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Amethyst

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 8, 2006
601
294
I have some info about next Mac Pro?? chips
- Total 40 cores, contains 32 P-Core and 8 E-Core.
- Total 128 GPU Core!!
- A sample board contains PCI-E slot but no ram slot (Doesn't know it exists on Production Mac Pro)
- Try to put 6900XT on that slot, its not working at all.
- Although it is in sample board, stability with macOS is great!!
 
Last edited:

kvic

macrumors 6502a
Sep 10, 2015
516
460
It's you again :cool:

40 cpu core / 128 gpu core. that's a standard issue of 4X "M2 Max" as widespread rumors have been guessing for years now.

A sample board contains PCI-E slot but no ram slot (Doesn't know it exists on Production Mac Pro)

Only one PCIe slot? Or more than one? PCIe 4.0 or 5.0? Are they MPX slot?

I've been guessing there will be DDR5 DIMM slots. Are you sure there are none...?

Any other special slots? e.g. for accommodating Apple dGPUs?

Are the SoC soldered on motherboard or on a separate daughterboard?
 
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MarkC426

macrumors 68040
May 14, 2008
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I have some info about next Mac Pro?? chips
- Total 40 cores, contains 32 P-Core and 8 E-Core.
- Total 128 GPU Core!!
- A sample board contains PCI-E slot but no ram slot (Doesn't know it exists on Production Mac Pro)
- Try to put 6900XT on that slot, its not working at all.
- Although it is in sample board, stability with macOS is great!!
How about some pictures........
These words don't really mean much without.......🤪

Where is your 'info' from?
Who tried the GPU?
Who tried MacOS?
 

kvic

macrumors 6502a
Sep 10, 2015
516
460
I'm afraid OP or his friend (or whoever that is) shows a picture of the machine will be hunted down by Apple like rats. So while I would love to see a picture, I'm pretty sure it's not going to happen.

Given the fact that a "6900XT" can be inserted into the "PCIe slot", we could make an educated guess that the tower case isn't small. A 6900XT card from PC side is pretty big & fat.

However, from what OP has already given out: 4x "M2 Max", some PCIe slots, no DIMM slots, no AMD GPU support, such an Apple silicon Mac Pro is not the type that sounds exciting. Put it another way. That's what most people have been guessing all along: a more powerful Mac Studio in tower case with a couple of PCIe slots. That's pretty boring.
 

kvic

macrumors 6502a
Sep 10, 2015
516
460
With all respect to the OP, any of us can type a list of wishes for a Mac.
But without any visible evidence, it's pretty thin.

OP (or his friend or whoever that is) was among the first few people having physical access to Mac Studio right before its launch. Back then he posted a thread in this sub-forum about Mac Studio, and a couple of days later, similar info broke news on 9to5mac independently. His post turned out to be true.
 

Joe The Dragon

macrumors 65816
Jul 26, 2006
1,031
524
are the storage slots user open?

one pci-e slot? X16? X16 size but only has X4 or X8 lanes?

has pci-e power plugs?

m.2 slots?

sata slots?

Dual 10 gig nics?

Other IO is?
 

Amethyst

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 8, 2006
601
294
To clarified all info in first post, i have all of these information from my friend who give me info about Mac Studio. This time i've not access to the system itself, just above information in first post. (i will seek an opportunities to visit his home (~1000km far from my home) in near future)

ps. it contains only 1 pci-e slot!!
 

kvic

macrumors 6502a
Sep 10, 2015
516
460
ps. it contains only 1 pci-e slot!!

It doesn't make sense to me Apple only provides ONE PCIe slot!

Based on your description in the OP, seems to be the SoC is on one PCB, and the PCIe slot on a separate PCB. So it's possible the production version will be equipped with a PCB version with a couple of PCIe slots.

Can you count the number of slot doors at the back of the tower case? But if the launch of the new Mac Pro is still a few months away, perhaps your friend is sent in a disguised computer case?
 

MarkC426

macrumors 68040
May 14, 2008
3,697
2,096
UK
To clarified all info in first post, i have all of these information from my friend who give me info about Mac Studio. This time i've not access to the system itself, just above information in first post. (i will seek an opportunities to visit his home (~1000km far from my home) in near future)

ps. it contains only 1 pci-e slot!!
Ok, this makes more sense now......;)
 

kvic

macrumors 6502a
Sep 10, 2015
516
460
if they only have 4 pci-e lanes then it does make sense. Even more so if it just over the TB BUS.

No system architect would define a Mac Pro with 4 PCIe lanes in ONE single PCIe slot. If Apple had done that, then the new Mac Pro would become an instant laughing stock.

