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

[toke lahti]

A computer with a 5k starting price that
1- cannot be user upgraded the RAM?
2- cannot be user upgraded the HD?
3- That the external design is still over 5 years old...??

Really?

No thanks.

Another big hardware failure.
Like the Mac Pro
Like the lastest Macbook Pro

When are they planning to fire the person in charge of these mistakes?

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...

 

[toke lahti]

You live in a fantasy world if you think Apple ever do that.... They tried the licensing game way back in the late 80's early 90's it did not go too well for them and I doubt they ever coming back to it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_clone

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

 

[toke lahti]

Unfortunately Apple's systems require they go back to Apple. Third party service providers are unable to perform repairs on the latest systems.
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The issue isn't whether people refuse to accept some people have different needs than themselves. The issue is when people attempt to use those different needs to rationalize away a feature others desire. I cannot see a single, end user benefit to a system which cannot be user serviceable. You don't want / need that capability? No problem, those that want it accept that. However having that capability in no way impacts your ability to use the system as you see fit. No one is forcing you to upgrade / service your systems. Feel free to continue taking it to wherever you take it for upgrades / service.

On another note: Can the iMacs USB / Thurderbolt / Firewire ports be disabled?

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.

 

[Zarniwoop]

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.

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. :-/

 

[jdiamond]

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.

 

[PickUrPoison]

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?

 

[toke lahti]

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. :-/

”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.
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I've commented on this in the past. But it really wouldn't surprise me to see Apple spin off it's desktop and laptop business into a separate company.

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

 

[barmann]

How am I wrong? 14000+ machines in our enterprise. No repairs done on-site - if something goes wrong an identical replacement is swapped in and the machine is sent off. And for security reasons the machines mustn’t be opened. These are business requirements. Just because they aren’t your requirements doesn’t invalidate them.

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 ?

It’s not just a beneficial design feature in this case - it’s a business requirement. In certain industries you need to have sealed boxes or seal them ourselves - the latter involves distribution and bookkeeping on thousands of keys, where, due to multiple third party security audits one would have to keep paperwork that shows the chain of custody on each key at all times.

If passerby’s really ****ed with your engine, you’d weld your car hood shut in a minute.

People really do want to break into computers that hold information that could be worth billions of dollars.

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 ?

 

[haddy]

When was the iMac ever billed as a user upgradeable machine?
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How is this iMac any different than the ones that have come before it? The current design first originated under Steve Jobs. Hardly anything design wise has changed since. Talk about fake news!

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

 

[cmaier]

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

Yes they are.

 

[haddy]

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?

 

[curmudgeonette]

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.

 

[cmaier]

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.

 

[haddy]

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.

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

 

[PBG4 Dude]

When was the iMac ever billed as a user upgradeable machine?

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.

 

[Essentials]

And what do you do for a living? I have over a dozen friends who are designers, photographers, editors, 3D animators, special FX artists, color graders with Davinci Resolve...and all of them have switched to Windows PCs because of this issue.

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.

 

[toke lahti]

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>