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

[Mallwill]

• server-grade
• has a humongous undetachable monitor

Pick 1. Don't embarrass yourself.

Has no-one put the two together? They mentioned in their "apology" they ahve some plans for the Mac Mini.

It would make sense that Apple could offer "Server grade" setups in a new Mac Mini; including the Xeon/64GB/Discreet GPU.

Allowing people to choose whether they wanted to use it headless or not.

 

[geaguirre80]

I can picture myself using my 980ti EGPU with this new 5k Imac. Profit!

 

[maflynn]

I would be shocked if RAM remains upgradable. If you know Apple, you should know that they hate ports and access doors.

I won't disagree but in doing that, it would fly in the face of Apple's recent acknowledgement of the MacPro failure because it was not upgradeable.

I hope that Apple will re-embrace the idea of user replaceable components (at the very least memory and storage).

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

Apple publicly admitted they cornered themselves into a thermal phone booth with the Mac Pro.

What do they do next? They release a iMac with Xeon parts.

And there is no value for money on Xeons. i7s deliver much for much less.

Xeon = more cores. 6/8/10 cores = more power.

 

[mdgm]

Hope the Mac Mini gets an update at the same time. A Mini with a quad-core Intel CPU would be fantastic.

 

[LordVic]

I wonder about the heat dissipation with xeon processors.

No different than desktop models. same general TDP amongst the platform. And if the rumours from earlier are correct, these are the destkop CPU's in xeon form. Same core / thread counts, same everything. Just no integrated GPU and ECC is turned on

I think the bigger problem is the iMac already sucks for heat dissipation for current chips. So it's likely to be as bad as it is now

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

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

You must live in a truly black and white world. A person can't be an enthusiast that likes to keep up to speed with gear other than what he/she owns? A Nikon-toting photographer can't be interested in what Canon is doing? I can't be interested in any other brands of cars other than what I own? Sort of ridiculous in my opinion to think because someone owns a Windows PC they can't be interested in what the Mac world is doing.

 

[69650]

Hopefully the new iMacs will have an edge to edge display giving a larger screen size within the same footprint.

 

[chfilm]

DO you think there's a chance for 8 cores?

 

[macsrcool1234]

Whats the point of upgrading all of that and then crippling the GPU?

 

[hawkeye_a]

And it will be so thin, you wont even be able to see it.

 

[LordVic]

Xeon = more cores. 6/8/10 cores = more power.

not necessarily.

CPU's are termally limited to a specific thermal limit. This is the "TDP". if a CPU with 8 cores has a thermal limit of 95w and a CPU with 4 cores has a CPU limit of 95w. Their power draw and heat output will be virtually identical (given same generation of CPU).

what you end up with, in order to maintain this thermal envelope is those high core count CPU's actually have slower cores. So going up in core count often is a trade off in single core performance, all to fit within the same thermal limits.

so if Apple goes Xeon's, fundamentally (if you read my above post) all you get is a better binned CPU and ECC memory, but you lose the Intel integrated GPU.

 

[timber]

Xeon = more cores. 6/8/10 cores = more power.

Individual Xeons also have 4 cores and i7s also have HT for 8 threads (like Xeons). Will Apple put two or more Xeons on an iMac? I seriously doubt that.

Well Apple could even go Ryzen and have affordable 6 and 8 cores. No, I know they won't do that.

 

[neuropsychguy]

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.

I use iMacs exclusively and am a "pro". In my case, I'm in neuroscience research, which requires some heavy processing. I could use Linux computers but then I'd have to manage them, which I don't particularly want to do. My IT department (college level within a university) could help out with admin stuff but I prefer to do my own admin work and most of my own IT support. Macs are far easier for that than Linux computers, at least in my case.

SO I'm really looking forward to these new iMacs. As long as RAM is easily upgradable, I'll be happy. Having easily upgradable storage would be awesome but I can live without that.

 

[canny]

Well I have both a 2015 5k iMac and a 2008 24" sitting right next to each other on my desk. And you know what? They both look as 'thin' or as 'thick' as each other because I'm not looking past the screen at what's behind it. Thin on an iMac is just pandering to 3rd person aesthetics! These things could be a cube for all I care (actually, given past reputation, maybe not) - but even the thicker 2008 model offered 'some' extra upgradability beyond RAM, albeit in a 'don't do this at home' kind of way (such as remove the optical drive for an extra SSD). Going back to this form factor would not, in my opinion, be a backward step. You can only go 'so' thin before it starts to get ridiculous and that line has been crossed already. As it is, don't they measure the thickness of a MacBook Pro in Microns these days?

All of Apple's problems nowadays are there because were lauded so much for their design, thin-ness, lightness etc that they forgot why people buy computers.

The MacBook and MacBook Pro were designed with arbitrary weights in mind (exactly 2lbs and 3lbs) rather than the needs of users.

 

[Lesser Evets]

The non-aeons will hopefully be Coffee Lake and hopefully Intel keeps to their promise and gives a 15% boost over Kaby Lake.

