New Mac Pro is Quieter Than iMac Pro, Has Optional Wheels, and Was Kept in Top-Secret 'Stealth Enclosure'

[SpinThis!]

I just can't believe the starting price is $2000 more than the previous Mac Pro.
As a current Mac Pro user, I cannot imagine being able to afford this currently.

"Affordable" is a relative term. Affordable to you is clearly not the same as other people.

These machines are meant for professionals—people who actually make money at their profession and these are the tools they do it with. These machines typically have a 7-8 year life. That's less than $1000 per year or $3 per day.

I think some "pros" need to raise their prices.

When you're talking about a full-sized PCIe tower like the new Mac Pro yes you absolutely can. Or find a local PC builder to assemble it for you. It won't look like a Mac Pro but it will be about the same size and, once its humming away under your desk, so what?

One thing you're missing there is OS Upgrades. People forget software dev also costs money. Apple hasn't changed for OS upgrades since, what Snow Leopard? Consider 7-8 years of upgrades at $129/year and tack on another $1000 as well. I'd pay double not to have to use Windows.

Apple is a hardware company but people also forget that their ongoing software dev needs to get amortized in the cost of the hardware somewhere.

 

[criticasm]

I like it.

Anyone leaving negative comment does not need or intend to buy it. People just being negative for the sake of it.

Anyone defending a computer with a base price that's a 90% mark up on the previous model is being stupid for the sake of it.

In what realm of sanity is such a poultry configuration worth almost double than before or did you forget something from just a few years ago?

 

[jlc1978]

Sad thing is, my 17 inch aftermarket wheels for my car will probably be the same price as the wheels for the Mac Pro.

And would make the Mac Pro a bitchen ride.
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Anyone defending a computer with a base price that's a 90% mark up on the previous model is being stupid for the sake of it.

In what realm of sanity is such a poultry configuration worth almost double than before or did you forget something from just a few years ago?

The production cost has little relation to the selling costs; what matters is the value to the purchaser; which is why you should value price whenever possible.

 

[cfurlin]

I like it.

Anyone leaving negative comment does not need or intend to buy it. People just being negative for the sake of it.

It’s not a consumer product. It’s not built for them and they were probably wishing for a high-end consumer desktop. Hate caused by disappointment.

The MacPro is for pro work. Anyone buying it for reasons other than that either has too much trust fund cash lying around, is a snobbish image queen, or is simply a moron.

Apple finally built something the tech fashionistas can’t even handle. I love it!

 

[jlc1978]

The hate is not for the specs - its for paying twice as much as any previous entry-level Mac Pro for those specs - or $1000 more than an iMac with arguably better specs as well as a rather decent display.

Then buy an iMac and don’t bitch when you can’t upgrade it. One advantage of the Pro is the ability to incrementally upgrade as better options become available.

 

[citysnaps]

Ah, remember the days when an entry-level Mac Pro was $2,500? And then $3,000? It seems like it was almost yesterday...wait, IT WAS EARLIER THIS WEEK.

And now, it's a paltry SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS!

And it offers soooo much more.

Can't afford it or don't need its features/performance? Buy a Dell/Lenovo/HP/Sanyo. Easy.

 

[brianbobcat]

Looks nice, but it’s absurd that the base model starts with a 256 GB SSD.

Why is it “absurd”? Pros won’t be keeping their Photos library on here. The system drive is for the OS and applications. All media will be kept on super fast raids, either local via TB3, or networked via 10-gig E or fiber. Applications and their necessary support files are not that big, maybe a couple gigabytes each.

So why is 256gb absurd exactly?

 

[carterx]

Great timing for car ad on MacRumors.

You can either buy a MacPro with four wheels for North of $50,000”US or a car with four wheels for under $20,000CAN & no stand is required!

 

[idktbh]

my 5 sec photoshop work of the day

 

[SpinThis!]

I've always wondered how an x86 version of the old G4 Cube would sell today... One PCI slot where you can upgrade the graphics card, one processor slot, and upgradeable ram slot. Apple would never do it but the problem with this is they would probably need to sell it close to $1999 for them to make it worthwhile.

