks like they’re using the Skylake-SP processors, not the W-series. [Edit: actually a new generation of Xeon W.]

1.5TB of RAM, nice. 8 PCIe slots (4 double wide)—not anywhere close to the “stacked Mac mini” concept some envisioned.

Maybe the most important thing—the end of the “Apple doesn’t care about the Mac anymore” BS. Complaints will continue about pricing, but those whiners were never going to buy a Mac Pro (or any Mac, probably) in the first place.

Actually, it might be exactly what Mac Pro users of old really wanted for the last six years. I'd be happy with one if I had the bucks. Right now, if you got the lowest end spec'd for 6K and that fancy new monitor to go with it for 5K, you're looking at nearly $12000 for 8-core Xeon processor, 32 GB RAM, and a 256 GB SSD. No telling what a max spec would run (with same monitor) - perhaps over $20000. If Apple continues to offer premium support and development for MacOS and high quality rendering software, and if it is as accessible/upgradable as it appears to be, this rig should really appeal to professional graphics folks. It's a bit beyond the pocketbook for most individual hobbyists.

As for your complaint regarding the "Apple doesn't care about the Mac anymore", this may be one important step in countering that perception. Now if they'd just release a really "Pro" grade MBP, with adequate cooling, multiple ports, and accessibility/upgadability as per the MBP of old, Apple will have taken a giant step in rectifying the neglect and blunders of the last 5 or 6 years. I can't afford this Mac Pro machine, but I'd fork over some big enough bucks for a MacBook Pro of similar quality - just a more portable version of this machine.

 

[felipey]

Compared to Dell Precision 7920 Mac Pro looks underspecced and overpriced.

"New Mac Pro starts at $5,999 in the United States with an eight-core Intel Xeon processor, 32GB of ECC RAM, AMD WX 7100 graphics, and 256GB of SSD storage."

With Dell Precision 7920, for $6229, one gets this:
* Intel Xeon Gold 6130 2.1GHz, 3.7GHz Turbo, 16C
* Dual CPU motherboard
* NVIDIA® Quadro® P4000, 8GB, 4 DP (quad GPU configurations are supported)
* 64GB 8x8GB DDR4 2666MHz RDIMM ECC (up to 3TB RAM is supported)
* 2.5" 256GB SATA Class 20 Solid State Drive (Optane memory up to 6TB is supported, up to 10x2.5"/3.5" SATA/SAS drives or up to 4x M.2 or U.2 PCIe NVMe SSD

That is not a comparable Xeon Processor. That one was released in Q3 2017 and is actually slower:
https://ark.intel.com/content/www/u...n-gold-6130-processor-22m-cache-2-10-ghz.html

The comparable Xeon Processor of that year is the 6134: https://ark.intel.com/content/www/u...old-6134-processor-24-75m-cache-3-20-ghz.html

That one is $400+ more in MSRP and it's still slower and older than the one Apple is going to use.

 

[Honumaui]

Holding judgement to see what upgrade options will be ? Can I use any off the shelf AMD card once this gets old or will it be once again old models with set firmware for insane prices to keep it up to date ?
and again many folks do not need Xeon chipsets ? They have their pros with cons that many would be better off with i9 chips and more open ability to upgrade to what they want


i do think its nice looking and love the case design etc. but for me being a full time pro photographer retouched for going on 20 years and many are photographer do not need Xeon do not need the high end GPU as adobe still sucks with using it and has been since Mac Pro 1,1 adobe was saying OH we will support this or that and every time has failed Capture one uses the GPU so reckon this will fly with it BUT so will other builds with i9 chips even more I reckon once again apple has made a machine for the YouTube influencers to run their Red camera files and say how awesome it looks and works etc...

our studio has 3 mac pros and a recent intel 7820x with windows and I hate the file explorer (finder) interaction with windows but the hardware is awesome we also built a new Mac mini with eGPU that is doing insane well so far in testing and getting ready and really for many creatives I do think a mini and eGPU is going to be a solid option
again will be fun to see what the new upgrade options are in say a year and two years and so on ? Will this be as long standing as the old graters or will it be a mess like the trash cans ? It all depends on the hardware and those GPU modules ? Just let me plug whatever GPU I want in without some module that most likely will be a limited overpriced mess

 

[Peperino]

Apple creates exactly what Mac fans have been asking for for years and, surprise surprise, more complaining. I definitely didn't see that coming

We are not complaining about the machine. IT is great actually really nice. We are complaining about the obscene ridiculous pricing.
More than double the price than the original Mac Pro, it is completely disconnect from reality.
And paying 6k for a machine that ships with 8 core and 256 GB ssd is not PRO, it is a rip off...

