Most likely, yes. However, if so then Apple directly stating that working on a 2013 Mac Pro is good news. It means whatever combination of mistakes they made internally to cause the huge gap they intend to resolve by 2013. Giving themselves a public deadline means no other project is going to steal resources or no penny pincher is going to obstruct if it runs into an issue.
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Boot Camp Files Hint at New Mac Pro and iMac Models [Updated]
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Most likely, yes. However, if so then Apple directly stating that working on a 2013 Mac Pro is good news. It means whatever combination of mistakes they made internally to cause the huge gap they intend to resolve by 2013. Giving themselves a public deadline means no other project is going to steal resources or no penny pincher is going to obstruct if it runs into an issue.
It wasn't as dramatic as I thought it'd be, but it's all good. I learned something new.
I wonder if they will come out with different monitor sizes for the iMac ... would be nice to see like a 28" and 23-24" model ....
I want a iMac, but the 27" is just a little too expensive for me and the 21" is just too small lol
I want a iMac, but the 27" is just a little too expensive for me and the 21" is just too small lol
I used mine a few weeks ago. Wanted to do a clean install of ML on my MBP. I have iLife '11 & iWork '09 on DVDs. Didn't want to spend the money to get the same version from the MAS.
But I was asking more from a "What would the Mac Pro look like w/o an ODD?" angle. Most if not all desktop Macs have had ODDs for about 20 years. Plus, with a tower case, I just wonder how Apple would redesign the case. Just curious.
I don't see number III happening. From what I've seen of Apple in last few years is they don't like user replaceable/serviceable parts. But I would like one.
If/when Apple releases a retina iMac, I wonder when they'll update their Thunderbolt Displays. The 15" rMBP has a higher resolution than the 27" TB display. And hopefully, they'll up the speeds of TB too so we can have a few USB 3.0 ports on it. Anyone know if TB supports DisplyPort 1.2 and PCI-E 3.0?
A door could be a 4-6 custom screw like the bottom of the laptops. (although laptops have more screws. But the door only needs to be only so big. ).
Similarly a design where the whole back screws off (again like the laptop's bottom). For some reason, Apple has skewed the current iMac so that the screen goes in last in assembly. That is one of the primary root causes of the problem.
A very long time because both expensive (and TB Display are already relatively expensive 'monitors' ). Additionally for the lack of GPU horsepower in primary targeted Macs: laptops. The TB Display is a mismatch for an iMac and an even bigger one for the Mac Pro. The dangling power cord does nothing is highly indicative of that.
The GPUs in the laptops are as weak or worse than the iMacs.
TB isn't going anywhere for another 2 years. (that's just to a new standard. They will be another "v2.0" product roll out associated with that which will have a "build to volume" ramp up. )
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5405/the-first-thunderbolt-speed-bump-likely-in-2014
TB doesn't support DisplayPort 1.2.
TB is somewhat unlikely to snag PCI-e v3.0 in the first upgrade. To be a reasonable v3.0 conduit it would need to be faster than v3.0.
At best you may see some controllers go from x4 v2.0 connections to x2 3.0 connections so that they don't consume so many PCI-e lanes. But that gives you a net zero speed increase. There is little reason to do that as most likely will only disappoint more than please. Also because the TB controller is also a PCI-e switch. having 4 1x PCI-e v2.0 links coming out works great for docking stations suppling 4 kinds of external sockets.
As long as Intel's reference designs hook TB to the IOHUB support chip which has just v2.0 lanes the TB controller will probably stick with v2.0.
Translation: Apple doesn't make serious machines anymore. They make toys and machines for very light/non intensive workloads.
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Expect that Thunderbolt is a MUCH more expensive option, and can't support any GPU worth its salt. ( I think Thunderbolt has about as much bandwidth as an early nVidia 6000 series card ).
Do I want to buy a bunch of overpriced garbage cables for 45 bucks a piece? Super expensive housings? Still have nowhere to expand my GPU? And have cables all over the place?
Or put it all in a nice and neat tower.
Hmmm
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Ah, so you mean. Turn the workstation into....mid tower?
I think the Mac Pro is great as a work station in its current form, its not supposed to be sexy, its not supposed to be small, and its not supposed to look " cool ". Its a tool. It needs tons of expansion, and lots of raw processoing power.
