MP All Models Which new Mac Pro will you choose?

[MisterAndrew]

Which of the two new Mac Pro models will you choose?

New Intel Mac Pro

Pros:
-Like the current Mac Pro 7,1 there is lots of room for expansion
-Everything can be upgraded (with some limitations such as same family CPU)
-Can run all x86 apps, including x86 VMs
-Compatible with the latest AMD GPUs (and Nvidia for Linux or Windows)
-Might be able to run Apple Silicon code with Pro Display XDR replacement that includes a CPU (I'm not sure how likely this is.)

Cons:
-End of the road CPU architecture for macOS
-Possibly last Intel Mac Pro, unless Apple decides to keep it around to satisfy specific customers. (They said all product lines will transition to Apple Silicon, but they didn't exactly say there will be zero Intel Macs in the future. They said Intel Macs will be supported for "years to come").
-Expensive (but could be a better value long-term)
-Large and heavy (this could be a pro as well depending on your opinion)

Apple Silicon Mac Pro

Pros:
-Like the previous Mac Pro 6,1 it's small and attractive. Perfect for desktop placement. Easy to move to different location.
-New CPU architecture is the future for macOS
-CPU performance may be faster than Intel
-Less expensive than Intel Mac Pro (probably). Let's say it starts at $2,999, but might be $5-6,000 for a configuration you'd actually want.
-Probably pretty well optimized for Apple apps like FCPX

Cons:
-No or limited upgrade options (possibly storage can be upgraded). Most likely the specs you want will have to be configured at time of order.
-No internal expansion options (no PCIe slots)
-Graphics performance will degrade over time compared to new GPUs from AMD and Nvidia
-Not compatible with eGPUs

Other options

-Mac Pro 7,1 (will become at least slightly discounted compared to new version)
-Mac Pro 6,1 (still supported by latest macOS release and may continue to lower in price)
-Mac Pro 5,1 or earlier (obsolete. requires hacking to run newer software)
-M1X Mac mini (might be 50-90% of the Apple Silicon performance of the new Mac Pro at a reduced price)

 

[MarkC426]

The ONE major plus for me with my cMP has been being able to upgrade over the past 10 years.
I would really miss this in anything other than the 7.1, however as a hobbyist user, I just can't warrant the cost....?

But then on the other hand, as you say in the longer term it pays off.
Also I do have software which may never be ported to AS natively.

I think until we see some specs, specifically regarding upgrade options, I just can't commit.
But based on what is known now I would say 7.1, as I couldn't do with multiple drives being external.

Such a quandary.....

 

[avro707]

I will agree with Mark above - the ability to upgrade my Classic Mac Pro to the level I've done this month was something I never thought about when buying it back in 2010 brand new from Apple Sydney. Some of the stuff I've put inside it as upgrades never existed at the time and Apple themselves probably never envisaged such upgrades.

I don't know what the future holds for Mac Pro - I'll wait and see.

I have a colleague at work who upgraded his Mac laptop to Big Sur and is whinging about it being slow. Here is my ancient 2010 Mac Pro upgraded and running this "unsupported" operating system very quickly. cMP is such a well thought out machine.

 

[th0masp]

I'm not on board with the whole Apple Silicon direction, did not like their machines/whole platform before the Intel era anyway and them going custom again with all the new limitations is not acceptable to me so I'm going to fully transition away from the platform.

In the meantime I'd choose a hackintosh to facilitate this transition. Much easier to repair/replace parts, more flexible when it comes to configurations, obviously a lot cheaper than the original and no issues with repurposing it down the line should the need arise. But the only acceptable genuine Apple machine would be an update to the "7,1". It's too big/power-hungry for what I actually need though so not exactly a great choice, prices aside.

Them making the OS available to simply run on commodity hardware is all I'd really want.

 

[MisterAndrew]

I don't think we'll ever see Apple license their OS to 3rd parties again. Not unless the licensing costs were high enough to compensate for a lost sale of a Mac. It would need to equal their profit on a Mac Pro, including the initial profit, AppleCare+, accessories, and upgrades. I don't know what that amount is, but let's say it's about $3000. So if a company offered them that much to license their computers for each one sold they might actually go for it. If they sold a license for consumers at that price for hackintoshes I think some people would pay it.

Here's an article about Mac clones.

Today in Apple history: Beginning of the end for clone Macs

On August 5, 1997, Apple got into a standoff with Power Computing, marking the beginning of the end of the Mac clone era.

www.cultofmac.com

 

[Digital Skunk]

Im ready for either the Intel MacPro or the ASoC version. I just need one in the next few months and don't mind buying either.