Even at $1500, on paper it's really no better than a Mac Mini performance wise. The only thing you gain is upgradeability, which on the low-end is really not that important. Apple makes their money on hardware, not software. They would also need to sell Apple-sanctioned upgrades to make it work out. Of course, that doesn't stop 3rd parties from cutting into that market. Selling commodity hardware is not what Apple does.

The problem with the mid-enthusiast market is that it's so fickle. No matter what price point you put it at, you can't please anyone. Make any sort of profit on the parts and you piss off the haters. It's a no-win solution no matter how you slice it.

People who want a "hackable" Mac already dabble in Hackintoshes and Apple turns a blind eye to this. The reality is it's not just the hardware but the tight integration with mac OS that makes the Mac what it is. Apple is still not in a position to even entertain the "clone" market.

The fact this product is so divisive tells me Apple has a winner. People who know what this is and what's it's capable of will buy it; those who don't feel a $6k workstation is their cup to tea are out. Instant qualification as to who is a pro and who isn't. Yet we still have people who think a semi-truck is the same thing as a F150.

 

[cylack]

No one is going to buy the base model for those intending to buy this. The new Mac Pro is like a supercar (Ferrari, Lambo). Its for the very few that can afford and need it. Disney, Paramount, Pixar, Lucasfilm, etc are not going to care at all about the cost if these rigs can edit multiple 8k streams without flinching.

 

[Doctor Q]

I don't see a locking lever on the wheels, and I live in earthquake territory.

Come to think of it, so does Apple!

 

[Eithanius]

Can it be operated without the enclosure...? That damn thing is so trypophobic...!

Hint to Apple - give option to change enclosure with smaller vent holes like the one with PM G5 or 1st gen MP, then charge a grand for it...!

 

[Pessimist101]

Linus, as usual, doesn't know what he's talking about. Look up what actual workstations cost, not whatever some gamer kid slaps together.

OEM high end workstations ARE marked up a crap ton. Put the parts together yourself and more often than not you'll find it's cheaper. It's really not rocket science, there's no magic fairy dust in there, they're just PC parts. Get off your high horse.
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It doesn't cost $3,000 LOL

No one wants to pay double the price of something just for R&D
Yes of course Apple have got to get that money back, but I see very little reason to buy a Mac Pro over a similarly specced PC for half the price
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Can it be operated without the enclosure...? That damn thing is so trypophobic...!

Hint to Apple - give option to change enclosure with smaller vent holes like the one with PM G5 or 1st gen MP, then charge a grand for it...!

I'm sure someone will mod this into the old Mac Pro case, or something similar

 

[cppguy]

The problem with the mid-enthusiast market is that it's so fickle. No matter what price point you put it at, you can't please anyone. Make any sort of profit on the parts and you piss off the haters. It's a no-win solution no matter how you slice it.

People who want a "hackable" Mac already dabble in Hackintoshes and Apple turns a blind eye to this.

There's room between a Mac mini and a Mac Pro. How about a Mac mini with a proper desktop GPU and much better cooling? That's what a mid-level tower is for. A Hackintosh is a totally different animal, many of us want well-tested, stable components, without constant troubleshooting of why AirDrop doesn't work, why the machine wakes up in the middle of the night, or doesn't wake up at all, or how to get kexts for the motherboard.

Upgradeability is not the only advantage of a tower. You also get to choose what monitor you want (4K, 5K, ultrawide, 10-bit, matte, etc.), and when you upgrade your monitor. Then it's much easier to take a tower to the Apple Store than an enormous iMac when you have a mundane bluetooth problem. And finally, I would prefer to dust off the internals of the machine sometimes, vacuum the fans, the heat sink, otherwise throttling happens sooner.

All-in-ones have advantages as well, I'm certainly not unhappy with my iMac overall. My biggest problem is that I can't use it as an external monitor for other machines. Not everyone has enough desk space for 2-3 monitors.

 

[Kabeyun]

Was the $3,000 markup also kept top secret? Base model is really only worth about that much.

Linus Tech Tips already did the breakdown of the parts (Price starts at 11:10)

So yeah... it's a $3,000 markup.

