Mac Pro CPU and GPU Upgrades See Significant Price Drop

[Sasparilla]

I'm exceedingly happy, they seem to be listening to their high end users on all this (mainly bringing a re-designed Pro next year and a high end iMac later this year). But this is a good thing till then. Crazy how expensive it still is for such old hardware...but it's alot better than before.

I've put aside my plans to migrate over to Microsoft's data mining arms (due to lack of suitable Mac hardware and no expectation of any in the future) - this all makes me very happy.

Apple should just aknowledge that they have almost lost the pro market! Many are - have already - jumping ship ans moving to PC mean&lean machines....

If you read the source articles, you'll see that they actually did this, on the record during the interviews for these announcements. I was very close to selling my old 12 Pro and going PC. Makes me very happy to be off that track now.

http://daringfireball.net/

 

[RickInHouston]

It's a server, not a workstation.

How do you interact with this 'server'? Your mind?

 

[Fall Under Cerulean Kites]

Why? Because it doesn't have the Apple logo on it?

In a roundabout way. No pro shop is going to invest in unsupported, unlicensed hardware. Some guy working out of his mom’s basement making web pages? Sure. Someone like me who likes to tinker when I have time? Sure. Some IT guy that works on PCs all day and wants to see what macOS is all about? Yep. But a pro shop rendering graphics, producing high end video content, music, etc? Not a chance, if they’re legit. That’s what I’m talking about.

 

[lyngo]

Still overpriced for outdated technology.

It's now like being kissed before you're rapped, rather than just rapped.

Very inappropriate comparison. I understand your point, but there are better ways of saying it.

 

[MacsRuleOthersDrool]

Why? Because it doesn't have the Apple logo on it?

No.

Because no true "Pro" has time to mess-around finding drivers and haxies to make macOS work on non-Apple hardware.
[doublepost=1491331489][/doublepost]

The "update" and "price drops" are a joke.

It's 3500 euro for the base model, and it's the only model available, and you get no bluetooth 5, no usb-c, no thunderbolt, 3, yes, you can power 5k monitors but there's a tiny catch for that. the ram is still ddr3, we're on ddr5, ..

I guess this "magical big re-thinking" just means "2016 hardware" i doubt all these 'todays standards' will be in the future mac pro.

This is a stopgap until the next system comes out in 2018, not a design refresh.

 

[Robert.Walter]

Execs interviews on subject, mea culpas of having missed where the market was heading combined with performance upgrades and price cuts means only one thing: Sales must have cratered and Apple is trying to buy time and stem defections until a replacement is ready.

 

[Daniel Reed]

The SSD WAS upgraded by previously!
Since late 2015/early2016 the 1TB blade became 150% the speed of the original 1TB SSD when it launched

 

[WatchFromAfar]

This is so great! But it's especially great knowing that Apple will release their modular/customizable Mac Pro in 2018! Thanks for being transparent, honest and forthcoming with us, Apple!

They never said 2018, they said after 2017. That could mean 2020, who knows?

 

[asiga]

Thanks a lot, MacRumors, for your Mac news coverage today. I'd suggest all the people that dislike this news to calm down. Yes, Apple could have a brand new modular Mac Pro today if they had planned a wise strategy at the right time, but, from the 1-year timeframe they seem to be talking about, they likely started to work in the next Mac Pro very recently (you shouldn't need more than half a year to design a modular Mac Pro, so this means they just began designing it).

Also, calm down about prices: A Mac Pro will always start at $3000. You're not going to get a Mac Pro for $1800, because it wouldn't be a Mac Pro. It would be an iMac or a Mini, but not a Pro. I paid over $3000 for my new Hackintosh last Summer (I wanted to buy a $4000 Mac Pro, but there wasn't one with updated components at that time, so Apple lost my money, and I -temporarily- switched to a Hackintosh, although I hope to buy a new Mac Pro some time in the future, when my Hack gets old and surpassed by newer Mac Pros).

This is a very nice day for all Mac fans, because we thought the Mac was dead. So please, enjoy this day, thank MacRumors for the great coverage they did, and wait for new Mac models, and buy them when they are released.

 

[keysofanxiety]

Why? Because it doesn't have the Apple logo on it?

No – because you get great aftersales support, reliable combinations of hardware, and an Apple logo.

Plus I hate to say it, but NVIDIA GPUs really don't sing on Apple's Pro Apps. For the last two years or so since you joined this website, you've constantly scoffed about these Macs being incredibly underpowered and not for 'Pros', yet ironically you've picked one of the worst builds if you're looking to use Apple-exclusive Pro apps; one of the reasons why a lot of Pros stick with macOS.

