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Why are people criticizing Apple's lack of a Mac Pro update?
- Thread starter karohan
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Who's criticizing Apple? They did so last year, when the processors where released, but Apple didn't update.
On the front page, there's a post talking about how the Mac Pro is still the only Mac Apple hasn't updated yet, and there's a bunch of people criticizing Apple's neglect towards the Mac Pro's. I was wondering why so many people were pissed at Apple, when they are just, in fact, waiting for Intel here.
I would guess the reason is the lack of a Mac Pro update - including not only CPU updates, but also other things like GPUs, Thunderbolt, etc.
Is there any reason Apple couldn't just update the Mac Pros quietly now with Thunderbolt (and perhaps bump the specs a little), without waiting for the workstation Sandy Bridge CPUs?
I'm not a Pro, and I was just asking this question because I was curious. But I imagine an incremental update is not the way to go with workstation Macs. When you spend upwards of $4000 or $5000 on a computer, incremental updates marginalize the value of your machine. Because CPUs are probably the most important aspect for performance upgrades, it makes little sense to me to update it without new CPUs.
I understand people who are asking for Thunderbolt, but from what I know, very little useful devices are out that work via Thunderbolt. Therefore, Apple can afford to wait instead of releasing an update during the summer, only to usurp it in the following months with monster new CPUs.
I understand people who are asking for Thunderbolt, but from what I know, very little useful devices are out that work via Thunderbolt. Therefore, Apple can afford to wait instead of releasing an update during the summer, only to usurp it in the following months with monster new CPUs.
A fair point, but not everyone who wants a new Mac Pro already has the current model, and some might not currently have any Mac Pro. A new Mac Pro model (even without a new CPU) could be attractive to many.
Plus, I think sales are likely to dip as a model ages, as people prefer not to spend lots of money on models a year old or even older.
Yeah, I agree with what you're saying. As a consumer though, if I knew new CPUs were coming out soon, I wouldn't want to purchase a minorly updated version now, even if I had a much older Mac Pro on me. That being said, the needs of a pro are different from those of a consumer. They may be looking for new machines to add to their production farm right now, and feel wary of spending top dollar money on old machines, when even a simple GPU/thunderbolt upgrade would sweeten the purchase a little.
Because I need one except that just like the ip4 i'm not going to pay today's prices for yesterdays technology.
Yep. It wouldn't sell very well, because, everybody who wants/needs a Mac Pro wants to wait until the Sandy Bridge version comes out.
This is just one of those things that people have always complained about, like the weather.
Apple frequently releases 'speedbump' models, often quietly and without any fanfare. The cost of development is lower than a brand-new model; and it would refresh interest in the line, as opposed to a year-old model.
true. unfortunately this doesn't change the fact that it is really the last to get a bump. always
You mean grabbing the slightly higher clocked bin instead of standard bin. Don't see ANY development needs in speed bumps. Just part changes. Their "bumps" are always same tech or it is an "upgrade". They did not choose to do it this time. Instead we pay 1100.00 for 500.00 current value chips.
I wouldn't call 8+ months frequent - which is the time between changes for nearly all their recent computer products. In the case of the Mac Pro all they have ever done is added two processor options at the high end and closely followed Intel's tick/tock cycle- aside from waiting 6 months last year.
The longer Apple can wait between refreshes in hardware the better it is for them. A speed bump Mac Pro coming now would reduce margins on the current line as they lose value and the new machines would have lower margins unless they increased prices as they would need to add thunderbolt to the existing logicboard.
true. unfortunately this doesn't change the fact that it is really the last to get a bump. always
Which I think has to do with the Xeon processors always being the last to get a bump.
If Intel can get new Xeons out in Q4, it's pretty obvious why Apple is waiting.
Right, there is no reason for Apple to invest in even a slight mod now to try to incorporate Thunderbolt. Would not have enough of a payback. Speed bumps don't usually require any redesign as long as a higher clocked cpu for that platform is available. I agree with the sentiment above, at these prices, it's all or nothing upgrades.