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iFixit Shares 2019 Mac Pro Teardown: 'A Masterclass in Repairability'
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1) The Mac Pro is definitely not year-old technology; the CPUs were launched on paper in June and weren’t shipping in quantity until July or Aug. The Navi-based [edit: GCN 5.1-based, not Navi] Vega II was announced in June along with the Mac Pro and is also brand new. The W5700X is announced but not shipping yet, it’ll be a nice option when available.
2) The film/video industry is very important to Apple, and the Afterburner card and the 6K monitor are specifically targeted to them. But everything that makes the Mac Pro especially attractive to that industry is optional. Audio is also an ideal target market, as you mention. But the Mac Pro is for any pro, regardless of industry, that wants/needs a Xeon workstation with the capabilities it provides. (For instance that Ryzen build isn’t going to give you more than 256GB of ECC memory due to lack of RDIMM/LRDIMM support).
That said, most programmers I’m aware of who use Mac buy MacBook Pro, iMac, iMac Pro or even Mac mini. They’re no different from most pros who, 10-15 years ago, would have had to buy Mac Pro to get the performance they needed. That’s no longer true, and most pros don’t buy Mac Pro.
But anyone who needs/wants to run MacOS, whose occupation is sufficiently demanding (or who bills by the hour)—and is constrained by CPU, GPU, memory bandwidth or capacity, or I/O—may find that Mac Pro is an appropriate solution. It all depends on the requirements. But the $50/month difference between the $6K base and the $3K some want it to cost is extremely unlikely to be a barrier to the target customer.
Not true in the least; see above. But it’s not ideal for the hobbyist, tinkerer and enthusiast market that wants a $3K mid-tower vs. the $6K full tower Apple sells.To everyone complaining, remember:
However this Mac Pro is exactly what many pros need, and what they were asking for.
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I don't.
The purpose is to encrypt the data at rest. That's perfectly reasonable. So if you take one of the SSDs out and try to read it anywhere else, you get garbage. So far, so good.
But there's no reason at all that when you put a blank one in the machine there can't be either an automatic or manual BIOS procedure to pair the new module(s) with the machine and then use Internet recovery to load the OS or restore from Time Machine.
I'd be shocked if the next iMac update did not have the T2 chip.
In what scenario would you want to replace the existing SSD with a new one whereby you are ok losing all the data from the previous drive????
Most people in the not-Apple universe do the same thing they do in the Apple universe. They buy whatever computer a vendor is selling, sit it at home and never touch the internals until it can’t run some app they want to run.
I can. I can imagine some that run it JUST with the OS that ships on it, installs the apps they need, then never altering it one iota. Why? Because a working, non-upgraded system is better than a non-working upgraded one.
Sure, you can buy an Afterburner card and put it in later, but what if something goes wrong as you’re installing it? Sure, someone can come replace it, but now this replacement may not work as well as the old one. It’s a risk every time you open it, so a lot of places never open it.Instead, they’ll wait until the next thing they want is out, migrate some of their work to it, work out the kinks while running the two systems in parallel, and then, finally retire the old one... possibly JUST as AppleCare is running out!
See, I don’t think people in general were more open to opening something up. You were, and I was, but most folks were probably like “Why are you wasting your time on that old thing”. If they were cost conscious, they would bring it to you or me and ask if WE could fix it, but they wouldn’t be bothered digging in to it themselves.
Your idea of glorious is quite different from my idea of glorious.
While the T2 plays a part in that, it also performs encryption at line-rates; thus permitting 3.4 GB/sec sequential read and write rates to the Mac Pro's SSD. It also provides Apple's secure boot function. There's quite a bit that goes on under the covers managing passwords changes, etc that is quite sophisticated.
The T2 also incorporates the System Management Controller, audio controller, Touch ID, audio controller, image processing, etc.
i don't disagree that continuing to move in that direction is a very good thing, but note that repairability has negative impacts on both weight and space - there are big trade-offs to including user-serviceable nuts and connectors. a big connector and thumbscrews take up much more weight and space than a dab of solder. i wish people would remember this. apple isn't TRYING to make things difficult to repair. they are trying to make things light and small, which is what we want in portable tech. yes, they also don't want joe-homeowner fiddling around with the screen and trashing it, but.. honestly, i don't believe they have a goal to make things 'really hard to repair'.... 2¢
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disagree totally. the intellectual property on high-end workstations is often locked-down tighter than anything else. have you seen a server room of a movie studio or production facility? cameras, guards, biometrics, the works. you must have strong crypto when transporting or working with files. it's a studio requirement..
One word: glue.
Also, how light does a portable device have to be compared to the weight of a human body? I see a weight reduction fetish in hiking products (backpacks, clothing, tents, stoves etc.) that cost a fortune as well, but the weight saved is less than relieving one's bladder. Also, if Apple really wanted to save weight on the iPhone the chassis would be titanium.
Remarkable! They haven't forgotten to build repairable and upgradeable systems after all. Makes it all the harder to forgive them for abandoning the rest of their product lines. Making disposable hardware is not particularly green earth of them.
Learn to read things in context! Never have I ever come across any IT procurement professional who bought the most expensive gear from vendor, all buy basic then aftermarket!
If you’re referring to the PowerBook G4 Titanium, it was not glorious.
After a time, it was creaky, bendy flexy, the “removable” keyboard sometime slid off on its own when you opened it up and the paint chipped terribly. The flip down rear door just flipped down on its own or just plain fell off.
Wait so the non-upgradability/repairability isn’t due to Jony Ive’s alleged obsession with thinness?It wouldn't have to be that fat either.
The Dell XPS 15 has swappable RAM and SSD... and it's only 4.4 lbs and a similar thickness.
how light does it have to be? well, as a hiker, a tech user, a scuba diver and motorbike rider i can tell you - as light as possible. every ounce is worthwhile when talking about body strain or maneuverability.
so, no. you're wrong.
and titanium is a good metal but it's very expensive and hard to work with, which i'm sure are the main reasons they don't currently use it for the phones. undoubtedly there will soon be a Ti option for the phone, and you can have one and curse endlessly the lack of weight compared to your previous phones.
Or you've swallowed propaganda from the companies that make ultralight gear hook, line, and sinker. Anyway, if Apple wants to be consumer and eco-friendly, they need to start engineering their portable products so their not disposable.
People have been wanting this for years but I don't think it will happen. Basically we want a modular iMac in a tower form factor without the display.
I predict that it will be at least 2-3 years before we do, and it will be called the Mac Mini Pro - a subtle but important distinction that preserves the exclusivity of the Mac Pro.
Apple has deliberately engineered their portable products so they're RECYCLABLE.
They're durable (I'm typing this on a 6yo MBAir), retain value, and when the owner is finally done with it can - instead of discarding in trash - can return it to Apple where they will meticulously dismantle & recycle the materials.
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What propaganda? I'm the guy who actually has to carry the stuff. 10-20 lbs reduction in total weight matters.