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

[Horselover Fat]

Well they delivered a professional expandable tower like so many wanted. Now people will complain about the price and find some reason to justify continuing to use a Hackintosh build.

Well, their understanding of 'expandable' is very narrow: Expandable with proprietary components (again). At least it seems that there is

-no way to put in 3rd party SSDs or any HDDs at all
-no way to swap the boot drive (and there seems to be no Mac now where you can do that?!)
-no way to put in your own 3rd party GPU and certainly no nvidia support
-no option without those expensive GPUs (yes, there are Pros doing no video work)

I like the machine, love the case and how it opens, but it's too narrowly – though impressively – tailored towards a specific purpose.

 

[teejayhoward]

Well, their understanding of 'expandable' is very narrow: Expandable with proprietary components (again). At least it seems that there is

-no way to put in 3rd party SSDs or any HDDs at all
-no way to swap the boot drive (and there seems to be no Mac now where you can do that?!)
-no way to put in your own 3rd party GPU and certainly no nvidia support
-no option without those expensive GPUs (yes, there are Pros doing no video work)

I like the machine, love the case and how it opens, but it's too narrowly – though impressively – tailored towards a specific purpose.

- 2x SATA ports available inside the case. Aftermarket SSD and HDD carriers already available. (Uses MPX slot)
- Is the boot drive different from the removable 256GB SSD that's included in the base model?
- Plenty of PCIe x16 slots available, and 10-pin or 2x8-pin (300W) power located inside the case even before we get to the aftermarket MPX conversions that are sure to pop up
- The $5,999 option includes the $175 Radeon 580 GPU. It IS the option without the expensive GPUs. You can expect the high end GPUs to add another $2K+ to the price. Each.

 

[nerdo]

They did release something that's inexpensive. It's the 2019 Mac Mini.

Besides, this $6,000 Mac Pro won't allow for off-the-shelf hardware upgrades beyond the memory. Just like a few other macs.
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Exactly. But if you can't afford that upgrade, clearly this type of workstation is NOT for you.

Yes, very clever I read a lot of people trying to argue this, it's a bit stupid. Every company, including mine, will look at added value. Can I afford it? Sure, but I'm not locked into OSX or FCPX. Da Vinci Resolve runs on both platforms, so it better bring some amazing added value for the price or it would be a really stupid investment. You do understand it is not as simplistic as 'not for you' bs right? I have three 12 cores MP and need to replace two in the coming years. Yes, they have been fantastic investments, but NVidia has made a few moves that make AMD vid cards less interesting. $8K,no problem, I'll get two, but $32K: you got to be nuts as a company not to think about that for more than a youtube comment.

 

[Horselover Fat]

- 2x SATA ports available inside the case. Aftermarket SSD and HDD carriers already available.

I stand corrected, thank you. It's two less than in the cMP, though.

- Is the boot drive different from the removable 256GB SSD that's included in the base model?

I guessed it's not removable because of the T2. Am I wrong? Would be great.

- Plenty of PCIe x16 slots available, and 10-pin power located inside the case even before we get to the aftermarket MPX conversions that are sure to pop up

I didn't complain about the PCIe slots. They're fine.

EDIT: My concern was whether I can swap the main GPU later on and have it properly supported by macOS, including nvidia.

- The $5,999 option includes the $175 Radeon 580 GPU. It IS the option without the expensive GPUs. You can expect the high end GPUs to add another $2K to the price. Each.

I didn't get that from the presentation, thank you for clarifying. Then the pricing is even more insane.

 

[Helpfixit]

No space gray version?

No, but rose gold is available

 

[Steve121178]

Also, other manufacturers will of course be selling PC’s with Windows 10. I have used Windows 10 quite a bit and it’s the most horrible OS I’ve used to date. The amount of hoops you have to jump through just to get some tasks done is only the beginning of the problems.

Give an example.

 

[tryintostickit]

Oh give it a rest. Professionals use... wait for it... wired headphones, not Bluetooth ones. This is for the people who make the music that you will end up listening to on your little airpods.

If you’re going to condescend you should know what you’re talking about first. Professionals would never use a built in 3.5mm headphone jack for serious production work on a desktop... external interface is standard, for both audio fidelity reasons and because these computers are usually sequestered in adjoining machine rooms for noise reasons.

 

[venom600]

They did release something that's inexpensive. It's the 2019 Mac Mini.

