New 'Server-Grade' iMac With Next-Gen Xeon Processor Coming End of 2017

[TallManNY]

This.
The iMac is a consumer product and the Mac lineup is a mess.
There are MacBook Pros that are clearly not suitable for most professionals. Now they want to turn the non-Pro iMac into a product for professionals?
There is no logic behind anything Apple did to the Mac over the last few years.

Saying the MacBook Pro is not suitable for "MOST" professionals seems a bit much. Do you really think that most people using MacBooks for work are unable to buy a configuration in the current MacBook Pro lineup that works for them? Frankly I see people using Macs for work constantly and I'm sure only the smallest fraction of them are doing anything demanding enough to stretch the GPU or RAM configurations of the current MacBook Pro. I'm working in a WeWorks (which is an office rental space) while my company moves offices and looking at this huge assortment of small sized companies I'd say that 80% of all the computers being used are Apple laptops. These are arguably all "pro" uses as they are being used for work.

I suspect there is some small fraction of folks who work with video that need a more powerful computer. But the real problem is that the Mac Pro lineup is messed up. A laptop, by definition, is going to be a compromised machine in terms of total power. But you make the sacrifice for portability.

 

[Spunkmeyer]

You should just stop buying Apple now if you don't get it yet. User upgradability isn't coming unless it's a Mac Pro. Wake up.

I personally don't mind using a eGPU and having a super light pro machine.

Creative people tend to be critical, and that includes being willing to consider Apple meriting criticism when appropriate. These people saying "just wait for a new Mac Pro" are living in a fantasy land. Businesses make decisions based on need, not slavery to a particular brand. Apple used to make the best gear but is now behind the curve in some markets. Recognizing and accepting that is what adults do.

 

[dazzer21-2]

if they make an 8k iMac pro .. I hope it is 32"

8k on the desktop is overkill.

 

[69Mustang]

Everyone is speculating what the top end iMac is going to be. It's great for headlines. I'm much more curious about the bread and butter iMacs. Ya know, the models that are going to move the majority of units: the entry and mid tier models. How are the weakest links going to stand up in the public eye?

 

[stevet]

True, but by apples own account, they seem to be rethinking what people want in their desktops. Whether this extends to user upgradable storage is , I agree, a bit of a long shot - but I think its still a possibility

Apple didn't really say they were rethinking the desktop machine. They are rethinking what the Mac Pro machine should be based on the sales, upgradability, and user experience. The iMac is a great selling desktop for Apple, they don't need to make it upgradeable like the Mac Pro.

 

[fermat-au]

I wonder about the heat dissipation with xeon processors.

I had a similar thought, but is a Xeon E3 not an E5 used in the currently for sale Mac Pro. The E3 is a lower end Xeon ECC RAM and only 4 core (I think). The e3-1285 v3 and v4 are 84W and 95W respectively the corrent high-end iMac i7 is 91W, so I think the thermals should work without need for significant changes to the iMac case. Although to be an iMac Pro it would need a high-end GPU and though would add to the heat. That said with the heat issue with the Mac Pro etc, there is no way I would be buy the first generation of an iMac Pro.

 

[maflynn]

I hope it is 32"

That will be cool, though I would wonder what price they'd charge. It would probably be out of my price range

 

[krazzix]

How fast would this new "NVM Express PCI-e solid-state storage" be?

My 2011 iMac SSD still feels really fast.

 

[apolloa]

Haha Apple claimed to put 'server grade' hard drives into their Timecapsules and they were just run of the mill IDE drives.. so I'll believe it when I see it. Would be nice if it's true though

 

[stevet]

Uh, because I still have an iPhone and an iPad?

That makes sense why you'd still be following/commenting on Mac rumors.. <smh>

 

[Seraph301083]

No one needs a "server grade iMac" What does that even mean besides the XEON?
A 4 core Xeon would be a waste of everybodys money. No one needs ECC Ram. Not even in a Workstation.

If they want to build an iMac for Pro Users they need to put in an i7-6950X with 10 cores, the option for 128GB of Ram and a discrete Nvidia Desktop grade GPU.

If Razer can acomplish to put a full gtx 1080 in a Laptop I am sure Apple can put one into an iMac who is attached to power non stop and doesn't need to be as thin as a Macbook.

 

[Floris]

I wouldn't mind if they scrap the iMac, and Mac Pro and Mac Mini and just make 1 expendable box with 2 hooks on them. One in the front to connect to their 28" 8k monitor, and one in the back for vesa wallmount.
Add a hdmi 2.x in the monitor or that box, so we can also use it as a tv with apple tv, or netflix for 4k content, etc.

A little box we can just slide in an extra ssd, video card, and extra ram. for the pro users. and OTB for i7 or xeon cpu and internal video card upgrade.

then we can go use our own monitor, as a mac mini, or mac pro with extra hardware, or connect their 8k monitor and turn it into an imac. The monitor can be the stand, so problem solved.

why wait years every time for a machine to get a regular industry upgrade.
let them focus on one product and just iterate yearly with industry standards.

That way we dont have to buy a new 8k monitor every few years, and just get the 'pc' part of it, put our ram, ssd etc in it again and move on with life.

and pro users could just t3 connect multiples together for whatever makes them happy and share resources for pro tools stuff.