You first have to imagine what a potential Mac Pro would be like. Then based on existing evidence (M1 Max, M1 Ultra etc) to think about how Apple would extend the SoC for Mac Pro. Or rather the system architecture for the new Mac Pro. The discussion/guesswork will become much more interesting than 'I Say You Say'
 
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exoticSpice

Suspended
Jan 9, 2022
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Having only one PCIe slot is strange. At least one is better than none like the 6,1. Is the sample board finalised?

However, from what OP has already given out: 4x "M2 Max", some PCIe slots, no DIMM slots, no AMD GPU support, such an Apple silicon Mac Pro is not the type that sounds exciting. Put it another way. That's what most people have been guessing all along: a more powerful Mac Studio in tower case with a couple of PCIe slots. That's pretty boring.
Yeah we all expected no AMD support, no DIMM slots(This makes sense as the bandwitdh would be insane on this Mac Pro) and the inclusion of PCIe slots.

Now about the 40 core CPU and 128 core GPU that sounds outdated cause the current info is 48 cores (32 P + 16 E ) and there has be more GPU cores than 128 because M2 gen increases GPU cores and Apple said no more new M1 models is coming out.
 
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kvic

macrumors 6502a
Sep 10, 2015
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Mac Studio is the true successor to the Trashcan Mac Pro. So that segment of MP user base has been covered already. IMO, the new Mac Pro shouldn't be simply more CPU/GPU cores plus a couple of PCIe slots.

I think the new Mac Pro should be like
  • M2 Extreme SoCs
  • DDR5 DIMM slots
  • a number of PCIe 5.0 slots
  • Apple dGPU expansion bus (or could be re-using PCIe 5.0 slots)
  • 2 or 4 slots for 'raw flash' storage modules (like those used in MacPro7,1 or Mac Studio)
    • there will never be m.2 sockets on the motherboard
    • people can add m.2 storage through PCIe expansion cards, however
  • usual TB4/USB4/network/wifi/BT etc
The building blocks of M2 Extreme SoCs will be
  • Up to 4X 'M2 Max' dies, each with one UltraFusion connectivity
  • LPDDR5 chips for so called 'unified memory'
  • one 'I/O die'
    • four UltraFusion connectivities for connecting up to 4X 'M2 Max' dies
    • DDR5 (not LPDDR5) controllers for DDR5 DIMMs on motherboard
    • SAS or SATA controllers, high-speed network I/O (perhaps one 25GbE? or two 10GbE?)
    • Other exciting I/O to make it default for the new Mac Pro
This gives Apple flexibility to offer configs with a choice of 'M2 Max', 'M2 Ultra' or 'M2 Extreme'. The SoCs will come with 'unified memory' and iGPU as usual. Functionalities provided by the 'I/O die' will be common to all configs.

Users can expand functionalities through PCIe 5.0 slots, Apple dGPU expansion bus, TB4, USB4..

The 'unified memory' and DDR5 DIMMs will be co-managed by both special hardware feature and MacOS feature to provide a seamless experience for any applications by default. In a future time, APIs can be opened up to developers who want a bit of manual control.

Limiting Mac Pro to iGPU only is too restrictive for a true successor to MacPro7,1. An Apple dGPU expansion bus is essential and one of defining features of the new Mac Pro.
 

Amethyst

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 8, 2006
601
294
My friends doesn't tell me about what final config will look like, nor how much pci-e is on production unit.

PS. He also tell me that it is first ASI based board which include PCI-E slot, which is sign of next Mac Pro, the last time he got mac pro prototype is intel-based.
 
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- rob -

macrumors 65816
Apr 18, 2012
1,030
705
Oakland, CA
Limiting Mac Pro to iGPU only is too restrictive for a true successor to MacPro7,1. An Apple dGPU expansion bus is essential and one of defining features of the new Mac Pro.
Given compute is arguably the most important aspect of high end workstations, dGPU is the only way to carry forward Mac Pro.

I remain convinced that AfterBurner is not a one off product category, but an initial test toward a lasting product line of AS-designed task-focused discrete compute hardware.

If Apple is to truly empower AR/VR creators and take a seat at AI/ML it has no choice but to go beyond the SoC to deliver these experiences.
 

kvic

macrumors 6502a
Sep 10, 2015
516
460
Given compute is arguably the most important aspect of high end workstations, dGPU is the only way to carry forward Mac Pro.

I remain convinced that AfterBurner is not a one off product category, but an initial test toward a lasting product line of AS-designed task-focused discrete compute hardware.

If Apple is to truly empower AR/VR creators and take a seat at AI/ML it has no choice but to go beyond the SoC to deliver these experiences.

Completely agree with this sentiment.

IMO, the first generation of Apple dGPUs can be simply re-using 'M2 Ultra' and 'M2 Extreme' SoCs for quick time to market. Disable CPU clusters, and other non-essential on-chip features. These SoCs are essentially standalone GPUs. Package one of each or two of each into a 'Apple silicon MPX' module to create the regular and Duo versions of the cards.

