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MacPro-where next?
- Thread starter woodbine
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Interesting.
Ultimate, best, better doesn't give the impression to me it'll be LGA 1155 - so LGA 1366 (which would be lols worthy) or or early LGA 2011 seem more likely.
So what market is the Mac Pro if it isn't workstation? It's not a mainstream computer nor a gaming rig.
LGA 1366 (and most likely LGA 2011) start from $294, so that is the low-end i7-9xx series CPU. Using LGA 1155 parts would turn Mac Pro into a headless iMac and we have had the xMac argument way too many times. Using LGA 1155 isn't just about the CPU but you would actually get less PCIe lines than the current Mac Pro with X58 chipset.
Looks like we will see next week...
The same market the G3 and G4 (and some of the low end G5s) were for. Prosumers who need a tower with expandability and external displays.
Don't get me wrong, all off the above machines also had higher end more workstation like configurations. The early G3s had "personality" cards. The G4s and G5s had very expensive Xeon like DP configurations. So I'm not suggesting Apple would ever abandon the higher end. I'm just suggesting Apple might want to give themselves more flexibility to cover more markets instead of this "Doomsday Xeon price gulf" that a few people seem so concerned will destroy the Mac Pro.
Heck, Apple has shown some interest for an even lower end consumer headless Mac before with the Cube. I don't think they'd ever go full Cube again, but they do realize there is some demand for a consumer machine with flexibility, even if the Cube attempt blew up in their face for a lot of reasons (one being that the case, while pretty, was kind of a problem.) Also, another reason the Cube didn't work was because the G4 at that time, in addition to being a workstation, came in very nice consumer configs.
You must realize that even much earlier Apple had mid-level desktop machines with expandability such as the Power Macintosh 7000 series, which was not as Pro-level as the 8000 and 9000 series, but had expandability such as upgradable processor daughtercard, PCI slots, easily accessible RAM and hard drives for upgrades. These were not in the $3000 - $6000 range like the higher end machines but did provide a much more expandable and faster option than the Performa lineup, which used lower end 603 and 603e processors, and were not built with expandability or PCI slots.
Not only that, they had the 6000 series which was most definitely a consumer desktop. (The 6000 series was awful though, if not a nice design in theory.)
Apple did cut their tower lines down to "one" model when Jobs came back, but I think what confuses people is Apple didn't actually trim down the options at all. They basically took all the models they had before, and reduced them to a set of BTO options based on one tower design.
In fact, you can see the analogies today. Now instead of the 7000, 8000, and 9000 series, we have "Better", "Best" and "Ultimate." Same thing really, except less brand confusion, and only one case design.
Could Apple send the "Better" config back down to consumer territory? Maybe.
(I'd be very surprised if this happened with the upcoming revision. But perhaps in the future.)
(Also, 7000 wasn't a tower. It was a horizontal desktop. Reeealllly nice machine though. I owned a 7300, most solid Mac I ever had up until my 2k8 Mac Pro.)
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Maybe they're gonna rename the MacPro.
If they call it the MacPlus (or something) they could always add the Pro for the high-end models. The MacPlus and the MacPlusPro.
Hey, everybody is speculating here. I'm just throwing some around for good measure.
If they call it the MacPlus (or something) they could always add the Pro for the high-end models. The MacPlus and the MacPlusPro.
Hey, everybody is speculating here. I'm just throwing some around for good measure.
Still, what CPUs are they planning to use if they release the Mac Pro today:
1) Just a little speedbump with the current socket, throw in 2x Intel X5690
2) Rumored custom CPU:s
3) Ivy Bridge really really early.
Non of the options sounds plausable, maybe 1) but i can only imagine the complaints from users that wouldnt have bought the Mac Pro anyway
But yeah. 2) and 3) would be pretty cool.
1) Just a little speedbump with the current socket, throw in 2x Intel X5690
2) Rumored custom CPU:s
3) Ivy Bridge really really early.
Non of the options sounds plausable, maybe 1) but i can only imagine the complaints from users that wouldnt have bought the Mac Pro anyway
But yeah. 2) and 3) would be pretty cool.
Still, what CPUs are they planning to use if they release the Mac Pro today:
1) Just a little speedbump with the current socket, throw in 2x Intel X5690
2) Rumored custom CPU:s
3) Ivy Bridge really really early.
Non of the options sounds plausable, maybe 1) but i can only imagine the complaints from users that wouldnt have bought the Mac Pro anyway
But yeah. 2) and 3) would be pretty cool.
There's more than that for 1). New GPUs, Thunderbolt, the other BTO options upgraded across the board...
It wouldn't be the biggest revision the Mac Pro has ever had, but it would still be pretty solid.
Not only that, they had the 6000 series which was most definitely a consumer desktop. (The 6000 series was awful though, if not a nice design in theory.)
Apple did cut their tower lines down to "one" model when Jobs came back, but I think what confuses people is Apple didn't actually trim down the options at all. They basically took all the models they had before, and reduced them to a set of BTO options based on one tower design.
