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MP 7,1 Waiting for Mac Pro 7,1 A1991 (no more)
- Thread starter Mago
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If Apple had put more capable components in the mMP 7,1 base config, the price of entry would have been even higher. They're getting enough blowback at $6K, so I can see why marketing didn't want that initial number even higher. While it's fair to call their tactics somewhat misleading, I'd suggest most of their competition engages in similar efforts - see HP.
FWIW, that expensive case with the 1,400w PSU and monster socket provides the foundation for a pretty high performance workstation (starting with all those PCIe lanes). If Apple had designed the mMP to hit a price target - let's say $4K base config - I'd suggest we would all be moaning about the corners they cut and lamenting the bottlenecks no upgrade could overcome.
FWIW, that expensive case with the 1,400w PSU and monster socket provides the foundation for a pretty high performance workstation (starting with all those PCIe lanes). If Apple had designed the mMP to hit a price target - let's say $4K base config - I'd suggest we would all be moaning about the corners they cut and lamenting the bottlenecks no upgrade could overcome.
If it was permanently stuck in that configuration for operational deployment..... in most cases not much "sense". I highly suspect though that this entry configuration is primarily for folks who are looking for a "barebone Mac Pro" more so that something designed for the folks "left behind" in the $3-5K range to stretch buy up into.
The rack configuration entry at those specs wouldn't be surprising at all. If primarily going to task the system with running a Hypervisor then 256GB is fine coupled to some additional networking card(s0 to get to a non trivial SAN infrastructure. (if need move RAM for VMs not buying it from Apple probably leads to being able to charge better hosting rates. And if Apple is only offering the $3K surcharge 28 core CPU ( $7k versus $4K ) then that's $3k saved right fracking there. That's half of the $6k back to spend on other stuff needed that Apple had priced into the stratosphere.
Similarly, If the major compute is going to be hosted on DSPs then this would be a decent "starting infrastructure kit ". ( don't need a huge graphics card , 8 x86 cores riding herd on 20 DSP cores can get some productive work done. and the boot SSD doesn't need to be bulk data storage device. )
Howdy everyone. I’m seeking a bit of guidance
I am one of the people that falls into the category of somebody who is simply looking for a modular Mac and is saving money to buy this thing. Don’t get me wrong. I’m a web designer by day and a producer/gamer by night! I’m on the computer around 12-16 hours a day, so I’ll use it to SOME capacity.
Is a Mac mini with an eGPU a legit option? I’m so torn. I keep seeing comments swaying me in each direction.
I’ve seen videos on YouTube that say that an EGPU is a great solution and I’ve seen others that say the opposite.
Pls help
I am one of the people that falls into the category of somebody who is simply looking for a modular Mac and is saving money to buy this thing. Don’t get me wrong. I’m a web designer by day and a producer/gamer by night! I’m on the computer around 12-16 hours a day, so I’ll use it to SOME capacity.
Is a Mac mini with an eGPU a legit option? I’m so torn. I keep seeing comments swaying me in each direction.
I’ve seen videos on YouTube that say that an EGPU is a great solution and I’ve seen others that say the opposite.
Pls help
IsI wonder if the motherboard different from the other models (the RAM speed is for example or is that just down to CPU used?
[doublepost=1561612454][/doublepost]
Do you mean music producer? If so the Mac mini 6 Core top Spec with 32-64GB of RAM would be plenty for most. Gaming I'm not so sure.
Yes, music!
Yeah I play Sims, world of Warcraft and a few other games. So graphics IS a thing for me. Right now I’m using a late 2015 5K iMac i7 ang the graphics is decent but aging.
I'm pretty sure those games are available for MacOS but you'd have to use something like a Vega 64 inside something like a razor core :
https://www.razer.com/gaming-laptops/razer-core-v2
I mean if you were really going to pony up for a MacPro you could probably buy a Mac mini with no eGPU for Logic or Ableton and then by a dedicated gaming PC for your games . The new AMD Ryzens are going to come out and you'd get better bang for buck and deducted windows PC which would be better for gaming
I thought this find is worth it to share for Apple geeks like us.
