iMac Pro iMac Pro: are you happy with your new iMac Pro?

[lifjoy]

[doublepost=1518879393][/doublepost]The keyboard seems to freeze gives bleeps as if a key is stuck (it isn't)... Anybody experienced anything like it?

Yes, I had that problem several times yesterday (my second day of iMacPro 18 core use). The issue happened when typing cmd-C and cmd-V to copy/paste files in the Finder, and when typing cmd-delete to trash selected files in the Finder. The behavior felt like a stuck keyboard key. But as you say, the keys were definitely not stuck (I wiggled each key to make sure).

I have also experienced frequent random disconnects of my iMac Pro's bluetooth keyboard, mouse, trackpad.

Several times yesterday, ghosted text artifacts randomly danced across the iMac Pro screen-- which were unrelated to any app I was running at the time.

So I searched these forums and Apple's support forums, and found other iMac Pro owners have also experienced these three problems. Based on forum comments, I made four changes to my system last night, and have not encountered any of those three issues yet today:

(1) I powered off nearby bluetooth peripherals (like the mouse I have connected to my MacBookPro, and my old white bluetooth keyboard on the shelf that I did not realize was still on).

(2) I unpaired/repaired my new iMac Pro keyboard, mouse, trackpad.

(3) I reset parameter RAM.

(4) I booted into Recovery Mode, and ran DiskUtility-- which reported 'crypto_val' errors. I researched that issue and based on forum posts (https://discussions.apple.com/message/32818124): I wiped my SSD, reinstalled macOS 10.13.3, and restored my data and apps from a TimeMachine backup of that machine.

So far, so good today. Fingers crossed that the gremlins are now gone.

 

[powerslave65]

Mine has been on since I purchased. Wakes from sleep properly, and everything works. I did cause a shutdown with 12 apps and 40 somethimg safari tabs open. Other than that smooth sailing.

 

[arnau the big]

i’m thinking of buying one for music production. Which conf. do you recomend me?

 

[USAntigoon]

Doing a lot of RAW processing and 4K video editing...my iMac Pro works nice and fast..

 

[SaxPlayer]

I realise that this is mainly an old thread with a couple of recent comments, but as a new iMac Pro owner as of November 2018 I thought I'd throw in my comments in case anyone is passing this way.

I haven't experienced any of the problems mentioned earlier in this thread so hopefully that means that Apple has resolved them in Mojave.

My previous two machines have been Mac Pros - a cheese grater 1,1 and a trashcan 6,1. Both worked well and for a long time. Nearly 8 years for the former and coming up to 5 for the latter. The iMac Pro is my first AIO - my first iMac.

Have owned it a week and am loving it so far. The screen is great, easily better than the larger 4K LG external monitor that broke hastening my purchase of a new machine. Loving the low profile keyboard too. I know not everyone likes them, however it's a winner for me.

Very quiet machine too, which is the reason I didn't buy previous "normal" iMacs. I thought I'd worry about not being able to upgrade the internals, however that's not really an issue for me these days. It mattered for me in 2006. It doesn't matter now, especially as even the base machine (which is the one I bought) has a healthy spec (shame you can't say the same about the new Mac Mini).

I could go on and on, but I won't. This computer is a winner from where I'm sitting and I'm so pleased that after years and YEARS of neglecting desktop owning professionals, Apple are finally putting together a range of options that should suit most users (at least once the mMP launches next year).

 

[anonymous161]

I realise that this is mainly an old thread with a couple of recent comments, but as a new iMac Pro owner as of November 2018 I thought I'd throw in my comments in case anyone is passing this way.

I haven't experienced any of the problems mentioned earlier in this thread so hopefully that means that Apple has resolved them in Mojave.

My previous two machines have been Mac Pros - a cheese grater 1,1 and a trashcan 6,1. Both worked well and for a long time. Nearly 8 years for the former and coming up to 5 for the latter. The iMac Pro is my first AIO - my first iMac.

Have owned it a week and am loving it so far. The screen is great, easily better than the larger 4K LG external monitor that broke hastening my purchase of a new machine. Loving the low profile keyboard too. I know not everyone likes them, however it's a winner for me.

Very quiet machine too, which is the reason I didn't buy previous "normal" iMacs. I thought I'd worry about not being able to upgrade the internals, however that's not really an issue for me these days. It mattered for me in 2006. It doesn't matter now, especially as even the base machine (which is the one I bought) has a healthy spec (shame you can't say the same about the new Mac Mini).

I could go on and on, but I won't. This computer is a winner from where I'm sitting and I'm so pleased that after years and YEARS of neglecting desktop owning professionals, Apple are finally putting together a range of options that should suit most users (at least once the mMP launches next year).

Wholeheartedly agree. I've had mine for about 8 months now and it's just fantastic. I've been lucky enough to not have any issues and the machine just screams no matter what I've thrown at it. And I'm still running High Sierra, because I'm in the middle of a few projects, so I'm glad to hear that Mojave is behaving for you.

 

[SaxPlayer]

Wholeheartedly agree. I've had mine for about 8 months now and it's just fantastic. I've been lucky enough to not have any issues and the machine just screams no matter what I've thrown at it. And I'm still running High Sierra, because I'm in the middle of a few projects, so I'm glad to hear that Mojave is behaving for you.

