Will there be a new Mac Pro in 2015?

[Mago]

We should admit, the nMP regarding performance wasn't a point break, actually a very modest updrade, but on form factor, power comsumtion etc, exceed what we expected by long shot.

The truth is the nMP is marginally better then the previous generation, next upgrade at leas promises a quantum leap in performance regarding the 1st gen nMP, most on graphics/ I/O performance, on CPU dont expect more than 33-45% better performance.

We should assume the post- Moore Law age is among us, previously (Moore Law) every 18 Moths we have available a PC twice Faster, now the same range PC is just 20-30% faster than 18 month, reason ASIC Litography is reaching its natural limits, this means is harder to reach the targets, and we are at 4-6 year to reach the actual limit : 4-5nm peyond that that, made things smaller will not do "the trick", insteag we should see development of the core logic as only available methot to improve perfomance and efficiency.

About the nMac Pro, I'm considering to buy the Updated iMac as complement to my nMP, the new cpu i7-6700K has about 30% faster single thread floating point performance, I run CAD software that requieres faster single thread performance since some logic do not admit parallelization Ivw found also the current iMac 5K crushes the nMP in Tingle Thread Floating Point peformance, also the i7-6700K should keep the titile as top single thread FP performanc king at least until a new Intell core succed it.

Upgrades... Upgrades...

What is Upgrade, and what is Update...

Upgrade means to umprove a system's performance by adding or replacong parts.

Update is to get a system current with tech.

Worth to Upgrade or to Update?

When to Upgrade? you buy today an nMP with 4core Xeon 12GB and D700 GPU, this is the nMP those UPGRADE SAVVY will get, soon you can Upgrade it to 10Core Xeon and 64GB ram by less than half will cost you an nMP with those specs. this is meaningfull if you want to repurpose it (some heavy video editing vzMEdium CAD duties).

When to Update? tou have a medium spec nMP (6c/16GB, D500), and do you need the new features (TB3, Multiple 5K Monitors, USB-C, New GPU) an Upgrade Worth nothing to you, since its impossible for an Updated nMP even tp get close to the new functionality or performance.

Same is for regular pc's worth to buy the coonfiguration useful and productive and periodically replace it (selling the old one) with an Updated PC, this ussually worth more than Periodically Upgrade.

By definition an Upgrade is not an Complete UPDATE, as much is an sub-par partially old (consider MTBF is reached), so you not only have the best performance, but you are exposed to failure from older component with consequences on your productivity.

So only a Updates worth the money, Upgrade usually means to add money to a can you'll either will replace sooner than the Updated new PC, consider: New PC cost - (old pc re-sale) - (unable-time cost) vs Old PC depreciation+New Components+(unable time cost).... Its Easy...

 

[MacVidCards]

It also half the VRAM as well.


Oh, you mean the W9100? I don't think the W9100 was released yet until after the 2013 Mac Pro came out. I'm not sure if its an exact match to the D700. As far as I know the D700 is more based on the W9000.

I'll share a story about the history of MacVidCards. At the time, the GeForce 3 was the $500 cutting edge video card. A different Apple was eager to have best GPUs and got it before Windows.

The Apple one had ADC and thus required an adapter to run DVI displays. Shortly after launch the Ti200 and Ti500 versions were released. The flashing community was churning out flashed GF3s as Apple's was much more money.

But back then nobody did any work on the cards. The base GF3 was the only one that would work as the device id didn't match with the Ti cards. So on the used market flashers were bidding up base GF3s and leaving the Ti cards unwanted. I saw a chance to beat the market.

One day I came across a site detailing how to turn any GF3 into a Quadro. In Windows the workstation cards are made separate by means of a device is that can't be reached via software, this is a hard strap as opposed to a soft one.

So while the GF3 used the identical chip as a Quadro, there was no way to use the advanced driver features since there was no way to mod the device id.

The site I found showed how to move a tiny resistor to turn a GF3 into a Quadro. It had a chart that showed the positions of these resistors for all 3 versions of GF3 and the Quadro. A light bulb went off in my head. Sure enough, using that chart I could quickly turn a Ti 200 or Ti 500 into a base GF3. And only those Ti cards had 128 meg versions, while the base GF3 was 64Megs.

