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Mac Pro Now Only Remaining Intel-Based Mac in Apple's Lineup

Spock said:
I think half the price is a stretching it a little bit, a new Mac Pro will most likely destroy the PC market.
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will they be able to get good GPU into it?
and will that be able to keep up with NVIDIA / AMD?
Also pricing at base level?

Let's say it starts at $3000-$4000 (likely with low disk 512GB and low ram 32GB)
Then will be better then an sat $1000-$1500 pc (NO GPU) with an $1000 (GPU)
and if apple start point is $5000-$6000.
 
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It seems like the system-on-a-chip is at odds with the tower form factor. Maybe just make M whatever daughter cards that can be added or removed for RAM and CPU upgrades. One motherboard for those that want PCIe slots with fewer daughter cards and another motherboard for those that want more daughter cards with no PCIe.
 
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code-m said:
Only difference is that those machines are not upgradable post purchase. The MP affords the ability to upgrade GPU, SSD, RAM, etc and the pool of enthusiasts are decreasing over the years. Most business’ purchase according to budget and requirements and are usually done with it. Cannot take the risk to upgrade a hardware component later on to potentially mess up valuable content created or downtime and most people here don’t understand that.
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some people have more then one disk in the mac pro (an choice that apple does not have at all)
Also the mac pro can take network cards
there are audio cards that pros use in the mac pro as well.

Users that need an lot of video out as well.
 
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Has been pretty gradual getting rid of the Intel Mac's which is fine.

Hard to see what a Apple Silicon Mac Pro would be though....RAM is part of the Apple SOC, so is GPU. So no user upgrade-able components. About all you could offer, that the Mac Pro design could uniquely support, would be enclosed multiple SSD's that the user could swap out. If they weren't bent on ending Intel Mac's, then a updated Intel Mac Pro would make sense since the old one is rather old now.
 
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Joe The Dragon said:

Mac Studio is now dead? to be replace with the new MAC PRO?​

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Well, the new M2 Pro Mini is probably going to clobber sales of the M1 Max Studio - its a bit hard to call but the M2 Pro is going to give the "binned" M1 Max in the base Studio a run for its money (for some people the faster single-core speed is going to clinch it). I suspect its going to be faster at most tasks, certainly no end-of-argument win for the M1 Max. So if Apple are going to sustain the Studio line they better get their skates on and bump the Studio to M2 Max/Ultra.

Seems to be two possible extremes - at one end, Apple either work out how to make an Apple Silicon Mac Pro that is comparable to the 2019 (definitely PCIe slots, probably GPU support, at least 512GB RAM if not user upgradeable) at the same sort of price point ($6000 for something that doesn't make sense without another $6k of upgrades), which really doesn't compete with even a $4k M2 Ultra Studio (bear in mind - the $6k 2019 Mac Pro, unexpanded only had the processing and GPU power of a $3k iMac that included a nice screen - you were paying for the expansion potential). In that case, hopefully, the Studio just gets a bump to M2 Max/Ultra.

At the other end, Apple admit defeat and decide Apple Silicon just isn't a good fit for a 2019 Mac Pro-type system (and that the people who need high-end AMD GPUs and 1.5TB of ECC RAM just aren't going to give up Intel) in which case the Mac Studio gets upgraded to M2 Max/Ultra and re-branded as Mac Pro. So the Studio name is dead, but not the concept.

Other wild mad guess is that the Mac Pro is effectively a "proper" 1U rackmount version of the Mac Studio that can be paired with rackmount thunderbolt storage and PCIe enclosures.
 
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Joe The Dragon said:
will they be able to get good GPU into it?
and will that be able to keep up with NVIDIA / AMD?
Also pricing at base level?

Let's say it starts at $3000-$4000 (likely with low disk 512GB and low ram 32GB)
Then will be better then an sat $1000-$1500 pc (NO GPU) with an $1000 (GPU)
and if apple start point is $5000-$6000.
Click to expand...
I am not sure that you know what you are talking about.. The GPU performance of Apple Silicon has been ranked pretty high in benchmarks compared to Nvidia and AMD and that has been in small form factor machines. The current Mac Pro case design that has been rumored to stay the same will give them a huge thermal advantage. The Apple Silicone Mac Pro will be a game changer and the PC workstation market will be scrambling to compete with it.
 
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MacRumors said:


Following the announcement of a new M2‌ Pro Mac mini today, which replaced the previous Intel-based model in the lineup, the Mac Pro is now the only Mac in Apple's current product lineup that still uses an Intel processor.

Mac-Pro-2019-Apple.jpeg

The previous Mac mini lineup consisted of an M1 Mac mini, announced in November 2020, and the now-discontinued Intel-based model. Apple said in June 2020 that its transition to Apple silicon would take around two years, and while Apple has transitioned the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, and now the Mac mini to its own processors, the Mac Pro has yet to make the switch.

