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maikerukun

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 22, 2009
719
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Likewise, I just question if developers are going to come to the party if they'e limited by the hardware, and an inability to tether back to a desktop.
I mean it hasn't stopped them from going to the Quest 2 and 3. And I think considering there is a full blown M2 running this thing...it already is a desktop. Which I think is also one of the huge drawing points to this thing...it's a computer.
 

maikerukun

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 22, 2009
719
1,037
It's pathetic and further evidence that we just have a schill arrogant and hostile Mac press. For all the grief this forum gives MaxTech (much of it rightly for being click'bait'y), he was the only one with the guts to point out the what the Mac Pro is, a scam, and I have a LOT of respect for him, rather than the apple boot lickers (you all know who they are, ie, basically the entire rest of the Mac press).

That said @maikerukun you got one buddy hitching a ride on the 'delude yourself express road trip' youre on. ME! I'm super hopeful the M3 will get us back to something way more Mac Pro like.

At the very least it will be an M3 extreme, and have a decent amount of PCI lanes. Now will it have these other things:
(1) Upgradable Ram working in conjunction with the shared ram on the SoC (like we've seen on some intel systems where the shared ram can act as a fast cache of sorts).
(2) ECC RAM.
(3) Support for GPUs
(4) Upgradable CPUs

Sadly I have my doubts about any of 1-4, but what the heck. Let's take a ride on the great space coaster! :D
ALL ABOARD!!!! LOLOL.

I'll ride this train right off the cliff with you brother right along with anybody else that wants to get on this thing with us.

And yep, that M3 Ultra gonna be fire! Very curious to see it's performance and if it will be able to support GPU's and have upgradeable RAM. That machine has the potential to truly usher in the REAL new Mac Pro. Looking forward to it...we are less than a year away...the countdown is on!
 

mattspace

macrumors 68040
Jun 5, 2013
3,342
2,975
Australia
I mean it hasn't stopped them from going to the Quest 2 and 3. And I think considering there is a full blown M2 running this thing...it already is a desktop. Which I think is also one of the huge drawing points to this thing...it's a computer.

But the quest is the price of an expensive peripheral - its a riskable purchase if it turns out to be a dud. Apple’s product is the price of a fairly high spec Macbook Pro.

I’m not sure the value will be self-evident.
 

MacPoulet

macrumors 6502a
Dec 11, 2012
621
460
Canada
Maybe this is the "Plan B" Mac Pro when the rumoured M1 Extreme didn't pan out? It could also be the first in a series of iterative updates that gradually build the Mac Pro back up. So is it better to have yearly or semi-yearly gradual updates, or one big one every generation?

I forget who initially posted the idea of a removable SOC, but I like it. Imagine if a future Mac Pro had that? You just upgrade the SOC when you feel it's time to upgrade. That would certainly increase the value proposition. Imagine if that extra $3k enabled you to swap out the M2 Ultra for an M3, M4, or M5? That could be very cool. Then after four or five years, release a new tower that has all the latest goodies, rinse & repeat. Perhaps the older boxes could still take newer SOCs, but wouldn't enable the newer features (ie: PCIE 5 would run at PCIE 4, etc.). Sort of like the G3 and G4 upgrade cards that Sonnet used to sell for the PowerMacs...
 

ZombiePhysicist

Suspended
May 22, 2014
2,884
2,794
But the quest is the price of an expensive peripheral - its a riskable purchase if it turns out to be a dud. Apple’s product is the price of a fairly high spec Macbook Pro.

I’m not sure the value will be self-evident.

Agree, but this first version, is clearly (to me at least) not a general release product. It's for developers and high cast nerds/early adopters/enthusiasts.

I cannot wait to get one! There are a LOT of problems with it (as there were on the original iPhone) but they got enough pieces together to have the base recipe "right". There will be a lot of tuning and adjusting, but I do think they got the base UI/software mostly right, and from there, there is a base for things to take off.

The other headsets just have had bad recipes. No base/stock to take off from IMO.

