Mac Pro CPU and GPU Upgrades See Significant Price Drop

[MTBCAM88]

Yes, I found this segment from that article encouraging (and a counterargument to the doom and gloomers in this thread):
"
My takeaway is that the Mac’s future is bright. Mac sales were up in 2016, once again outpacing the PC industry as a whole, and the new MacBook Pros are a hit, with sales up “about 20 percent” year over year. The Mac is a $25 billion business for Apple annually, and according to the company there are 100 million people in the active Mac user base worldwide.

"outpacing the PC industry"?

On what front? Are we talking machines that are pre-built and have OEM everything? Because that would make sense.
However most PC enthusiasts dont go to Best Buy and walk out with a ****** $800 desktop. We build our own from numerous compatible parts made by hundreds of different vendors and we spend a good chunk of change doing so if we're serious about it and we still spend much less for 3x the power. I highly doubt Mac outsold PC in those terms. Standalone, pre-built units yes.
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mwhaHAAHahaAHAHahaaHAHAHaaaa

AMD G700 as pro GPU... they have no shame.

for the mid range price you can get a linux / windows box with a overclock 5960X at 4.5Ghz, 16 core, 4x 1070, 128GB of ram, m2 SSD's, a hdpi screen and still go on a vacation.

These are not pro machines...

This....

 

[its93rc]

Still overpriced for outdated technology.

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

This analogy is terrible. You're willingly purchasing the Mac Pro whereas rape is unwanted and unforeseen. What a limited vocabulary you must have to resort to these type of comparisons.

 

[jerwin]

Oh, how things change...

still overprices, but still.

 

[Twimfy]

Except that they do; it's a one day setup, if that.

If you brought a hackintosh into my IT department I'd have you fired on the spot. Hackintoshes are great but from a corporate compliance point of view it's career suicide. Not only is it an illegitimate version of OSX but the various bootloaders could trigger a PCI breach.

Additionally the support upkeep would be a nightmare. Even with an administrative lock on a Mac, users still have a fair reign of freedom over a windows machine and if they broke the delicate balance required to keep a hackintosh ticking over its way more time to get it sorted.

So I agree with you that you can produce similar results with off the shelf PC components however you cannot legitimately use them in the work environment for so many reasons.

That's why so many people are pissed off with Apple over the lack of MP updates. Real working people need these machines and we can't just say **** it and build a hackintosh. If you can then you're either a freelancer or not in the target MP market.

 

[PaulRustad007]

Even though they are admitting they boxed themselves in producing a product that was not as user friendly as they assumed, they still will not come out with a product that will be good. Look at what they have done with Final Cut Pro...that was a kick ass piece of software that was pretty straightforward in operation....you had clips to the left, a time line on the bottom and previews on the right...then they changed HOW the user interacted with your content and suddenly Final Pro Sucked, the learning curve (already high to begin with) went astronomical. iMovie: same thing. And they called this innovation. When it comes to the Mac Pro line, the old tower was great. It was easy to use, had all the ports, simple swap out bays and offered lots. Then the trash can. With their view on things, the next pro will not be user upgradeable, it will have ram soldered in; and anything custom you want you will have to go through Apple and pay the TAX to get a machine that will be using hardware 2 years old at the time. And it will not be affordable. My 2 cents worth.

 

[Three141]

Listening to customers VALID concerns and price drop? who is this company?

Why I believe this was a result of the pressure from the Mac Pro users is they are still mum on the Mac Mini which does not have quite as vocal user base.

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

No true pro is using a Hackintosh. Tinkerers and hobbiests, sure. Pros? Not a chance.

That's true. But it's ALSO true there are NO "Pros" left on the Mac PERIOD. PERIOD! (and don't embarrass yourself by claiming to be a pro yourself; no true Pro on Earth would use this POS)

Frack Apple (and especially Tim Cook) for destroying the Mac. The sad thing is I was angry with Steve Jobs for killing the Mac after the iPhone came out, but at least he saw some utility in a "truck". Tim Cook doesn't even know what a fracking computer is, let alone how to lead in that market. He admits to preferring an iPad to a real computer. He's a disgrace to the name APPLE COMPUTER, which is why they had to remove the "COMPUTER" part. I wish they'd sell the Mac line to a company that gives a crap about computing, maybe even Microsoft (they keep stepping up their game while Apple throws it all away).