Apple's vice president of hardware engineering, John Ternus, teased at the company's March event that a new Apple silicon Mac Pro is still in the works. Currently, the highest-end Apple silicon Mac in the lineup is the Mac Studio configured with the M1 Ultra chip. Apple is rumored to announce an Apple silicon Mac Pro sometime this year, but despite speculation, the new model will feature the same design as the 2019 computer.

Article Link: Mac Pro Now Only Remaining Intel-Based Mac in Apple's Lineup
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Correct me if I am wrong but it would appear that the new MacBook Pro's are faster than any Mac desktop at the moment.
 
jicon said:
I've never understood why this product line usually omits annual CPU refreshes.
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It’s suppose to be the pinnacle of Apple’s offerings, but ever since the 2013 model it’s been neglected as far as regular releases. We know the story of 2019 model and what it offers, but how do you sell an upgradable or modular AS Mac Pro, if the AS SoC’s keep ramping up performance. Today you saw an even faster M2 Pro/Max in which the original M1 Pro/Max laptop was compared to the Mac Pro. Later you had the petite Mac Studio with M1 Ultra. Even if the Mac Pro had replaceable AS SoC module or like, it’s turned into an albatross of technology. At what point is it ready to fly again other the Apple’s only Intel platform solution?
 
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jwolf6589 said:
Correct me if I am wrong but it would appear that the new MacBook Pro's are faster than any Mac desktop at the moment.
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I expect the M1 Ultra still beats the M2 Max in many tasks, no? Obviously not single-core, but that 64-core GPU, if nothing else, is a beast. And it can get more memory.
 
code-m said:
Only difference is that those machines are not upgradable post purchase. The MP affords the ability to upgrade GPU, SSD, RAM, etc and the pool of enthusiasts are decreasing over the years. Most business’ purchase according to budget and requirements and are usually done with it. Cannot take the risk to upgrade a hardware component later on to potentially mess up valuable content created or downtime and most people here don’t understand that.
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The post-purchase upgrades for the Mac Pro are also cheap compared to Apple's options on the SoC Macs. So the only thing expensive about the Mac Pro is the initial purchase. After that it becomes cheaper to own than the other Macs, especially after it pays for itself doing work. Every time an upgrade is needed for an SoC Mac a whole new Mac needs to be purchased. So instead of a few hundred dollars for a memory upgrade you have to spend another $5k on a new Mac and wait weeks for it to arrive.
 
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Apple's so forgetful. November 2020: Apple Silicon line up to be completed in 2 years. Then March 2022 - just one more product to go - Mac Pro, but that is for another day.

January 2023 - Mac mini and MacBook Pro.

Forgetting something Apple? The legend of the Apple Silicon Mac Pro.
 
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I feel like the only reason the Mac Pro should exist over the Mac Studio is modularity, I would love to see Apple heavily lean into that thought with the Mac Pro. My "never will happen but would be amazing" dream would be even the Apple silicon is user upgradable. Say Apple makes a new family of SoCs starting with the X1 Chip and that comes inside the Mac Pro, and then down the line they sell the X2 Chip as a standalone purchase and you can simply just swap out your X1 chip in your Mac Pro and pop in the new X2. Can even trade in your X1 back to Apple and promote how green the whole process is. This would of course be in addition to supporting RAM outside the SoC, additional storage, and all sorts of PCI devices etc. The Mac Pro body is already perfect to customize the insides however you want and going all in on modularity would be the perfect way to differentiate the Mac Pro from the rest of Apple's entire product line, no sense in permanently tying the chassis and the power supply and cooling etc to the chip and causing unnecessary waste.
 
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this is embarrassing. why do they still sell dated high end machines and who in their right mind would buy one? like I wouldn't even buy a Mac Studio right now cus its chips are older than the mini. refresh across the board...
 
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MisterAndrew said:
The post-purchase upgrades for the Mac Pro are also cheap compared to Apple's options on the SoC Macs. So the only thing expensive about the Mac Pro is the initial purchase. After that it becomes cheaper to own than the other Macs, especially after it pays for itself doing work. Every time an upgrade is needed for an SoC Mac a whole new Mac needs to be purchased. So instead of a few hundred dollars for a memory upgrade you have to spend another $5k on a new Mac and wait weeks for it to arrive.
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Except with AppleSilicon the game has been changed as it seems the M series chips get an approximate 18 month cycle upgrade, even if one could upgrade the CPU, GPU, SSD and RAM it would still be slower to a new generation M chip with say 20% increase in performance.

One can still use external SSD storage but even the promise of eGPU rendered few but expensive options available in the market. At this point it’s an enthusiasts or individuals personal hobby.

I usually get the mid to top end model of whatever I require and depending on budget. If one gets the entry level that’s just to keep the price inviting to user interests.

This is similar to how car manufacturers, plan, boats, motorbikes manufacturers work. Example is Tesla you buy with you need and subscribe to services. I don’t like the subscription model so I stay away from it.
 
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