So this is exciting, but this is not the version for mass consumption.

The biggest impediment is you look like a complete DORK wearing it. This is NOT cool looking (other than the tech cool for geeks). But in an aesthetic/fashion sense, it is unwearable in public without looking like a complete tool.

Worse, unlike the iPhone where the it took till the iPhone 3GS for the first of the iPhones to be good enough for mass adoption to start, I think we are 5 years away from them being able to miniaturize this down to something more like glasses than goggles. It will be a slower build out to the first mass adoption build.

But the sheer wonder and possibilities are insane!

Imagine you able to put up screens WHEREVER you go. You pin a screen to a billboard on the way to work and that screen shows you your upcoming appointments and forecast for the day as you drive in! Or in the subway station, you pin a screen to a particular subway post that has your upcoming meeting srcreen. And you come to rely on those screens that are always there in real spaces, that you only see when youre there!

Spacial computing has FAR cooler implications in the world you create for yourself once you leave the home.

Your GPS guidance turns your path into a yellow brick road!

You can block out all ads on billboards from companies you dont like or dont want to see. People will KILL themselves to feed you ads into those spaces. You could choose what you want to see.

Yea, lot of room for dystopian stuff too, but, more than most companies, I'm glad apple will be doing this and hope they will keep my privacy, and sense of autonomy at the forefront of the experience.

I am so psyched about this thing.
 
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ZombiePhysicist

Suspended
May 22, 2014
2,884
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Maybe this is the "Plan B" Mac Pro when the rumoured M1 Extreme didn't pan out? It could also be the first in a series of iterative updates that gradually build the Mac Pro back up. So is it better to have yearly or semi-yearly gradual updates, or one big one every generation?

I forget who initially posted the idea of a removable SOC, but I like it. Imagine if a future Mac Pro had that? You just upgrade the SOC when you feel it's time to upgrade. That would certainly increase the value proposition. Imagine if that extra $3k enabled you to swap out the M2 Ultra for an M3, M4, or M5? That could be very cool. Then after four or five years, release a new tower that has all the latest goodies, rinse & repeat. Perhaps the older boxes could still take newer SOCs, but wouldn't enable the newer features (ie: PCIE 5 would run at PCIE 4, etc.). Sort of like the G3 and G4 upgrade cards that Sonnet used to sell for the PowerMacs...

And how much more friendly is that to the environment too!
 
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rondocap

macrumors 6502a
Jun 18, 2011
542
341
I don't think they're going to update this new M2 Ultra Mac Pro anytime soon. I wouldn't be surprised if it was like 5-6 years before we see something new, and the Mac Studio gradually just takes over.

Could you really see anyone buying a new "Apple silicon" Mac Pro EVERY year or even every two years just because the GPU and CPU are updated?

Sure, it's easy to do that with a MacBook Pro since it's usually cheaper, but we're talking a workstation level expensive tower here - which most people keep and upgrade for years.

That's why I don't think Apple is going to update it, or if they do, it might be a slight spec bump only. Might be a long time before we see a Mac Pro again that's significantly different than the rest of the lineup.
 
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MacPoulet

macrumors 6502a
Dec 11, 2012
621
460
Canada
I don't think they're going to update this new M2 Ultra Mac Pro anytime soon. I wouldn't be surprised if it was like 5-6 years before we see something new, and the Mac Studio gradually just takes over.

Could you really see anyone buying a new "Apple silicon" Mac Pro EVERY year or even every two years just because the GPU and CPU are updated?

Sure, it's easy to do that with a MacBook Pro since it's usually cheaper, but we're talking a workstation level expensive tower here - which most people keep and upgrade for years.

That's why I don't think Apple is going to update it, or if they do, it might be a slight spec bump only. Might be a long time before we see a Mac Pro again that's significantly different than the rest of the lineup.
Honestly it really looks like the work is already done, and if they update the Studio, it just makes sense to update the Pro at the same time. Especially if they don’t go beyond an Ultra.

if that’s the route, it probably won’t be the most compelling Mac Pro, but it would be around and “current.”
 

maikerukun

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 22, 2009
719
1,037
But the quest is the price of an expensive peripheral - its a riskable purchase if it turns out to be a dud. Apple’s product is the price of a fairly high spec Macbook Pro.