I guess you will be happy to pay $1000 for a monitor stand...

 

[Onelifenofear]

The Apple monitor doesn't have SDI input and output. The monitor you linked to has 2 BNC inputs and 4 BNC outputs for 3G-SDI workflows.

It’s also only 1920 x 1200.

BNC... Old Skool dude.

 

[felipey]

The Apple monitor doesn't have SDI input and output. The monitor you linked to has 2 BNC inputs and 4 BNC outputs for 3G-SDI workflows.

I didn't say it was an Apples to Apples comparison. It's also significantly smaller. The somewhat equivalent FSI size and resolution (4K), would be this one at $45,000:
https://www.shopfsi.com/XM310K-p/xm310k.htm

I don't think SDI inputs and a 12-bit panel justify at $40k premium over the Pro Display XDR.

 

[lie2me]

When the software developers see the price of the new Mac Pro and they realize few will buy it, will they even bother to develop software for it?

 

[felipey]

We are not complaining about the machine. IT is great actually really nice. We are complaining about the obscene ridiculous pricing.
More than double the price than the original Mac Pro, it is completely disconnect from reality.
And paying 6k for a machine that ships with 8 core and 256 GB ssd is not PRO, it is a rip off...

I guess you will be happy to pay $1000 for a monitor stand...

But it's not. You're comparing consumer pricing with server/workstation pricing. A similar specced HP Z6 also costs $6K.

 

[Kpjoslee]

That 12 core, 2012 Mac Pro was what, $3800 when it went on sale? In 2019 money, according to some inflation calculators, that's under $4300 in 2019 U.S. money. I think Apple got boned by Intel's inability to compete with AMD and we are stuck with old Xeons. Workhorses, but expensive workhorses that don't acknowledge AMD's products.

This Mac pro is stupid expensive at the low end, and the base GPU in that model is a bad value. I imagine at the high end it's very competitive if you edit super high def video. Now that Ryzen 3 exists, and soon a new version of thread ripper, it will fill that mid range nicely and I feel that many Mac users will make the switch to save money while more than doubling the GPU performance vs spending over $5000 for the anemic performance of the base nMP.

The best news to me is that Redshift announced support for the Mac. Cool beans. I may be able to ride out my iMac a while longer.

I would have killed for Nvidia support, though. Just drivers and eGPU support, and I would go on my merry way, oblivious to super high end workflows.

If you spend $1000 on an Apple monitor stand, though, you will be cursed by lovecraftian old gods.

Well, the difference this time is that they are no longer cornered themselves on a thermal wall and more traditional approach in design would allow them to get more frequent update unlike their previous trash can design. Due to pressure by AMD in recent years and Intel is finally starting to move away from 14nm starting next year so Mac Pro is not in a bad position like it looks currently. Intel is also moving to Pcie 5.0 in couple of years.

 

[PickUrPoison]

So people having owned PowerMac G5 and Mac Pro since the start are whiner when they think like me 6000$ base price is ridiculous insane? A comparable HP z4 is around 2000$...

A comparable Z4 is $6500.

 

[rimmeyb]

Remind anybody of this? 2006 intel MacBook Pro Foam Packaging?

 

[cube]

A comparable Z4 is $6500.

Wait until Rome.

 

[Onelifenofear]

We are not complaining about the machine. IT is great actually really nice. We are complaining about the obscene ridiculous pricing.
More than double the price than the original Mac Pro, it is completely disconnect from reality.
And paying 6k for a machine that ships with 8 core and 256 GB ssd is not PRO, it is a rip off...

I guess you will be happy to pay $1000 for a monitor stand...

The $1000 dollars extra was for the Nano etched Matte screen - something only some people might need.

 

[asafblasberg]

It's a great machine, but i'm disappointed with the storage. Only two SSDs at 2TB each max. I had the Mac Pro 2010 and you could fit four drives. What do I do in this situation. I have four (4) 4TB hard drives in a RAID0 on my PC build - would have to go external yes?

 

[Onelifenofear]

Wait until Rome.

No you wait until Paris.