In fact, you can see the analogies today. Now instead of the 7000, 8000, and 9000 series, we have "Better", "Best" and "Ultimate." Same thing really, except less brand confusion, and only one case design.
Could Apple sent the "Better" config back down to consumer territory? Maybe.
(I'd be very surprised if this happened with the upcoming revision. But perhaps in the future.)
(Also, 7000 wasn't a tower. It was a horizontal desktop. Reeealllly nice machine though. I owned a 7300, most solid Mac I ever had up until my 2k8 Mac Pro.)
Indeed. I was at MacWorld the year they introduced their 2x2 table of computer line. One Portable, One Desktop each for the Consumer and Pro lines - but the sheer number of options in each BTO configuration makes for a pretty diverse lineup of 4 machines - or 6 as the case is now.
Though honestly at this point, I don't know that the old "High-end consumer tower" market still exists for Apple. The iMac is...a really good computer these days, and the only people who really need expansion slots are gamers on the consumer end of things. And Apple...can't really be expected to capture that market in the near future.
Which leaves...workstations.
My concern, if I was wearing the Mac Pro line manager hat, is that if they push it out sans a new fancy chip, there will be yet more "Zomg Apple abandoning the pro market!" stuff.
If these rumors of a Mac Pro refresh are true, there are only a few options...
1. It's a chassis redesign
2. It's a new logic board with TB
3. It's a speed bump
4. It's a new set of BTO options for HD, SSD, GPU
5. It's a vapor-ware announcement of things to come
6. Any combination of the above
At any rate, I will wait for the Sandy Bridge Mac Pro's before I consider replacing mine.
1. It's a chassis redesign
2. It's a new logic board with TB
3. It's a speed bump
4. It's a new set of BTO options for HD, SSD, GPU
5. It's a vapor-ware announcement of things to come
6. Any combination of the above
At any rate, I will wait for the Sandy Bridge Mac Pro's before I consider replacing mine.
I was thinking about this, and I don't know if the market has changed as much as consumers back then thought they needed towers. Computers were still boxes that people expected they needed to get into to modify, even if they never cracked open the box once.
I had the same issue with my parents a few years ago. They wanted to buy a new machines a few years ago, and when I wasn't watching they started looking around for G5s or Mac Pros. They totally didn't need the power, but back when they were Mac users, you expected you'd buy a tower so you could actually crack the thing open when things went wrong.
I just think it's a paradigm shift. Consumers are started to accept computers as utilities, instead of these car like beasts that you need to pop open the hood on all the time.
(My parents have a 24" iMac and have been more than happy.)
Eh. People panic every year. And it isn't just the Mac Pro. Go over to the Mac Mini or Macbook forums. They're also paranoid that Apple is about to cut those lines at any time (I think the Macbook people could be right, but the Mac Mini? Not likely. IMO, the Macbook's only current saving grace is education.)
People are scared because Apple is running full page iOS ads, and they aren't doing the same for the Mac Pro. The Mac Pro doesn't have that magical public appeal, which is why Apple doesn't run ads. That doesn't mean the Mac Pro isn't profitable. It just means the Mac Pro is a more niche machine. But if there is anything Apple does well, it's making niches very profitable, and making a very good business out of niches.
iPod and iPhone have just ended up being very popular niches.
But the iPhone was not designed at all to be a mass consumer device.Yeah - I think I may agree that the market never *really* existed in a way that needed a tower, and now accepts an iMac with a huge screen as the right and proper home computer.
My mother switched from a G4 tower to an iMac, and hasn't looked back.
New Mac Pro this week?
Does anyone think Apple will announce if the new Mac Pro is coming out Thursday before it comes out? It seems like Apple always likes to create a little buzz and we know that they are staying up all night on Wednesday at the stores. So, will Apple announce that Lion is going to be in stores on Thursday in the next couple of days? I would think they want to get people to line up if they can. Although I don't see people lining up to see Lion but maybe for the new MBA or Mac Pro.
Does anyone think Apple will announce if the new Mac Pro is coming out Thursday before it comes out? It seems like Apple always likes to create a little buzz and we know that they are staying up all night on Wednesday at the stores. So, will Apple announce that Lion is going to be in stores on Thursday in the next couple of days? I would think they want to get people to line up if they can. Although I don't see people lining up to see Lion but maybe for the new MBA or Mac Pro.
Why? Apple isn't selling Lion in stores. What are people going to line up for?
He might be the only one in line...lol
I know there will be no line for Lion but they are talking about the new versions of Mac Book Air, which is a bit more popular. I know I would be the only person waiting in line for Mac Pro. I bought one 2 weeks ago but i returned as soon as I saw these rumors to wait for the new one Im sick of living on a PC laptop.
Why on earth would you want a 16 core Atom on a Mac Pro? Way way slower than the current processors. And not 64 bit.
While I agree with you with not using Atoms in the Mac Pro, they do have models that are 64 bit. The Mac Pro is totally line worthy, just not to some people.
But that was all before the iMac and Mac Mini. Apple still has low-end and mid-level desktops, with just less expandability.