 

[mabhatter]

It's a server, not a workstation.

It's a workstation. Apple stopped making servers a long time ago.

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


/s

they used all their innovation on the presentation. They didn't save ANYTHING for a new video card or processor for THREE YEARS. I know that Intel has made all their processors hot power hogs since then, and AMD Pro chips are rare.. but three years?

 

[Unami]

this is probably the best they could do for now. it's a shame that the 2013mp will stay outdated even longer and because of that, overpriced. but it's understandable that they won't make a mainboard redesign now just to include new i/o ports. as they say: it's for the people who still need one in the meantime, more of a legacy thing. i think it's a good sign they did it the way they did (admitting they were wrong, giving an early warning, discounting the old machines probably as much as possible,... ) - but they still have to deliver.

it probably should have happened sooner, but what's done is done. as it stands now, i see no reason to replace my 6 year old hackintosh with a current gen imac or macpro, but it's still ripe for an update. starting to save money now.

 

[FM-2030]

Time to consider the up and coming young people of today and their budgets if you want to maintain a presence into the future of tech

 

[noslenam]

Crap for just about the price of a few upgrades you can build a pic with higher specs and faster as well. That is why we have purchased our second PC in the past 5 months. Still love my iPhone, iPad Pro and MacBook Pro 2013 but Apple has priced our family out of the new computer market as far as Apple computers go and we make around $100,000 year.

 

[WylyQuimby]

You think price is the only factor? The Mac Pro is running on 5 year old hardware.

To claim the Mac Pro is five years old is crazy. It came out in the last week of 2013. Most people who ordered theirs right away got them in early 2014. AppleCare would be just running out now.

 

[Asclepio]

"Buy Now" on MR Buyer's Guide LMAO

 

[potatis]

Wasn't the entry level model something like $2499 from the beginning, and all other models $500 cheaper too?

 

[mabhatter]

I wish there is bare-bone MacPro with flexible component configurations.
1151 socket, non-ECC memory slots, a M.2 NVMe, and a few choices of aftermarket GPUs would be fantastic.
How much would I pay?
hmm, $700?
If I were Apple, I might charge $999.
The setup includes, case, fan, motherboard, power unit, OS, and the Apple tax. Not a bad deal for those who appreciate the design.

LGA 1151 doesn't have the guts for even a plain Mac. It's only got 20 PCIE lanes.. that's not enough when M.2 NVMe and Thunderbolt 3 need PCIEx4 to be fed and you need a few of each. So LGA 2011-3 is the only option and boards alone are $200, chips are inflated by Intel over 1151 by a good few $100s too. Any aftermarket GPUs would have to be custom with Thunderbolt and DisplayPort merged.. so that's a $75 premium there. Casually pricing out, I'm at $1100 easily for the "bare minimum" with what Apple would put out. But still $1100 is a lot less than $3000!

 

[WylyQuimby]

I know that Intel has made all their processors hot power hogs since then, and AMD Pro chips are rare.. but three years?

The GPU is the gamble Apple lost. The CPU isn't really that much behind newer ones. Intel has been treading water. In hindsight, CUDA cards would have been better choices. Still, if we could upgrade the graphics cards a lot of us would be happy (or happier).

 

[theluggage]

So is the 6-core at $3,000 a good deal? Is it a decent processor?

Its a Xeon, so you're paying a hefty premium for stability (ECC memory support), the I/O bandwidth to support all those GPUs and Thunderbolt ports and dual Open CL-optimised GPUs (which aren't necessarily top gun for gaming etc.)

The Geekbench scores are revealing - the top-of-the range iMac smokes the MacPro in the single core test and is neck-and-neck in the multicore test.

If you want versatile high performance on a general mixture of tasks, at a lower price, with a 5k display thrown in, get an iMac.

If you're mainly doing FXPX, Logic Pro or another pro app that can take advantage of the dual GPUs, then the Mac Pro might do the trick. In theory, the Xeon + ECC RAM should have a better chance of getting through that 48-hour render job without glitching out.

