I've lost my ability to keep track of Intel's product line, but I know a number of people here seem to keep it straight. The current Xeons in the iMac Pro line were from late 2017, if I have it right. Anyone know when the next generation might be ready?
If I'm reading
Wikipedia right, the current chips pull something on the order of 120 to 140W. The next Mac Pro looks like it's based on chips pulling over 200W.
Actually the 3175X goes all the way up the 255W but it came out substantially after the iMac Pro. ( And it is largely a giant stop gap kludge that Intel came up with. )
Short answer is that the iMac Pro is probably stuck for 2019. Intel may have something in mid 2020 , but iMac Pro may need to move a bit ( grow bigger to cool more or get off the "Look it is magical, no apparent vents' mindset).
The new Xeon W class processors that the Mac Pro is going to use are in the W-32xx class. The iMac Pro used the W-21xx. The second digit is generation in Intel's naming scheme. Intel's Server (SP) and Workstation (W) naming scheme is here:
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/processors/processor-numbers-data-center.html
The Xeon W 3000 series is a different CPU socket ( LGA-3647 vs LGA-2066 and a different chipset C600 ver C422 ). There are some current reports that Intel is going to completely abandon the 2000 series for Xeon W. They don't have to if they re-rationalize the pricing. The current notion is that AMD Threadripper is such a huge threat they are completely walking away from the smaller socket into order to increase bandwidth by leverage the 3647 socket in a new way. I'm not sure they will retreat on all fronts there for 2019. Intel running for the hills in panic retreat would be odd.
There is also talk of "Cascade Lake X " HEDT series coming in the Fall. Perhaps that too is a mass abandoned of socket 2066. Up until now the high level of the X series has been just Xeon E5/W die designs with a set of features flipped on/off to separate them. Intel could move to better prices. Like the SP series with 3-8 sku levels (Bronze - Platinum ) they could have a bigger range of prices. The top levels of the X and W-22xx could move down a bit in price ( where have to at this point face more competitive with Ryzen 7 and 9 than with Threadripper. )
So one possibility is the somewhat stopgap W-22xx would come out late Fall and Intel probably wouldn't make big deal out of them ( but would be drop in replacements for the current W-21xx systems with more fixes and slighly better clocks. . ). That would give Apple an option for the iMac Pro.
The other is that Intel will pause from W-2xxx/socket and perhaps fill more of the HEDT with the mainstream desktop socket processor that maxes out at 10 cores. In that context Intel may wait until Ice lake (10nm0 arrives for W series to bring it up to two mostly complete tiers. So if Apple doesn't want to make substantive changes to the iMac Pro , it could be waiting until 2020-2021 for intel to uncork a suitable processor.
if Apple has to wait until 2020 to get something they could jump over to AMD ( which would be a longer delay).
I'm not sure how they'd fit the W-32xx into the current enclosure. It takes up substantially more space. (which standard 27" iMac case dimensions doesn't have much room for ) and runs substantially hotter. Conceptually, Apple could put a 'regular Retina' backlight system on that 6K panel and 'grow" the iMac Pro bigger. [ That would help separate more from the regular 27" iMac. ] . Or they could drop the constraint of hiding the output vents being the pedestal arm holding up the iMac Pro. Two bigger fans running output air to two larger vents would help at some thermal coverage.
An iMac Pro with an
Ultra Wide (a different 6k3k 6240×2880 ) panel would grow volume too. Spaced farther apart would have some more room for a CPU 'zone' . If the iMac Pro proved itself as a product it may not have to rigidly stick to the 27" case's dimensions (or exit vent design metrics ) on the next iteration.
they could stop the iMac Pro at 16-18 cores. It really only needs something more than 8-10.( over the next 2-3 years). It doesn't have to chase "as many as possible".
Are those also the chips that would make their way into the iMac Pro, or will there be lower power variants?
A most up to date list is here:
https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/series/125035/intel-xeon-w-processor.html
The new W-32xx clocked slower to substantially drop the power levels (and prices ) probably won't help Intel much at all. clocked too slow the Ryzen 7 , 9 and this coming Falls Threadripper will walk right past them.
clock too low and Intel throws away single threaded and IPC advantage they have.
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Not likely. I don't see anything on the
leaked roadmap for this year or next for the LGA 2066 socket (used in iMac Pro) that will push beyond 18C nor anything other than 14nm. If Apple bothers updating. It would be some minor Cascade Lake improvement, perhaps the Apache Pass revision.
iMac Pro really doesn't need need much past 18c. It really only needs options higher than 8 and not dropping much on base clock. If on Intel there is not way over next 1.5-2 years to get to more than 18 on a single die. Nothing in the roadmaps point to Ice-Lake having any XCC ( > 18) die. 10nm may have trouble even getting to same size as current HCC ( > 10 and < 19 ) die. Intel may just get to 10c. and then use the 3647 package in the W-33xx series to package up two dies to goose the core count to 20c (but introduce more NUMA to the package ).
The iMac Pro is short on DIMM slots. Apache Pass features ( Optane DIMMs that are non-volatile memory )aren't really a viable option ( unless very dramatically change the case and screen size. And "no RAM door" Apache Pass is more than goofy ... even for Apple. It won't fly. ). Optane DIMMs primarily make sense where have enough slots for normal RAMM and add the Optane DIMMS in addition to that. They also require OS changes ( which Apple shows about zero signs of doing. and folks have spent years adding that support into Linux , Windows ,etc. That is not something Apple is going to throw in over night.)
As for roadmaps. it was there.
https://www.extremetech.com/computi...ap-leak-still-shows-no-10nm-cpus-through-2020
x299 and C422 Cascade Lake.
The new W-3xxx is not a C422 option on that chart so the above is dated. Whether Intel put another 'swim lane' on the chart or wholesale dumped the socket compatible stuff altogether I haven't seen a broad picture roadmap to say it is out yet.