I put up an EBay add for flashed GF3 Ti500 with 128 Meg's of ram. Fortunately a vocal Cube fan saw it and made posts calling me a liar, etc on the then popular Cube site. I joined the site to defend myself and I would say that the publicity was a huge help. Unlike the other mindless copy& paste clowns in the flash community I was offering an improvement over the Apple card. (In the COD if the time, the extra VRAM allowed better graphics options then the real Apple card) This became my break out moment, all because some PC folks were trying to use the better Quadro drivers.

Why this story? The Apple D700, unlike all if the real FirePro cards uses a consumer device id. It is identical (6798) to the 7970 and the R9 280X. This is why Windows drivers frequently call it that.

In Windows certain workstation functions are locked to a device id. In OSX, there is no such thing. The D700 uses the same driver as a 7970 as a R9 280X. No special features, no Unicorn Magic.

And in Windows, the card is typically seen as a 7970 with 6Gb (though running at reduced clocks to maintain the look).

The 7970 came in a 6GB version. If this was a special workstation card it would be using a FirePro device iD. It is built using a consumer GPU core and uses a consumer GPU device id.

If it looks like a duck, and has the device id of a duck...

 

[zephonic]

Frankly, the discussion about the nMP not being in the group photo is

I think the reason it is not there is simply an aesthetic one, all the other ones are shiny aluminum and part of an overarching design philosophy. The MacPro is a black cylinder and looks out of place. I don't think there is anything more to it.

 

[linuxcooldude]

The 7970 came in a 6GB version. If this was a special workstation card it would be using a FirePro device iD. It is built using a consumer GPU core and uses a consumer GPU device id.

If it looks like a duck, and has the device id of a duck...

Actually, a good catch. I did not realize they had a 6GB version...but....It does not necessarily use a consumer GPU. AMD states they don't use the same exact GPU as with the consumer version. I won't deny they are not based on consumer cards and I'm not convinced they necessarily use specialized drivers like the windows version. The workstation GPU's probably have slight changes that make it better for professional software then, say for gaming for instance.

http://icrontic.com/article/the-real-difference-between-workstation-and-desktop-gpus

Frankly, the discussion about the nMP not being in the group photo is

I think the reason it is not there is simply an aesthetic one, all the other ones are shiny aluminum and part of an overarching design philosophy. The MacPro is a black cylinder and looks out of place. I don't think there is anything more to it.

But the conspiracy theorists can't see past the picture even though they do compare the nMP with their other products.

 

[Melodist]

Talking about special...from comparing mismatched models to comparing VRAM on video cards that were not released yet at the time. Special is in the eyes of the beholder. It really has nothing to do with defending a product line, but has everything to do with dispelling inaccurate information. So that is my opinion.



But you were just as quick to use it without knowing.

Again, personally, for me as a 64-bit multi core user, I expect a performance boost of at least 40% (which is quite frankly a pretty modest anticipation) compared to a Mac that was released 4 years prior. And beyond all comprehension, the current base model is not only much more expensive than its counterparts from 4 years ago at that time (I'm not comparing cores here, bang for the buck it is), but measly faster / if faster at all in benchmarks.

Let's take the iPhone 6s for example: Apple's new phone might be equipped (solely) with a 64-bit a9 dual core processor compared to the Galaxy S6's octo core, but is performance-wise on par with the latter (which is amazing given the specs), so therefore Apple's done a great job, that's why I'm proud to have bought their latest release.

I don't look at the specs, I look at how each device performs, and you're making it an ethical discussion strictly compared to equal cores...

 

[linuxcooldude]

Again, personally, for me as a 64-bit multi core user, I expect a performance boost of at least 40% (which is quite frankly a pretty modest anticipation) compared to a Mac that was released 4 years prior. And beyond all comprehension, the current base model is not only much more expensive than its counterparts from 4 years ago at that time (I'm not comparing cores here, bang for the buck it is), but measly faster / if faster at all in benchmarks.

Let's take the iPhone 6s for example: Apple's new phone might be equipped (solely) with a 64-bit a9 dual core processor compared to the Galaxy S6's octo core, but is performance-wise on par with the latter (which is amazing given the specs), so therefore Apple's done a great job, that's why I'm proud to have bought their latest release.

I don't look at the specs, I look at how each device performs and sadly, the nMP, given its price, is more than disappointing.

Thats a problem with benchmarks is they don't take in account the computer as a whole. CPU's are only one part of the equation. The CPU coupled with dual workstation graphics, PCIe 3.0, Thunderbolt 2 ect. Apple is betting on the GPU on being the future, which I agree with them. A new codec called Daniel 2 will allow multiple streams of HD, 4K, 8K, 16K at very high frame rates, using the GPU for instance.

