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RedTheReader

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 18, 2019
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In early 2019, prior to the launch of the Mac Pro, Dave2D made this video on how he thought the machine would be. Apple had loosely implied something like this when they promised a revamped Mac Pro in the spring of 2017, but it ended up being a traditional tower. With Apple Sililcon, their machines are more monolithic and streamlined then ever, but I’m guessing the highest end model will still need some level of modularity. This seems more in line with their direction than a nother tower. What do you guys think?
 
No I like that. A computer that is configurable to individual needs. So you can have a 3D version, a Video version, an Audio version, a Photo version, etc. What I liked about my original Mac Pro (1,1), was that you could add all sorts of different components to it based on what you needed. For example I had 2 DVD drives for fast copying etc, 4xHDDs + an SSD boot drive, but I never added any extra PCI cards or anything, so I didn't need that feature. Other people had special audio cards and all sorts. Marvellous. But it was a massive, heavy behemoth, and quite frankly I'd have been just as well off with a MacMini with extra HDD space tbh. But such a thing didn't exist back then (the MacMini of the time was a pretty basic model), and hasn't since. The 'trashcan' MacPro I really liked, as it was relatively small and compact, but really expensive and too many proprietary bits and pieces. I only got the MacPro because the only alternatives at the time were the aforementioned MacMini, and the iMac, both I considered inadequate for my needs as I wanted the longevity the extra power and expandability offered (the fact I continued using it for another 14 years was testament to that wise decision). Now, the M1 iMac is more than enough for me really. Computers have come a long way...
 
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Looks like Dave 2D desperate for views this is a very low effort badly researched video. Apple Silicon doesn’t support external GPU and it won’t work with the unified memory architecture over such a connection.

There were a few PCs with this form and nobody cared. They want full bandwidth internal slots.

 
A computer is a multi purpose device. It is supposed to do all of those things. Internal upgrades expand capability with full bandwidth.
Yes I spose. But you don't need mega graphics for audio production, for eg, like you do for say architectural model rendering and all that. So why not a base unit with graphics expandability if you want it? And if you are doing audio, what about a special audio input module with all your fancy audio connections etc?
 
Yes I spose. But you don't need mega graphics for audio production, for eg, like you do for say architectural model rendering and all that. So why not a base unit with graphics expandability if you want it?

The base model of any Mac is that option. It can do whatever else you need audio etc

When a new Mac Pro comes if it has upgradable graphics it will have to support unified memory architecture. I support Apple will have an internal graphics and memory slot that have full bandwidth to the CPU. It will be better than over PCI Express.
 
If it doesn't fit an RTX 4090, it's not the Mac Pro.

RTX4090.jpg
 
Looks about the size of one MPX module. But even if there are 3rd party GPUs in the Mac Pro, it wont be Nvidia.
The reason why the trashcan Mac Pro failed, is because everything was proprietary and nothing could be upgraded. That's why in 2019 Apple returned to the cheese grater design with eight standard PCI Express slots. This design only needs Apple Silicon on par with Intel Xeon processors.
 
If it doesn't fit an RTX 4090, it's not the Mac Pro.

View attachment 2129690
It looks cartoonish, but I’ve got to remind everyone that it’s only a smidge thicker than the 3090 from 2020. I personally can’t wait to build a system with one. Of course, the price tag will make sure that doesn’t happen, but one can dream.
 
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Most 4090s run at 450 watts
That. And if desired, they lose only a fraction of their computing power (~3% in games) if you set a power limit of 350W.

The 4090 has terrible pricing (though not worse than Apple's memory upgrades) and is indeed quite bulky, but technically speaking it's a nice piece of hardware.
 
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I highly suspect that Apple's definition of "modular" at this point means "display and keyboard not included".
Haha, you're probably right. Modular to them would just mean everything "sold separately" adding hundreds of dollars to the total for the same configuration.
 
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