Thats what Workstations are, they aren't toys like an iPad. And they aren't mid range AOI's like iMacs, and they aren't piggy banks like a Mac Mini ( thats what I turned my G4 Mini into when it **** the bed! ).. They are tools, and they need to be able to do their job well.
Leave the Mac Pro exactly the same, maybe a new case, but keep the expansion slots, ad SLI or Crossfire support, and maybe give us a real GPU?
Thanks for the info.
Agreed. Shame. I see this as a bit of a chicken-and-the-egg problem. Mac Pros aren't selling well because not enough people are buying them. Not enough people are buying them because Apple doesn't upgrade them.
I know, it's not just that. The amount of people who really want/need a Mac Pro (regardless of how up to date they are) is far less than that who wants/needs MacBooks, iMacs, iPhones, etc.
Yet, Apple has a lot of talented staffers so they could make darn good "serious" computers if they wanted.
Pretty much, I've always been a pretty good Geek, I've had tons of PCs, and macs, gotta say. The PowerMac G5 was the last Mac I ever actually got excited about buying.
Well, Apple isn't into serious computers, they just want to make things as flashy and bouncy as possible.
Though my definition of a " serious " computer is a little insane. I currently am typing this on a workstation ( no its not my personal rig lol ) that costs more than a Base honda accord brand new, and we have about 40 of these 20k+ machines.
So the market is out there for machines in the 2K ( base ) to 15K range in the Apple only world I would assume.
I used to love buying Macs, my 2011 iMac is alright as a daily driver computer, but I leave anything serious or gaming related to my PC.
The other issue with Apple is OSX, 10.7 was a total disaster, and I can't say Im happy with 10.8 so far, though I do like lots of the bug fixes ( no more beach balling safari
). Its gotten to the point for me, that I think Windows 7 blows OSX out of the water, I think Windows 8 will as well ( yes, there is an explorer people. Good god ). I would love to See OSX 10.9....not suck? I miss mah 10.5 Leopard...At least my G5 still has it
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I already know what an update will do, bring the mac pro up to where pc makers have been 3 months ago
But you need to look into the cost of these items. Also how many lanes do they carry. Not really very many. 16 lanes per video card to get the max running effect. A Mac Pro is short on this feature. A ThunderBolt Port doesn't add many lanes.
Just search for the topic and you should find an article that will help you understand what the baking process accomplishes.
I agree, but I'm presuming that if Tim Cook said something great is coming in late 2013, that leads me to believe they are working on a major re-design that is going to take that long. The Mac Pro as it exists does not really need much revising, so that's why I started thinking they were going to make it more compact like they have been doing to everything else.
True but I was looking at it purely from a using a PCI video/audio capture card or a USB3 PCI card etc. rather than it being a video card. Arstechnica have written an article about the future of the Mac Pro and if you're wanting that sort of functionality then maybe you're better off looking at the Wintel world given that Apple has its heart set on the consumer.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/08/as-mac-pro-stagnates-pc-workstations-muscle-ahead/
In an ideal world Apple would cater to both the professional and the consumer/home user but I have a strong inkling based on what I've seen over the last year that the future for Apple is to become the Sony of the 21st century - Laptop, AppleTV, iPhone, iPad, portable media and all connected via the iCloud/AppStore/iTunes. Call me a 'Debbie Downer' but I see Apple eventually killing of the iMac and Mac Pro within the next year so if people here are expecting things to get better for the pro's, sorry to disappoint you but things are going to get a lot worse. For me, at least where I am standing the idea of moving to Windows within the next 12-24 months is become more of a possibility with each month they ignore OS X in favour of feeding their iOS hungry drones and devaluing the Mac into little more than Facebook updating, tweeting and document writing device that is locked down and castrated to the max as they've done with their MacBook Pro 'Retina' (glued battery, soldiered memory etc).
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This is getting irritating. My 20" iMac is getting long in the tooth (still runs perfect though) but I really don't want to replace it until Apple does a full redesign of the desktop line. I'll be so disappointed if they wait until summer next year for major updates and just do speed bumps this fall/winter.
That wasn't an update, it was a joke!
If they couldn't put USB on the main board why not at least offer a combo USB3/Thunderbolt card free for all Mac Pro customers, since the latest OS X clearly can use USB3 now? Also the spec for RAM, Video and HDD should have been boosted a lot more to give users a reason to choose it over a top spec iMac.
ETA - with Apple releasing an updated iMac soon and new model in 2013 along with a new Pro I don't see Apple killing them off any time soon.