Enjoy
Enjoy
I was wondering, but I admit I was too lazy to do the math, if the 6K resolution of the Pro Display XDR, although Apple never follows standards when it comes to resolutions, was chosen as to fit exactly, or close, in the available bandwidth?
That's 6016x3384@10b@60Hz.
That's 6016x3384@10b@60Hz.
Doing a quick math it won't fit on the max data rate of HBR3, that's assuming no DSC.
Maybe they're using some Alt Mode gimmick.
No dual cable for sure.
Maybe they're using some Alt Mode gimmick.
No dual cable for sure.
I would recommend you reach out to the folks in the Mini forum. I'm sure there are users who have hands on experience with an eGPU solution. Just keep in mind they'll be a little biased towards such a configuration.
- How exactly is the new case significantly more expensive to make than a cMP case ?
A product that is likely to be produced in the millions without any change an in 1 version only .
I have explained why I think - not know - that that's not likely .
'It looks more fancy' doesn't count .
- If it is more expensive by a significant amount, what are the benefits of which part of the new exterior case design that have an impact on performance, noise, cooling, etc . ?
It should indeed be a lot more expensive to produce.
The benefits were mentioned, cooling. Better thermal dissipation, in fact. Larger dissipation area. Allows slower fans to be used, or spinning at lower speeds most of the time.
Come on, Apple is all about the experience. If you can have a quiet, yet powerful system, that's where they'll go. I must admit I like that, the engineering involved, maybe because of my background. But I value that.
Do you think they would even consider doing a standard ATX case with loads of fans spinning as fast as they could to exhaust hot air? Just like that? Come on, that's not Apple. They have to do something different, something well thought out. OK, now you will mention the nMP. That too was an engineering marvel to me, even with the known issues.
Long gone are the days of the DIY with Intel Extreme boards (still have one of those in an old rig), blazing fast mem, OC like hell, as many fans as one could use, thermal sensors all around, HW monitoring. Grown past that now.
The benefits were mentioned, cooling. Better thermal dissipation, in fact. Larger dissipation area. Allows slower fans to be used, or spinning at lower speeds most of the time.
Come on, Apple is all about the experience. If you can have a quiet, yet powerful system, that's where they'll go. I must admit I like that, the engineering involved, maybe because of my background. But I value that.
Do you think they would even consider doing a standard ATX case with loads of fans spinning as fast as they could to exhaust hot air? Just like that? Come on, that's not Apple. They have to do something different, something well thought out. OK, now you will mention the nMP. That too was an engineering marvel to me, even with the known issues.
Long gone are the days of the DIY with Intel Extreme boards (still have one of those in an old rig), blazing fast mem, OC like hell, as many fans as one could use, thermal sensors all around, HW monitoring. Grown past that now.
Most of the $6K is the cost of case development, MPX module development, contracting with AMD for an obsolete 580, & the Apple Tax.
A good chunk of the blowback is how little one gets for their $6K. Bottom of the barrel Xeon, video card that is 2 generations old, tiny SSD, and a small amount of RAM.,
A 4K base configuration could have the same 1,000 watt PSU that the 1,1 - 5,1 had.
Yeah, but we all wanted a top of the line workstation that could be upgraded to infinity. Well, Apple delivered, and now we think it was too much.
Don't get me wrong, I also was not expecting such a high entry point, let's still see what the upgrade options will go for, but I can totally understand the resources put into this project. However long it took, though.
Could we do with a not so bad@$$ mMP? Sure. Ditto for the XDR? That too. But someone would still complain that it would be short, right?
To me, XDR is a bit harder to swallow, although I get the aim. I was expecting a 27" 5K true 10bit HDR panel, and that would go for a lower price for sure. But they gave us a beast of a 32" 6K panel. Impressive, but expensive as hell. And with an (optional) stand, that looks ugly (too straight) but seems also very well thought out.
