Rack Mount Mac Pro Now Available for Purchase Starting at $6,499

[MacRumors]

Apple today released the rack mount version of the Mac Pro, offering a design that is suited to a rack configuration. Priced starting at $6,499, the rack mount Mac Pro features all of the same configuration options as the standard Mac Pro.

Rather than feet or wheels, the rack mount version of the Mac Pro uses stainless steel slide rails that allow it to be slotted into a rack. The machine features the same 3D lattice design for maximizing airflow and top handles for accessing the internals.

The base model of the rack mount Mac Pro is the same as the base model standard Mac Pro featuring a 3.5GHz 8-core Intel Xeon W processor, 32GB RAM, and 256GB of storage.

Article Link: Rack Mount Mac Pro Now Available for Purchase Starting at $6,499

 

[Digital Skunk]

Hmmm. Tasty. I kinda prefer the rack mount version. I could save a lot of space on my desk and keep a lot of gear cool with a mini rack.

 

[Agent OrangeZ]

I need this to make my web browsing and email a smoother experience.

 

[casperes1996]

No reason for the rack mounted version to have a GPU in it by default. Could remove it and cut the price a little, though even without cutting the price, having the internal space cleared out of the factory might even be nice to some costumers.

 

[Zdigital2015]

Dear Apple, please expedite the addition of W5700X BTO options.

 

[basehead617]

No reason for the rack mounted version to have a GPU in it by default. Could remove it and cut the price a little, though even without cutting the price, having the internal space cleared out of the factory might even be nice to some costumers.

Pardon my stupidity but how would that work? Don’t you need to output video SOMEHOW if only to set things up at first to be headless/etc.

 

[Haswell]

Xserve 2.0

 

[casperes1996]

Pardon my stupidity but how would that work? Don’t you need to output video SOMEHOW if only to set things up at first to be headless/etc.

Configure on one machine, and use cabling to just flash that configuration to all the slaves.

 

[robantonelli]

What some people fail to remember (or acknowledge) is that this machine is absolutely not designed for the average consumer. Unless of course your name is John Siracusa lol.

 

[4jasontv]

Pardon my stupidity but how would that work? Don’t you need to output video SOMEHOW if only to set things up at first to be headless/etc.

That isn't a stupid question. A lot (maybe most) server motherboards have on-board graphics. On-board graphics is generally CPU dependent. I don't think the Xeon W supports it. Might be wrong, as I haven't used them personally, but a quick review of intel's spec page suggests I am correct.

 

[jdiamond]

WooHoo! XServe lives!

 

[jayducharme]

Pardon my stupidity but how would that work? Don’t you need to output video SOMEHOW if only to set things up at first to be headless/etc.

I agree that you'd probably need a monitor for the initial setup, but after that the machine could be managed from Remote Desktop. I also think that the GPU is there to handle some of the computational lode, depending on the app.

I think Apple could advertise the rack version with the phrase, "Get less machine for more money!" At least it doesn't need $400 add-ons for the rails.

 

[4jasontv]

Like if the first thing you did was do a build with the most expensive components; comment if you paused when you got to Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro X.

 

[kemal]

Same overpriced computer. Now even more overpriced!

And then there is what happened to OS X Server. Why not offer an Apple distro of linux?

 

[Bocconucci]

XServe lives. Dies. Lives. Dies.
I forgot which cycle we are in. Maybe Phil knows ?

 

[Blackstick]

Look forward to having one of these as a $58 fancy end-table around 2032

 

[Alan Wynn]

And then there is what happened to OS X Server. Why not offer an Apple distro of linux?

Because no one would pay for a Mac to run Linux. The benefit of these machines is the ecosystem. If one is not interested in that, then these are not the right machines.

 

[bsbeamer]

Dear Apple, please expedite the addition of W5700X BTO options.

They really need to fix issues with the AMD 5000 series drivers before W5700X is available.

 

[31 Flavas]

No reason for the rack mounted version to have a GPU in it by default. Could remove it and cut the price a little, though even without cutting the price, having the internal space cleared out of the factory might even be nice to some costumers.

Xeon chips have no iGPU - last i knew. So it would to have some graphics card.

 

[MauiPa]

That isn't a stupid question. A lot (maybe most) server motherboards have on-board graphics. On-board graphics is generally CPU dependent. I don't think the Xeon W supports it. Might be wrong, as I haven't used them personally, but a quick review of intel's spec page suggests I am correct.

you are, no on-board graphics on Xeon's

 

[bladerunner2000]

Pardon my stupidity but how would that work? Don’t you need to output video SOMEHOW if only to set things up at first to be headless/etc.

Not if the CPU has a GPU built in, you can then omit a dedicated GPU.

 

[ugahairydawgs]

Folks at MacStadium are going to be spending some cash today.

 

[Spock]

Same overpriced computer. Now even more overpriced!

And then there is what happened to OS X Server. Why not offer an Apple distro of linux?

Not overpriced, it’s not a personal computer. Go price out a Dell workstation and it comes very close to the same price minus a little Apple tax. And MacOS is far better than Linux.

 

[coolfactor]

No reason for the rack mounted version to have a GPU in it by default. Could remove it and cut the price a little, though even without cutting the price, having the internal space cleared out of the factory might even be nice to some costumers.

The GPU is a super-powerful processing unit tapped in for more than video output. It can be used for advanced numeric calculations, server-side rendering farms, etc.
[automerge]1579025243[/automerge]

Same overpriced computer. Now even more overpriced!

And then there is what happened to OS X Server. Why not offer an Apple distro of linux?

Let's clear up some confusion.

macOS is a true UNIX operating system (of which Linux was derived). OS X Server was just a set of tools for managing "server apps". Those server apps can be installed on any Mac running macOS. There was nothing that OS X Server enabled to make it a server. Every Mac can be a server.

I do my full-stack web development on my 6-year old MacBook Air, and it runs *exactly* the same software as my 20+ Ubuntu Linux servers set up at 6 different hosting providers around the world.

The true power of a Mac is not in the user interface, but at the command line, same as Linux. A whole world of software is available for installation easily via package managers, just like in the Linux world. Homebrew (brew.sh) and MacPorts (www.macports.org) are the two most popular sources of such software.

 

[Edsel]

I imagine racks of these wonderful rendering machines as efficient electric "heaters" when processing multiple 8k video streams.