iMac Pro May Feature Intel's Server-Grade 'Purley' Processors, ARM Coprocessor

[WatchFromAfar]

No. Apple announced the iMac Pro and the modular Mac Pro at the same time at the end of April/early May. They specifically stated the iMac would be ready at the end of the 2017 (read December), and the Modular Mac Pro would be ready in 2018 (likely December of 2018).

The one thing I do believe is, Apple had been tossing around the idea of just cancelling the Pro line-up, and at least one senior Apple executive told them vacating the pro segment would be a disaster. Knowing the current Mac Pro design is awful, and they wanted to get something out quickly, they shoehorned Xeon parts into the current iMac form factor. That would give the R&D team extra time to design and produce a legit modular Mac Pro for 2018.

But...the modular Mac Pro was definitely going to happen...

OK perhaps I'm stupid. Why would Apple release an iMac Pro, which you can configure to have the best components on the the planet bar none, then release a Mac Pro where the supposedly selling point is "you can plug the best stuff into it if you choose". Doesn't the iMac Pro already scratch that itch?.

 

[johannnn]

AND they still keep releasing compute devices with the word "Pro" on it with no ability to do native CUDA workloads. I think somebody needs to sit down with the guys putting together requirements for these products and review things like this and not removing the "esc" key. I saw the dev community embrace Apple as a nice UI experience with a Linux-y backend. This type of behavior will have people getting other hardware and going back to pure Linux.

How on earth is pro in the name related to cuda workflows? pro models are "more pro" than the non-pro models, that's all.

 

[renai-spirit]

As a point of interest I'm looking forward to seeing how the base model iMac Pro compares with a top of the line standard 27" iMac. The price difference may work out to be worth it for "non-Pro" users to buy the Pro model if it means they get a couple more years of out of it before upgrading.

Given the growth in the use of iMacs in various creative industries over the past few years, I don't doubt there's a market for this machine.

 

[its93rc]

This is such a gorgeous computer. Luckily, the medical building in my University is getting some of these so I'll have the chance to use these.

 

[renai-spirit]

OK perhaps I'm stupid. Why would Apple release an iMac Pro, which you can configure to have the best components on the the planet bar none, then release a Mac Pro where the supposedly selling point is "you can plug the best stuff into it if you choose". Doesn't the iMac Pro already scratch that itch?.

Where did they say the iMac Pro has "the best components on the the planet bar none"? They've explicitly admitted that the all-in-one isn't the solution for everyone, therefore the Mac Pro and iMac Pro scratch different itches.

 

[rodpascoe]

Not necessarily related to this particular thread (although does also fit) bit whenever I read MacRumors threads it constantly surprises me a) how many people think they know more than Apple themselves do and b) how they are predicting with certainty that Apple are doomed as a company.

Apple have gone to become the most profitable company in the world yet daily people are posting in here about how they don't make the right machines, make machines that nobody will buy, don't update enough, charge too much etc etc etc and yet they go as a company from strength to strength.

Tim Cook gets the brunt of most of the abuse yet people seem to forget that he gets paid multi millions by the board of directors (and re-elected yearly) because it has gone to become the most profitable company in the world under his control.

Haters gonna hate I guess. 🙂

 

[zen]

No. Apple announced the iMac Pro and the modular Mac Pro at the same time at the end of April/early May. They specifically stated the iMac would be ready at the end of the 2017 (read December), and the Modular Mac Pro would be ready in 2018 (likely December of 2018).

The one thing I do believe is, Apple had been tossing around the idea of just cancelling the Pro line-up, and at least one senior Apple executive told them vacating the pro segment would be a disaster. Knowing the current Mac Pro design is awful, and they wanted to get something out quickly, they shoehorned Xeon parts into the current iMac form factor. That would give the R&D team extra time to design and produce a legit modular Mac Pro for 2018.

But...the modular Mac Pro was definitely going to happen...

Actually the modular Mac Pro was announced as forthcoming (sometime in 2018) on April 4th.

https://daringfireball.net/2017/04/the_mac_pro_lives

The iMac Pro was announced as forthcoming (December 2017) on June 5th.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMac_Pro

So people saying the reaction to the iMac Pro was so bad that they quickly announced a new modular Mac Pro are obviously very keen on these so-called "alternative facts" 😛

As you say above, the iMac Pro is a stopgap which they turned into a marketing stunt.

 

[pat500000]

OK if you weren't hating, then I apologize if I came off strong. But your point about "Different sw for different gpu" is the way it should be. If people are too lazy to optimize their code for AMD then people need to question them, not blame AMD for existing.

It's cool. But look...we got sierra high that supports egpu..that should solve our needs, right?

 

[zen]

Not necessarily related to this particular thread (although does also fit) bit whenever I read MacRumors threads it constantly surprises me a) how many people think they know more than Apple themselves do and b) how they are predicting with certainty that Apple are doomed as a company.