DO you think there's a chance for 8 cores?

The Xeon they quoted will have 4 cores, most likely. Unless something changes from previous versions of the chip.

 

[coolfactor]

But what about a redesign? This thing has the same massive bezels and the enormous chin since October of 2009.

Well, on the bezels topic, there's an argument to be made that it "frames" the content being viewed, which is good when working on photo and video content. No light bleed from the edges. I think it's a deliberate design element.

I can't bring myself to consider an iMac, though. The all-in-one design may be cool, but the size doesn't make the machine very portable, so the all-on-one design serves no purpose other than being cool. I'd much rather buy a desktop Mac with a separate monitor. That lets me attach a larger, newer monitor in order to upgrade it in the future, should I choose. And a smaller desktop unit (ie. Mac mini) is more portable in that sense. The iMac just doesn't cut it for me with its current design.

 

[otternonsense]

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

What was that expression? Denial is not a river in Egypt?

 

[Val-kyrie]

It would make more sense for Apple to introduce a new form-factor MBP workstation (with eGPU?) than to try to force the iMac into this role. Hopefully Apple's idea of a new MP is not a 'server' grade iMac--whatever that might mean.

Apple needs to prune and simplify their lines again.

Workstations (with Xeons?)*
Mac Pro
MacBook Pro

Prosumer (i7 / i5)
MacBook Pro
iMac
Mac Mini

Consumer (i3 / U- / Y- series CPUs)
Mac Mini (edit: i3 as lowest CPU)
MacBook

I would love to see another Quad-Core Mini (I own one), especially as a server, but there was nothing 'server' grade about my server--just a standard i7 with off-the-shelf RAM and HDDs--and the server application has seen little development over the last few iterations. I am afraid its days are numbered.

*I have to wonder if Apple is contemplating using Ryzen CPUs rather than Xeons for future workstation products.

[Edit: The MBP and Mini could serve as crossover products (Workstation to Prosumer and Prosumer to Consumer, respectively). The odd duck but most versatile product is still the Mac Mini, in large part because of its form factor. It could fill any role from an entry level consumer product to a prosumer or even mini server grade product. It is my favorite Mac for this reason.]

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.

Has no-one put the two together? They mentioned in their "apology" they have some plans for the Mac Mini.

It would make sense that Apple could offer "Server grade" setups in a new Mac Mini; including the Xeon/64GB/Discreet GPU.

Allowing people to choose whether they wanted to use it headless or not.

 

[simonmet]

The Mac Buyer's Guide on this very site reports an average 317 days between updates for the iMac. According to these rumours and Apple's own guidance the next update won't arrive until > 700 days.

The Buyer's Guide is also being overly generous to the Mac Pro by resetting its timeline and awarding it a "Buy Now: Just Updated" rating when it received price cuts only, seemingly contradicting its own previous practise of awarding a "Caution: Price Cut Only" rating to such reductions. A rating of caution is still generous when relating to the Mac Pro. "Buy Now: Just Updated" is ridiculous.

The Buyer's Guide also misleadingly recommends the iPad Pro models as "Buy Now: Just Updated" when only a new low-end, standard model iPad was released. The Pro iPads should be relabelled "Don't Buy: Updates Soon".

My point is that iPhone aside, Apple are performing miserably and are trashing their brand. They've gone from a "can do" company to a "can't do". Can't update the Mac Pro, Mac Mini, iMac, iPods. Can't make a standalone monitor.

I have zero interest in the iMac anymore as a platform or Apple's current executive and board.

 

[now i see it]

"Pro" is just a marketing term. Any company can slap the word "pro" after anything. Weedwacker Pro, Grillmaster Pro, Lego Pro Edition, and my favorite: iPad Pro. Ha ha ha.

"Pro" can be swapped interchangeably with "Limited", "GX", "Extreme" and "S" etc.
All those words (Pro included) are just labels to denote higher price and more features, that's all.

 

[TechGeek76]

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

It actually does, do you have a point or just trying to stir up trouble?

 

[yujun]

i dont understand why not use AMD ryzen , consider ryzen has 8 core 16 threads + ecc memory

 

[navaira]

– Xeon processors up to 12 cores
– Intel HD 515 GPU
– Up to 128 GB RAM (non user upgradeable)
– Standard 1TB 5400 rpm drive (upgrade now to 24GB/1TB Fusion drive +€199)
– Thinnest desktop computer on the market
– 480p camera for FaceTime and Photo Booth
– Free 5GB iCloud space
– Revolutionary 8k 21" and 27" display (default: 4k/30 Hz refresh rate due to GPU limitations)
– Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad/Mouse available separately
– 2xUSB-C (21"), 3xUSB-C (27"), headphone jack, power cable
– Available in silver, space grey, gold and rose gold
– Starts at €2999 (21" model)

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

It's an interesting rumour, but the only source that seems to have reliably info on what's coming in Apple's pipeline is Ming Chi Kuo.