Since the 'unified memory' is solely used by GPU cores, this creates gigantic VRAM for machine learning, 3D modelling and etc. Won't be paralleled in AMD/Nvidia dGPU anytime soon.

Just imagine an Apple discrete GPU with two 'M2 Extreme' plus 256GB VRAM. I bet anyone who is bragging their Intel Mac Pro right now will feel small by then.
 

Joe The Dragon

macrumors 65816
Jul 26, 2006
1,031
524
Completely agree with this sentiment.

IMO, the first generation of Apple dGPUs can be simply re-using 'M2 Ultra' and 'M2 Extreme' SoCs for quick time to market. Disable CPU clusters, and other non-essential on-chip features. These SoCs are essentially standalone GPUs. Package one of each or two of each into a 'Apple silicon MPX' module to create the regular and Duo versions of the cards.

Since the 'unified memory' is solely used by GPU cores, this creates gigantic VRAM for machine learning, 3D modelling and etc. Won't be paralleled in AMD/Nvidia dGPU anytime soon.

Just imagine an Apple discrete GPU with two 'M2 Extreme' plus 256GB VRAM. I bet anyone who is bragging their Intel Mac Pro right now will feel small by then.
MPX 2 that has PCI-e + an CPU LINK BUS
or
MPX 2 that is just CPU LINK BUS no PCI-e
+
other pci-e only slots
or
MPX (POWER ONLY) pci slots?

maybe CPU / Soc CARDS in the mac pro??
base system is one card and you can add up to X cards
 

mattspace

macrumors 68040
Jun 5, 2013
3,344
2,975
Australia
Since the 'unified memory' is solely used by GPU cores, this creates gigantic VRAM for machine learning, 3D modelling and etc. Won't be paralleled in AMD/Nvidia dGPU anytime soon.

Why not? I would say it's FAR more likely that AMD & Nvidia can just quadruple, or octuple their VRAM, than it is for Apple to produce a GPU that is faster, more powerful, and price-competitive at GPU tasks than Nvidia or AMD.

Also, putting that much data onto the GPU in the first place before it can be worked on - is that going to be more efficient than just streaming it from the system ram via direct memory access, especially if you end up needing more than whatever arbitrary limit Apple has?

We've seen this before - Apple has a cultural problem of choosing the wrong tech path, or rather choosing a tech path because it's the one they have to sell, not because it's the best solution for the task, and then wasting years pounding the square peg into the round hole. If you look at tablets, for example, does the modern iPad more closely resemble the original iPad (a big-screen iPhone), or the original Surface (a tablet computer with stylus, windowing, mouse, keyboard, external display support etc).


Just imagine an Apple discrete GPU with two 'M2 Extreme' plus 256GB VRAM. I bet anyone who is bragging their Intel Mac Pro right now will feel small by then.

I imagine it would suck as badly at graphics tasks and price / performance, compared to whatever Nvidia and AMD are offering at the time, as the current Apple Silicon offerings do. The only advantage it will have, is that Apple can just refuse to provide support for new AMD cards, the same way they refused post 10-series Nvidia cards, and then they can structure their cooked benchmarks however they like.
 
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avro707

macrumors 68020
Dec 13, 2010
2,263
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I imagine it would suck as badly at graphics tasks and price / performance, compared to whatever Nvidia and AMD are offering at the time, as the current Apple Silicon offerings do. The only advantage it will have, is that Apple can just refuse to provide support for new AMD cards, the same way they refused post 10-series Nvidia cards, and then they can structure their cooked benchmarks however they like.

If Apple chooses to go down that path, some users might just migrate over to top end PC workstations. The prices are similar and Windows 11 Pro for Workstations seems to be quite decent (I'm running it as a second OS on my 7,1 MP).

If the 7,1 wasn't able to run Windows then I wouldn't have spent a big amount of money on it.
 

exoticSpice

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Jan 9, 2022
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Why not? I would say it's FAR more likely that AMD & Nvidia can just quadruple, or octuple their VRAM, than it is for Apple to produce a GPU that is faster, more powerful, and price-competitive at GPU tasks than Nvidia or AMD.
Right now the highest VRAM offered by AMD and Nvidia is 64GB and 48GB respectively. If the AS Mac Pro has 384GB of Unified RAM then there is no way AMD and Nvidia offer go over 100GB VRAM.

Apple WILL have the memory advantage for video RAM but that is the ONLY advantage they will have as Apple will to cost, speed and software and hardware stack. Apple's GPU arch is not suited for workstations.
Next gen GPUs will be on 5nm or 4nm TSMC and you control the powerlimts that is put the next gen cards at the a certain TDP they will still beat Apple's GPU which will likely be on TSMC 5nm as well.
 
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