Its up to the consumer to decide if its worth it or not based on his current workflow or where he wants to be in the future. But to say the nMP is a bad computer just because its not what they are looking for is ridiculous.

 

[wallysb01]

Thats a problem with benchmarks is they don't take in account the computer as a whole. CPU's are only one part of the equation. The CPU coupled with dual workstation graphics, PCIe 3.0, Thunderbolt 2 ect.

All off of which can be had or effectively replicated in the old Mac Pro. At least as far as what PCIe 3.0 actually gives you in the nMP.

Apple is betting on the GPU on being the future, which I agree with them.

Yeah, sure the future is GPU. No question about it. The problem though? This computer is nearly 2 years old. The future is not 2 years ago.

Look, if 2xGPUs work for you along with modest CPU/RAM needs, buy the nMP. It works for you and that’s great. I’m not here to convince anyone to buy something that doesn’t work for them, or tell them not to buy something that does. But some of us are still a little irked that Apple forced this upon us if we want a workstation running OS X.

Its up to the consumer to decide if its worth it or not based on his current workflow or where he wants to be in the future. But to say the nMP is a bad computer just because its not what they are looking for is ridiculous.

The problem here is you don’t know where the future is actually going to lead. Its been 2 years and in the software I use the nMP is no better off than it was when if first came out. I’d much rather buy the computer that fits my software needs now and if things change, buy a new computer then. I’m not going to overpay on specs that just don’t make any sense in the current environment because I’m hoping the software will evolve in the direction I think it will.

 

[ActionableMango]

Its up to the consumer to decide if its worth it or not based on his current workflow or where he wants to be in the future. But to say the nMP is a bad computer just because its not what they are looking for is ridiculous.

Well a new Mac Pro with PCIe slots and extra power connectors could also have had dual AMD workstation graphics. Or dual workstation cards that also support CUDA. Or three cards. Or four. Or one. Or the latest Titans. Or 5K support. Or 10 monitor support. Or be completely headless and have no video card at all. Or be upgradable every couple of years. Or have the ability to have a dead GPU swapped out with a dirt cheap replacement.

That's why I think the nMP is bad. Not just because it doesn't meet my personal needs, but because the options have been so greatly reduced, that it only meets the needs of those who want dual workstation AMD graphics with no future for upgrades. And whether or not these are even workstation cards itself is debatable. A computer with slots can use real workstation cards.

If the GPU is truly the future as you claim, then that actually immensely elevates the value of a computer with slots, because you'd have far more GPU choices, and the ability to upgrade GPUs over time.

GPUs are important? I agree. With the loss of slots, we've gone from 100 choices and 2 vendors, to 3 outdated choices from a single vendor--a vendor that many argue is behind their competition.

 

[Hank Carter]

OK, brass tacks after 101 pages.

Let's say Apple doesn't change the basic design of the nMP and simply upgrades the CPU / GPU.

What is our best guess for a release date?

Late 2015?

Early 2016?

 

[Melodist]

OK, brass tacks after 101 pages.

Let's say Apple doesn't change the basic design of the nMP and simply upgrades the CPU / GPU.

What is our best guess for a release date?

Late 2015?

Early 2016?

I'd hope for some latish 2015 but that'd be completely unconventional and very unlikely.

 

[linuxcooldude]

Yeah, sure the future is GPU. No question about it. The problem though? This computer is nearly 2 years old. The future is not 2 years ago.

Workstations are on longer development cycles as do Xeons & workstation graphics and this case even Thunderbolt. Same as the older Mac Pros did. Apple going to a new 2013 mac Pro did not change anything.

The problem here is you don’t know where the future is actually going to lead. Its been 2 years and in the software I use the nMP is no better off than it was when if first came out. I’d much rather buy the computer that fits my software needs now and if things change, buy a new computer then. I’m not going to overpay on specs that just don’t make any sense in the current environment because I’m hoping the software will evolve in the direction I think it will.

Same as most all of Apples computers, even the old Mac Pros. Nothing has changed in that regard. Apple rarely changes prices on their current products until a newer product gets refreshed. But they have changed the pricing on the current AppleTV however.

If your work environment is currently in the Mac Ecosystem, its not always about price/performance so much as if your going to keep with the Mac Eco system anyway.

