Mac Pro to Finally See Updates Next Week

[Colpeas]

If Intel really cared they would have used more Graphene techs or the like to give us dual core Atom cpus that would be almost where quad core i5 cpus are at, and quad core i5 where Intel will be in a few years.

True, graphene in the IT would be truly revolutionary. But unfortunately, this tech still needs several years of research, thus I don't expect the first graphene CPUs to come before 2020, or perhaps even later.

Also, I completely agree on Intel being a lazy company. Too much of 'I am already #1, so why try harder...?' attitude.

 

[BreuerEditor]

Mac Pro availability in my area (central Jersey) is saying between June 16 or 19. Looks promising!!!!!

 

[macandiPhone]

Some real good news for all Apple fans!!!

Still don't think this update proposes Retina display with it.

Anyways we will wait and watch...

Finally I can sleep well!!!

 

[jeffspc88mx]

Whoo whoo whoo whoo (fist pumping)

 

[xgman]

Déja vu:


Those Were Mac Mini and White MacBook Part Numbers, Not Mac Pros

It seems that some the part numbers leaked earlier this week are not for the new Mac Pros, but instead for new Mac minis and White MacBooks. At least, according to 9to5Mac who originally reported the part numbers, and who has now issued a correction.

The revised part descriptions and groupings are as follows:
MC914LL/A – J59, BEST – USA - White MacBook
MC936LL/A – J40, ULTIMATE – USA – Mac mini Server
MC815LL/A – J40I, BETTER – USA – Mac mini standard configuration
MC816LL/A – J40, BEST – USA Faster Mac mini

The original report had pegged these as "Mac Pro" part numbers instead. Meanwhile, the associated MacBook Air part numbers in the original report are said to still be considered accurate and are believed to be launching imminently.

Both the Mac mini and white MacBook are overdue for updates as tracked by our Buyer's Guide. There had been few rumors about their release, though they'll certainly adopt the latest Intel processors as well as Thunderbolt interfaces.

Meanwhile, the last credible rumor for the next Mac Pro release had it pegged in early August* which is only a few weeks away.


* August 2011, that is

you had to bring this up . . .

 

[intelimac]

If this Mac Pro Update is True , Then it's Really Good News that was a long time coming but very welcome news Just the same - But Still Unconfirmed by Apple

Having said that, was it good Customer relations Excersize, It's O.K to be Secretive about a Product but it's not so clever to keep people in the dark so long as they tend to start jumping ship to another company or platform.

I Know many Mac Pro Users that were sure it was the end of the line for the Flagship Tower and made the big step to go to Hackintosh or windows as they needed a platform they could be sure was not going to be obsolete.

Would it of hurt Apple just to say " The Mac Pro is Secure ignore the rumours "

That's Not Giving any Technical or Details Away but it does give your loyal customers the info they need to plan ahead.

 

[-hh]

Apple would never forget the Mac Pro. It's just taken a while to make it right.

Great news. I thought myself that the mac pro was dead. Quite happy to be proved wrong!

I'll believe it when I see it...

I'm also from Missouri: the old "Show Me" (the new one)

Anybody wanna buy my '09 quad?

If there isn't a new Mac Pro announcement next week, yes: PM me.

Not at all. It was the lack of new workstation-class processors from Intel. Up until about a month ago, Dell and HP were selling machines with pretty much the same specs as the current Mac Pro, not because they didn't want to compete but because Intel hadn't given them anything to work with...

True for just the CPU, but there's lots of other components within a Mac Pro that Apple could have worked with to have provided a 2011 update.

For example, Thunderbolt and USB 3. For Apple to have done a minor 2011 refresh, it would have demonstrated a "Commitment to Continuity of Pro Support" without any of the "no roadmaps of the future" issues. For the MP, its technical capabilities for being internally expanded are a factor, but this still gets down to unspoken messages that are transmitted by inaction, particularly since in this case it is the MP: the combination of its large size and large price tag doesn't make any excuses of not being able to incorporate a controller chip ... even a $50 one that's huge ... in any way plausible.

