MP 7,1 Waiting for Mac Pro 7,1 A1991 (no more)

[deconstruct60]

Anyone understands if the internal SSD storage can be user upgraded? What connector are they using etc?

The daughter cards hooked to the T2? Probably not. Even if got the connector correct there is a Apple buffer chip that connects the NAND chips to the "line in" from the T2. Apple probably isn't going to sell that and seems doubtful someone will reverse engineer it. (at least any time soon. If it is mainly a simple signal booster perhaps someone will try. ).

It looks to be the same system they used in iMac Pro. Good news / bad news probably means they'll use it again so the replacement parts should be around for a long while.

 

[Mago]

I see people buying the baseline system, then diy upgrade with 8 extra dimm for 96gb, and swapping the rx580 for dual COTS Vega or Radeon vii, untill updates nVidia drivers are available, don't care on tb3 you still have 4, 2 on top and 2 behind).

PCIe SSD m.2 adapters for extra cheap and faster storage

CPU upgrade is the jack of all trades here, the 6000$ base system seems overpriced on purpose so CPU upgrades can be cheaper from Apple instead getting a hard to find Xeon-W from 3re party (seems available only to own, but our friends at owc sure will find them).

To me, unless opencl is reinstalled in macOS I have no interest in vega ii cartridge GPU s.

 

[Boil]

The internal SATA and aux power connectors - there seem to be two each (?), how usable/compatible will those be with existing extension cards and whatnot.

See this...

The J2i will allow two 3.5" SATA HDDs to be mounted IN the Mac Pro chassis, top right quadrant, right by the power & SATA connectors...

• Direct-attach internal storage enclosure
• Plug & Play inside the new Mac Pro
• Rugged, elegant and easy to setup
• 1x 7200rpm SATA HDD, preformatted
• Add a 2nd HDD
• 3-Year hardware warranty, global support

6k entry is just too much.

Easily half of that is the chassis (the machining costs on the front & rear panels alone!), the custom motherboard & custom PSU...

 

[deconstruct60]

It would be really cool if the afterburner could be intergrated into Logic somehow. Some hardware synthesizers use FPGA to generate sound, so it wouldn't be out of the question... If they were going to do that they would have announced it though, so I assume they are leaving the audio DSP card market to Avid and UAD.

The 580X MPX card is only "half height" (and no Thunderbolt on the card) . It leaves open another slot compared to the full sized MPX card ( which consume that 2nd slot's bandwidth for Thunderbolt ) . [ It think the WWDC demo said 4-5 Avid HDX cards would fit. ]

Even more so when folks are doing high sunk costs card pulls from much older Mac Pro and putting it into this new one. [ trying not to sell new audio card since the base system price skyrocketed. If Apple gets that they are printing money. ]

 

[zephonic]

That was the photo they showed when they said it would be rack-mountable, but something is off.

When you look at the product photos, the front and back are cheese grater, the top is closed, with the power button, usb/thunderbolt jacks, and the handles sticking out.

On this photo, the handles are on the front, WTF? Does that mean the rack-mountable version comes in a different chassis?

 

[Boil]

That was the photo they showed when they said it would be rack-mountable, but something is off.

When you look at the product photos, the front and back are cheese grater, the top is closed, with the power button, usb/thunderbolt jacks, and the handles sticking out.

On this photo, the handles are on the front, WTF? Does that mean the rack-mountable version comes in a different chassis?

Yes... Should be all the same internals & layout, just a different chassis to allow rack mounting...

 

[barmann]

See this...

The J2i will allow two 3.5" SATA HDDs to be mounted IN the Mac Pro chassis, top right quadrant, right by the power & SATA connectors...

Thanks, didn't catch that before I posted .
3.5" HDDs in a new MP - the times we live in !

 

[Boil]

Thanks, didn't catch that before I posted .
3.5" HDDs in a new MP - the times we live in !

I would be hesitant on the J2i, only because to is receiving the full blast from the CPU heat sink...

Same with the R4i, nice that they can work the storage into the chassis, but I would rather just allow the massive semi-passive heat sinks to do what they do unimpeded...?

Besides dual 10Gb Ethernet & a 10Gb NAS makes more sense...?

 

[deconstruct60]

See this...

The J2i will allow two 3.5" SATA HDDs to be mounted IN the Mac Pro chassis, top right quadrant, right by the power & SATA connectors...

• Direct-attach internal storage enclosure

.

