MP All Models Mac Pro X,Y…WHAT IF…

[ZombiePhysicist]

In a world where Apple released the 8,1 (update 2023-06-21, model number is actually Mac14,8), the Mac 'Doh!. With no 3rd party GPU upgrades. With no upgradable RAM. With no upgradable CPUs...

...Apple actually cared about Pros and Enthusiasts.... Let's play make believe...

All they need to do to turn this around are these 3 things:
1) Add support for GPUs
2) Add the ability to upgrade additional ram (and either extend the SOC ram or treat it like cache like we’ve seen elsewhere). And lets make memory be ECC.
3) Add the ability to replace/upgrade the SOC itself

And they can end the embarrassing 8,1 Mac 'Doh! and give us a real Mac Pro... WHAT IF they actually cared what you (pros/enthusiasts) think... What do you think it should be?

 

[gpat]

With the 8,1 they have just put out that chassis to make us wonder what they'll do with it next.
Bigger SoC designs are probably coming with M3 but they didn't want to embarass themselves with Intel any further.

 

[Matty_TypeR]

The embarrassment is the Mac pro 8.1 lol its not a pro machine at all.

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

The question is... is there a chance they will put in GPU support?

 

[mattspace]

What if Apple actually cared about Pros and Enthusiasts.... Let's play make believe...

A world where 3rd party graphics cards are supported and...

Honestly, does Apple deserve us spending even a single precious minute of our lives thinking about it?

Clearly the Mac is an iPad with a different input focus, that’s Apple’s future course - the thing you buy is the best it will ever be, and as with iDevices, every OS upgrade will just make the machine slower and slower, as Apple manages the decline, like an aged person receiving “managed” health care for a gentle descent into the grave.

Where I was looking to finance a ~17k Mac Pro if what came out was like the 7,1... now, nope. Maybe a cheap mini, but I think Synology-centric and disentangling from Apple interconnection is the way forward.

Sad way for ~29 years of daily use to come to a close... but there it is.

 

[MisterAndrew]

I'm sure most of us will keep using our Intel Mac Pros as long as possible. Most 5,1 and 6,1 people will probably migrate to 7,1 as prices come down unless Apple abruptly cuts Intel support from macOS. I don't think too many of use care about the 9,1. I'm sure it will be same as the 8,1 except with M3 Ultra. I would be very surprised if they added AMD GPUs back. I suppose they might if there is enough pushback.

I've read lots of comments from pros and IT people that they are done with Apple now after this stunt.

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

Although, the new Mac Pro might be called the 8,2 now that I think about it... but good enough for discussion purposes.

 

[randy85]

The dream is dead for all the madmen who thought you'd be able to somehow insert random PC parts into an Apple Silicon Mac Pro.

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

The dream is dead for all the madmen who thought you'd be able to somehow insert random PC parts into an Apple Silicon Mac Pro.

Well you can insert random PC parts into a silicon Mac Pro. Just not random GPUs (apparently). So high speed SSD cards, audio equipment, video capture equipment etc.

I *do* think if we make enough of a stink about needing 3rd party GPU support they could bring it back.

 

[mattspace]

Well you can insert random PC parts into a silicon Mac Pro. Just not random GPUs (apparently). So high speed SSD cards, audio equipment, video capture equipment etc.

Anything apart from the stuff that allows you to extend the machine’s usable lifespan, by increasing its fundamental performance envelope.

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

I do think there is still a small chance they bring back GPUs, give us an M3 Extreme chip, and give us PCI5 in the next go round.

There is a chance this was the Mac Pro they had to shove out by necessity, and could still give us the Mac Pro we all really want.

Yes, a vanishingly small chance...

On a positive note, at least the posts saying we wouldnt get any slots or just one slot all are done with. Getting 7 slots (6 usable) is pretty good. 2 16lane, 4 8 lane. 1 4 lane. Not terrible.

 

[randy85]

I'm gonna bet that if they do add expansion cards in a new Mac Pro, they will be their own architecture (sort of like Afterburner cards). I just don't see them ever supporting third party GPUs again.

I think now is a good time to give up on that dream.

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

I'm gonna bet that if they do add expansion cards in a new Mac Pro, they will be their own architecture (sort of like Afterburner cards). I just don't see them ever supporting third party GPUs again.

I think now is a good time to give up on that dream.

Maybe. But it's possible someone could write drivers. Open source them even.

For example, the other PC expansion cards will all work just fine. Seems more drivers than anything else is at play.

Then again, maybe open source is the only way, since the market is so tiny. :/

 

[MacProFCP]

What if Apple came out with a Mac Pro that
Started at $3,499
Had user upgradable ram up to 2TB
PCIe graphics card to act like external cards in addition to the SOC graphics card
Option for multiple SSDs
Option for PCIe SFP+ connection (fiber network)
A new design where the side opens so you don’t need to disconnect all the cables to open the box (like the beloved G5)
6 Thunderbolt busses over 10 ports
5 USB-a ports
SD card slot

Yeah, that would be good.

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

Anyone else insulted that the 8,1 costs more than the 7,1, and 3500 more than the studio?

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

Anyone else insulted that the 8,1 costs more than the 7,1, and 3500 more than the studio?

OMG now we get this moron level propaganda.

