Apple Reveals New 'iMac Pro' Built for Users With Demanding Workflows, Starting at $5K

[pertusis1]

Longtime Mac Pro user here, currently using a (nearly) maxed out 5,1. I took a ho-hum approach to this WWDC because I'm really just interested in the mMP apparently coming out next year. I have to admit, though, that I am a bit attracted by this extremely powerful all-in-one. I don't mind the idea of enclosed external storage.

For what you're getting, the price actually doesn't seem horrible. Like many others mentioned, however, I'm very curious to see how the heat dissipation works out. Ever since my 2.6 GHz quad core i7 Mac mini tried to burn a hole in my desk while under load, I've been skeptical of putting powerful equipment in a small space. Speaking of which, for the folks out there wishing for the 4-core mini back, I have one, and the extra 2 cores are not all that useful. The reason for this is that if you actually have a program that uses them all (FCPX rendering in my case), the chip heats up, clocks down, and runs slow as molasses.

 

[Helloha]

Bad comparison, the Mac Pro didn't have a state of the art 5k display included.

So 2500 for a display then?

 

[pankajdoharey]

Pretty sweet machine, ultra powerful slim/all in one workstation. Pretty expensive also, but if you need that kind of power then you have to make good money with it. That stealth space grey look !!! awesome

This is the machine which 3d Artist and Game Developers have been asking for years on this forum. I was about to switch to Linux for this reason, most Existing Mac hardware does not support VR capable GPU, but this one beats the rocks out of any top end PC.

 

[Musocat]

...Let's hope Apple truly is listening to feedback from customers who need real workstations as they work on the 'Modular Mac Pro'.

Considering what they just did with the iMac, I'm thinking the new Mac Pro is going to be one helluva machine.

And speaking of the iMac Pro - I waaaaaaant one! I can even afford one. But I can't justify it. Realistically, I just don't need one - it's overkill for what I do, which is mostly on the music end of things rather than video. But dang, it's nice. I'm glad they're coming out with it.

But apple gave me all I've been waiting for to finally upgrade my Mid-2010 machine: TB3, better graphics, and a 2GB SSD. So I'll order the top 27" with a 2TB SSD and the minimum RAM (I'll max that out myself). That should last me another 7 years.

 

[pankajdoharey]

Considering what they just did with the iMac, I'm thinking the new Mac Pro is going to be one helluva machine.

And speaking of the iMac Pro - I waaaaaaant one! I can even afford one. But I can't justify it. Realistically, I just don't need one - it's overkill for what I do, which is mostly on the music end of things rather than video. But dang, it's nice. I'm glad they're coming out with it.

But apple gave me all I've been waiting for to finally upgrade my Mid-2010 machine: TB3, better graphics, and a 2GB SSD. So I'll order the top 27" with a 2TB SSD and the minimum RAM (I'll max that out myself). That should last me another 7 years.

Of course this has a configuration better than any PC one can build. Naysayers will still complain why only 128 GB Ram and not 512 GB Ram in 2017 etc ... But practically that is way beyond most top end users needs. This machine is Insane!!! It will last you more than 7 yrs, let me reitterate for you 18 Cores. First commercial 64 Bit Dual Core came out with AMD-64 in 2005 Its been over 10 yrs and still the most popular Processor on PC is still Quad Core. This new iMac is a hell of a machine.

 

[mrkenta]

The iMac Pro it isn't bad, but most people who pay at this price point and specs usually don't want an AIO workstation...

 

[JamesPDX]

you heard that one about vegans?

How can you tell if someone is vegan?
don't worry, they'll ****ing tell you.

------
but just realized it works the same here:

How can you tell if someone uses hackintosh?





-
@bladerunner2000

That's a great joke! A+

With your workflow (assuming you still have a nMP) -Do you suppose that the iMac Pro will throttle down because of heat sooner than the nMP. Also, would you trust a Hackintosh to your daily workflow? How would you measure or grade th stability of a machine regardless of make and model. -I'm assuming that laptops are out of the equation. I would like your 2 cents. Please and Thank you...

 

[Srtlewis]

So my last mac burnt out the GPU and had to be retired, no matter how much they redesign the airflow I would be seriously worried about thermal throttling and the GPU. I like it but suspect it would burn up (despite their Dyson inspired animation)

 

[pankajdoharey]

The iMac Pro it isn't bad, but most people who pay at this price point and specs usually don't want an AIO workstation...

