iMac Pro - Spec Update / Price Drop when?

[reflekshunmusic]

Does anyone have any guesses as to when the first Spec Update / Price Drop for the imac pro line will be? This year you think?

I'm saving up to get one but they're really expensive so it's taking me a while haha

 

[Steve121178]

If it's a struggle to get one, then it suggests it's way beyond your financial means. What do you need an iMac Pro for that the regular iMac can't do?

If you are making money from your work then the iMac Pro should pay for itself. I certainly wouldn't buy one out of my own money when it's value and position in the market will be fairly redundant when the modular Mac Pro eventually arrives.

 

[reflekshunmusic]

If it's a struggle to get one, then it suggests it's way beyond your financial means. What do you need an iMac Pro for that the regular iMac can't do?

If you are making money from your work then the iMac Pro should pay for itself. I certainly wouldn't buy one out of my own money when it's value and position in the market will be fairly redundant when the modular Mac Pro eventually arrives.

I knew the wording of my post would get me into trouble haha, it sounded too kid-like.

For better context I am running a music production / audio engineering business and to put it bluntly, even the fastest SSD in the world is still not fast enough to handle the bandwidth required by the orchestral music creation I'm doing (a single string library can be around 500GB, so you can imagine the real time data streaming needs). So SSD speed, RAM Size both super important there. And the latest generation CPU cores, and lots of them, very important for the kinds of instruments and FX I am using. It's not way beyond my financial means, it's just taking a while to save up for it because the music business is hard, and there are lots of things going on in my life right now. But I'm definitely going to get there, and I have planned this purchase for years. Believe me. This is not going to be enough for my needs in a few years time. But for now it will be a great help. Hope that clears things up!

 

[Steve121178]

Fair enough. I'd personally hold on to see what the new Mac Pro offers. You might be kicking yourself if you opt for the iMac Pro now.

 

[reflekshunmusic]

Fair enough. I'd personally hold on to see what the new Mac Pro offers. You might be kicking yourself if you opt for the iMac Pro now.

I have considered waiting for the mac pro, but I'm guessing the price will be magnitudes higher for similar specs, based on how apple have priced the mac pro in the past. But chances are I will be holding out until at least the announcement to avoid kicking myself! I was just looking for an impossible to guess date I think haha.

I can eventually afford the imac pro at the current price, but I would like to know if I can save by waiting a little bit this year that's all. It has been over a year since release, but i guess over the last few years imacs have been getting updates every 2 years, so it might not happen this year.

 

[jseq]

On the other end being a early adopter of a new Mac Pro is quite risky, the iMac Pro is now a solid bet in terms of reliability! But I would hold on if possible!

 

[reflekshunmusic]

On the other end being a early adopter of a new Mac Pro is quite risky, the iMac Pro is now a solid bet in terms of reliability! But I would hold on if possible!

Oh yeah this is a really good point and one of the other things that makes me nervous. Usually buying a mac pro on year one is not an financially efficient or safe decision.

 

[Steve121178]

I have considered waiting for the mac pro, but I'm guessing the price will be magnitudes higher for similar specs, based on how apple have priced the mac pro in the past. But chances are I will be holding out until at least the announcement to avoid kicking myself! I was just looking for an impossible to guess date I think haha.

I can eventually afford the imac pro at the current price, but I would like to know if I can save by waiting a little bit this year that's all. It has been over a year since release, but i guess over the last few years imacs have been getting updates every 2 years, so it might not happen this year.

I'd imagine Apple will offer a baseline 4/6 Core Mac Pro that could be priced well below the iMac Pro. As ever, things will start to get rapidly more expensive when you start to spec a Xeon CPU, RAM, storage etc.

 

[shaunp]

If it's a struggle to get one, then it suggests it's way beyond your financial means. What do you need an iMac Pro for that the regular iMac can't do?

If you are making money from your work then the iMac Pro should pay for itself. I certainly wouldn't buy one out of my own money when it's value and position in the market will be fairly redundant when the modular Mac Pro eventually arrives.