Apple have gone to become the most profitable company in the world yet daily people are posting in here about how they don't make the right machines, make machines that nobody will buy, don't update enough, charge too much etc etc etc and yet they go as a company from strength to strength.

Tim Cook gets the brunt of most of the abuse yet people seem to forget that he gets paid multi millions by the board of directors (and re-elected yearly) because it has gone to become the most profitable company in the world under his control.

Haters gonna hate I guess. 🙂

That's a separate issue - Apple are the most profitable company in the world because of the iPhone. Tim gets paid what he gets paid because he brings in all of that profit because of the iPhone. From an accounting perspective, he's doing an absolutely 100% perfect job, and there is no way in hell anybody would ever want to get rid of him.

But on the computer side of things, Apple are deserving of the criticism. Yet, again, from an accounting perspective, this doesn't matter, because Macs now make up such a tiny fraction of Apple's business.

 

[JMacHack]

"not pro enough" cries again. 64-128gb of ram will be nothing in 2 years, needs replacement options. an 8-core CPU is nothing, needs replacement, Vega GPUs won't be **** in 3 years, cries the Macrumors forums.

Apple is doomed for the 100th time now.

 

[zen]

"not pro enough" cries again. 64-128gb of ram will be nothing in 2 years, needs replacement options. an 8-core CPU is nothing, needs replacement, Vega GPUs won't be **** in 3 years, cries the Macrumors forums.

Apple is doomed for the 100th time now.

Again, that's missing the point. The components of the iMac Pro are totally pro. The problem is that they are soldered together inside an incredibly expensive disposable computer.

 

[WatchFromAfar]

Where did they say the iMac Pro has "the best components on the the planet bar none"? They've explicitly admitted that the all-in-one isn't the solution for everyone, therefore the Mac Pro and iMac Pro scratch different itches.

Look, time will tell, it's a rumors site we are just guessing.

 

[JMacHack]

Again, that's missing the point. The components of the iMac Pro are totally pro. The problem is that they are soldered together inside an incredibly expensive disposable computer.

Hardly, the main point of upgrades is to extend the usable life of a machine. I can't imagine a spec'd-out iMac Pro is going to be obsolete in such a short timeframe. While I would certainly like an upgradeable, expandable machine for the same expense, I can't imagine that within 8 years this thing won't still be a powerhouse.

I would also like to point out that in every computer I've owned, the major issue with the longevity has been the Motherboard, when CPU sockets change, or new technologies come about. At which point it doesn't matter what components you have, the machine itself becomes "disposable".

And I would bet my bottom dollar that the iMac Pro would last just as long.

 

[Rocketman]

No, the iMac Pro was originally designed to replace the Mac Pro. Then they got so much hate from the community they released the iMac Pro with a withering promise of shipping a Mac Pro sometime next year (which btw may never happen).

They specifically stated they are doing an entirely new MacPro as well.

My guess is the next OS release will be called Mojave. Big and hot.

 

[jmgregory1]

OK perhaps I'm stupid. Why would Apple release an iMac Pro, which you can configure to have the best components on the the planet bar none, then release a Mac Pro where the supposedly selling point is "you can plug the best stuff into it if you choose". Doesn't the iMac Pro already scratch that itch?.

Perhaps where we're going to find the "Pro" computer market in the coming years is a series of easily connectable and replaceable parts that you can configure based upon your computing needs. Years ago, this idea wasn't possible due to slow interconnectivity when parts were not directly soldered onto the same board. That's far less the issue today, given the current ability to have an external GPU (for example) afforded us by the super connection standards. I would assume Apple's issue with going this direction will be how it will look, so as not to have some mishmash of boxes and forms connected with a tangle of wires, but if anyone can figure that out, Apple can.

The iMac Pro certainly will serve the needs of a portion of the existing Pro market, even with its all in one not really updatable design. Not everyone cares about or even believes that every tech item needs to be future-proof. Frankly, given the shifts in areas beyond CPU and GPU, the idea that we should be using the old tower form factors, just so you can update the hard drive, CPU or GPU, is a bit foolish thinking. Those tower PC's that were built 5 years ago, even with leading-edge components, are still going to be based around 5 year old tech, regardless of whether they were updated / upgraded with new parts.

 

[LordVic]

Are they RAM sticks on the left at the top? They look possibly... removable as opposed to soldered?

even the CPU looks potentially swappable.

 

[zen]

I would also like to point out that in every computer I've owned, the major issue with the longevity has been the Motherboard, when CPU sockets change, or new technologies come about. At which point it doesn't matter what components you have, the machine itself becomes "disposable".

You can upgrade the motherboard on a PC.

 

[JMacHack]

You can upgrade the motherboard on a PC.

At which point you have to replace a lot of other parts as well. I'll eat crow if I have to, but I can't honestly see the iMac Pro to have a shorter EoL than a regular PC.