I like AIO's , less clutter on the desk.
[doublepost=1496727842][/doublepost]

So my last mac burnt out the GPU and had to be retired, no matter how much they redesign the airflow I would be seriously worried about thermal throttling and the GPU. I like it but suspect it would burn up (despite their Dyson inspired animation)

I agree Air cooling is done now. They need liquid cooling.

 

[bopajuice]

$5000 DOLLARS!!!

For an All in One computer? Can any of it be upgraded? Does this not raise any eyebrows?

Professional use, sure. Company pays for it. It's an investment, and you can write it off.

But I know there will be a bunch of people asking if the $5000 iMac will be enough for web surfing and Facebook. A nitch market product similar to the Mac Pro?

 

[JamesPDX]

[doublepost=1496722599][/doublepost]option 1, tell Avid to make HDX with Thunderbolt 3.

option 2, folk out another grand for a pcie chassis with Thunderbolt 3.

Option 3, go native.

Ha, I'm "native" on Pro Tools 12 with a UAD Apollo 8, but IDK if it and my BMD Multidock will be stable over the long run with the Apple TB3 to TB2 dongle-daptor. Those things get hot. I'd trust it more if the housing was aluminum. Something to conduct the heat away. And I'll still need ethernet for the Vienna stuff. And USB-A for those absurd pre-internet-minded software license dongle sticks.

 

[SeaFox]

LOL, people that want to configure things to their liking don't buy Apple products.

Well the easy solution would be just to buy your own thin-bezel monitors -- but there is no longer a headless Mac to buy now to use them with.

 

[devasan]

Just because it's fast, doesn't make it pro. I pity anyone wasting that much money on a locked down computer with such terrible airflow.

Apple's only further proving to be a joke of a company for professionals.

Plenty of professionals will be very happy with this machine. I also used to demand expandability, then I looked back at my computer history and realized I rarely ever expanded them when I could. I've been a graphics and audio/video professional for 20 years and have had many friends working in similar high resource fields. Lots of them were not changing parts either.

If a few years after buying this machine I need an even more capable computer for a job, that job will fund the purchase of it. Once I adjusted my thinking, I realized I do not care if a machine is expandable. I buy towards the higher end configuration to begin with, get applecare, and anything goes wrong within 3 years, it is taken care of and I spend the least amount of my time thinking about the computer. That is what matters to me. And even if an iMac Pro with some options ends up costing $8K, if I get 4 good years out of it, that is only $2K per year which is trivial.

I'm not saying nobody needs expandability, but there are many many professionals out there who really do not and do not care about it. This machine will be great for many people.

 

[JamesPDX]

I like AIO's , less clutter on the desk.
[doublepost=1496727842][/doublepost]
I agree Air cooling is done now. They need liquid cooling.

I really hope that the mMP is rack-mountable. I really wouldn't want a $5K (remember, that's the base price) computer, so thin and tender, unchained to my workstation. But that's me. Trust but verify, etc.

 

[tillsbury]

It does bode extremely well for the new Mac Pro. Since they're putting this kind of performance into the iMac, we can expect the new modular Mac Pro to go to at least this spec and still have room for future upgrades. Very good news indeed. I wonder whether I can wait...

 

[apolloa]

This is Apple desperately trying to catch up, it chose to ignore the 'pro' market, and lost share as a result. Now it's desperately trying to gain it back.
This machine is clear evidence of this, why? Because it's using the design of a computer from several years ago, and it doesn't have replaceable memory even, a 5 grand computer you can't upgrade anything, including memory, in!
They had more then enough time to even make this machine thicker and give at least the replaceable memory. But no, they've rehashed an existing machine to save time and money and shove it out the door..

That's how I see this. Does any Pro really care more about a thin desktop computer, as in a few mm thin, or user replaceable memory at the very least?

 

[2128506]

It's configurable to 128gb of ram, 18 cores, and a 16gb video ram card and people still say "it isn't pro enough".

So, can we upgrade CPU and video card and add PCI-E expansion cards? How many 3.5"/2.5" drive bays are there? M.2 sockets? It supports dual-CPU configurations, being "Pro" machine, right?

It isn't pro at all, not just "enough".
[doublepost=1496735427][/doublepost]

It does bode extremely well for the new Mac Pro. Since they're putting this kind of performance into the iMac, we can expect the new modular Mac Pro to go to at least this spec and still have room for future upgrades. Very good news indeed. I wonder whether I can wait...

Or they will just drop headless desktops alltogether, 'cause no built-in display markup.

P.S. I've had older iMac throttle like crazy, had thermal problems with rMPB, had D700 burn in nMP due to Apple's bad thermal management skills - so it's a good idea putting high-TDP components in tight AIO case. Yeah, right.