The fact is that the Mac Pro was neglected by Apple and in doing so, has put a chill into the Professionals whose revenue streams rely on that hardware.

Huh? ... WAY over 1TB internal.

Yes, I laughed at this one too. A half decade ago, my old G5 PowerMac had already exceeded having 1TB internally.

This is good news (if true of course) and interesting timing, as I just got back from the Adobe Road Show where I had some people swear to me the Mac Pro was DOA...

Unfortunately, the lack of meaningful competition in several of Adobe's products has resulted in their business interests shifting ... to writing software whose code is cheapest overall for them to develop. Optimizing it to make it the best possible for each OS platform costs more money and as such, it is simply not in Adobe's financial interests to care about what makes the Mac Pro different (better) than others...for Adobe's purposes, the Mac Pro was, is, and will continue to be "Dead", until they have some financial motivation to revisit their strategic direction & business plan.

Do you think the new macpro will support 10.6.8? I need it for some customers cause some of their software don't run on 10.7+. In the past they extended macos support on newer macpro, like the 2008 one that can run 10.4.11, and 2009 one that can run 10.5.8.

The fact is, there are a lot of professionals that are somewhat locked into Macs because they use Mac-dependent software like Logic Pro or FCP. If you've invested a lot of time and money in working with these programs it's not so easy to just switch to a pc and new apps. Basically, if I switched to a more affordable pc (and believe me, I've considered it!) I would not be able to open any of the projects I've created in Logic Pro.

These are both "Legacy Support" colored questions.

In the Pro market, it becomes even more critical for a supplier to enable their customers to be able to manage their update transition timelines. Doesn't matter if we're talking about Apple and IT, or spare parts for snowblowers.

For IT applications, having to do both a hardware update and a software (OS) update simultaneously is a risk that is best to be avoided. Best Business Practices say "DON'T DO IT THIS WAY".

For Apple to offer a reasonable amount of backwards legacy support permits a customer's hardware updates to be delinked from software updates, which has benefit to the customer in reducing their risk of disruption to their business's workflow. Even with the Mac App store, Apple isn't the sole provider for all software applications, which means that it simply isn't possible today for Apple to anticipate and prevent this risk.


-hh

 

[BreuerEditor]

Déja vu:


Those Were Mac Mini and White MacBook Part Numbers, Not Mac Pros

It seems that some the part numbers leaked earlier this week are not for the new Mac Pros, but instead for new Mac minis and White MacBooks. At least, according to 9to5Mac who originally reported the part numbers, and who has now issued a correction.

The revised part descriptions and groupings are as follows:
MC914LL/A – J59, BEST – USA - White MacBook
MC936LL/A – J40, ULTIMATE – USA – Mac mini Server
MC815LL/A – J40I, BETTER – USA – Mac mini standard configuration
MC816LL/A – J40, BEST – USA Faster Mac mini

The original report had pegged these as "Mac Pro" part numbers instead. Meanwhile, the associated MacBook Air part numbers in the original report are said to still be considered accurate and are believed to be launching imminently.

Both the Mac mini and white MacBook are overdue for updates as tracked by our Buyer's Guide. There had been few rumors about their release, though they'll certainly adopt the latest Intel processors as well as Thunderbolt interfaces.

Meanwhile, the last credible rumor for the next Mac Pro release had it pegged in early August* which is only a few weeks away.


* August 2011, that is

So if the part numbers are the same as other models, I can understand the red flag, but then what's the deal with pulling the current supply and that new models aren't available until the event date and some the following week?......I still have hope, even though I definitely see your point...

 

[Rocketman]

Since there is finally reliable MacPro buzz, I wonder what the likelihood is of an Apple demo at WWDC of 4 MacPros hooked together with TB and doing some crazy render or some such?