 

[antonis]

Current iMac throttling issue? Please post a credible link supporting that.

Surely you've heard and read about iMac heating issues through the years (e.g. even from the previous, thicker design up to the current one), either its about throttling or even worse (my older iMac temperature was affecting the screen back panel). And then there's the 2013 mac pro.

But the whole point is - and the one I was replying to - that it is not in the realm of impossible to see thermal issues in the upcoming machine, especially one that will be pushed to the limits of its performance. It has been proved that apple is not unmistakable.

 

[sudo1996]

OK perhaps I'm stupid. Why would Apple release an iMac Pro, which you can configure to have the best components on the the planet bar none, then release a Mac Pro where the supposedly selling point is "you can plug the best stuff into it if you choose". Doesn't the iMac Pro already scratch that itch?.

One of the many reasons you pay the big bucks for Xeon processors is that you can put 2 or sometimes more of them on a motherboard. The Mac Pro could be dual-socket like it was in 2006-2012, and they could cram more cores in that way.

Also, the Mac Pro could have much, much faster GPUs, and more than 1 of them. The iMac can't fit those big ones, and it probably can't dissipate heat well enough to support them anyway.

 

[rumplestiltskin]

My only concern would be whether these "Skylake"(?) based CPUs will have the H265 hardware codec embedded (like the 7th gen Kaby Lakes do) or whether Apple will have to implement some sort of software hack in the OS to utilize the extra horsepower in an inefficient manner.

 

[Tesseract]

Putting a Xeon in a non-up-gradable machine is such a pointless waste. Xeon aren't "better" chips. They are the exact same in every way as their non-Xeon versions save that they last longer and have ECC capabilities.

Also, all this talk of heat generation is misplaced. It won't generate more heat because its a Xeon.

Apple hasn't learned a single thing from the failure that is the nMP. This iMac "Pro" is nMP 2.0 with a prepackaged monitor.

Granted, it might sell a bit better to idiots with cash who have no idea what a Xeon is.

edit: oh hey look what i found in less than 3 seconds of google searching:

 

[LordVic]

Putting a Xeon in a non-up-gradable machine is such a pointless waste. Xeon aren't "better" chips. They are the exact same in every way as their non-Xeon versions save that they last longer and have ECC capabilities.

Also, all this talk of heat generation is misplaced. It won't generate more heat because its a Xeon.

Apple hasn't learned a single thing from the failure that is the nMP. This iMac "Pro" is nMP 2.0 with a prepackaged monitor.

Granted, it might sell a bit better to idiots with cash who have no idea what a Xeon is.

edit: oh hey look what i found in less than 3 seconds of google searching:

there's no current (except for the new Skylake-X lineup) Intel CPU's over 4 cores that aren't Xeon's

if Apple's goal here is to offer 6+ core CPU's. there's little option but to use Xeon based CPU's, even though they're the same technology as their i7 counterparts.

if they were offering the same 4 core offerings in Xeon and I7 variants, your point would be valid but until Intel releases their Kaby Lake 6+ core CPU's, it's Xeon or nothing

 

[jkichline]

Xeon. AMD GPU. iMac form factor.

Heat dissipation issues? No, never! 😛

Did you watch the Keynote at all? Have to experienced the unit in person? I can tell you that the amount of airflow in the back of that unit is massive, and yet quiet. Basically there are two large fans pumping air through a large slot in the bottom and out a large slot at the top. I'm not sure how much airflow you'd need precisely, but I can tell you that the things moves some massive amounts of air pretty effectively.
[doublepost=1498243912][/doublepost]

Apple just recently said at the WWDC in big bold letters they have the best displays. The 102ppi iMac 21.5 says that's an absolute lie. If anyone pushes an agenda, it's Apple and their deceptive marketing campaigns. I'm keeping it real. If Steve Jobs were alive today, non retina iMac's and MacBooks would have ceased production 3 years ago.

I'm not following your point here. It would be like Ford saying they have the best trucks on the market and then you ding them for selling the Ford Bronco or Fiesta or something. Apple makes a bare-bones entry level iMac for the education market. It's not complicated to comprehend. Nearly all consumer Windows machines sold today max out at 1920x1080.

Basically, you're never happy. You want Apple to reduce prices to sell less expensive product and when they do, you ding them for not selling the best of their best for cheap prices. You can't have it both ways.

 

[v0lume4]

Did you watch the Keynote at all? Have to experienced the unit in person? I can tell you that the amount of airflow in the back of that unit is massive, and yet quiet. Basically there are two large fans pumping air through a large slot in the bottom and out a large slot at the top. I'm not sure how much airflow you'd need precisely, but I can tell you that the things moves some massive amounts of air pretty effectively.

I was just making a joke. Here's a later post of mine:
iMac Pro May Feature Intel's Server-Grade 'Purley' Processors, ARM Coprocessor

Now, that said, I have seen members around here complain about thermal throttling on the current iMacs. YMMV.