iMac Pro Teardown Highlights Modular RAM, CPU and SSD Along With Redesigned Internals

Quantel was sealed box and how well that ended?
Lightwave had workstations, that needed their own staff to fly with white gloves to turn the screwdriver.
Avid and EVS had/have hdd’s with their own firmware, so you had to pay ”applelike” amounts for them.
Apple is going to the same way...

 

The World and everything else concerning this has changed. Both Apple and users would be better of if Apple would let Macs go.

 

You can seal unsealed computer for security reasons, but you can’t unseal the factory sealed computer. Apple happily forgets this for profits.
There is this funny distorsion in Apple field, that there is something wrong with upgreadable computer, if you don’t want to upgrade it. If you don’t want to upgrade, the computer has to be unupgradeable to be good. If upgradeability makes a computer $100 more expensive or 2 millimeter thicker it’s the end of the world. Same time you happily pay triple prices for apple branded ram and storage.
Same way some people are afraid if their computer have some ports that they don’t need. Unused ports somehow eats the magic energy of the computer.

 

I'd say Apple didn't forget anything. They want it sealed and it's a choice they made knowing what they're doing. They've progressively limited or removed access to internals, model by model. I think they've noticed in their sells that customers tend to over estimate their needs, just in case, when the machine is sealed, and they buy more expensive models than they've bought if the option for upgrade existed. And it's all extra cash for Apple. I'm sure they have clear spreadsheets how many customers they'll loose this way and how much more profit they'll gain, when they deny access to internals. And here we have a result. It is not just form over function, it's profit over function.

It seems that iMac Pro owner can update the machine at any official Apple service point there are. Not just at Apple, but at any service vendor that has an Apple certification. Still... one has to carry the whole machine to the shop and buy Apple parts only. :-/

 

I still think the idea of a iMac Pro is great, and I believe Apple that they'll also bring back the modular Mac Pro. Now think how awesome it would be to do this with a laptop - you know - a laptop with high end specs that would compare with a desktop. You could call it a Macbook Pro.

 

Apple could do that, sure. But people want thin, light and decent battery life in a laptop.

How many want a desktop equivalent that would be thick and heavy, with poor battery life?

 

”It is not just form over function, it's profit over function.”
Well said.
I couldn’t put it better. That’s Apple nowadays. .sig stuff.

--- Post Merged, Jan 5, 2018 ---

Splitting Macs to own company would be good for users, but not for Apple. It’s a PR thing.

 

I'm assuming you are not talking about current iMacs any longer , where 'sealed' means you either pay out of your nose for upgrades or simple repairs, or you go to iFixit and find a DIY guide ?

To get back on topic .

So the 'sealed' design of the iMac Pro is benefitial in your line of work as it meets your security standards ?
Didn't think so .
( Even considering the 'creative' harddrive arrangement . )

I don't for a moment question the needs re. security you might have, but I can't see how your reasoning relates to the iMac Pro in any way , or to the lack of user accesebility in any regular computer .

Any device that can not fairly easily be tampered with mechanically has to be locked away, and/or guarded , or use a custom made case or locking mechanism .

How are your needs met by anything one can buy off the shelf, let alone any Mac ever made ?

 

Does anyone here know if the Intel chips in the iMac pro are affected by the Meltdown and Specter bugs?

 

Yes they are.

 

Well then......so Intel is not building and selling modified chips even though they have known of the problem for at least 6 months?
Another two questions..... when will Intel alter their hardware architecture? Is there a timeline available?

 

Elsewhere, someone estimated the year ... 2020. All of the upcoming processors (Cannon Lake, Cascade Lake, Coffee Lake, Ice Lake, Tiger Lake, Whiskey Lake) are likely to be unfixed. There isn't enough time to revise their designs. The fix will require Intel's next major architecture change - due with the "xxx Rapids" family.

 

Very curious what the fix will be. Seems like tough to fix without delaying cache loads. I guess maybe the best solution would involve invalidating cache lines after a protection fault.

 

Thanks for that....I have a late 2012 27' iMac. I hope it and I last until 2020

 

In 20014, the iMac G5 was touted as super easy to upgrade, with the user only needing to loosen 3 screws to take the back off the iMac. The 3 screws were even designed so they’d never fall out of the back and get lost.

If it weren’t for the blowing capacitor issue and intel transition 2 years later I probably would’ve upgraded a thing or two in it.

 

I'm a professional photographer. This is my day job.

I can afford any computer on the market I wish to buy.

I have a fairly top of the line PC, i7, 50gb of ram, dual 27" monitors, 1080GTX video card, SSDs.. etc.. it's a damned good computer..

My 2013 MacBook Pro *still* runs Lightroom and Photoshop better.

There are some things which you may be able to speak intelligently on. This is not one of them.

 

<humour> Obviously someone knows why it is still better. You are not one of them. </humour>