I’m not sure the value will be self-evident.
I understand your point. And I cannot wait to reveal both what I’m working on but also some of the other concepts I have in mind that were only able to come into fruition with the advent of this headset.

NONE of my ideas are going to change the world in profound ways, but they will allow us to interact with the world in interesting ways. I think the value for me happened when they put the headset on and it looked EXACTLY like the real world. That for me is PRICELESS. It’s the first TRUE PASSTHROUGH on a full blown VR headset and it just changed everything in my opinion. But I definitely understand your perspective.
 
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maikerukun

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 22, 2009
719
1,037
Maybe this is the "Plan B" Mac Pro when the rumoured M1 Extreme didn't pan out? It could also be the first in a series of iterative updates that gradually build the Mac Pro back up. So is it better to have yearly or semi-yearly gradual updates, or one big one every generation?

I forget who initially posted the idea of a removable SOC, but I like it. Imagine if a future Mac Pro had that? You just upgrade the SOC when you feel it's time to upgrade. That would certainly increase the value proposition. Imagine if that extra $3k enabled you to swap out the M2 Ultra for an M3, M4, or M5? That could be very cool. Then after four or five years, release a new tower that has all the latest goodies, rinse & repeat. Perhaps the older boxes could still take newer SOCs, but wouldn't enable the newer features (ie: PCIE 5 would run at PCIE 4, etc.). Sort of like the G3 and G4 upgrade cards that Sonnet used to sell for the PowerMacs...
Yep, I remember that conversation a while back, maybe like a month or so back and it’s a fantastic concept and idea and I really hope that’s the direction this is going.
 

maikerukun

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 22, 2009
719
1,037
Agree, but this first version, is clearly (to me at least) not a general release product. It's for developers and high cast nerds/early adopters/enthusiasts.

I cannot wait to get one! There are a LOT of problems with it (as there were on the original iPhone) but they got enough pieces together to have the base recipe "right". There will be a lot of tuning and adjusting, but I do think they got the base UI/software mostly right, and from there, there is a base for things to take off.

The other headsets just have had bad recipes. No base/stock to take off from IMO.

So this is exciting, but this is not the version for mass consumption.

The biggest impediment is you look like a complete DORK wearing it. This is NOT cool looking (other than the tech cool for geeks). But in an aesthetic/fashion sense, it is unwearable in public without looking like a complete tool.

Worse, unlike the iPhone where the it took till the iPhone 3GS for the first of the iPhones to be good enough for mass adoption to start, I think we are 5 years away from them being able to miniaturize this down to something more like glasses than goggles. It will be a slower build out to the first mass adoption build.

But the sheer wonder and possibilities are insane!

Imagine you able to put up screens WHEREVER you go. You pin a screen to a billboard on the way to work and that screen shows you your upcoming appointments and forecast for the day as you drive in! Or in the subway station, you pin a screen to a particular subway post that has your upcoming meeting srcreen. And you come to rely on those screens that are always there in real spaces, that you only see when youre there!

Spacial computing has FAR cooler implications in the world you create for yourself once you leave the home.

Your GPS guidance turns your path into a yellow brick road!

You can block out all ads on billboards from companies you dont like or dont want to see. People will KILL themselves to feed you ads into those spaces. You could choose what you want to see.

Yea, lot of room for dystopian stuff too, but, more than most companies, I'm glad apple will be doing this and hope they will keep my privacy, and sense of autonomy at the forefront of the experience.

I am so psyched about this thing.
Bruhhhhh SAAAAAAME! I can’t wait to see all the amazing things this is going to do for us in the future.
 