Does it have to run on a Mac? PC workstations offer a lot more in terms of performance, and not just price/performance, the performance scales much higher too. They are available now, and can be upgraded as your needs grow. I'm not Mac-bashing here, just saying if performance is your main concern then look at all of the options.

 

[Steve121178]

Does it have to run on a Mac? PC workstations offer a lot more in terms of performance, and not just price/performance, the performance scales much higher too. They are available now, and can be upgraded as your needs grow. I'm not Mac-bashing here, just saying if performance is your main concern then look at all of the options.

I've always recommended a PC over the iMac Pro. The iMac Pro just doesn't make any sense. If people are set on Apple-only software then I'd just go with the regular iMac which is still rapid.

 

[G4DPII]

Spec bump? Who knows. All depends on whether it was actually a stop gap between Trash Can and Modular Mac Pro's. Seems like a bit to much effort for that given Apple's recent lack of care for the desktop computer side of things.

If it was purely a stop gap, then after 6 or 8 months of the Modular MacPro being on Sale can see them dropping it. If on the other hand it is a new category they've entered with any serious intentions it may get a small spec bump at the same time as they update the rest of the iMac range. No one has a clue when. Sadly it seems like the iMac maybe falling into the same sort of update schedule as the rest of the desktop line up.

Price reduction? ha ha ha ha ha ha, that's a good one.

 

[shaunp]

I've always recommended a PC over the iMac Pro. The iMac Pro just doesn't make any sense. If people are set on Apple-only software then I'd just go with the regular iMac which is still rapid.

iMac is about the only Apple desktop that makes sense given the price/performance. I'd still rather have a regular desktop form factor though than an all in one. One day, one day...

 

[reflekshunmusic]

I'd imagine Apple will offer a baseline 4/6 Core Mac Pro that could be priced well below the iMac Pro. As ever, things will start to get rapidly more expensive when you start to spec a Xeon CPU, RAM, storage etc.

Yes I'm not going for a base model iMac Pro, i'm going for:
10-Core / 64GB RAM / 2TB SSD / 8GB VRAM / Apple Care - $8000 (including tax)
I imagine Specing a newly released mac pro and buying a good color quality 5k screen is going to be more expensive than buying an iMac Pro. Part of the price is in the ability to customize. The greatest problem with the iMac is the inability to scale the setup, but I'm fairly certain that's the reason the iMac has been one of apples best value desktop products.

Does it have to run on a Mac? PC workstations offer a lot more in terms of performance, and not just price/performance, the performance scales much higher too. They are available now, and can be upgraded as your needs grow. I'm not Mac-bashing here, just saying if performance is your main concern then look at all of the options.

That's definitely good advice. Just depends on the situation - I am using a lot of apple only software and there is also MacOS, it clicks for me in a way that windows doesn't, and I know that's just personal preference but I've been through the thought a million times. Next machine is going to be a Mac for me. And please, can nobody suggest hackintosh or VMware. I just wanted to ask if anyone has a hunch on a price drop. I know what product belongs in my studio!

I've always recommended a PC over the iMac Pro. The iMac Pro just doesn't make any sense. If people are set on Apple-only software then I'd just go with the regular iMac which is still rapid.

The speed of a computer is fast or slow depending on what you do with it. Considering my usage it isn't fast enough and will choke on the first day that I use it! It also has too few ports on the back for my setup.

 

[Zdigital2015]

Does anyone have any guesses as to when the first Spec Update / Price Drop for the imac pro line will be? This year you think?

I'm saving up to get one but they're really expensive so it's taking me a while haha

Intel updates Xeon's on a slower schedule than consumer CPUs. However, if rumors and speculation are true, then the Basin Falls refresh of the iMac Pro's Xeon W-Series CPUs should occur this year. A 22-core version ran through the rumor mill last year, but things cooled off once the Xeon W-3175X was demoed in October of 2018. Since the W-3175X is completely unsuitable for the iMac Pro, nothing has really changed.

