Chances of a new Mac minus the "Pro"

[Kurso]

The nMP form factor has the potential to be the platform for which a new Mac (minus the "pro") could be built.

What are the chances we see a new Mac with a single socket and single MXM slot in the nMP form factor?

If they could deliver this at a $1500 price point it would fill the price and technology gap between the Mac Mini (poor graphics) and the iMac (price premium for an Apple monitor)

If they delivered this sometime this year I would snap it up in a heartbeat.

Would anyone else be attracted to this blending of consumer parts with nMP form factor?

 

[wesk702]

Your closest chance is a redesigned mini. If they did the same cylinder designe but 1/3 the height, i7s, it would be pretty cool.

 

[Kurso]

The problem I have with the mini is the lack of a discrete GPU. Give me a Mac with an i5 CPU, desktop class discrete GPU (even a 780M would be fine) and no monitor and I'm sold.

Currently I'm stuck because to get a desktop class GPU I need to buy a 27in iMac or a nMP. Both of which are overkill (I don't need the Apple monitor of the iMac or the dual socket dual GPU of the nMP)

If they deliver a new mini with discrete GPU I would be sold as well.

I'm stuck in a gap that Apple does not fill and I'm leaning towards buying a new PC :-(

 

[goMac]

A Mini with an Iris Pro is definitely in the cards, which would get the Mini back into discrete GPU territory.

 

[mojolicious]

Chances are approximately zero, I'd say.

I'm just grateful for the existence of the Mini. After the discontinuation of the last of the Mac/Performa 6x00 series in 1998 we went seven long years without a screenless non-Pro Mac; for the first 3-4 years of that time the only alternative to the 'pro offering' was the bleedin' original iMac.

 

[adam9c1]

I don't see it happening period.

The Mini is used as a gateway drug for (Windows) people to experiment with OS X. Then once they are happy they move to a shiny screen iMac or MB....

 

[Yvan256]

A Mini with an Iris Pro is definitely in the cards, which would get the Mini back into discrete GPU territory.

The Intel Iris Pro is not a discrete GPU.

 

[Kurso]

I don't see it happening period.

The Mini is used as a gateway drug for (Windows) people to experiment with OS X. Then once they are happy they move to a shiny screen iMac or MB....

The problem I have is I'm not a gateway target. I have 3 Macs already, but I am need of a desktop refresh. The mini is just underpowered graphically. Even if it were to get a Broadwell refresh with Iris Pro Intel is only claiming a 40% boost in GPU performance.

That puts the integrated GPU just under a discrete desktop GPU of 4 years ago (say a GTX 460). My next desktop I'll pair with a 4K monitor so the last thing I need is legacy GPU performance driving a screen with 4x the pixels.

The high end GPU (780M) in the current iMac will give me reasonable 4K performance but it's tied to a non-4K resolution monitor.

The Samsung UD590 is calling my name... I just need a Mac to go with it.

Apple... take my money for a desktop with discrete GPU and no monitor. PLEASE take my money!

 

[shaunp]

I'd buy this yesterday too - a product between the mini and pro that isn't an all-in-one. Call it a 'Mac'. It's so logical this would make a great product, and I've seen it suggested many times. I've also seen it shot down as 'crazy talk' more times than I care to mention, and that I just don't get.

I have a mini that I replace every 3-4 years that costs around £500. I also have a PC that I replace every 2 years for around £1500. I would be more than happy to consolidate these to a 'Mac' (i.e. a stand-alone core i7 with a proper gaming GPU, not crappy laptop versions) that costs around £2000-£3000 and replace that every 2-3 years. I don't want an iMac, because quite frankly I think they are crap and a nMP with a similar spec to my gaming PC will cost around £5,000, so I am stuck with the Mini and PC combination to meet my needs. I fail to see how it is beneficial to Apple for me to spend around £160 per annum with them when I'm willing to spend £1000 or more if they had the right product. Given the general chatter on here I can see many people would be willing to spend around £1000 year so I don't think it's a case of the market not existing, I just think someone at Apple has their head up their ass.

 

[mojolicious]

The Mini is used as a gateway drug for (Windows) people to experiment with OS X. Then once they are happy they move to a shiny screen iMac or MB....

I'm sure there's some truth in the above, but there are a lot of us who would rather be dead than red look at an iMac screen. There are even more of us who would ditch our Minis or iMacs in the blink of an eye if Apple introduced a configurable Mac Pro Lite.

The old Mac Pro (all the way back to the blue and white G4) could have been scaled down, lost half the expansion bays while retaining a couple of PCI slots, and would have become a best seller. Presumably it was precisely because it would have been such a sales success that Apple never produced it: it would have destroyed full-sized Mac Pro revenue.

The current Apple philosophy – 'sod internal expansion, everything can be added externally' – makes a Mac Pro Lite even less likely to happen.

 

[goMac]

The Intel Iris Pro is not a discrete GPU.