 

[mabhatter]

Even before Ryzen came out, This was all outdated garbage. Now itnis just a joke.

Ryzen isn't even a glimmer of a contender for a Mac. Sorry, it doesn't have the IO guts needed to drive multiple SSDs and TB3 ports (which is all Apple uses now) not by a long shot. With current chips that much IO isn't even possible, and Ryzen 7 is the top of the specs. It does have nice thermals and power requirements along with RX GPUs for Desktop parts.

 

[jerwin]

Wasn't the entry level model something like $2499 from the beginning, and all other models $500 cheaper too?

Nope. https://arstechnica.com/apple/2014/01/two-steps-forward-a-review-of-the-2013-mac-pro/

starting price: 2999, price as reviewed (8 cores, 256 GB SSD, 32 GB RAM): 6499

The 2499 price would have been for a refurbished mac pro.

(The souped up mac pro he reviewed would cost $4399 today).

 

[ekwipt]

No true pro is using a Hackintosh. Tinkerers and hobbiests, sure. Pros? Not a chance.

I'm a pro video editor and use a hackintosh at home, i also have a MBP, but at work, we've moved to windows for our Avid Media compaoser systems, that's what real pros do, adapt and move on...hackintosh has been nothing short of pain free and costs half amount and has more power than the now three year old macpro

 

[Michael Scrip]

Its a Xeon, so you're paying a hefty premium for stability (ECC memory support), the I/O bandwidth to support all those GPUs and Thunderbolt ports and dual Open CL-optimised GPUs (which aren't necessarily top gun for gaming etc.)

The Geekbench scores are revealing - the top-of-the range iMac smokes the MacPro in the single core test and is neck-and-neck in the multicore test.

If you want versatile high performance on a general mixture of tasks, at a lower price, with a 5k display thrown in, get an iMac.

If you're mainly doing FXPX, Logic Pro or another pro app that can take advantage of the dual GPUs, then the Mac Pro might do the trick. In theory, the Xeon + ECC RAM should have a better chance of getting through that 48-hour render job without glitching out.

How often to non-ECC systems "glitch out" anyway?

I've never owned a Xeon or ECC system. No problems here. My i7-4790K Windows system is just peachy.

And its Geekbench scores are similar to most Mac Pros. At a fraction of the cost.

Just curious... if Xeons and ECC are stable... does that mean Apple's regular i7 systems are unstable?

 

[Michael Goff]

will not buy another mac. next standard should be 1TB ssd and OLED display. Otherwise there is no point and will keep what I have.

Standard? So you want the next set of Macs to be obnoxiously expensive even compared to their costs now?
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That's true. But it's ALSO true there are NO "Pros" left on the Mac PERIOD. PERIOD! (and don't embarrass yourself by claiming to be a pro yourself; no true Pro on Earth would use this POS)

Frack Apple (and especially Tim Cook) for destroying the Mac. The sad thing is I was angry with Steve Jobs for killing the Mac after the iPhone came out, but at least he saw some utility in a "truck". Tim Cook doesn't even know what a fracking computer is, let alone how to lead in that market. He admits to preferring an iPad to a real computer. He's a disgrace to the name APPLE COMPUTER, which is why they had to remove the "COMPUTER" part. I wish they'd sell the Mac line to a company that gives a crap about computing, maybe even Microsoft (they keep stepping up their game while Apple throws it all away).

And the award for angry hyperbole of the year goes to...

 

[rumplestiltskin]

Still $1000 too expensive. Still a design disappointment. It's Jony Ive playing with himself. I don't have to pay for that privilege.

 

[theluggage]

How often to non-ECC systems "glitch out" anyway?

Depends whether you have just one of them sitting on your desk, or are responsible for a hundred of the beggars earning their keep doing CPU intensive jobs 24/7.

I would suggest that, for a single user who is their own tech support, the issue is negligible.

 

[ekwipt]

Still $1000 too expensive. Still a design disappointment. It's Jony Ive playing with himself. I don't have to pay for that privilege.

i think design wise it's pretty beautiful, but they should've been working on the next design straight away, i was never going to accomodate bigger graphics cards etc, not everyone wants everything scaled down, some need raw power