Besides, this $6,000 Mac Pro won't allow for off-the-shelf hardware upgrades beyond the memory. Just like a few other macs.

You sure about that? They went out of their way to show how everything but the MPX slot is industry standard. I would bet you could pick up a Radeon VII off the shelf and it'd work just fine in this. It also has SATA ports and the SSD appears to be removable. What else do you want?

 

[PeterJP]

I have been using the same Trash Can I bought new for the last 5-6 years. I want to upgrade. But $6000 for $2500 in components is ridiculous.

Your statement is what is ridiculous. It reminds me of Medion computers. They used to buy high-end components, then tied them together in an utterly crappy way. As a result, I had a high end computer incapable of doing mundane tasks. Compare apples to apples, please, and take into account everything you're getting, not just the bare components.

I must reiterate that this machine is awesome and I'm glad Apple made it, but I find the trypophobic design truly hideous.

I actually like the aluminum mesh/lattice work. It's quite a rough design. It would fit well in a Harley Davidson meets industrial music workshop.

- 2x SATA ports available inside the case. Aftermarket SSD and HDD carriers already available. (Uses MPX slot)

Not only that. For serious storage, you plug in a SAS card and add an external enclosure. Or you connect one over TB3.

 

[mauriziodececco]

Well, their understanding of 'expandable' is very narrow: Expandable with proprietary components (again). At least it seems that there is

-no way to put in 3rd party SSDs or any HDDs at all
-no way to swap the boot drive (and there seems to be no Mac now where you can do that?!)
-no way to put in your own 3rd party GPU and certainly no nvidia support
-no option without those expensive GPUs (yes, there are Pros doing no video work)

I like the machine, love the case and how it opens, but it's too narrowly – though impressively – tailored towards a specific purpose.

Ehm, it a PCI-E machine; you may have noticed in the presentation a short image of PCI cards you push in,
including third parties GPU, and for exemple, a nvme RAID where you can install 4 nvme .m2 SSD.

So, no, it is a lot more open that what you think.
But it is clearly target to a specific market, pros with a strong need of performance, and the money to buy it.

 

[Jaspers dog]

I pity the poor spouses of this whining bunch.[/QUOTE]

I'm not sure what you find so difficult to understand. There are an awful lot of 'Pro' customers myself included who would like a Mac workstation and accompanying range of screens that doesn't start at $11,000 together. Photographers, film makers, graphic designers etc etc who are making a living from their machines and for all the obvious reasons don't want an all in one (iMac).

My budget is about $7000-$8000 dollars for both which is a lot of money and puts me very much into the 'Pro' area but still leaves me some way short of these. I get that that they are fantastic machines but they are too much for many of us and that does not mean we are not 'pros'.

 

[Horselover Fat]

Ehm, it a PCI-E machine; you may have noticed in the presentation a short image of PCI cards you push in,
including third parties GPU, and for exemple, a nvme RAID where you can install 4 nvme .m2 SSD.

So, no, it is a lot more open that what you think.
But it is clearly target to a specific market, pros with a strong need of performance, and the money to buy it.

Yeah, see #729

 

[celdronis]

Xeons are not worth it at any level. EPYC is cheaper, faster, uses less power and have more PCie lanes. Oh, and to top it all EPYC has none of the Intel Security Vulnerabilities that are built into every CPU.

So tell me why you would want a crappy Xeon agian?

because most of people ,simply don't know these that you've just mentioned.
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AMD has no historical track record of continuing execution. When I worked there we kicked ass with opteron for a generation, and then nothing. Just because amd has a great chip today, don’t expect that they will be great a year from now.

oh please .... AMD is the future, Intel has no real answers ,and they will not have for loooong time

 

[nwcs]

There's no utility in wasting your money.

Which is entirely your own opinion of the value of this computer.
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oh please .... AMD is the future, Intel has no real answers ,and they will not have for loooong time

I’ve read that line many times over the past 15 years. Same as Linux eventually replacing all Macs/Windows machines. Same as the network computer vs powerful desktop debate, etc.

 

[curtvaughan]

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?

Looks to me like you can buy a Promise Pegasus J2i or R4i as an accessory kit, which can be mounted directly internally to the new Mac Pro:

https://www.promise.com/us/Promotion/PegasusStorage

 

[rfrmac]

Here is my take, I believe this is what has been asked for, for years. I like the design. It is expensive. Yes, I know it is for professionals but it is expensive. The monitor that goes with it looks very nice but separating out the stand is a cheap marketing trick and Apple should know better. And I find it interesting that after all these years, it's still not ready to sell. It won't be ready to sell for another 1/4 of a year and who knows when it will be "really available". What I really needed to know is the speed comparison between the entry level Mac Pro and the top of the line Professional iMac. But the light at the end of the tunnel can finally be seen. Too bad it took so long, and Apple lost so many professionals because of it.