In the middle top of the picture there is a rectangular metal flange with two screws. There is a same size plate on the edge of the Mac Pro's horizontal plate between handle-frame rods. ( probably have to unscrew that and screw this chassis in and hook up the cables (which Apple isn't going to provide. The cover for the CPU cowling screws in a similar way if zoom in on it )

Promise will probably will just be the first one out of the gate and only once Apple sells directly. However, won't be surprising to see someone eventually stuff a 4-6 2.5 SATA chassis SSDs in there.

P.S. Rack chassis may have different mount points. ( the handle-frame rods may go where that plate goes in that configuration. )

 

[Boil]

In the middle top of the picture there is a rectangular metal flange with two screws. There is a same size plate on the edge of the Mac Pro's horizontal plate between handle-frame rods. (probably have to unscrew that and screw this chassis in and hook up the cables (which Apple isn't going to provide. The cover for the CPU cowling screws in a similar way if zoom in on it)

Promise will probably will just be the first one out of the gate and only once Apple sells directly. However, won't be surprising to see someone eventually stuff a 4-6 2.5 SATA chassis SSDs in there.

P.S. Rack chassis may have different mount points. ( the handle-frame rods may go where that plate goes in that configuration. )

The mounting & location you are stating is what I already said...

How will four to six SATA SSDs hook up to only two SATA ports...?

Pretty sure all the guts of the tower Mac Pro come out & go into a completely different chassis for the rack mount, the handles don't go all the way thru & just bolt on to the front panel from the inside of the chassis...

 

[deconstruct60]

I would be hesitant on the J2i, only because to is receiving the full blast from the CPU heat sink...

I think that is why the CPU heat sink is such a big rectangle. The profile of just two drives is the subset of the heated area, but yes the air will definitely be pre-heated. [ Probably another reason why Apple isn't pointing at those SATA connectors as a primary recommendation. ]

Someone running those drives a Time Machine or primary backup target.... that is rolling the dice.

As a very expensive file server maybe that works ( run 8 core at modest loads the heat won't be too bad). The 28 cores being constantly hammered though .... better off outside.

 

[barmann]

I would be hesitant on the J2i, only because to is receiving the full blast from the CPU heat sink...

Same with the R4i, nice that they can work the storage into the chassis, but I would rather just allow the massive semi-passive heat sinks to do what they do unimpeded...?

Besides dual 10Gb Ethernet & a 10Gb NAS makes more sense...?

I agree ; what's great is that appearantly you can pop in SATA drives at all , without an adapter card .

Could be 2.5 SSDs or Hdds , in a different kind of bracket and in a different location, as long as you can run cables from the internal SATA and power ports .

 

[Simon R.]

The daughter cards hooked to the T2? Probably not. Even if got the connector correct there is a Apple buffer chip that connects the NAND chips to the "line in" from the T2. Apple probably isn't going to sell that and seems doubtful someone will reverse engineer it. (at least any time soon. If it is mainly a simple signal booster perhaps someone will try. ).

It looks to be the same system they used in iMac Pro. Good news / bad news probably means they'll use it again so the replacement parts should be around for a long while.

So this means that if this system drive fails, you will have to send your machine in to Apple and have days/weeks of down time? How pro is that? I realize you can (probably?) boot from any other external/internal drive, but really... what is the point of having this drive at all then, in a pro, super expandable machine? Seems almost redundant to me since you can't rely on it.

 

[0388631]

The mounting & location you are stating is what I already said...

How will four to six SATA SSDs hook up to only two SATA ports...?

Pretty sure all the guts of the tower Mac Pro come out & go into a completely different chassis for the rack mount, the handles don't go all the way thru & just bolt on to the front panel from the inside of the chassis...

PCIe SATA expansion cards...

 

[Boil]

So this means that if this system drive fails, you will have to send your machine in to Apple and have days/weeks of down time? How pro is that? I realize you can (probably?) boot from any other external/internal drive, but really... what is the point of having this drive at all then, in a pro, super expandable machine? Seems almost redundant to me since you can't rely on it.

By that line of thought, any component in any system is a possible point of failure & therefore unreliable...

 

[deconstruct60]

The mounting & location you are stating is what I already said...

the pictures are more about 'how' it mounts than 'where'. It isn't 'disproving' what you ssid at all. If other solutions don't have that flange it won't mount (and as I noted the rack chassis may not mount relatively the same. )

How will four to six SATA SSDs hook up to only two SATA ports...?

