Next workstation-class mac will be called Mac Studio

[MisterAndrew]

so were finally getting the long pined for xMac. Can't wait for everybody to STILL complain

They will complain. Because Mac Studio will not be a traditional upgradeable tower for $3k.

 

[Boil]

I got some info about next workstation class mac, list below.

- It will be called Mac Studio
- Powered by M1 max 2x
- 20 CPU cores and 48 GPU cores
- Low-end mac display (but the prices not seem to be low) will be call Apple 5K display
- As i have seen only front of display, it closely resemble of what Apple Pro Display XDR look like.
- i've not seen the back and the side of display, so cannot tell anything about stand and back design. (is it sell separately etc)

I have got some info, that the machine i saw maybe not only config in the line-up. (aka you maysee 10/24 10/32 or 20/64 mac studio)

As i tell you guys, i've hand-on this machine this monday, it very fast.

So what form factor was the chassis of this Mac Studio; shorter Mac Pro, Cube 2.0, taller Mac mini...?

Enquiring minds want to know...! ;^p

 

[Amethyst]

I doesn't see the hardware itself but black cardboard box.

 

[Boil]

I doesn't see the hardware itself but black cardboard box.

Maybe an idea of the size of this box...? Could you hear any noises from within...?

What if Apple has a hulking (obviously large enough to hold a 2019 Mac Pro size chassis) black box they haul out for the "Peek performance" portion of the Event, and then take said box away to reveal one of the following:

• Shorter Mac Pro
• Cube 2.0
• Taller Mac mini

That would be hilarious...! ;^p

 

[windowsblowsass]

They will complain. Because Mac Studio will not be a traditional upgradeable tower for $3k.

Apple should simply release a new TAM and call it an xmac to troll

 

[Amethyst]

Maybe an idea of the size of this box...? Could you hear any noises from within...?

What if Apple has a hulking (obviously large enough to hold a 2019 Mac Pro size chassis) black box they haul out for the "Peek performance" portion of the Event, and then take said box away to reveal one of the following:

• Shorter Mac Pro
• Cube 2.0
• Taller Mac mini

That would be hilarious...! ;^p

The dimension of the box is around G4 Cube, I test in office environment i doesn't hear any fan from that box, it really quiet.

ps. this is the info i doesn't sure about because i dosen't see anything beside black cardboard box, it may be have only mobo or it have full hardware i doesn't see it so i doesn't post about that in first place.

 

[randomdude83]

Whats the Ram amount?

 

[Boil]

Whats the Ram amount?

Oh...! @Amethyst, might you have looked at the "About This Mac" window...?!?

 

[Amethyst]

Oh...! @Amethyst, might you have looked at the "About This Mac" window...?!?

Oh i forgot to post about it, i can confirm that machine have 32GB of Ram. but my pal (who give me this opportunity) tell me that we will see 128gb version.

ps. my pal also give an info about high-end iMac!!! i will try to convince him to give me an opportunity to test it.

 

[Boil]

Mac Studio (as equipped US$5k)

• Dual M1 Max SoCs
• 20-core CPU (16P/4E)
• 64-core GPU
• 32-core Neural Engine
• 128GB LPDDR5 RAM
• 800GB/s UMA
• 1TB NVMe SSD
• Dual 10Gb Ethernet (RJ-45) ports
• WiFi 6 / Bluetooth 5.0
• (6) Thunderbolt 4/USB 4 (USB-C) ports
• (4) USB 3.1 Gen2 (USB-A) ports
• HDMI 2.0 port
• 3.5mm audio output jack (auto-switching high/low impedance)
• Space Gray

 

[dcmontgomery]

Oh i forgot to post about it, i can confirm that machine have 32GB of Ram. but my pal (who give me this opportunity) tell me that we will see 128gb version.

ps. my pal also give an info about high-end iMac!!! i will try to convince him to give me an opportunity to test it.

TELL US ABOUT THE IMAC!!!!! Pretty please.

 

[mattspace]

Also the MPX branding is a nice way to deal with that. MPX stands for Mac Pro Expansion. No reason to think an MPX card would work with a Mac Studio instead of a Mac Pro.

