Mac Pro 'Buy Now'

[SoN1NjA]

Hi, I don't think the Mac Pro should get a Buy Now label (as seen on the Buyer's Guide)

Seeing as the Mac Pro is still 3 years old and an update is within 12 months, I don't think consumers should buy now, so yes the price just dropped but it's still 3 year old hardware

Maybe neutral or caution is more fitting

thoughts?

 

[Alrescha]

"Three year old hardware" is true, but not as significant as many would like to believe. Now that the price has decreased one of the major complaints has been removed (or reduced). When the Mac Pro came out, you could not duplicate it for less money. Though that may no longer be true, even today there are few video cards out there that can outperform a pair of D700s - assuming you are using software that can leverage both of them.

Dual-GPUs are not for everyone, and that certainly has not changed. The fact that very little software takes advantage of them is quite disappointing.

A.

 

[belvdr]

Also we don't know if the update will be in 12 months. They stated not this year.

Regardless, the buyers guide is not based on the year particular components were released. It is based on when Apple releases the system/device.

 

[redheeler]

Agreed, where is Macrumors' consistency? I don't see a "Buy Now" here for example:

Yes, I know that getting a Mac Pro now could be more justifiable than getting an iPad Pro now. But a price drop on hardware from 2013 is still worthy of a "Neutral" tag at best.

 

[theluggage]

Seeing as the Mac Pro is still 3 years old and an update is within 12 months, I don't think consumers should buy now,

I think the problem is that the "Buy Now"/"Don't Buy" tags overstate the issue and sound like judgements on the suitability of the product.

What they're really used to mean is just "Updates coming soon" or "Recently updated".

In the case of the Mac Pro, the unspun truth of this week's announcement is that the Mac Pro isn't going to be updated for at least 9 months, realistically 12 months and, quite possibly, possibly even longer... and that's assuming that the new MP is somehow a direct replacement for the current model. So its "safe" to buy in total confidence that its not going to be superseded in the next few months.

If you're running the sort of pro software that can really take advantage of more than 4 cores, dual OpenCL-optimised GPUs and have a heavy enough workload to need the extra stability of ECC, and haven't already switched to boring-but-functional workstation towers from Dell or HP, then this is one heck of a price cut and you probably should buy now. Both of you. (if not, the top end iMac will smoke the nMP on "mixed load" computing, costs less and comes with a free 5k display...)

Seriously, we're probably talking about customers who have already bought into the Mac Pro cylinder concept and need to replace failed machines or add extra seats to their existing ecosystem.

The other factor - AFAIK a lot of commercial outfits get their equipment on a 3-year lease. The early nMP adopters will have leased their MPs about 3 years ago. I wonder why Apple might be panicking just now...?

 

[WildCowboy]

Appreciate the feedback on this...it's something our team has been debating internally too. As suggested, my feeling is that this price drop is a long-term statement by Apple...we're not getting a new Mac Pro until next year at the earliest, so if you're interested in a Mac Pro, the current models are your only option for a considerable period of time. And with the significant price drop, it's a good time to buy. We also hope people read the explanatory blurb that goes with the recommendation to help with context.

We have the Caution recommendation on some of the iPad price drops because they might be shorter-term situations with new models coming in the not too distant future.

This is obviously all a judgment call, and Apple frequently doesn't make things neat and tidy for us, as also evidenced by the fact we still need to rework things to account for the new low-end iPad. I definitely appreciate the input here, as it helps guide us and we do sometimes make adjustments on how we view these updates and price drops based on how things develop over time.

 

[SoN1NjA]

Appreciate the feedback on this...it's something our team has been debating internally too. As suggested, my feeling is that this price drop is a long-term statement by Apple...we're not getting a new Mac Pro until next year at the earliest, so if you're interested in a Mac Pro, the current models are your only option for a considerable period of time. And with the significant price drop, it's a good time to buy. We also hope people read the explanatory blurb that goes with the recommendation to help with context.

We have the Caution recommendation on some of the iPad price drops because they might be shorter-term situations with new models coming in the not too distant future.

This is obviously all a judgment call, and Apple frequently doesn't make things neat and tidy for us, as also evidenced by the fact we still need to rework things to account for the new low-end iPad. I definitely appreciate the input here, as it helps guide us and we do sometimes make adjustments on how we view these updates and price drops based on how things develop over time.

Well I see the Mac Pro as a more long term product, and 1 year for that product in context is not that long? just a thought

 

[theluggage]

Well I see the Mac Pro as a more long term product, and 1 year for that product in context is not that long? just a thought

I don't think anybody should be shocked if anything they buy is superseded after 1 year. Its not like its suddenly going to stop working.

I'd re-iterate my feeling that "Don't Buy" and "Buy Now" are a bit sensationalist.