 

[Chicane-UK]

Quickly looking around at the cost of a comparable HP Z series workstation, and a comparable 27" 5K display, the iMac Pro does seem to be comparably priced as the base specifications are pretty decent.

I certainly look forward to seeing what it'll cost to max one out with the 18 core CPU, 128GB ECC RAM, 4TB SSD and top end Vega GPU

As others have said too, this bodes well for the Mac Pro refresh next year. If this kind of horse power is going into their all-in-one desktop, maybe dual CPU is back on the cards for the Mac Pro. Which I'm sure would be welcomed by certain categories of power user.

 

[barmann]

Can see a lot of production houses adopting these things like wildfire.

For their front desks and waiting rooms ?
That's where you find iMacs in production houses ....

 

[Larry-K]

For their front desks and waiting rooms ?
That's where you find iMacs in production houses ....

Maybe it'll speed up the waiting.

 

[ofarlig]

I like it, if we weren't strictly Windows at my company i'd push for them to get me one. Price isn't that bad, our laptops are 3k+ and I need more than one computer anyway.

Normally professionals do not need to care that much about the cost of the equipment, as long as it helps them to do their job it will be a good investment.

 

[Larry-K]

That's how I see this. Does any Pro really care more about a thin desktop computer, as in a few mm thin, or user replaceable memory at the very least?

They even tout the fact it has better cooling in the same enclosure, who cares?

Make a better enclosure, there's no compelling reason to use the same one, unless they're just trying to cheap out on tooling costs.

 

[Abazigal]

This is Apple desperately trying to catch up, it chose to ignore the 'pro' market, and lost share as a result. Now it's desperately trying to gain it back.
This machine is clear evidence of this, why? Because it's using the design of a computer from several years ago, and it doesn't have replaceable memory even, a 5 grand computer you can't upgrade anything, including memory, in!
They had more then enough time to even make this machine thicker and give at least the replaceable memory. But no, they've rehashed an existing machine to save time and money and shove it out the door..

That's how I see this. Does any Pro really care more about a thin desktop computer, as in a few mm thin, or user replaceable memory at the very least?

Do you really think the iMac Pro was conceived in the short span of a few months?

It's clear what is going on. Apple planned to phase out the Mac Pro right from the start and replace it with the iMac Pro. The reality is that the Mac Pro simply isn't selling in enough quantities to pay for itself. Hence the desire to subsume it under the iMac rather than continue to support an unprofitable line.

The recently announced plans for the Mac Pro is Apple walking back from their original plans, not the iMac Pro. This isn't Apple trying to play catch up. They had plans, and very often, good plans take time to implement.

 

[barmann]

Plenty of professionals will be very happy with this machine. I also used to demand expandability, then I looked back at my computer history and realized I rarely ever expanded them when I could. I've been a graphics and audio/video professional for 20 years and have had many friends working in similar high resource fields. Lots of them were not changing parts either.

If a few years after buying this machine I need an even more capable computer for a job, that job will fund the purchase of it. Once I adjusted my thinking, I realized I do not care if a machine is expandable. I buy towards the higher end configuration to begin with, get applecare, and anything goes wrong within 3 years, it is taken care of and I spend the least amount of my time thinking about the computer. That is what matters to me. And even if an iMac Pro with some options ends up costing $8K, if I get 4 good years out of it, that is only $2K per year which is trivial.

I'm not saying nobody needs expandability, but there are many many professionals out there who really do not and do not care about it. This machine will be great for many people.

You are making good points there .

However, a 'pro' workstation's usability is measured by its potential, not by the needs of individual users .
In every other field, no professional would ever consider investing in a tool or system that is not easily adaptable and expandable ; it doesn't matter whether or not upgrades or expansions are required right now, but they must be available .

The MacPro 4.1/5.1 goes back to 2009, and is still competitive today - granted, it will require a few upgrades for the older models and a few things won't be available , but the potential is there and it's fairly easily done and affordable .

 

[theluggage]

How can you tell if someone uses hackintosh?

They cross their fingers and do a full bootable backup before installing minor OS updates. Mostly, its OK, but...

...the first time I was about to reply to that, my Hackintosh glitched and I had to log out & log in. The price of having an Nvidia HTX 1060 in a "mac"...

Seriously, though, they're great as hobby machines, but Apple could pull the rug from under you at any time. Or the guy who wrote that critical mod you rely on could leave college and get a job.

Still, if you want to choose your own displays, they're the only game in town. I'm just getting to like my (cheapish) 28" 4k and wondering why the "iMac Pro" doesn't have a 30" screen...