 

[ToneWilliamsUSA]

My first impression is the design looks like a bit of a kludge, nothing I would expect from Jony. Internally, it looks bodacious though. And the base price is rather disappointing, roughly double that of the cheese grater. Then again, that does include a 256 GB SSD instead of hard drive. I will reserve my final judgement on learning specifics about its design, but it's doubtful I will purchase one. As a prosumer, it's way overkill; so that leaves me with no Mac to buy in the future. Nothing has changed, and it's looking like Hackintosh is the way forward when my cheese grater finally dies. Then again, even that might not be an option. Apple hints that it will lock down macOS and it will be the gatekeeper of what will run on the Mac. If that comes true, our relationship is done. And to think I was passionate for (nearly) everything Apple for decades, sticking with it from the beginning through thick and thin. It's said that change is inevitable. In this case, it's negative... unless you like 1984. Personally, I pine for the days when a pirate flag flew proudly over Apple's campus.

 

[curtvaughan]

Starting at $6000 plus another $1000 just for a hunk of aluminium to hold up a $5000 screen. Seems your wallets are the only things that will be sucked.

Also if you've been "waiting" then you really haven't been working.

I can't say whether or not the $1000 for the stand is justified or not at this point, but the way it was marketed was a bit of a jaw dropper. Might have been a bit less flooring to announce the base Mac Pro as costing $6999 (with stand included), and add that a thousand dollar discount is available if you don't want the stand. I wonder if cheaper after market compatible stands will be offered down the pike. I was surprised at hearing the voice of Jony Ive hyping it up and the conference. Function over form isn't usually in his vocabulary.

 

[Tommo66]

5999 for 8 core Xeon with 32gb ram, 256 ssd and ****** gpu? LOL Apple you are deluded. 5k for a screen? LOL

Did you watch the keynote, compared to the reference screens currently required for that type of work $5k is a bargain. They aren't deluded, the Pros have been asking for them for years, my guess they will sell quite well. Shame I can't afford one.

 

[randyhudson]

"state-of-the-art thermal architecture".

In other words, pull the case off if you don't want it to overheat.

 

[Tommo66]

Am I the only one who thinks the price is reasonable for the spec of the machine. I remember the original Mac Pro coming out and I priced one of them for where I was working at the time at over £30k.

 

[ct2k7]

Am I the only one who thinks the price is reasonable for the spec of the machine. I remember the original Mac Pro coming out and I priced one of them for where I was working at the time at over £30k.

Compared to the past MP releases? Not really, no.

That said, the Xeon’s price could be anything since it’s not a listed SKU.

The GPU included at that’s price point is very poor.

 

[Andy-Howell]

I pity the poor spouses of this whining bunch.

I'm not sure what you find so difficult to understand. There are an awful lot of 'Pro' customers myself included who would like a Mac workstation and accompanying range of screens that doesn't start at $11,000 together. Photographers, film makers, graphic designers etc etc who are making a living from their machines and for all the obvious reasons don't want an all in one (iMac).
[/QUOTE]

I could do with a new machine for photography and multi track music production. For that an iMac Pro or even high end iMac will be more than enough. What has changed here is the definition of 'Pro' over the years. For those working on high end video and audio this looks like a very good buy. But if you don't need it, you don't need it. Sure the iMac is all in one but it is pretty easy to add an additional screen and storage.

 

[Horselover Fat]

Am I the only one who thinks the price is reasonable for the spec of the machine. I remember the original Mac Pro coming out and I priced one of them for where I was working at the time at over £30k.

No, you're not the only one. But when I bought my MP ten years ago, it was the base model for around 3000 €. It had an AMD 4870 GPU, a HDD with 640 GB, 12 GB RAM, two 4-core CPUs @ 2.26 GHz. That was expensive in 2009. Today's entry MP is out of this world.

 

[cmaier]

Which is entirely your own opinion of the value of this computer.
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I’ve read that line many times over the past 15 years. Same as Linux eventually replacing all Macs/Windows machines. Same as the network computer vs powerful desktop debate, etc.

Exactly.