If people are constantly worried about paying based on old Tech/Pricing/Performance are probably on the wrong platform, as yes, that has not changed much either over the years. But the 2013 Mac Pro was quite competitively priced at the time but, yes, the prices rarely change after.

why I think the nMP is bad. Not just because it doesn't meet my personal needs, but because the options have been so greatly reduced that it just meets the needs of only those who want dual "workstation" AMD graphics with no future for upgrades.

Ok, so the nMP is bad for you.

If the GPU is truly the future as you claim, then that actually immensely elevates the value of a computer with slots, because you'd have far more GPU choices, and the ability to upgrade GPUs over time. GPUs are important? Well with the loss of slots we've gone from 100 choices and 2 vendors, to 3 outdated choices from a single vendor--a vendor that is arguably behind.

Apple has Always had limited choices. It has a limited selection of hardware for a reason. Hardware integrated to its software operating system. Make an unlimited choice of hardware options will most like be problematic in driver support, vendor issues and so on.

 

[Imhotep397]

Not sure why you want to upgrade... anything you buy is going to be slower than what you have now unless you spring for the top of the line 12-core again and even that would only be a marginal improvement.

I suspect there will be an update, but I'm thinking it's going to be a bump rather than a major upgrade and I think it will be in 2016 as all of the major events Apple announces product at have passed and nothing new on the Mac Pro front has surfaced. You're all solid state now so I don't know that you'll feel that much of a difference in much of the day to day work. The last Mac Pro update was more about video and 3D users getting access to more GPU processing power. For desktop publishing the advances are kind of limited, but Adobe continues to optimize for faster GPUs so there could be a performance bump with those large image files you push around. I know what you mean though...after 5 years a lot of times you might want to update to stay current and not feel left behind, also if the funds are available it often makes sense to upgrade before those funds get re-allocated somewhere else and you're left in the lurch at a time when it becomes critical to upgrade hardware for either software or perfomance. If you're ready to move I would say to do it now. I had the same dilemma, but my Mac was quite a bit older and I love my new Mac Pro so far. It's small, it's fast, it's virtually silent, Maya, Photoshop, ZBrush and Mari run great on it and it feels very modern. I wish the power button and a few ports were on the front and I suspect like it's predecessor that will happen, but when is a big question mark. Strange as it sounds it boosts my morale when working.

Apple is working on something major in the desktop arena, but it may very well have more to do with linking the iMac with the newly announced iPad Pro, we'll have to see. Also with Apple making specific intended inroads into the Enterprise they may eventually do something more than satisfactory for the "Pro" line in the near future, but who knows about that.

 

[chilledit]

I've been a Mac user since the 1980's. Been reading this site for about 15 years as well. I've been doing a lot of animation and simulations in Cinema 4D the last few years. I got tired of waiting for Apple to finally offer a competitive workstation, and just finally switched to Windows 10. For the same price as the nmp, I got DUAL 10 core Xeons running at 3.1 ghz (so that's 40 threads), 64 gigs of next gen DDR4 ram, and dual Nvidia 980Ti GPUs with 6 gigs of Ram each. Plus room in the case for plenty of drives, raid cards, a blu ray burner, and a BlackmagicDesign 4k card.

It was surprisingly painless to switch. iCloud for Windows brought over all of my contacts, photos etc. iTunes runs great on Windows. I was already using Chrome as my browser. And I'm now rendering VFX frames in 10 minutes that used to take a few hours per frame.

I got my rig from a boutique manufacturer, OriginPC. I've had it since early February 2015, and I'm very happy with the rig.

 

[prowlmedia]

Right, I think most professionals are aware that running a multi core workstation requires lots of ram (I'm using 24 gigs for my 8 cores), but it is then questionable why Apple offers them at such low stock quantities in the first place?

Well as I recall if I wanted 24gb of ram in 2008 8 core it would have doubled the machine cost... Even crucial ram was only about 20% cheaper.

Rendering 3D uses the cores but doesn't always need high ram. Video too depependubv on what you are doing. I suppose with compositing it's keeping dozens of virtual layers and effects in ram that eats it up quickly.

 

[Simon R.]

But what in particular would you want Apple to do to accommodate musicians/composers/producers?
As far as I can tell, the only difference for us is the absence of PCIe slots and HDD bays?

There may be a few PCIe-only products out there, but, by and large, there are ThB alternatives for just about every one of them. Only RME and Metric Halo are skipping Thunderbolt in favor of USB3.

My main concerns with Thunderbolt are cost and longevity. ThB peripherals are still very pricey, and I'm not sure how long the standard is going to be around if we don't see wider industry adoption.