Rocketman

 

[snberk103]

What I don't understand is that professionals are willing to rely on a product without any kind of road map that can be discontinued at any point. Apple make no commitment to updating it regurlarly, and even if they did, they would reserve the right to change their minds in an instant without warning.

That doesn't seem like a company that professionals would do business with.

I think you need to define what you mean by "professional". I'm a professional photographer. I don't need a roadmap... I bought a 2008 8 core because at the time it was what I needed. I added AppleCare... and I had a machine that I knew would be good for at least 3 years. I didn't need to know what was coming down the "road" because I knew in 3 years computers would be - more or less - about 4x faster (Moore's Law) and that meant that there was no way to predict what was actually going to be current (hardware wise) and what the software requirements were.

Now that I'm well into my 4th year, my "road map" has been to buy a refurbished MacPro if my current machine failed. Since those machines were roughly equivalent with the true workstations offered by Dell and HP (until the announcement that Dell was going to ship their new workstations in July of this year..... if they don't change their minds and delay the ship date) my "road map" still looked pretty straight forward.

Actually, my "road map" has become a bit cloudy - because of this announcement. My 2008 MP is doing fine. Do I sell it now, while it still has value and use the proceeds towards a refurbished) 2009 or 2010 MP? Or do I wait and get another year out of it and wait for the (rumoured) new MPs to hit the refurbished store?

The 2010s are still pretty powerful machines. A well specced machine will last me a very long time, and should be discounted heavily soon. It's tempting.

 

[ChrashM]

No impact for me....

I purchased a six-core cofiguration when it was released, selected the best graphics card Apple offered, added a SSD boot drive, and can't find one task this machine can't tackle. I run multiple VMs, Logic, dual monitors and Elgato TV. My previous dual quad Mac Pro Penryn is still used daily by a good friend that purchased it. My plans are to get at least five years out of mine.

Overall, I haven't found a compelling reason why Apple should update the Mac Pro as frequently as other models. These machines are rock solid.

On the hackintosh front, however, I do know a number of recording studio guys that are starting to move in that direction. Right or wrong, they feel they can find a less expensive and more powerful solution than the Mac Pro. Not my cu,p of tea.

 

[xgman]

So if the part numbers are the same as other models, I can understand the red flag, but then what's the deal with pulling the current supply and that new models aren't available until the event date and some the following week?......I still have hope, even though I definitely see your point...

They claim they have prices relating to those part #'s.

 

[kazmac]

really great news

If a smaller and cheaper option were offered, I'd definitely start to put $ away for one.

Wishes aside, a new Mac Pro is GREAT news.

Apple is wise to keep the workstation option and I'm glad they are. I will be curious to see what the updated specs are and if the design changed.

Happy for all the Pros here and elsewhere who really need a new Mac Pro.

 

[xgman]

I

Overall, I haven't found a compelling reason why Apple should update the Mac Pro as frequently as other models. These machines are rock solid.

Because they can sell more and avoid the frustration that we have seen over the last year.

 

[aliensporebomb]

Geez...

Oh, I thought my Jony Ive shooting the old case and unveiling and iPad was humorous. Just to pull the chain on the Mac Pro users who've been waiting so long.

I want one too - honestly the only reason I've stuck with this iMac as long as I have is the screen and the processor - the I/O is totally substandard (I bought prior to thunderbolt) and 16 gigs though nice isn't nearly enough for what I'd like to do with it. 24 or 32 would be better.

And honestly I'm SICK of having six hard drives in external cases on top of my desk. They're slow, generate ungodly amounts of heat and they really would be better off spinning inside a case somewhere.

Honestly though, what they need to do is provide a case that gives the same amount of capability the old case did or better (more drives, more memory). If it can "rack and stack" it implies several things although I probably shouldn't say more.

 

[deconstruct60]

There are no 30" monitors of a comparable quality to the Apple 30 that are even close to what I paid for mine. Lots of options if I'm willing to drop to 27" but to be honest I'd be looking to step up in size. Of course, if you know better?,

The currently reality is that 30" panels are an 'odd ball' size now. So their prices are not going to be "close to what you paid for". Back then 30" was at the high end but not an 'odd ball' size. Now it is both the 'odd ball' size and at the high end which is only gong to have a bigger impact on price.