BUT

I wouldn't want the ASoC to be a trashcan Mac Pro variant.

 

[MisterAndrew]

I wouldn't want the ASoC to be a trashcan Mac Pro variant.

What other design would there be for it?

 

[arche3]

Wait... Is that the actual design?

 

[Digital Skunk]

What other design would there be for it?

View attachment 1822266

Anything works, so long as it doesn't have the same issues. Lack of expansion and SUPER proprietary expansion are what moved a lot of users over to PC workstation.

I'd love to see THAT design in a MacMini Pro however, and would consider it if it could handle some heavy graphics use.

 

[QuietSoft]

Wait... Is that the actual design?

That patent appears to be related to housing construction. It contains other figures illustrating similar construction including one that looks like the Pro Display XDR, one for an iPhone, and one that looks like the Mac Pro 7,1. I'm not sure we can read that much into it.

You can download the full patent from the USPTO web site.

 

[arche3]

That patent appears to be related to housing construction. It contains other figures illustrating similar construction including one that looks like the Pro Display XDR, one for an iPhone, and one that looks like the Mac Pro 7,1. I'm not sure we can read that much into it.

You can download the full patent from the USPTO web site.

Thanks!

 

[mattspace]

I'm just going to point out the new Intel Beast Canyon NUC is literally the same basic design philosophy as the "Mac Station" I proposed back in November here, and makes a far better solution to a "smaller Apple Silicon Mac Pro" than resurrecting the failed 6,1.

 

[Grumply]

Depends entirely on what the performance of an Apple Silicon Mac Pro would be like in my particular workflows. I can't really see myself upgrading from my 7.1 until I can get a 50% increase in processing power (at a minimum).

Since the 8,1 Intel Mac Pro, sounds unlikely to squeeze more than a 20% or so increase in performance over the 7,1 - it's not going to solve any of the performance bottlenecks that I currently have to workaround. ?‍♂️

Very interested to see what the future holds though.

 

[MisterAndrew]

It sounds like some of you have sales figures for the different Mac Pro models. That's impressive since Apple tends to keep that secret. From what I can find online it looks like Mac sales in general increased when the 6,1 came out. Less people were using Macs when the classic Mac Pro was available so it could very well be that Apple sold more 6,1s than 5,1s.

Of course they admitted the thermal design prevented them from going forward with it and the 7,1 was the right direction based on industry feedback. However, it's still a great fit for people who have needs in-between the 7,1 and the Mac mini. And that's exactly where the Apple Silicon Mac Pro will sit until they improve it enough to be able to replace the Intel Mac Pro on the upper end.

 

[th0masp]

I don't think we'll ever see Apple license their OS to 3rd parties again.

Agreed - I'm not expecting it. Just daydreaming.

A compact design that seems pretty well though out is the HP Z-mini- Two internal drive bays, plenty of ports, can be docked to the back of a screen, etc. I'm sure Apple with their new chips could come up with a high performance version of that.

 

[Digital Skunk]

It sounds like some of you have sales figures for the different Mac Pro models. That's impressive since Apple tends to keep that secret. From what I can find online it looks like Mac sales in general increased when the 6,1 came out. Less people were using Macs when the classic Mac Pro was available so it could very well be that Apple sold more 6,1s than 5,1s.

Of course they admitted the thermal design prevented them from going forward with it and the 7,1 was the right direction based on industry feedback. However, it's still a great fit for people who have needs in-between the 7,1 and the Mac mini. And that's exactly where the Apple Silicon Mac Pro will sit until they improve it enough to be able to replace the Intel Mac Pro on the upper end.

They don't keep ALL of the sales figures secret, just some of the fine details and more importantly the revenue.

Any "increase in Mac sales" figures won't account for division of systems (MacBook Pro vs MacBook Air or iMac vs Mac mini). They just split the numbers by "mobile" and "desktop."

Apple's "mobile" number increased dramatically in 2013 and always have since early in 2006 with the white MacBook. But even before then Apple was catering more to mobile users. A lot of us thought Apple was going to cancel the MacPro as they did the Xserve.

All of that to say, sure, the numbers increased due to laptops. The trashcan (albeit beautiful) MacPro may have been a failure, but only because there was no way you could improve it aftermarket. Even a 5,1 could take the processor sled from other models, PCI expansion, 6x HDDs and flashed GPUs.

And I agree, a return to the trashcan form would be perfect for server farms and anyone who doesn't want to pay $12k for a heavy iron system, or who has to put a small but powerful machine in a mobile setting. I do some DIT work from time to time and right now it's either an underpowered MacBook Pro, or a 60lbs RackMacPro cart. Neither is perfect, need something in between.