 

[felipey]

Here's the reason for the high base price. The equivalent previous generation Xeon 6134 has a MSRP of $2200. https://ark.intel.com/content/www/u...old-6134-processor-24-75m-cache-3-20-ghz.html

It's a server class processor, not a consumer one. A consumer CPU cannot handle 1.5TB of RAM.
And keep in mind Apple is using the newer version of that processor.

 

[Onelifenofear]

It's a great machine, but i'm disappointed with the storage. Only two SSDs at 2TB each max. I had the Mac Pro 2010 and you could fit four drives. What do I do in this situation. I have four (4) 4TB hard drives in a RAID0 on my PC build - would have to go external yes?

It has 7 PCIE slots so I am guessing that you could use them with adaptors. They exist.

 

[felipey]

It's a great machine, but i'm disappointed with the storage. Only two SSDs at 2TB each max. I had the Mac Pro 2010 and you could fit four drives. What do I do in this situation. I have four (4) 4TB hard drives in a RAID0 on my PC build - would have to go external yes?

Yah and that would be a better option nowadays anyway. A NAS can automatically backup to Backblaze and be hot swappable with no tools.

 

[Applelad]

Sorry but 8 years too late Apple - I switched my desktop requirements to PC when it was clear you forgot (or ignored) your original market and now I'm so glad I did - I have a PC with 8 cores, 64Gig ram, 2tb SSD and a 1080ti that cost me less than £2k. I suspect I'm not the only one either - good luck with the few Porsche driving dentists (and the very few professionals that still use macs for their power needs) that you have left to buy this thing.

 

[WannaGoMac]

Nice to see apple putting the Pro back in their "Pro machines." I suspect everyone complaining about the price is not really at the high end Pro user who don't blink at prices for a computer workstation.

 

[Onelifenofear]

Here's the reason for the high base price. The equivalent previous generation Xeon 6134 has a MSRP of $2200. https://ark.intel.com/content/www/u...old-6134-processor-24-75m-cache-3-20-ghz.html

It's a server class processor, not a consumer one. A consumer CPU cannot handle 1.5TB of RAM.
And keep in mind Apple is using the newer version of that processor.

Of course people won’t they will compare them to an i7 because you know...people.

 

[curtvaughan]

Apple creates exactly what Mac fans have been asking for for years and, surprise surprise, more complaining. I definitely didn't see that coming

Actually, my observation is that the old Mac Pro cheese grater fans really like this thing. I sure do, even though I can't afford it right now. It's a great, powerful, design, with easy access to innards and adequate cooling. I want to wait for the iFixit folks to get hold of one before pronouncing a final vindication for Apple. Let's make sure that it really is upgradable and repairable - no soldered/glued components, with the ability to swap out memory, storage, and CPU's without replacement of complete circuit board assemblies, etc. That is not a complaint, but a wariness born of 6 years of trends with Apple and the Mac lines. I hope that Apple comes through with this one, even though I can't afford one. Perhaps its success at the high end would trickle down to its little brothers, the iMac Pro and MacBook Pro in design decisiions.

 

[jlocker]

$13,262.68 in today's dollars, OH my goodness the new Mac Pro is so expensive not!!!!!!!!

 

[realtuner]

Dude, are you comparing this to iPad or something? Have you seen real PC Workstations lately? They even support NVIDIA GPUs (critical for many users who need CUDA).

Waiting for you to show me which software requires Cuda at the market this is targeted to (where CUDA is “critical”).

That is not a comparable Xeon Processor. That one was released in Q3 2017 and is actually slower:
https://ark.intel.com/content/www/u...n-gold-6130-processor-22m-cache-2-10-ghz.html

The comparable Xeon Processor of that year is the 6134: https://ark.intel.com/content/www/u...old-6134-processor-24-75m-cache-3-20-ghz.html

That one is $400+ more in MSRP and it's still slower and older than the one Apple is going to use.

Ssshhhh. You’ll spoil things for the “I can build a machine that’s twice as fast for half the cost” crowd.

 

[WannaGoMac]

Sorry but 8 years too late Apple - I switched my desktop requirements to PC when it was clear you forgot (or ignored) your original market and now I'm so glad I did - I have a PC with 8 cores, 64Gig ram, 2tb SSD and a 1080ti that cost me less than £2k. I suspect I'm not the only one either - good luck with the few Porsche driving dentists (and the very few professionals that still use macs for their power needs) that you have left to buy this thing.

Yeah, you're clearly not a high end pro type use with that mediocre setup. Glad you were able to find something in your price range though, be glad for low end equipment.