You're assuming the pause is used and involatile as "Mac Pro: Expansion". and not "Mac: Pro Expansion".

so were finally getting the long pined for xMac. Can't wait for everybody to STILL complain

The defining characteristics of the xMac have always been: Pricing where the cMP used to start (ie 1/3 to 1/2 of the current Mac Pro's entry price), and user upgradable off-the-shelf graphics.

The G4 Cube would have been an xMac, if it was priced as an iMac, rather than a Power Mac (though the short format PCI card GPU wasn't the best, nor was the endemic thermal failures of the optical drive and power buttons, the cracking in the polycarbonate etc etc.).

 

[Boil]

The way the Mac Studio has been described (closer to a Mac mini than a Mac Pro) I would not expect to see any MPX slots at all. I'd be surprised if there are any PCIe slots, but it's possible there could be half length slots.

Also the MPX branding is a nice way to deal with that. MPX stands for Mac Pro Expansion. No reason to think an MPX card would work with a Mac Studio instead of a Mac Pro.

You're assuming the pause is used and involatile as "Mac Pro: Expansion". and not "Mac: Pro Expansion".

From the Apple website, on the Mac Pro overview page:

Introducing the Mac Pro Expansion Module, or MPX Module.​

The defining characteristics wishes of the xMac have always been: Pricing where the cMP used to start (ie 1/3 to 1/2 of the current Mac Pro's entry price), and user upgradable off-the-shelf graphics.

Fixed that for you... ;^p

Base model Mac Studio should be US$2.5k (single M1 Max SoC, 24-core GPU, 32GB RAM, 512GB SSD, dual Gigabit Ethernet); but no user upgradable graphics, sorry...

 

[Bug-Creator]

Base model Mac Studio should be US$2.5k (single M1 Max SoC, 24-core GPU, 32GB RAM, 512GB SSD, dual Gigabit Ethernet); but no user upgradable graphics, sorry...

That would be just $400 shy of a similar specced 14", which is something that Apple could (and would) do but would make the Studio a bad deal.

IMO that spec really should be the upper end of a space-grey Mini at about 2-2.2k, and the Studio should start with the DoubleMax (bringing it close to 3k).

 

[Boil]

The Mac Studio might replace the high-end 2018 Intel Mac mini, which has a base price of $1.1k; so an argument could be made for Apple also offering models with the M1 Pro SoC (single SoC only)...

This could also be good for those who need CPU cores but not GPU cores...

8/14, 10/14, & 10/16 SoCs; 16GB & 32GB RAM options...

So there could be a "low-end" Mac Studio (8/14, 16/512, Gigabit Ethernet configuration) that is priced at $1.4k to fit that high-end Mac mini slot in the line-up...

A range of SoCs, RAM, SSDs, and Ethernet options like that would really cover the price & performance spread between the low-end single Mn SoC-based Mac mini and the high-end multi Mn Max SoC-based Mac Pro...!

 

[Boil]

SoC	CPU	P/E	GPU	RAM	SSD	Ethernet
M1 Pro	8-core	6P/2E	14-core	16GB/32GB​	512GB/1TB/2TB/4TB/8TB​	Gigabit/10Gb​
M1 Pro	10-core	6P/2E	14-core	16GB/32GB​	512GB/1TB/2TB/4TB/8TB​	Gigabit/10Gb​
M1 Pro	10-core	8P/2E	16-core	16GB/32GB​	512GB/1TB/2TB/4TB/8TB​	Gigabit/10Gb​
M1 Max	10-core	8P/2E	24-core	16GB/32GB/64GB​	512GB1TB/2TB/4TB/8TB​	Gigabit/10Gb​
M1 Max	10-core	8P/2E	32-core	16GB/32GB/64GB​	512GB/1TB/2TB/4TB/8TB​	Gigabit/10Gb​
Dual M1 Max	20-core	16P/4E	48-core	32GB/64GB/128GB​	512GB/1TB/2TB/4TB/8TB​	Dual Gigabit/Dual 10Gb​
Dual M1 Max	20-core	16P/4E	64-core	32GB/64GB/128GB​	512GB/1TB/2TB/4TB/8TB​	Dual Gigabit/Dual 10Gb​

 

[exoticSpice]