Basically I think a lot of what you've said over a long period of time is based on paper specs and not on actual real-world usage. It may pain you to admit it but Apple still make some really nice products. There's much more to a computer you're looking to reliably use on a daily basis than a Geekbench score.

 

[Juicy Box]

The machines continue to use Ivy Bridge E Xeon processors

Does anyone know if there has been a suitable workstation processor upgrade to the Ivy Bridge E Xeon Processor? Or is this the current standard across the board?

Yeah it's just like rape except for the whole consent thing, which is what defines rape

IDK, college campuses are teaching their students that consent given, could rescinded later retro-actively. I guess the equivalence of this would be buyers remorse. Does Apple have a restocking fee for returned Macs?

 

[tigres]

What was that thing Shiller said when he released this?? Slipping my mind.


/s

 

[Daniel Reed]

Does anybody know if the SSDs in the Mac Pro pricing refresh are quicker like the ones in the 2016 MBP? I imagine not as there's no 2TB option but I was just hoping for some confirmation either way.

Yes, they are. the original 1TB nMP SSD got 900~1,000 MBytes/s
nMP purchased new from Apple w/ the 1TV BTO option now get 1,400~1,500 MBytes/s

 

[guzhogi]

You can get a 4TB SSD upgrade for the Mac Pro for $2299.99 here: https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ssd/owc/mac-pro/2013

 

[dodoei]

Does anyone know if there has been a suitable workstation processor upgrade to the Ivy Bridge E Xeon Processor? Or is this the current standard across the board?

Ivy Bridge is like 4 generations old processor ......

 

[Fozziebear71]

Still overpriced for outdated technology.

It's now like being kissed before you're rapped, rather than just rapped.

I don't like rapp or hip-hop.

 

[macduke]

Still overpriced for outdated technology.

It's now like being kissed before you're rapped, rather than just rapped.

I spit when I rap, saliva flies when I sing.

 

[keysofanxiety]

Yes, they are. the original 1TB nMP SSD got 900~1,000 MBytes/s
nMP purchased new from Apple w/ the 1TV BTO option now get 1,400~1,500 MBytes/s

Ah, still seems slower than the 2016 MBP ones then; they clock at max 2,100MB/s~3,500MB/s (basically same Flash chips in the Samsung 960 NVMe PRO). Thank you for replying though, it answered my question.

 

[delonholmes]

Why? Because it doesn't have the Apple logo on it?

Have you ever seen a hackintosh put together..specific parts are gathered and i don't think pros have the patience for that..like the guy said hobbyist and tinkers will not pros.

 

[Aldaris]

I wonder when and how this will affect the refurbs?

They've dropped. You can pick up an entry 4-core for under $2200

 

[jerwin]

the ram is still ddr3, we're on ddr5, ..

Just a brief reminder, the current year is 2017.

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/04/02/ddr5_to_jump_off_the_drawing_board_in_2018/

 

[az431]

Apple is looking for a REASON to kill the mac.

They have made it obvious that they do not want the mac in their lineups.

By not upgrading it; sales go down; it gives them reason to put the nail in the coffin.

Just get it over already Apple. Everyone is tired of you dragging us along.

Put a bullet in the mac line up already; the current lineup is a disgrace. No upgrades, glued parts, insane prices, you can't even plug your flagship product into a new 3k macbook without a freaking adapter.

This has all been done intentionally - to slowly kill off your Mac line up because you cannot control the content on Mac. You have tried with your crappy Gatekeeper software (terrible) and it failed. Now, you are trying to kill off the Mac entirely because you can't control the content via the App Store- where you already make most of your $.

Long live the classic macbook pro.

Did you read the article or just look at the pictures?

 

[aaronhead14]

They never said 2018, they said after 2017. That could mean 2020, who knows?

From the Techcrunch article: "a new Mac Pro from scratch means that the new machine will not be arriving this year, and is instead slated to appear some time next year."

Plus, I really doubt Apple would pre-announce a product if it were more than a year away.

 

[jerwin]

They've dropped. You can pick up an entry 4-core for under $2200

That's pretty tempting. Alas, I already have an iMac 5K.

 

[FactVsOpinion]

Yeah it's just like rape except for the whole consent thing, which is what defines rape

Smart comment.

That is, you buy the computer if you want to buy it, and don't if you don't. Nobody is forcing you to do anything.