Port replicator. If lower power of SSDs steal power to run them and the replicator. Can stuff a circuit board in there since the 2.5" drives are so much smaller. So it is doable. It is also more stuff to 'cook' downstream from the CPU air flow. I wouldn't recommend it because more power pull from the aux power the depend hole probably digging since air is preheated.

Pretty sure all the guts of the tower Mac Pro come out & go into a completely different chassis for the rack mount, the handles don't go all the way thru & just bolt on to the front panel from the inside of the chassis...

And that will likely make the chassis wider. ( will want to put those handles out of the air intake for CPU. ) Which means the flange will change position.

 

[Simon R.]

By that line of thought, any component in any system is a possible point of failure & therefore unreliable...

We all know that drives (including SSD) are more prone to failure than the motherboard, CPU etc. Also because there is some software/driver stuff involved here as well that could brick your SSD. I know it's not LIKELY to happen, but it does happen. Therefore it would be better if it was user switchable. In the US and some other countries you might be able to take your Mac Pro to a store and get it fixed right away, but here, I would have to get it shipped, fixed and returned. Would easily mean 2-3 weeks without the machine.

 

[tommy chen]

what did you expect?

all have demanded a highend machine and now all are complaining about the price

unbelievably

 

[fuchsdh]

what did you expect?

all have demanded a highend machine and now all are complaining about the price

unbelievably

The problem has always been there are people who want a high end machine, and then people who want an xMac. The latter were always going to be disappointed, but the high price means they likely won’t be buying one secondhand either.

 

[ssgbryan]

I'd love to know where he's going to get a $8,000 Rome processor for a fraction of $5,000 and a monitor that supports as many color spaces and is appropriate for grading. To point out, Apple isn't even paying full price for these Xeons. They're probably getting a huge discount. Maybe 40% off per unit or more.

Velocitymicro.com for the computer.
[doublepost=1559651709][/doublepost]

what did you expect?

all have demanded a highend machine and now all are complaining about the price

unbelievably

But the base machine isn't a high end machine. The price isn't the problem, it is what you get for the price.

8 cores
32 Gb ram
PCIe 3
a 2 year old, sub $200 consumer video card (just like the tcmp).

Now, if it had

PCIe 4
16 cores
WX5100 (workstation version of that 2 year old, sub $200 video card)

That becomes a very different proposition.

It isn't 2016 anymore.

 

[apolloa]

See this...

The J2i will allow two 3.5" SATA HDDs to be mounted IN the Mac Pro chassis, top right quadrant, right by the power & SATA connectors...

• Direct-attach internal storage enclosure
• Plug & Play inside the new Mac Pro
• Rugged, elegant and easy to setup
• 1x 7200rpm SATA HDD, preformatted
• Add a 2nd HDD
• 3-Year hardware warranty, global support

Easily half of that is the chassis (the machining costs on the front & rear panels alone!), the custom motherboard & custom PSU...

I figured it looked like it would allow that, their is a very obvious empty corner in the new machine next to the connectors..
So no external drives!
[doublepost=1559652300][/doublepost]Also have to say it seems like you’d have to order a rack mount version from Apple, that design doesn’t seem to offer an easy way to change the frame so it does rack mount?

 

[Boil]

I figured it looked like it would allow that, their is a very obvious empty corner in the new machine next to the connectors..
So no external drives!
[doublepost=1559652300][/doublepost]Also have to say it seems like you’d have to order a rack mount version from Apple, that design doesn’t seem to offer an easy way to change the frame so it does rack mount?

It is a different chassis, but the dimensions look like the internals will fit in a rack mount chassis with zero mods, the motherboard is just flipped 90 degrees onto its back...

 

[mattspace]

so given Apple's GPUs are all passively cooled and don't have to worry about their own fans, are the PCI slots still upside down like they are in the OGCheesgrater? I get the impression from the layout of the thing, that they are.

 

[spoonie1972]

With the two TB3 ports on the top, two on the back, and however many on the vid card - I guess/hope one could boot from whatever external drive/ssd/m2 pack and disregard the T2-forced-storage?

 

[NiFa18]

so given Apple's GPUs are all passively cooled and don't have to worry about their own fans, are the PCI slots still upside down like they are in the OGCheesgrater? I get the impression from the layout of the thing, that they are.

Yes, your impression is correct .