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mode11

macrumors 65816
Jul 14, 2015
1,452
1,172
London
So as expected, all the reviewers around YouTube are absolutely praising the M2 Ultra MacStudio. If you are literally an editor or graphic designer or colorist, this thing is an absolute beast. But as I have sadly learned, the Mac ecosystem is going to have to have a special place in your home for a PC workstation lol.

So I guess the question now is, what is your dream co-habitation for both your Mac and your PC, because by years end, I think we will all succumb LOL "am I the only one that has already?"

I've just put together a 13600K / RTX3080 / 64GB / 4TB NVMe machine in a Fractal North case. My original plan was to get a Mac mini Pro as well (to drive my 3 screens), using that as my day to day machine. Then use Parsec screen sharing to bring up the PC on one or all of the screens as needed (for Maya, Blender, Unreal and other 3D stuff).

But from my admittedly brief experience of Windows 11, it seems pretty nice. Not sure I can find the motivation to spend £1400 on the mini, when I'd just be using that for general productivity (Office / email / web / Adobe etc.). A PC can also do that stuff just fine. I think with a little time spent finding some nice PC apps (Mailbird for email?) it'll be OK. I'll still keep my MacBook Pro though, and use that for Photos etc.

Buying a high end Apple desktop makes little sense to me. E.g. upgrading a Mac Studio to 4TB of storage costs £1200; I paid about £250 for two fast NVMe drives. The RTX card, which I got second hand for £450, is about as fast as an M2 Ultra's (and has RT support). The CPU is pretty close too. And both can be upgraded easily later. This wasn't a high end build, and has lots of room to grow.
 

maikerukun

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 22, 2009
719
1,037
I've just put together a 13600K / RTX3080 / 64GB / 4TB NVMe machine in a Fractal North case. My original plan was to get a Mac mini Pro as well (to drive my 3 screens), using that as my day to day machine. Then use Parsec screen sharing to bring up the PC on one or all of the screens as needed (for Maya, Blender, Unreal and other 3D stuff).

But from my admittedly brief experience of Windows 11, it seems pretty nice. Not sure I can find the motivation to spend £1400 on the mini, when I'd just be using that for general productivity (Office / email / web / Adobe etc.). A PC can also do that stuff just fine. I think with a little time spent finding some nice PC apps (Mailbird for email?) it'll be OK. I'll still keep my MacBook Pro though, and use that for Photos etc.

Buying a high end Apple desktop makes little sense to me. E.g. upgrading a Mac Studio to 4TB of storage costs £1200; I paid about £250 for two fast NVMe drives. The RTX card, which I got second hand for £450, is about as fast as an M2 Ultra's (and has RT support). The CPU is pretty close too. And both can be upgraded easily later. This wasn't a high end build, and has lots of room to grow.
Woah, that's a nice rig! As you not not a high end build, but I'm sure it's doing someone as creative as you very well :) Are you using Parsec with an older Mac since you were turned off from buying one of the newer machines? I've been thinking about doing that with my Puget to the 2019 Mac Pro.

Very curious to see if Apple is able to win some of us over "and those of us that left, if it will win some of us back" in the coming years :)
 
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mode11

macrumors 65816
Jul 14, 2015
1,452
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I've been experimenting with Parsec going between various PCs (the new one and an under-TV Dell I had already) and both my 2009 Mac Pro and a 2015 DG 15" MBP. It's very impressive - it works well even over wifi going to the MacBook. It uses 4:2:0 colour by default, but has a 4:4:4 option if you pay a small subscription fee.

I think for the moment at least I'll just use the PC directly on my 3 screens. I'll also connect the MBP to the centre screen (via mDP) if I want to e.g. use Photos on a bigger screen. I expect I'll stream the PC to the MBP using Parsec too.

Still early days - just transferring files atm and getting little apps like Quicklook to make myself feel more at home on the PC. I'll see how it goes, but would rather spend the money on a 15" MBA than a mini I think.

Edit: Btw, Parsec can only stream from a PC.
 