M2 Ultra cheap? The most expensive Mac Pro is surprisingly affordable

Compared to the 2019 Mac Pro, the new M2 Ultra Apple Silicon workstations feel, well -- dare I say it? -- downright inexpensive.

www.zdnet.com

Fully-specced Apple silicon Mac Pro more affordable than last version that maxed out at over $50,000 - 9to5Mac

Does the Vision Pro price seem a little steep? It’s just a fraction of a maxed-out Apple silicon Mac Pro...

9to5mac.com

Unveiling the new Mac Pro: astounding specs, priced low

Time has a way of humbling our demands for technological advances, and in 2019, a maxed-out Mac Pro would set you back $53,000. Today, Apple announced a long-awaited update to the pro-level desktop computer, with more impressive specs and a much more modest price tag.

appleinsider.com

In 2019, our build consisted of several performance components, such as graphics cards and afterburners. Those components now live in Apple's dedicated silicon, the M2 Ultra, with performance that eclipses Intel-based Macs.

Um no, you lying bastards. You do not get a 6800duo in apple silicon. The duo sill absolutely DESTROYS the M2 ultra in most graphics tests. You also do not get 1.5TB of RAM. Insanity.

A marvel in apple propaganda and one of many reasons why the Mac/tech press is dead.

 

[jmho]

Anyone else insulted that the 8,1 costs more than the 7,1, and 3500 more than the studio?

Yes. These prices are completely nonsensical.

What on earth was the point of the Apple Silicon transition if Apple is going to release a far worse machine for far more money?

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

And the depressing news is now official:

Apple Silicon Mac Pro does not support PCI-E video cards

Apple announced the Apple Silicon Mac Pro, and while it packs a punch with M2 Ultra, pro users won't be happy with a lack of Radeon PCI-E video card support.

appleinsider.com

 

[mattspace]

Anyone else insulted that the 8,1 costs more than the 7,1, and 3500 more than the studio?

I did call it multiple times that there wasn’t going to be an overlap, that there wasn’t going to be a Mac Pro cheaper than a Mac Studio, and that it was going to cost more than the Intel model.

Folks didn’t want to believe that.

 

[mattspace]

What on earth was the point of the Apple Silicon transition if Apple is going to release a far worse machine for far more money?

The cruelty is the point.

 

[mattspace]

A marvel in apple propaganda and one of many reasons why the Mac/tech press is dead.

The Apple-centric media is a bunch of folks standing on mountaintops in the night, hoping if they say the right things, the Aliens will take them away, to join Serentiy Caldwell and Rene Ritchie.

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

The Apple-centric media is a bunch of folks standing on mountaintops in the night, hoping if they say the right things, the Aliens will take them away, to join Serentiy Caldwell and Rene Ritchie.

You mean into the great irrelevance? I hoping they get their wish.

 

[Fravin]

In some point of the keynote, I thought it would be possible to Intel-MacPro users to switch their old motherboards with Apple Silicon ones. It would make some sense. But no.

 

[fuchsdh]

The Apple-centric media is a bunch of folks standing on mountaintops in the night, hoping if they say the right things, the Aliens will take them away, to join Serentiy Caldwell and Rene Ritchie.

The tech press has a similar issue to the video gaming press, in that sense. Being critical can easily cost you access, and potential career paths.

As for the 9,1 (or whatever MacXX,X it'll be called, since the Apple Silicon Macs have gone for that nomenclature), besides the M3, I doubt we'll see much difference in capabilities. I could theoretically see Apple creating its own GPU cards, potentially, but so much of the operating system is being tailored to the SOC advantages I'm not sure even if they were competitively priced and performant you could really take advantage of it (who is going to write software to target a low % of Mac Pro users?) Really the best case scenario would be putting stuff on a daughter card and allowing wholesale updates that way, and seems about as probably as additional slotted GPUs to me.

I haven't seen really credible M3 speculation insofar as its capabilities. The 2023 MP has PCIe 4 probably for provisioning, more than anything else; I'm not sure if the new process would give them the bandwidth for PCIe 5, although outside of some very niche storage cases, if you can't put GPUs in I'm not sure it's a serious handicap. I'm sure for those who can pay, the RAM ceiling will become less of an issue with subsequent iterations, though I doubt they're ever going to try and compete with the potential of a dual socket system's capacity.

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

The tech press has a similar issue to the video gaming press, in that sense. Being critical can easily cost you access, and potential career paths.

As for the 9,1 (or whatever MacXX,X it'll be called, since the Apple Silicon Macs have gone for that nomenclature), besides the M3, I doubt we'll see much difference in capabilities. I could theoretically see Apple creating its own GPU cards, potentially, but so much of the operating system is being tailored to the SOC advantages I'm not sure even if they were competitively priced and performant you could really take advantage of it (who is going to write software to target a low % of Mac Pro users?) Really the best case scenario would be putting stuff on a daughter card and allowing wholesale updates that way, and seems about as probably as additional slotted GPUs to me.

I haven't seen really credible M3 speculation insofar as its capabilities. The 2023 MP has PCIe 4 probably for provisioning, more than anything else; I'm not sure if the new process would give them the bandwidth for PCIe 5, although outside of some very niche storage cases, if you can't put GPUs in I'm not sure it's a serious handicap. I'm sure for those who can pay, the RAM ceiling will become less of an issue with subsequent iterations, though I doubt they're ever going to try and compete with the potential of a dual socket system's capacity.

The Mac Pro used to be all about the niche. I guess not so much now. But super high speed SSD may be more of a good use case than even GPUs now.