AND UNICORNS EVERYWHERE too.

 

[Spunkmeyer]

That makes sense why you'd still be following/commenting on Mac rumors.. <smh>

So sorry to ruin your day. Look at the main page of this site and count the number of iPhone stories. And, as a business owner with a long history of Macs in our practice (back to 1997) I feel more than qualified to be able to comment intelligently on Apple's past, present, and the way it treats the "pro user" market segment. Get over it.

 

[stevet]

Your comment pretty much encapsulates Apple's attitude towards the professional market since 2009 or so.

Actually, my comment doesn't sum that up at all. It's aimed at people like you, you know 'professionals' aka general users who convert video once a week for their vlogs and call themselves professionals so they can feel justified in making comments that pro users are left behind. Yet when the Mac Pro comes and it's modular and pricey you will then discard the modular complaint and move right to the price.

 

[Eidorian]

I wonder about the heat dissipation with xeon processors.

Xeon has more low power options in the 4 core, 8 thread range. You get a low base lock but crazy Turbo mode bins.

 

[Spunkmeyer]

Actually, my comment doesn't sum that up at all. It's aimed at people like you, you know 'professionals' aka general users who convert video once a week for their vlogs and call themselves professionals so they can feel justified in making comments that pro users are left behind.

I own an architecture practice. We used to be Apple's bread-and-butter.

 

[fermat-au]

No one needs a "server grade iMac" What does that even mean besides the XEON?
A 4 core Xeon would be a waste of everybodys money. No one needs ECC Ram. Not even in a Workstation.

If they want to build an iMac for Pro Users they need to put in an i7-6950X with 10 cores, the option for 128GB of Ram and a discrete Nvidia Desktop grade GPU.

If Razer can acomplish to put a full gtx 1080 in a Laptop I am sure Apple can put one into an iMac who is attached to power non stop and doesn't need to be as thin as a Macbook.

In this case "server grade" = "ECC memory", something that is important to some users but not to others.

The i7-6950X may have 10 cores, bit it also uses 140W of power, the current high end iMac i7 chip is 91 W, there is not way Apple would put a i7-6950X in an iMac case, they would need to redesign the entirety iMac, that CPU need to be in a town with some serious airflow over it.

 

[thekeyring]

Is there really a market for prosumers/Professionals that require ECC RAM, and want an iMac?

I don't get whom this model is for, unless this was Cooks half-assed solution for the Mac Pro costumers, before Apple decided to rescue the sinking ship with a 2019 (?) Mac Pro model.

Some professionals just want power, not the ability to configure the Mac. I'm an animator, and I would rather buy a Mac every few years that's powerful enough for what I need to do, than try and swap out parts myself.

No one at work wants to open up the Mac Pros and stick in more RAM, or swap the processors out. They were purchased because the company needed the fastest Macs available at the time, and no one wanted an integrated display.

 

[smaffei]

End of 2017?!? Apple is a behemoth that can't move quick enough anymore. They're even being lapped by smaller behemoths like Microsoft now.

 

[George Dawes]

Things are looking up at last

 

[djcerla]

Meanwhile, the "revolutionary" 2016 MacBook Pro, with all its anaemic glory, hasn't exactly caused a revolution in the industry. Quite the opposite, as Apple used to top this chart since 2010. Cupertino's apologists may be purposefully obtuse, but the market sure isn't.

At this point, I put little trust on anything that comes out of Apple's fabled "pipeline". Hope I'm proven wrong.

View attachment 696614

Indeed, the market has spoken, and the 2016 MBP is a big sales hit.

 

[drewyboy]

"Server grade" and iMac do not belong in the same sentence.

Edit: Am I the only one who has an insanely hard time believing this? For this to be at all possible and not be crippled with a "server grade proc" but not actually using the power, it has to be a redesign with, gasp, it getting thicker! I find it very improbable they can do what is claimed in it's current design form.

 

[amegicfox]

Apple has become Hollywood / TMZ

crazy rumors, no products and when the products finally come, it's 1 features forward and 5 serious feature backward

a server in an iMac ? I hope the people spreading this idiocy are the idiots but with Tim Cookoo at the helm I will not be surprised if I see a "server grade desktop" with laptops components and a built-in huge screen

 

[citysnaps]

Looking at the Surface Studio, i think they will have to put alot more effort into the next imac.

I don't think Apple will be making a Surface Studio-like computer anytime soon. Too much of a niche market.

I used one in a Microsoft Store for an hour. While it looked nice, unless you were a graphic design professional or animator where a high percentage of your use was using a stylus, it would quickly become tedious in normal use.

Also, the screen left a lot to be desired, as did stylus lag - but that will evolve.

 

[thekeyring]

I still can't see the new iMacs being for "pros" since most professionals want a machine they can upgrade (beyond just more RAM). And we all know that iMacs are one of the least upgradable machines on the market. This will probably be another "prosumer" offering.

Not knowing what your definition of prosumer is, it's hard to know. But there are pros who want power - who simply don't need it to be overly configurable.

Personally, my 15" MacBook Pro is fast enough for the 2D animation I do (it's faster than the 2013 Mac Pro) but naturally, it sucks when it comes to more graphics intensive tasks.