Pure horsecrap. These little cost retrocalcs always amuse. Anyone who believes you can chicken scratch that list (leaving off a host of stuff, not to mention at the end of the day you have no OS and no apps) and end up with a Mac Pro is either a fool or has an agenda. I go back and forth with ol’ Linus.

 

[TMRJIJ]

Yup. I always refer to this MacRumors thread to show you what the Mac Faithful always do,.

You definitely ****ed up by letting me see this thread. I can now shut anyone down with this link. Pure awesomeness.

 

[Marshall73]

Yup. I always refer to this MacRumors thread to show you what the Mac Faithful always do,.

That’s awesome just goes to show how little the haters have learned in 18 years.

1K for a monitor stand was a bad decision, but not surprising at all based on Apple’s track record for overcharging. With that said, I’m pretty sure there will be plenty of third party options for those interested in buying the monitor..

The monitor comes with a basic stand in the box, the vesa adaptor and pro stand are optional extras.

 

[IllIllIll]

The monitor comes with a basic stand in the box, the vesa adaptor and pro stand are optional extras.

I don't believe this is true, unless you use the box as a stand...

If Apple included a 'basic stand' in the box, sales of the pro stand would be zero.

 

[iBluetooth]

I think that the iMac Pro is why the Mac Pro is priced so ridiculously for what you get.

If only Apple would build this with "for mere mortals" components.

This thing is for the HIGHEST-OF-ENDS Video Pros.

The old cheese grater was scalable in all areas, including price.

Hopefully Apple will still build the prosumer machine of our dreams (which basically was the old Mac Pro).

It's simple: a Mac that you can put your own (full size) graphics card, SSD and RAM in it that's not insane like this is.

We wanted a nice Mercedes, not a Bugatti Chiron, as cool and powerful as it is.

I think the market was asking for a power workhorse for video production.
This delivers that and others complaining about not affording it, then you don't need this power to browse macrumors.

 

[bart4u]

I get they want this to be a future machine and there will be no need to buy a new one for a long time. But loyal Mac consumers look at a thousand dollars for a monitor stand. The monitor should come with its own stand in the first place. Mac users get very angry when Apple does this kind of pricing. Many people work freelance as a film editor, designer, videographer and photographer we all are on tight budgets and we all need a new machine to replace the 2013 Mac Pro where you could not even upgrade from their horrible graphics card. We are not an edit house or a large design firm and no the IMac or a Laptop are not an option. I personally feel the starting price point is way to high. I hope Other World Computing can make upgrades to this computer.

 

[triptolemus]

that doesn't induce trypophobia.

Tell me... has trypophobia always been a part of your regular vocabulary? Or is it new to you as of a couple days ago, along with the rest of the Internet?

 

[partydorm]

Probably another $1,000 for these optional wheels.

 

[Glockworkorange]

Please post a link to an online build of a computer with similar specs that is $3k cheaper. Everything I've done come out to about $3k MORE expensive than what Apple is offering.

The Linus video explains the #’s.
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Tell me... has trypophobia always been a part of your regular vocabulary? Or is it new to you as of a couple days ago, along with the rest of the Internet?

I made the mistake of a Google image search.

DON’T DO IT

 

[MacCheetah3]

That's some real obsfucation there... comparing the sound of a computer that's under a desk to a computer sitting on top of a desk.
How thick was the desk? Was there carpet?

Bottom line: The holey MacPro is the loudest computer they make. But that's to be expected. No marks taken off for noise. Bet it sounds like a jet engine when the 28 core Xeon runs full throttle rendering a big 3D scene for hours.
But that's expected too. No marks taken away. Heat has to get blown out somehow. But this machine will not have anything in common with the word "quiet" when the big Xeon starts rendering.

I had a Power Mac G5 for a little while and it was quiet in terms of computer noise when performing "regular" tasks. However, indeed, when the CPUs were pushed and the fans revved up, you'd think a small jet was about to take off. Nevertheless, overall (I think) a good/practical design.

Speaking of a practical design concept... The PMG5 was a tank, in solidness and weight -- nothing chinzy about it from what I recall. So, it is nice to see Apple just do a G4 Cube-type evolution.