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avro707

macrumors 68020
Dec 13, 2010
2,263
1,654
I've just put together a 13600K / RTX3080 / 64GB / 4TB NVMe machine in a Fractal North case. My original plan was to get a Mac mini Pro as well (to drive my 3 screens), using that as my day to day machine. Then use Parsec screen sharing to bring up the PC on one or all of the screens as needed (for Maya, Blender, Unreal and other 3D stuff).
That is a very nice machine indeed.

Good price point for the CPU too.
 

mode11

macrumors 65816
Jul 14, 2015
1,452
1,172
London
I think the machine was about £1700 all in, which wouldn't even get you a base Studio Max. The Studio is a nice machine though - I debated it both ways. Who knows, maybe I'll get sick of Windows when I'm using it full time! Windows 11 has made a good first impression though.
 
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Romain_H

macrumors 6502a
Sep 20, 2021
520
438
I've just put together a 13600K / RTX3080 / 64GB / 4TB NVMe machine in a Fractal North case.
Nice machine. I did a similar build: X7950 / 4090 / 64@6000 RAM / 2+2 TB Samsung 990 Pro / Lian Li Dynamic.

Using it for CUDA and some Unity/Unreal development. Dual booting Win 11 and Arch / KDE Plasma 5
 
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maikerukun

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 22, 2009
719
1,037
I've been experimenting with Parsec going between various PCs (the new one and an under-TV Dell I had already) and both my 2009 Mac Pro and a 2015 DG 15" MBP. It's very impressive - it works well even over wifi going to the MacBook. It uses 4:2:0 colour by default, but has a 4:4:4 option if you pay a small subscription fee.

I think for the moment at least I'll just use the PC directly on my 3 screens. I'll also connect the MBP to the centre screen (via mDP) if I want to e.g. use Photos on a bigger screen. I expect I'll stream the PC to the MBP using Parsec too.

Still early days - just transferring files atm and getting little apps like Quicklook to make myself feel more at home on the PC. I'll see how it goes, but would rather spend the money on a 15" MBA than a mini I think.

Edit: Btw, Parsec can only stream from a PC.
Interesting! But that's exactly how I would do it. Stream the Puget TO the Mac Pro. I love that plan and thanks for suggesting it! :)

 
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maikerukun

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 22, 2009
719
1,037
That is a very nice machine indeed.

Good price point for the CPU too.
LOL just realized you're replacing FOUR MAC PROS with PC Workstations LOLOL. When are you doing that and what will you be replacing them with? Have you thought about using all of them as a small render farm?
 

maikerukun

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 22, 2009
719
1,037
I think the machine was about £1700 all in, which wouldn't even get you a base Studio Max. The Studio is a nice machine though - I debated it both ways. Who knows, maybe I'll get sick of Windows when I'm using it full time! Windows 11 has made a good first impression though.
I can't lie...there are some things I'm SUPER digging about Windows...not a lot of them, and I guess really it's just one thing in particular...I LOVE how if you pull a screen "browser or whatever" up to the top or anywhere really, it'll just fill up the whole screen for you and make suggestions of different layouts...THAT is absolutely a quality of life benefit I'd love to have on the MacOS :)
 

maikerukun

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 22, 2009
719
1,037
Nice machine. I did a similar build: X7950 / 4090 / 64@6000 RAM / 2+2 TB Samsung 990 Pro / Lian Li Dynamic.

Using it for CUDA and some Unity/Unreal development. Dual booting Win 11 and Arch / KDE Poasma 5
This sounds like a banger of a system too! :) Powerful indeed!
 
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singhs.apps

macrumors 6502a
Oct 27, 2016
660
400
I can't lie...there are some things I'm SUPER digging about Windows...not a lot of them, and I guess really it's just one thing in particular...I LOVE how if you pull a screen "browser or whatever" up to the top or anywhere really, it'll just fill up the whole screen for you and make suggestions of different layouts...THAT is absolutely a quality of life benefit I'd love to have on the MacOS :)
Get official Microsoft power toys for windows for some neat utilities.
 
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