I'd kept my Mac Pro on High Sierra because, like you, I was completing some projects and didn't dare update it. I don't usually install a new macOS until over Christmas/New Year (just in case) but it seems to be fine and made sense to go with the new version on the new machine.

I'm loving the dark mode too. A few quirks, but overall is my preferred option for now. It's not universally liked, it seems, however it could be this fantastic iMac Pro 5K screen that makes it look good to my eyes.

 

[tomscott1988]

Im in the same boat and have been considering the iMac pro since it came out. Main thing that puts me off (although I have had Xeon mac pros since 2006) is the fact its xeon based. It used to be the case the Xeons were better in all respecs and more reliable, not the case anymore. For 95% of people its just unnecessary, more expensive and is slower especially single core. Many CC apps are still heavily dependent on SC.

One of the main things that worries me is having a 2006 2008 and 2010 mac pro is ECC ram I must have replaced 5-6 dead ram sticks in the last 12 years... it works hard and in my case ive had bad luck with it. its also unnecessary and expensive. The thing is you can just replace it with a mac pro and crack on in an iMac you will loose 2 weeks to apple with no loan machine.

I hope similar to the mini that they make this machine with a high end i processor but with the same options 4x TB ports 10gb ethernet, upgradable ram etc The newer i series chips with updated cooling will give you 80-90% the performance for roughly 50-65% the cost.

Because they will outperform in key areas for a lot of people I would say this is the reason they haven't bothered.

Updated my old mac pro to mojave yesterday without issue thankfully. I upgraded it to HS and basically it corrupted the firmware and because I was busy it sat for 3 months and I was using a dell workstation for that time period until I had time to figure it out which was not an easy process at all.

Seems to run extremely well, granted still a bit sluggish as you would expect an 8 year old machine to be.

 

[SaxPlayer]

Im in the same boat and have been considering the iMac pro since it came out. Main thing that puts me off (although I have had Xeon mac pros since 2006) is the fact its xeon based. It used to be the case the Xeons were better in all respecs and more reliable, not the case anymore. For 95% of people its just unnecessary, more expensive and is slower.

One of the main things that worries me is having a 2006 2008 and 2010 mac pro is ECC ram I must have replaced 5-6 dead ram sticks in the last 12 years... it works hard and in my case ive had bad luck with it. its also unnecessary and expensive. The thing is you can just replace it with a mac pro and crack on in an iMac you will loose 2 weeks to apple with no loan machine.

I hope similar to the mini that they make this machine with a high end i processor but with the same options 4x TB ports 10gb ethernet etc The newer i series chips with updated cooling will give you 80-90% the performance for roughly 50-65% the cost.

Because they will outperform in key areas for a lot of people I would say this is the reason they haven't bothered.

I completely understand your point and it underlines the need (for those of us using our machines to earn money) that a "disaster recovery" plan needs to be in place just in case your main machine has a problem. That's the case whether you have a machine that's upgradable or not, which is why it didn't put me off going down the AIO route for the first time.

 

[tomscott1988]

I completely understand your point and it underlines the need (for those of us using our machines to earn money) that a "disaster recovery" plan needs to be in place just in case your main machine has a problem. That's the case whether you have a machine that's upgradable or not, which is why it didn't put me off going down the AIO route for the first time.

Still at the same time if you use the internal SSD if your ram goes bad so does your project unless you are working off external storage which then sort of makes having a ridiculously fast and large SSD pointless. Same issue with the T2 if your board goes bad then everything on that drive is gone, will only work with that exact T2 chip. If you use time machine then to get that project you have to essentially rebuild it onto another drive which takes ages and is inconvenient, hopefully it backed up too.

Frustrating coming from a break and replace type set up. If the machine goes bad pull the drive get it booted in another machine and keep working. What really pains me about all these new apple machines.

 

[SaxPlayer]

Still at the same time if you use the internal SSD if your ram goes bad so does your project unless you are working off external storage which then sort of makes having a ridiculously fast and large SSD pointless. Same issue with the T2 if your board goes bad then everything on that drive is gone, will only work with that exact T2 chip. If you use time machine then to get that project you have to essentially rebuild it onto another drive which takes ages and is inconvenient, hopefully it backed up too.

Frustrating coming from a break and replace type set up. If the machine goes bad pull the drive get it booted in another machine and keep working. What really pains me about all these new apple machines.

I hear you and they're all good points. For me, I have my applications on the internal drive (easily replicated elsewhere) and my data sits on a NAS RAID accessed over my network. Agreed, that's not anywhere near as fast as the internal SSD, however in data terms it works just fine and if it ever became a problem then an external TB RAID could be the solution.

If Apple get the mMP right then there should be a machine that will tick all of your boxes and that will be the obvious place for you to go, meanwhile there are other pro options now available in the form of the iMac Pro and new Mac Mini that are ideal for people who have ways of dealing with the problems you've identified and are happy with the compromise (and obviously have backup strategies in place).

After years of neglect from Apple on the pro desktop front, we should be encouraged by what the future holds.