This is absolutely true. Got clients running cMPs producing award winning work. They are still trucking along with a high degree of stability, so they don't get messed with. Others are early adopters, with all the attendant pain points.
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Just couldn't wait on the modular MacPro any longer.
- Thread starter DearthnVader
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Yeah... I hope Apple doesn't fit it with some server-grade AMD GPU (that's not removable) and tells its customers to resort to attaching the upcoming eGPU kit.
I’m curious how the OP is doing with the new PC. Follow up post now that they’ve embraced / gone back to the Windows world to see how they’re getting on?
Exactly right. The idea is king.
Most creatives have no interest in the insides of their machines, and only start complaining when they actually can't work.
The way some on here carry on you'd think they render for a living.
I hacked the macOS to run on it.
Really I plan on running the EthOS on it, but I also have Ubuntu and Windows 10 installed. Trying to set up PCI Passthough with two old Quadro 600's for Qemu(KVM) on Ubuntu, so I can run Windows 10, and High Sierra in virtual machines, on top of Ubuntu.
I got Windows 10 working well, and it has control of one of the Quadro cards, and I was able to load the latest Quadro drivers for Windows 10, seems to be working well, but I haven't run SpecViewPerf yet to see how it compares to a native Windows install.
I've managed to get Sierra running in Qemu, but I'm having trouble with PCI Passthrough, windows server crashes when the nVidia drivers load, still working on it.
Indeed, already ditched my Mac Pro and MacBook Pro because of a lack of strategic direction from Apple. I think they need separate product divisions for professional and consumer products. Let's face it they are big enough to do it, they just need to wake up to their customers requirements and deliver.
You keep arguing why it's not needed. But you have yet to offer an answer to why not offer real performance, especially at Apple's prices. Why not make it tweakable? You just give handwaving pretending you know what "most creatives" want, while most creatives are speaking loud and clear with their wallets that they don't want what Apple is hawking.
Hot Rod enthusiasts take great pride in squeezing every horsepower they can from their cars even if they rarely take the car off a normal road.
Plenty of computer enthusiasts take great pride in squeezing every FPS of 4k rendering they can as well. And that group makes up a lot of users who are willing to drop $5-15k on a computer fairly regularly. For Apple's pricing on high end hardware, it's sheer stupidity to burn off those customers just to pick up a bit more margin on gimp parts and poor cooling to emphasize a smaller chassis.
So, a few thoughts:
1. Apple suffers from a myopic org structure; they can only focus on a few things really well. Even though they have a broad product offering, it's clear that the iPhones get the most love and everything else gets varying degrees of crumbs.
2. The Mac Pro is their high-end computer, sure. But it's also a trophy. Apple likes to build trophy computers that people show off on their desktops. In a world of boxy PC towers, Apple's shiny cylinder really stands out. The case is still very different and very desirable.
3. Apple suffers from a very capitalistic problem: They don't have a direct competitor. There's no one else you can go to to buy a pro-level Mac. The extreme loyalty of Apple's fan base means that Apple can practically ignore Mac users for years and not lose their business. So, where's the pressure on Apple to produce a new Mac Pro every year? It's not there. So why should they spend the money?
4. Apple is a consumer technology company with scant offerings for the enterprise. Apple has completely given up on the idea that they can compete with Dell, Microsoft, et al, in the back office and with high end desktops. Their only high end desktop is very narrowly focused on the video production crowd.
5. If I were to take a SWAG at why Apple is not upgrading the Mac Pro in particular, I suspect that the engineering cost is higher than average because there is way more customization and miniaturization going on than in a traditional desktop system. So, Apple can either rebuild the internals for an aging case, or rebuild the case as well as the internals. Or just do nothing.
I think that Apple has all but lost interest in competing on the desktop based on specs. They are just doing their own thing. They sell systems to their base. They sell systems to folks who love their iOS gadgets. They sell systems to people who love Apple's style but would never crack open a PC case to swap out a part.
Apple has a huge sunk cost in the desktop market, so they're just riding the wave. And if anything innovative happens in the desktop market, they're poised to take advantage of it. But I think Apple's Mac line are more or less sleepers at this point in their history.
It stands out as a failed attempt at pushing a weak solution that nobody asked for into the market - and even Apple admits that it was a failure.
If the cylinder was about 30% bigger, had extra storage and had the GPU in a PCIe slot it might not have caused as much grief.
I couldn’t wait either so have just ordered a 10-core, 64Gb, 1Tb SSD, 56 Vega iMac Pro which is arriving on Monday.
Aside from the much needed new throughput capability (actually the primary reason aside from saving of time during the workflow), this will eventually be passed to one of our editors once the new Mac Pro gets released.
Come on Apple, don’t leave us hanging - my two 5,1s are still going strong, just give me them with DDR4 and full Xeon chips and a whole swathe of USB and TB3 ports and PCIE slots...
Aside from the much needed new throughput capability (actually the primary reason aside from saving of time during the workflow), this will eventually be passed to one of our editors once the new Mac Pro gets released.
Come on Apple, don’t leave us hanging - my two 5,1s are still going strong, just give me them with DDR4 and full Xeon chips and a whole swathe of USB and TB3 ports and PCIE slots...
I literally used an nMP to prop up a Boxx workstation the other day to hold it in place as i was securing it (the BOXX) to an underdesk mount. The nMP was nearby and was the exact height i needed.
I hope that you didn't scratch the top of the nMP - if you did we'll have to get the smelling salts for Jony.