But apart from that, I don't really see any technical disadvantages to the new MacPro. I may not want to buy one myself when it is time to upgrade, but my occasional dabblings with Windows machines only serve to remind me that the grass really isn't all that much greener on that side.

Internal expansion is great and cost-effective, but I agree with the person who previously posted the industry as a whole is moving away from that, so switching platforms would at best buy you a couple of extra years.

Finally, if you indeed run two VEP slaves, an iMac may well be a suitable alternative for you. Nice Mac front-end with Logic, and the PC slaves with the sample libraries. Just a thought.

First of all: One CPU only is a major limitation. Working with taxing samplers and VI's requires as much CPU as possible. Dual CPU would be a big thing on the Mac Pro. The current 12-core is ridiculously expensive. A dual core solution would be cheaper and most likely perform better.

Expansion...well the forest of cables you will now need dangling from your DAW is also a bit ridiculous. You need a lot of storage - which means, you need external storage. You need external soundcard + possibly DSP (UAD). You need two-three monitors connected. You need a couple of USB dongles for product registrations etc. Not a pretty sight on the new Mac Pro.

And Thunderbolt is way slower than PCI anyway. Would definitely prefer the old tower version of the Mac Pro, but I realize that isn't coming back. But at least provide us with plenty of TB3 and a dual CPU solution.

 

[ActionableMango]

What is our best guess for a release date?

Late 2015?

Early 2016?

I suspect either a spec bump in late 2015, or a real update in early-to-mid 2016, depending on Intel CPUs and AMD making new nMP GPUs.

I think the latter is more likely (2016). But on the other hand, Apple has done spec bumps in the past when it's been too long between real updates. And if Apple waits till 2016, that will be the longest delay between MP updates ever.

 

[edanuff]

And if Apple waits till 2016, that will be the longest delay between MP updates ever.

It's possible this really is the end of the line as some say, but it's also possible that they just don't think there's enough demand for the next rev yet. It seems a safe bet that a lot of the cMP people who didn't buy the 2013 nMP won't buy the 2016 nMP for mostly the same reasons (it'll very likely have "last gen" GPUs, be too expensive, no slots, etc.). That leaves the people who did buy the 2013 nMP and most of those bought their machines in 2014. They wouldn't have bought a new machine in 2015, but they may in 2016.

Ultimately the big bet of the 2013 nMP was a big bet on Thunderbolt 2. It seems likely the next nMP will be about Thunderbolt 3.

 

[Melodist]

It's possible this really is the end of the line as some say, but it's also possible that they just don't think there's enough demand for the next rev yet. It seems a safe bet that a lot of the cMP people who didn't buy the 2013 nMP won't buy the 2016 nMP for mostly the same reasons (it'll very likely have "last gen" GPUs, be too expensive, no slots, etc.). That leaves the people who did buy the 2013 nMP and most of those bought their machines in 2014. They wouldn't have bought a new machine in 2015, but they may in 2016.

Ultimately the big bet of the 2013 nMP was a big bet on Thunderbolt 2. It seems likely the next nMP will be about Thunderbolt 3.

The problem is, that if they keep selling machines with 2 years old hardware specs, nobody will buy them.

Still to me, the biggest problem is the lack of options when putting that very limited new Mac Pro together. For me as an audio professional, I have no need for their amd firepro graphics cards, so I'd probably cast more than 1000 bucks to the wind, and end up with a mediocre CPU due the implementation of the latter. I'd rather have an average graphics card and a 8-core cpu in the base model instead, which should be standard for a contemporary Mac Pro, or at least 6 cores. With the current model, Apple has abandoned audio professionals entirely.

Talking about betting entirely on Thunderbolt 2, where are the affordable external solutions by Apple to accomodate their new way of thinking of skipping upgradable internal drives? Like Apple forces you to accomodate your entire workflow now on thunderbolt powered external drives and has no proprietary racks / casings to offer LOL.

The next Mac Pro will be only a logic board that requires you to connect everything outside via thunderbolt 3, a chassis for the cpu, the graphics card and everything else. But wait, that'd actually be pretty awesome in terms of customization ;D

 

[chilledit]

The problem is, that if they keep selling machines with 2 years old hardware specs, nobody will buy them.