Give Apple's track record, I would not expect a spec update until Intel updates the Xeon W lineup and AMD has something ready to replace the Vega 56 and Vega 64 (which is not the RADEON VII). I think an update this year is 50/50, especially considering the Apple will be pushing the Mac Pro hard once (if) they release it to the public.

Depending your location, you might do well to look at an Apple Certified Refurbished iMac Pro. You can currently find the 8-Core Xeon with 64GB DRAM/2TB SSD/Vega 56 for $5,609.00.
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I'd imagine Apple will offer a baseline 4/6 Core Mac Pro that could be priced well below the iMac Pro. As ever, things will start to get rapidly more expensive when you start to spec a Xeon CPU, RAM, storage etc.

At this stage of the game, and given the way Apple has been pricing and speccing their Macs, I would expect at least a 10- or 12-Core Xeon for the base CPU with a starting price of $4999. Starting at anything less than 8-Core is a complete non-starter for the professionals they are seeking to recapture after 6 years of the previous Mac Pro and over 2 years since they admitted they had engineered themselves into a corner.

I do agree that things will get rapidly more expensive when you start adding BTO items to the bill of sale.

 

[xgman]

On the other end being a early adopter of a new Mac Pro is quite risky, the iMac Pro is now a solid bet in terms of reliability!

I would disagree with that. This is not uncommon:
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ernel-panic-poll.2166358/page-4#post-27136532

 

[SecuritySteve]

I have considered waiting for the mac pro, but I'm guessing the price will be magnitudes higher for similar specs

No, an AIO is magnitudes of price higher than a workstation because you are also shelling out 1,000 $ for the 5k monitor. Professionals like you need beefy internals, not pretty pictures. The Mac Pro should be cheaper than the iMac Pro if you can get your own monitor that actually meets your needs, instead of what Apple thinks you want.

There's a rumor floating around that somehow the Mac Pro will be more expensive than the iMac Pro. I seriously doubt that. The price competition is not between iMac Pro and Mac Pro, it is between HP Z and Mac Pro.

 

[keysofanxiety]

I knew the wording of my post would get me into trouble haha, it sounded too kid-like.

For better context I am running a music production / audio engineering business and to put it bluntly, even the fastest SSD in the world is still not fast enough to handle the bandwidth required by the orchestral music creation I'm doing (a single string library can be around 500GB, so you can imagine the real time data streaming needs). So SSD speed, RAM Size both super important there. And the latest generation CPU cores, and lots of them, very important for the kinds of instruments and FX I am using. It's not way beyond my financial means, it's just taking a while to save up for it because the music business is hard, and there are lots of things going on in my life right now. But I'm definitely going to get there, and I have planned this purchase for years. Believe me. This is not going to be enough for my needs in a few years time. But for now it will be a great help. Hope that clears things up!

Which orchestral suite do you use, EastWest or a different one? Also which DAW do you use please?

 

[reflekshunmusic]

No, an AIO is magnitudes of price higher than a workstation because you are also shelling out 1,000 $ for the 5k monitor. Professionals like you need beefy internals, not pretty pictures. The Mac Pro should be cheaper than the iMac Pro if you can get your own monitor that actually meets your needs, instead of what Apple thinks you want.

The iMac screen is my ideal screen, I do want the P3 color / 5k screen, which is generally quite pricey. I'm okay with shelling out for it because it is valuable for my needs. Again, I've done the research and compared it against my needs. Don't worry about recommending me a different product. I know what I want, I'm just asking if anyone has a hunch on a spec bump timeline.

Based on the launch price of the previous Mac Pro, it is very likely that a Mac Pro will cost more than an iMac Pro. It would also make sense since the iMac Pro is seriously disadvantaged in terms of scalability and user servicing / maintenance. That's a comprimise I am personally willing to make. But I'm still going to look out for the potential mac pro announcement in June / July for sure!