The NEC is likely closest

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4196/nec-pa301w-review-the-baddest-30-inch-display

Not sure if it is the price that is knocking it out of contention. The part about "step up in size" at the same time wanting to lock in the old 30" price point ... not sure if those two go together. Vendors may tweak up the pixel density (so more pixels in 30 or 27 space) but I don't think many are going to chase larger screen area. At least for high gamut color solutions.


There isn't a 30" in Ezio's current product mix. Yet another indicator that it is an 'odd ball' size. There are still 30" models still floating around out there in the retail channel. They don't move very fast so they will probably be there for a while.

 

[ChrashM]

Because they can sell more and avoid the frustration that we have seen over the last year.

Sure, I like updated options like everyone else, but am not convinced they would ultimately sell more units. At the Mac Pro price point, most will think twice before unloading what is proabably still a very capable machine. My solution was to add the SSD for a noticable performance boost. I parted with a good chunk of change to move from the Penryn to the six core. I doubt there will be any compelling pricing changes to warrant replacing what I have.

 

[rhapsodyosx]

Hallelujah if they update this thing.

 

[polaris20]

This. Or, create an independent company (similar to what Filemaker is) that focuses only on the pro market, creating specific, high-end hardware, and software with Apple's blessing. Take away the expectation of revenue that has to compete with the consumer market, and create a healthy, viable entity with ... us ... in mind. Servers, virtualization, workstations for the video and scientific market. Swift upgrades with a multi-year roadmap, dropping the super-secrecy that Apple is known for. A sea-change.

But an upgraded Pro is a step in the right direction.

That would be nice too, but I don't see it happening, unfortunately. It's a shame, because OS X Server (well, SL10.6 anyway; can't speak for Lion) is good at quite a few things, even over Linux in some ways.

 

[Misaki]

I don't think the configurations listed would match up well enough for a Mac Pro

The existing models are 4 configurations, but the Socket R (2011 pins) processors are available in single, dual and quad configurations

Not to mention the E3 models.

So an E3 model could be a base-line Mac Pro, or what they stick in the Mini Server

The E5-1xxx series would be used in the lowest end configuration, and the E5-2xxx in the highest end, and E5-4xxx would only be a BTO server option for render-farms or something.

Just pointing out that Intel indicates that the E5-1xxx and E5-2xxx are shown as Workstation chips (no GPU), but the E3 is available with GPU (since they're just variations of the i7/i5)

But Virtualizing OS X would be a serious option on a dual processor and quad processor system.

There's also the E7 option... at 2300 a processor minimum in a 8 processor system.

But if Apple has been considering getting rid of the Mac Pro, it would make more sense to downsize the offerings to like just two, one single CPU option and one dual cpu option.

 

[prowlmedia]

Sorry everyone, this rumor is false. They are discontinuing the Mac Pros and replacing them with very powerful MacBook Pros.

24 Threaded 48gb macbook pro's huh? Gotta get me one of those... battery should last about 2 mins.

----------

Actually I have been looking. I've got an ACD 30 that is good but getting old. As a professional freelance designer I need to keep my eye on what's out there in case any of my current stuff dies.

There are no 30" monitors of a comparable quality to the Apple 30 that are even close to what I paid for mine. Lots of options if I'm willing to drop to 27" but to be honest I'd be looking to step up in size. Of course, if you know better?,

I love apple stuff. But you are very wrong about this...
Apple Cinema display
Thin film transistor (TFT) active-matrix liquid crystal display (AMLCD)
(2004-2010) Not updates in that time.
400 cd/m2
400.1 contrast
16ms response
DVI (Digital Visual Interface), FireWire 400, USB 2.0 and DC power (24.5 V)
Two-port, self-powered USB 2.0 hub, two FireWire 400 ports and Kensington security port
Not HDCP compatible

