Apple's Mac Pro Refresh: What We Know So Far

[blazerunner]

And useful in many more applications.

I greatly enjoy the 12700k in my desktop.

Hackintosh?

 

[SpotOnT]

They honestly should!

Finally the technologies are to the point that the design would actually be acceptable.

I am assuming this smaller, new Mac Pro is essentially going to be a square version of the trashcan.

I just don’t see any point to modular if Apple is going with integrated memory/cpu/gpu.

 

[SSDGUY]

The size of the Apple Logo on that Mac Pro Mini mockup triggers me every time. Way too big!

Was just going to post about that. It's is already too big on the Mc Pro, IMO. Reminds me of this classic. 😆

 

[CWallace]

I don't understand how they can release Intel machines and still stick to the 2 year conversion plan.

As others have noted, it does not have to be an "either or" situation in the first round (M1 family) of the transition.

We do not know how hard this first generation of Apple Silicon can scale in terms of raw CPU and GPU performance, RAM capacity or PCIe-based expansion (be it PCIe slots or Thunderbolt channels). As such, we don't know how well it will scale when it comes to every market the 2019 Intel Mac Pro family currently addresses.

If it can do, say, 95% of it, then Apple might feel comfortable "abandoning" that extreme edge right now and hope they come back in a few years when Apple Silicon can meet their needs.

But if it is a fair bit less than 95%, then I personally would be surprised - and disappointed - if Apple did to them in 2022 what they arguably did in 2013 - launch a new model that leaves them out in the cold. Again. Doubly so after spending the time and money to try and win them back in 2019.


There should be no shame in offering an Apple Silicon Mac Pro that meets the needs of a significant number of the upper-end of macOS users while still keeping a more powerful/capable Intel Mac Pro in the line-up for a few more years until Apple Silicon has matured sufficiently so that it meets the needs of (al)most all of those upper-end macOS users.

 

[Boil]

An Apple silicon Mac Pro should use a dual M1 Max SoC configuration at the minimum...

The cost for a M1 Max SoC & 64GB of LPDDR5 RAM is roughly $2K; this is JUST the SoC & RAM, NOT the rest of the computer...!

So a dual M1 Max Mac Pro would most likely start around $5K...

If Apple decides to go with LPDDR5X RAM & has a rumored M1 Ultra SoC, the pricing will go up from there...

Good thing about the integrated GPU though, that cuts out a huge part of the price markup of the 2019 Mac Pro, those MPX GPUs are quite pricey...!

I would expect the new ASi Mac Pro to top out around $25K, this would be a quad M1 Max SoC configuration (40-core CPU - 32P/8E / 128-core GPU / 64-core Neural Engine) with 1TB of LPDDR5X RAM & an 8TB SSD array...

If we see a M1 Ultra SoC, that price may increase some, maybe $30K for a top-end ASi Mac Pro...?

M1 Ultra SoC (possibilities)

• 15-core CPU (12P/3E)
• 48-core GPU
• 16-core Neural Engine
• 256GB LPDDR5X RAM
• 500GB/s UMA

Multiply by two or four for dual and quad SoC configurations...

Since an theoretical M1 Ultra SoC would be intended for high-end desktop systems only, maybe Apple has done the work to increase clock frequencies; maybe up to half again as fast as the M1 Max SoC...? More power draw, yes, but not an issue when the system is always on mains power, and the overall system would still need less power than the 1.6kW 2019 Mac Pro...

 

[turbineseaplane]

But if it is a fair bit less than 95%, then I personally would be surprised - and disappointed - if Apple did to them in 2022 what they arguably did in 2013 - launch a new model that leaves them out in the cold. Again. Doubly so after spending the time and money to try and win them back in 2019.

Me too

This is not the time in the Mac Pro user world to screw them -- AGAIN -- with a forced all at once transition.

Not after all that energy to win them back and all the work into that 2019 design.
I really think there will be Intel & ASi Mac Pro versions existing alongside each other for a little bit.