 

[SecuritySteve]

The iMac screen is my ideal screen, I do want the P3 color / 5k screen, which is generally quite pricey. I'm okay with shelling out for it because it is valuable for my needs. Again, I've done the research and compared it against my needs. Don't worry about recommending me a different product. I know what I want, I'm just asking if anyone has a hunch on a spec bump timeline.

Based on the launch price of the previous Mac Pro, it is very likely that a Mac Pro will cost more than an iMac Pro. It would also make sense since the iMac Pro is seriously disadvantaged in terms of scalability and user servicing / maintenance. That's a comprimise I am personally willing to make. But I'm still going to look out for the potential mac pro announcement in June / July for sure!

The base model iMac Pro is 5,000$ ... the 2013 Mac Pro released at 3,000$ ... add a 5k monitor onto it and the Mac Pro is still 20% cheaper. How do you figure that the Mac Pro is more expensive from this data set?

 

[reflekshunmusic]

There are two things, the base model of the Mac Pro at the time was less suitable for Pro use (256 GB internal drive? very lol even for 2013), when compared to the iMac Pro base model, which is a lot more reasonable. So a comparison for similar usability considering time scale would not be fair between the base Mac Pro from 2013 and the base iMac Pro in 2018. The base iMac Pro is more useable for Professional use and therefore has more value.

The new Mac Pro also hasn't been released yet, and it will likely release close to the time of a spec bump for the iMac Pro. I do see the iMac Pro being the 'value' option for pro users. At launch it was sold at lower than the cost of building a PC with the same specs, that is how I know that the mac pro is not likely to be cheaper. How and why would apple make a desktop machine that is even cheaper than the cost of building a PC than the iMac Pro was, I just don't see that happening.

Anyways, that's my reasoning, I understand if you disagree, but I guess we will all see what the deal is when this phantom modular mac pro thing actually gets released!

 

[fokmik]

If today ssd standards are too low,you should go ssd raid 0 setup

 

[xgman]

There's a rumor floating around that somehow the Mac Pro will be more expensive than the iMac Pro. I seriously doubt that. The price competition is not between iMac Pro and Mac Pro, it is between HP Z and Mac Pro.

It all depends on the options and configs available at launch. Anything is possible at this point, but I have a feeling that the mac pro will end up at the top of the heap for price and performance one way or the other, regardless of the imacs 5k screen.

 

[reflekshunmusic]

If today ssd standards are too low,you should go ssd raid 0 setup

I appreciate you looking out but I've explored every option, based on price / performance balance the imac pro with some external SSDs are the best option for my purposes.

No more recommendations for a different setup please. This thread is just for speculation on the iMac Pro life cycle.

 

[Ifti]

I'd love an iMac Pro, not just for the speed, but also the ports. I need 4 TB3 ports (2 would be taken straight away with external drives) and the 10GB ethernet considering I have a 10GBe network already running, albeit currently having to use a 10GBe to TB3 adapter.
Nevertheless, even though I don't think I would do for a Mac Pro setup, I think I would be rather foolish to pick up an iMac Pro now considering the Mac Pro could be coming very soon, even if only to keep my options open.
The iMac should be refreshed soon too, and could very well be suited to be rather then the iMac Pro if it comes with the ports and specs I need.
Just continuing to wait for the moment to keep my options open and get what's right for me, since it needs to last me the next 5 years or so!

 

[mreg376]

Does anyone have any guesses as to when the first Spec Update / Price Drop for the imac pro line will be? This year you think?

I'm saving up to get one but they're really expensive so it's taking me a while haha

You see how Apple works and what they've been doing lately and you're expecting price DROPS?
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The new Mac Pro also hasn't been released yet, and it will likely release close to the time of a spec bump for the iMac Pro. I do see the iMac Pro being the 'value' option for pro users. At launch it was sold at lower than the cost of building a PC with the same specs, that is how I know that the mac pro is not likely to be cheaper. How and why would apple make a desktop machine that is even cheaper than the cost of building a PC than the iMac Pro was, I just don't see that happening.

OR, we've seen the one and only iMac Pro release.