Still to me, the biggest problem is the lack of options when putting that very limited new Mac Pro together. For me as an audio professional, I have no need for their amd firepro graphics cards, so I'd probably cast more than 1000 bucks to the wind, and end up with a mediocre CPU due the implementation of the latter. I'd rather have an average graphics card and a 8-core cpu in the base model instead, which should be standard for a contemporary Mac Pro, or at least 6 cores. With the current model, Apple has abandoned audio professionals entirely.

Talking about betting entirely on Thunderbolt 2, where are the affordable external solutions by Apple to accomodate their new way of thinking of skipping upgradable internal drives? Like Apple forces you to accomodate your entire workflow now on thunderbolt powered external drives and has no proprietary racks / casings to offer LOL.

Apple's primary business now is selling phones internationally. That accounts for 70% of their revenue. The Mac as a whole is a tiny portion of their business. The Mac Pro doesn't even register as a business for them anymore. I used the nmp at a post house and we had 6 out of 13 of them completely die after 3 months of daily use. The cables fall out of the thunderbolt ports if you breath on them, and there weren't enough usb ports without a hub for everything we needed to plug in.

The Fire Pro D700s are garbage. Just run Cinebech and test it for yourself. I ran it on an 8 core nmp and it scored 84 fps. Even the new 5k iMac with its laptop GPU scored 101. I bought a Windows 10 workstation running dual Nvidia 980 Ti cards and now I'm routinely scoring around 150 fps on the Cinebench Open GL test. And with 20 cores I can render at a usable speed. These kinds of specs exist and don't cost more than the Mac Pro to get. Switching was hard for me emotionally because I always staunchly believed Windows was crap. But in reality Windows works just fine. Some things are better, other things are not as good. But overall I much happier not having to depend on Apple for my hardware needs anymore.

 

[flat five]

Back in 2009, I used to pay 2.5 grand for a machine with 8 cores, so what happened here?

you started buying macs?

 

[Melodist]

you started buying macs?

Nope, in 2005 I switched to Mac.

 

[flat five]

Nope, in 2005 I switched to Mac.

then i'm not sure about a 2009 8core mac for $2500.
are you talking used or maybe refurb?

 

[Melodist]

Apple's primary business now is selling phones internationally. That accounts for 70% of their revenue. The Mac as a whole is a tiny portion of their business. The Mac Pro doesn't even register as a business for them anymore. I used the nmp at a post house and we had 6 out of 13 of them completely die after 3 months of daily use. The cables fall out of the thunderbolt ports if you breath on them, and there weren't enough usb ports without a hub for everything we needed to plug in.

The Fire Pro D700s are garbage. Just run Cinebech and test it for yourself. I ran it on an 8 core nmp and it scored 84 fps. Even the new 5k iMac with its laptop GPU scored 101. I bought a Windows 10 workstation running dual Nvidia 980 Ti cards and now I'm routinely scoring around 150 fps on the Cinebench Open GL test. And with 20 cores I can render at a usable speed. These kinds of specs exist and don't cost more than the Mac Pro to get. Switching was hard for me emotionally because I always staunchly believed Windows was crap. But in reality Windows works just fine. Some things are better, other things are not as good. But overall I much happier not having to depend on Apple for my hardware needs anymore.

Yup, but I still really depend on Apple's OS and as you've stated a switch to Windows would be juggernautish pain in the ass for me. But I've done a similar switch away from Pro Tools.

 

[Melodist]

then i'm not sure about a 2009 8core mac for $2500.
are you talking used or maybe refurb?

No new, but it was actually 3 grand yeah sorry, I've paid 2.5k for my early 2008 machine with 8 cores, but either way I've been a happy camper until they've dropped the ash tray.

Mac Pro from 2009 for 3.2k vs nMP from 2013 for 3.7k in 64-bit and multi core benchmarks.



And as I've said, if you could optionally ditch the amd firepro for something more average, it'd probably drop the price by at least 1 grand.

 

[flat five]

No new, but it was actually 3 grand yeah sorry, I've paid 2.5k for my early 2008 machine with 8 cores, but either way I've been a happy camper until they've dropped the ash tray.

Mac Pro from 2009 for 3.2k vs nMP from 2013 for 3.7k in 64-bit and multi core benchmarks.

View attachment 589362

And as I've said, if you could optionally ditch the amd firepro for something more average, it'd probably drop the price by at least 1 grand.

i'm not really sure what your graph is supposed to be indicative of.

the 2013 quad isn't $3,700.. it's $3k.. and it's outperforming the more expensive 8core from 2009..

to me, that's showing an improvement but i think you're meaning to say otherwise.
?