 

[Boil]

A refreshed 2019 Mac Pro, alongside a new 2022 ASi Mac Pro, this makes sense...

Let those who have need of Intel hardware get one final configuration, something to ease the transition pains; Ice Lake Mac Pro to continue business as usual while an ASi Mac Pro can be evaluated and integrated into whatever workflow is going on...?

 

[mikethemartian]

It was a very different transition 17 years ago.

The company has changed immensely, so has their size (enormously), the needs of their clients and the diverse nature there.

It can be tempting to look at that, but it's by no means a referendum on what one does now.

The Intel switch was such an enormously clear performance and feature win.

Switching away from Intel isn't yet shown to be that for Mac Pro users, particularly with the unknown narratives around graphics and folks that might still need x86 and add-on card support -- or even still just professional software support that has yet to migrate.

The Mac Pro angles can be hard for normal consumers to grok

The irony is that all the enterprise grade electrical engineering software that Apple uses to design and simulate their PCB and chip hardware runs on Intel so if they get completely rid of Intel Macs they will have to buy PCs from Dell, HP etc. or build custom PCs to run the engineering software to design their own products.

 

[Boil]

The irony is that all the enterprise grade electrical engineering software that Apple uses to design and simulate their PCB and chip hardware runs on Intel so if they get completely rid of Intel Macs they will have to buy PCs from Dell, HP etc. or build custom PCs to run the engineering software to design their own products.

Or they could just continue using said software on the 2019 Mac Pro or the rumored 2019 Mac Pro refresh (Ice Lake Xeons, etc.); just because Apple may stop selling Intel Macs does not mean they have to purge all Intel Macs from the Mothership...

 

[sherwinzadeh]

My question is where do they go after M1 Pro and M1 Max... M1 Extreme?
Or do they instead go the multi-processing route and have a monster machine with multiple M1 Max co-processors???

 

[turbineseaplane]

Or they could just continue using said software on the 2019 Mac Pro or the rumored 2019 Mac Pro refresh (Ice Lake Xeons, etc.); just because Apple may stop selling Intel Macs does not mean they have to purge all Intel Macs from the Mothership...

Or just keep making and selling both versions for a few more years.

The Intel Mac Pro is obviously useful in the real world if Apple themselves needs them!

 

[macnick2]

”We’re finally able to make this innovative design work thanks to the M1 extreme.”

View attachment 1964111

Keep the case, totally new innards please. That would make me extremely happy - offer it as a real upgrade & that will make headlines.

 

[MBAir2010]

I can't wait to see what Apple comes up with! Hopefully it won't need to be $6,000.

the iMac will be $1299.99 in the states, but with a upfront 2022 $6000 tax fee.
that is the base model, 1tb, 32GB and some CPU du jour!
and $199, 99 for a non abrasive cleaning cloth

"do you wants  care for these items, sir?"

 

[turbineseaplane]

Keep the case, totally new innards please. That would make me extremely happy - offer it as a real upgrade & that will make headlines.

The same size case?

What will be inside it?

Will an ASi MP offer dGPUs?
Add-on cards?

So many unknowns here

 

[The Cappy]

"As for the smaller ‌Mac Pro‌, it's been described as looking similar to the existing ‌Mac Pro‌, but with a more compact enclosure that's half the size."

You guys may wish to brush up on your math. The image you've got shows a Mac Pro alongside something a quarter its size.

 

[CWallace]

My question is where do they go after M1 Pro and M1 Max... M1 Extreme?
Or do they instead go the multi-processing route and have a monster machine with multiple M1 Max co-processors???

Based on what Gurman has been reporting in Bloomberg and what others have identified with the M1 Max SoC, the most likely option is a 2xM1 Max and 4xM1 Max configuration.

Gurman refers to these as "Jade2C-Die" and "Jade4C-Die", respectively. And others have identified what appears to be (currently unused) hardware on the M1 Max that would allow two of them to be "stitched" together into a single package.