Dell U3011 ( 2011 )
IPS (in-plane switching) technology for minimal color deviation across a wide viewing angle
117% Colour gamut - h 100% sRGB and 99% AdobeRGB
7ms Reponse
DellTM UltraSharpTM U3011 30” Monitor with PremierColor
DISPLAY
Diagonal Viewable Size:
75.6 cm (30")
Aspect Ratio
Widescreen (16:10)
Panel Type, Surface:
IPS (In-Plane Switching), anti glare with hard coat 3H
Optimal Resolution:
2560 x 1600 at 60 Hz
Contrast Ratio:
1000: 1 (typical), Dynamic Contrast Ratio: 100,000:1 (Max)
2 HDMI - HDCP compatible 2 DVI-D with HDCP 1 DisplayPort 1 VGA Component Connectors 1 USB 2.0 upstream port 4 USB 2.0 downstream ports
7 in 1 Media reader

And that's Just dell the Eizo's are way way better.

And my 2 dells cost me £800each on Ebay 3 year Swap out guarentee

 

[xgman]

K5BPLUS BETTER = Entry Mac Pro $2,999 AU

K5BPLUS ULTIMATE = Server Mac Pro $3,599 AU

and K5BPLUS BEST = Higher End Mac Pro $4,599 AU

$12.00 accessory most likely a new iPod Shuffle connector

$99 MD564ZM/A would likely be a new (USB3?)Super Drive

The $35 adapter would be a new (USB 3.0 Gigabit?) Ethernet adapter


I'll take a Best and usb3 super drive if that is what it is.

 

[Umbongo]

I don't think the configurations listed would match up well enough for a Mac Pro

The existing models are 4 configurations, but the Socket R (2011 pins) processors are available in single, dual and quad configurations

Yes they do match up. Current Mac pros are AU$2,999 - base 4-core; $4,199 - base 8-core; AU$3,599 - "server" model. They will use E5-1600 and 2600 processors.

 

[notabadname]

The below quote was a response to my hoping to see Nvidia and real GPU options on the next Pro.

Apple is putting in real boards. The ones that are OpenCL 1.2 certified, highly optimized for such work and by the time these systems come out the AMD 8000 series will be popping on the scence and you can do your battle of frame rates for video games while Apple and the rest of the Applied Sciences will continue buying more and more AMD based GPGPUs for their superior OpenCL 1.2/2.xx performance and an actually better design architecture that OS X leverages.

This is an embarrassing test for OpenCL 1.1, never mind OpenCL 1.2 showing the sheer dominance even on Windows for AMD Radeon 7970 versus Nvidia 680.

http://www.geeks3d.com/20120427/clb...chmark-for-windows-tested-hd-7970-vs-gtx-680/

Keep in mind that Apple's OpenCL 1.1/1.2 stack is superior and more finally tuned system-wide to that of AMD and together you have a system that can churn out requests to AMD's GPGPUs at will.

Real Boards? How about Real Choice. As Apple's only fully configurable desktop system, the Pro should allow me to do what someone can do on a $600 Dell - choose, replace or upgrade my GPU to whichever architecture I want. AMD or Nvidia. If I want to chase frame rates for gaming, that is my choice. The embarrassment is that I haven't been able to upgrade even my 5870 for two years. Apple's lack of compatibility with anything newer than what they last launched with in 2010 in regards to GPU's, be it AMD or Nvidia is the problem. I have an upgradeable, multi-thousand dollar desktop that is not compatible with any modern GPU upgrade. And GPUs have been following Moore's Law more closely than CPU's. I don't need Apple, or you, to tell me what is best for my personal use of my desktop.

 

[relimw]

Edit: it looks like Apple may be aiming for a 3U form factor rackable form factor. These would be slightly smaller than the current form factor, and would have 2 stackable drives per sled, for a maximum of 8 drives per unit. They would likely have have up to two 8-core processors per unit.

I'll take it!