Compared to the discrete GPUs that were previously in the Mac Mini? Yep, definitely the same class or faster.

The last discrete GPU the mini shipped with was the Radeon 6630M. Iris Pro is definitely in the same weight class of today's equivalents of the 6630M.

If you take a look here:
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_list.php

The 7690m (which is better than today's equivalent to the 6630m) is ranked 179, the Iris Pro is sitting pretty at 158.

As far as technical design, the Iris Pro is discrete silicon from the CPU. It may be onboard with the CPU die, but it operates almost the same as a discrete GPU.

 

[Chancha]

Even the Mini is seemingly on its way out, and you are asking for a tricked out version of it with dGPU. Ain't gonna happen, Apple is determined to be profit driven in its Mac lineup roadmap. Here in the studio we still have a MacPro 2,1, with fibre channel to an xserve RAID, still running FCP7 in good shape. And then when I look at the new Mac "Pro" and Final Cut "Pro" X, I know Apple just doesn't want our business anymore.

 

[shaunp]

Even the Mini is seemingly on its way out, and you are asking for a tricked out version of it with dGPU. Ain't gonna happen, Apple is determined to be profit driven in its Mac lineup roadmap. Here in the studio we still have a MacPro 2,1, with fibre channel to an xserve RAID, still running FCP7 in good shape. And then when I look at the new Mac "Pro" and Final Cut "Pro" X, I know Apple just doesn't want our business anymore.

I agree Apple doesn't want the server business, but high-end consumer? Some of us don't want iMac or nMP, but would be willing to spend a considerable sum on a mini with a dGPU. I fail to see how high-end consumer doesn't fit in with Apple's plans.

 

[mojolicious]

Some of us don't want iMac or nMP, but would be willing to spend a considerable sum on a mini with a dGPU. I fail to see how high-end consumer doesn't fit in with Apple's plans.

We have fit into Apple's plans, because Apple knows we'd all be happier with sleek, shiny 27" iMacs. It's up to all of us to finally make this realisation.

 

[shaunp]

We have fit into Apple's plans, because Apple knows we'd all be happier with sleek, shiny 27" iMacs. It's up to all of us to finally make this realisation.

I'm hoping that I'm detecting sarcasm there...

 

[Yvan256]

Optimize

If I were in charge, the internals of the iMacs would be modular and only a new case would be required to keep the Mac mini up-to-date with the iMacs, with exactly the same options.

I'd even check to see if the new Mac mini cases couldn't be made from the same line as the Mac Pro cases.

What most of us want is a headless version of the high-end iMac, not a small form-factor computer or a too-expensive Mac Pro.

 

[AlexMaximus]

xmac

Even the Mini is seemingly on its way out, and you are asking for a tricked out version of it with dGPU. Ain't gonna happen, Apple is determined to be profit driven in its Mac lineup roadmap. Here in the studio we still have a MacPro 2,1, with fibre channel to an xserve RAID, still running FCP7 in good shape. And then when I look at the new Mac "Pro" and Final Cut "Pro" X, I know Apple just doesn't want our business anymore.

you might want to have a look here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1WL-ZhecWQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koE5r0Kg1Rc

The xmac with a nvidia quadro 4000 already out for a full year now..

http://www.sonnettech.com/product/xmacminiserver.html

 

[mojolicious]

What most of us want is a headless version of the high-end iMac

What the hell are we supposed to do with one of those?

 

[Wardenski]

An xMac/Mac Midi would overlap with the three current ranges so I don't see it happening, even if there is a demand for it.

If you really want, just write Apple a cheque but don't stop there, give them your soul. Then, just maybe, they will release the KursoMac.

 

[Kurso]

An xMac/Mac Midi would overlap with the three current ranges so I don't see it happening, even if there is a demand for it.

If you really want, just write Apple a cheque but don't stop there, give them your soul. Then, just maybe, they will release the KursoMac.

Hmm... Does it mean eternal damnation or only until the next upgrade cycle. Might be worth it!

 

[Flint Ironstag]

OP, what you will get is this...

a 2010 Mac Pro loaded up with 2 badass GPUs, SSDs, and tons of RAM. In most tasks will be close or superior to current Mac Pro.

 

[Chancha]

you might want to have a look here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1WL-ZhecWQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koE5r0Kg1Rc

The xmac with a nvidia quadro 4000 already out for a full year now..

http://www.sonnettech.com/product/xmacminiserver.html

Yes I know that such product exists, this is essentially a homebrew xserve. It is a "solution" for some, but frankly not even close to the connectivity and expandability of a genuine Mac tower. My earlier post wasn't really a request but more of a rant at the state of affairs, that Apple has backed out of the market for real pros. If you work on video editing and want a new Mac, the best thing you get from Apple is: nMP (G4 Cube in a tube) + 10.9 (a closed beta out early) + FCPX (iMovie Pro in disguise), this whole chain is rather not qualified or just not industry ready.