This would allow 20 CPU cores and 64 GPU cores and (presumably) at least 128GB of RAM. This matches the configuration Gurman says is "Jade2C-Die" and what many of us are calling "M1 Max Duo".*

We are not sure what "Jade4C-Die" would look like - the current belief seems to be two "Jade2C-Die" SoCs using some type of interlinking to provide up to 40 CPU cores, 128 GPU cores and (presumably) at least 256GB of RAM.


* - The M1 Max is known internally to Apple as "JadeC-Die" and the M1 Pro is known internally as "JadeC-Chop".

 

[DevNull0]

I just want the price to drop for the Apple Mac Pro Wheels Kit. $699 is too steep just for rolling wheels.

View attachment 1964094

I'm predicting Apple will slightly change the connection to the computer and then charge $999 for the new wheels. Because only Apple has the courage to charge $1000 for a set of computer castors and only Apple fanatics have the level of cognitive dissonance needed to convince themselves the price is justified.

For my gaming PC, I cut a piece of plywood to fit the footprint of the case and mounted standard casters to that. Total price around $15. No reason it wouldn't work just as well for a mac pro.

 

[DevNull0]

My question is where do they go after M1 Pro and M1 Max... M1 Extreme?

M1 Pro Max Extreme with Liquid Bionic Fairy Dust. Made from an entirely new kind of Silicon that "Only Apple" could design. Everyone knows with Apple marketing buzzwords are far more important than performance or specs.

 

[Mr. Dee]

I suspect it will be a tower, just smaller.

 

[Leonardleonard]

I think a good idea considering the lack of conptitors to the Xeon processors would be a MacPro with both Xeon and M1 processors.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I suspect it will be a tower, just smaller.

What I don't understand - so far - is why we think an ASi Mac Pro will be a tower at all.

What's going to be in it?

Are we assuming dGPU and add-on card support?
If not -- what's the point of a traditional tower form factor?

 

[satchmo]

Was just going to post about that. It's is already too big on the Mc Pro, IMO. Reminds me of this classic. 😆

I prefer this one. 😂

 

[Boil]

I think a good idea considering the lack of conptitors to the Xeon processors would be a MacPro with both Xeon and M1 processors.

Two separate CPU architectures in one system...? Not gonna happen...

Apple will continue to sell the (refreshed) 2019 Intel (Xeon) Mac Pro for another year or so, probably until the second generation of Apple silicon Mac Pro is released (M2 or M3-based, Max/Ultra/whatever)...

What I don't understand - so far - is why we think an ASi Mac Pro will be a tower at all.

What's going to be in it?

Are we assuming dGPU and add-on card support?
If not -- what's the point of a traditional tower form factor?

Anyone paying attention to the whole "GPU integrated into the SoC" format that the M1-series (low-end/Pro/Max/whatever) has been pushing will know discrete GPUs are (most likely) a thing of the past...

But there is still a need for all the other add-in cards used in a Mac Pro that are not GPUs; this would require PCIe slots, which would necessitate a tower format chassis; just not as tall, because eight slot spaces are removed with the removal of the two MPX slots...

 

[CarlJ]

Yes, quite expensive considering these wheels don't support a heavy load. At Apple's spring event in March we need a heckler in the crowd to say "Hey Tim Apple, why are the wheels $700".🤳

You can yell it at your TV/screen as much as you want. They won’t be going back to a live audience any time soon.

 

[jasoncarle]

Yes, they already have one. That's not what you said. You said you hope the new Mac Pro has an Intel option. Those were your words.



No wrenches have been thrown into Apple's machine. They had record breaking sales during the pandemic. The pandemic had no effect on them whatsoever. The only issue is the worldwide chip shortage. But that shortage would apply to Intel chips just as much as it would ARM chips. Apple stated they're moving their entire line up to ARM within two years. And we're approaching two years.



Yes ... yes it does mean that. They are fizzling out Intel entirely. It would actually be quite irrational for them to keep making Intel Macs.

Jesus dude, take a deep breathe and relax...

Tim Apple himself said they will be supporting intel Macs for many years to come... it's not too far fetched to see an Intel Mac Pro be the last to switch entirely over to AS.