SoC	CPU	P/E	GPU	RAM	SSD	Ethernet
M1 Pro	8-core	6P/2E	14-core	16GB/32GB​	512GB/1TB/2TB/4TB/8TB​	Dual Gigabit/Dual 10Gb
M1 Pro	10-core	6P/2E	14-core	16GB/32GB​	512GB/1TB/2TB/4TB/8TB​	Dual Gigabit/Dual 10Gb
M1 Pro	10-core	8P/2E	16-core	16GB/32GB​	512GB/1TB/2TB/4TB/8TB​	Dual Gigabit/Dual 10Gb
M1 Max	10-core	8P/2E	24-core	16GB/32GB/64GB​	1TB/2TB/4TB/8TB​	Dual Gigabit/Dual 10Gb
M1 Max	10-core	8P/2E	32-core	16GB/32GB/64GB​	1TB/2TB/4TB/8TB​	Dual Gigabit/Dual 10Gb
Dual M1 Max	20-core	16P/4E	48-core	32GB/64GB/128GB​	1TB/2TB/4TB/8TB​	Dual Gigabit/Dual 10Gb
Dual M1 Max	20-core	16P/4E	64-core	32GB/64GB/128GB​	1TB/2TB/4TB/8TB​	Dual Gigabit/Dual 10Gb

There is no 16GB RAM M1 Max variant. ALL M1 Max start at 32GB RAM

 

[Boil]

There is no 16GB RAM M1 Max variant. ALL M1 Max start at 32GB RAM

OP states they looked at a 20/48 machine with 32GB RAM, so I posited that maybe Apple sourced some 4GB LPDDR5 chips for the M1 Max SoCs...?

 

[exoticSpice]

The dimension of the box is around G4 Cube, I test in office environment i doesn't hear any fan from that box, it really quiet.

ps. this is the info i doesn't sure about because i dosen't see anything beside black cardboard box, it may be have only mobo or it have full hardware i doesn't see it so i doesn't post about that in first place.

Did you test in a special location or was it a review unit?

 

[exoticSpice]

OP states they looked at a 20/48 machine with 32GB RAM, so I posited that maybe Apple sourced some 4GB LPDDR5 chips for the M1 Max SoCs...?

I believe 32GB to the minimum for M1 Max and M1 Max 2x.

 

[Boil]

I believe 32GB to the minimum for M1 Max and M1 Max 2x.

32GB is minimum for the M1 Max as we know it in the 14" & 16" MBP laptops...

Going by the "MBP M1 Max standard", that would mean a dual M1 Max would have 64GB minimum...

But that does not mean Apple has to stick with the RAM amounts it had in the MBP laptops...

And again, OP has stated they were looking at a dual M1 Max system with 32GB RAM, hence my positing the 4GB LPDDR5 chips theory...

 

[Bug-Creator]

The Mac Studio might replace the high-end 2018 Intel Mac mini, which has a base price of $1.1k

Apple's problem here is that a M1 Mini BTOed to useable spec (16/512) will come very close to that just like it is right now with a BTO 13" MBp vs the 14" base model.

If the space out pricing to much they will end up being uncompetitive/unattractive at the upper end.

OP states they looked at a 20/48 machine with 32GB RAM, so I posited that maybe Apple sourced some 4GB LPDDR5 chips for the M1 Max SoCs...?

We yet do not know (for sure) how the chips gonna connect and where the RAM will be at. Might be very well be the same RAM chips as in the single Max config just sitting in between the 2 chips.

 

[Amethyst]

My pal (who i can't really tell yours guy who he is) tell me that, the system he show me is third prototype he got, but the first one that label Mac Studio on About this mac. previous two are just black-box with M1 max system.

Btw the software run on this machine, macOS monteray is still full of bug. According that he suggest we may not ready to get it instantly after Tuesday keynote.

ps. i just give him a link to this thread, hahaha.

 

[exoticSpice]

My pal (who i can't really tell yours guy who he is) tell me that, the system he show me is third prototype he got, but the first one that label Mac Studio on About this mac. previous two are just black-box with M1 max system.

Btw the software run on this machine, macOS monteray is still full of bug. According that he suggest we may not ready to get it instantly after Tuesday keynote.

ps. i just give him a link to this thread, hahaha.

I guess they just reveal in march keynote and it may come later in the year.

 

[sublunar]

I guess they just reveal in march keynote and it may come later in the year.

Doesn't sound like the sort of thing they'd just announce and leave hanging there for months because it might impact iMac (Intel and future ARM) sales. Better to make it available immediately or not say anything.