Still, the entry mMP, although we now see it as the lowest possible config, it's still a pretty nice machine. An 8 core Xeon is not that bad. Slower mem for that particular SKU is a bummer, but that's on Intel. Not all channels populated? Well, the nMP at first was also like that. OK, that is on Apple. The somewhat short SSD is indeed not o great, but even worse is not having an option of an additional module for the 512GB sweetspot (for me that is). 1TB is even better but the price should skyrocket. The GPU might just be enough for some guys here, so why complain. I'll go with the Vega myself, I wonder how much that will add to the bill.
Don't get me wrong, I also was not expecting such a high entry point, let's still see what the upgrade options will go for, but I can totally understand the resources put into this project. However long it took, though.
Could we do with a not so bad@$$ mMP? Sure. Ditto for the XDR? That too. But someone would still complain that it would be short, right?
To me, XDR is a bit harder to swallow, although I get the aim. I was expecting a 27" 5K true 10bit HDR panel, and that would go for a lower price for sure. But they gave us a beast of a 32" 6K panel. Impressive, but expensive as hell. And with an (optional) stand, that looks ugly (too straight) but seems also very well thought out.
Still, the entry mMP, although we now see it as the lowest possible config, it's still a pretty nice machine. An 8 core Xeon is not that bad. Slower mem for that particular SKU is a bummer, but that's on Intel. Not all channels populated? Well, the nMP at first was also like that. OK, that is on Apple. The somewhat short SSD is indeed not o great, but even worse is not having an option of an additional module for the 512GB sweetspot (for me that is). 1TB is even better but the price should skyrocket. The GPU might just be enough for some guys here, so why complain. I'll go with the Vega myself, I wonder how much that will add to the bill.
FWIW, let's keep in mind that workstations are primarily to accomplish tasks faster. With some patience, and perhaps breaking up heavy renders into smaller chunks, you can do almost everything on a MBP. Yes, there are certainly exceptions, but for the most part it's about speed - processing and I/O.
Most workstation buyers have specific needs that will require building to order anyway, so banging on Apple for what placeholders they put in the base config seems pointless. As others have noted, workstations are expensive.
IMO, the cMP was a prosumer machine that many used as a workstation. Not the same thing.
Most workstation buyers have specific needs that will require building to order anyway, so banging on Apple for what placeholders they put in the base config seems pointless. As others have noted, workstations are expensive.
IMO, the cMP was a prosumer machine that many used as a workstation. Not the same thing.
It might make sense when paired with the XDR display.
See this thread: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...itoring-out-of-the-box.2185508/#post-27453939
Very curious about Mini and eGPU too. I’d really like a halfway point, a Pro 6,1 with TB3 and updated specs would suit me perfectly. I’m not high end enough to worry about the “thermal corner” but would like a dedicated GPU.
Yep, a revised nMP 6.1, maybe just call it Mac, even with a reduced set (say 8 and 12 core, like the nMP) of available CPUs (I'd say the same W ones as in the mMP if considered WS'ish, or the mainstream or HEDT Cores so many here crave for), 4 or 6 channel DDR4 (only one DPC), one Vega GPU, same SSD options as before and TB3 of course. That would be cool.
they havent updated that ting all this time because it was a design nightmare. They arent going to put r&d back into the thing they are replacing because it took too much r&d.
Apple shifts Mac Pro production away from US to China
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/28/tech/apple-mac-pro-production-china/index.html
Apple's Jony Ive is leaving the company
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/27/tech/jony-ive-apple-leaving/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/28/tech/apple-mac-pro-production-china/index.html
Apple's Jony Ive is leaving the company
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/27/tech/jony-ive-apple-leaving/index.html
It's being replaced because it was a solution for a problem than nobody had (a tiny workstation without any expandability). "R&D" is a sunk cost - you don't replace something after six years because it cost too much to develop seven years ago.
You replace it because it is a lemon that isn't selling, and your most prized customers are buying Z-series by the truckload.