Will there be a New Mac Pro?

[dbit]

I'm right on the edge of building a pc workstation in the next couple of months after the june/july news comes out. I can't be held hostage like this for future decisions. Hopefully Apple has something revolutionary up their sleeves for the pro's system design wise, but a little processor speed bump is not going to show enough commitment at this point. If it's price point is decent I would consider hanging in another generation, but gone are the days I'm going to pay a $1000+ mac tax on a machine who's future I'm not sure apple is committed to.

I'm thinking build the pc workstation as my high end workhorse and keep a mini for my communications/front end.

On another note, does anyone think it's strange how many iphone/ipad parts we see leaked, but we rarely get too many manufacturing parts leaked for the macs? I know there have been a couple of small imac part leaks, or at least purchase orders leaked. Would apple really be able to keep a new mac pro design entirely silent?

 

[goMac]

If it's price point is decent I would consider hanging in another generation, but gone are the days I'm going to pay a $1000+ mac tax on a machine who's future I'm not sure apple is committed to.

I'm not sure why Apple's future commitment is ever a factor. As long as the machine keeps working for three years, I'm fine, and I'll re-decide once I'm ready to replace the machine.

If my 2008 Mac Pro caught fire and exploded today, I wouldn't feel bad at all regarding Apple's "future commitments" if I bought a new 2010 to replace it.

 

[derbothaus]

Hopefully Apple has something revolutionary up their sleeves for the pro's system design wise, but a little processor speed bump is not going to show enough commitment at this point.

All that is required is a processor and motherboard bump + GPU and Thunderbolt. They can't speed bump X58+Westmere as Intel will cease making those chips fairly soon and has EOL'd X58. SB-E Xeons, X79, new GPU's and TB. What else would you need? New case? Who cares about that? The current (and old) design work really well for what is needed. Cooling.

 

[xgman]

I really think Apple is desperately trying to wind down the desktop era, not enhance it.

 

[Wild-Bill]

I really think Apple is desperately trying to wind down the desktop era, not enhance it.

The company that invented the personal computer is now trying to systematically kill it off.

 

[derbothaus]

I really think Apple is desperately trying to wind down the desktop era, not enhance it.

I don't know. Humans and their ergonomic needs have not changed in hundreds of years. Nothing beats sitting in a comfortable chair with a mouse and keyboard. Every other style has failed to dethrone comfort. So with comfort in mind who cares where or what powers the experience just that it is fast and responsive. Enter a box of power that is well cooled. OS's need to get a hell of a lot better before the desktop era ends. All of tech is a little too "bubble ready" calling for the "birth of.." and the "death of...". All premature.

 

[nuckinfutz]

I really think Apple is desperately trying to wind down the desktop era, not enhance it.

Think? Your post is empty (wrt to reasons) so what exactly caused you to think this? We aren't mind readers.

 

[xgman]

Think? Your post is empty (wrt to reasons) so what exactly caused you to think this? We aren't mind readers.

Not that specific, just the "end of the pc era" talk and all. Just a feeling I get. With the merger of IOS and OS and the push for mobile, etc. This is obviously nothing new. Think about it. The MacPro is getting more like the Air which is close to an ipad but with full OS still. The iMac is told to be getting thinner like a laptop almost. The Mac Pro may or may not continue and the xserve is already gone. It's pretty clear to me what direction they are moving. Well then there is the iTV and the iCar?

Wild-Bill, you are correct above.

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I don't know. Humans and their ergonomic needs have not changed in hundreds of years. Nothing beats sitting in a comfortable chair with a mouse and keyboard. Every other style has failed to dethrone comfort. So with comfort in mind who cares where or what powers the experience just that it is fast and responsive. Enter a box of power that is well cooled. OS's need to get a hell of a lot better before the desktop era ends. All of tech is a little too "bubble ready" calling for the "birth of.." and the "death of...". All premature.

No, but it is clearly moving in that direction whether we like it or not. If Apple has it's way, we eventually will not be able to discern between ipad and mac computing. Trouble is I like both ways. I don't necessarily want them to merge. I'm not the only one, but I admittedly am among a small group of old school power users who likes to tinker with my computer and the OS.


You know to be honest, at this point I almost wish they would just come out and end the MP. Then I could get it out of my mind and begin to look forward to what top end iMac might come out in June/July and plan something around that and 4 or 5 external TB drives. (hope I can still use a firewire audio). The worst part of that is the limit of 4 cores. I just can't see going back to windows software at this point.

 

[nuckinfutz]

Not that specific, just the "end of the pc era" talk and all. Just a feeling I get. With the merger of IOS and OS and the push for mobile, etc. This is obviously nothing new. Think about it. The MacPro is getting more like the Air which is close to an ipad but with full OS still. The iMac is told to be getting thinner like a laptop almost. The Mac Pro may or may not continue and the xserve is already gone. It's pretty clear to me what direction they are moving. Well then there is the iTV and the iCar?

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No, but it is clearly moving in that direction whether we like it or not. If Apple has it's way, we eventually will not be able to discern between ipad and mac computing. Trouble is I like both ways. I don't necessarily want them to merge. I'm not the only one, but I admittedly am among a small group of old school power users who likes to tinker with my computer and the OS.

I got you. But remember Tim Cook said the Mac represents a 22 billion dollar industry. Apple may not focus as heavily on the Mac going forward but they are not going to purposely hamstring the Mac. Every billion in revenue they lose on the Mac has to be made up somewhere else.

 

[goMac]

I got you. But remember Tim Cook said the Mac represents a 22 billion dollar industry. Apple may not focus as heavily on the Mac going forward but they are not going to purposely hamstring the Mac. Every billion in revenue they lose on the Mac has to be made up somewhere else.

They're not losing any money on the Mac though, and all indications are they're not losing money on the Mac Pro either.

It would certainly be odd that just when they get Final Cut optimized for 12 core configurations with high end GPUs, they cut the only machine they ship with 12 cores and high end GPUs.

 

[xgman]

Apple may not focus as heavily on the Mac going forward but they are not going to purposely hamstring the Mac. .

Well not yet anyway, but from where I sit is sure looks like that is exactly what they are doing at the top end.

 

[nuckinfutz]

They're not losing any money on the Mac though, and all indications are they're not losing money on the Mac Pro either.

It would certainly be odd that just when they get Final Cut optimized for 12 core configurations with high end GPUs, they cut the only machine they ship with 12 cores and high end GPUs.

So long as Apple continues to ship OS X Server, Final Cut Pro, Motion, Compressor and Logic Pro there will be a need for a Mac Pro.

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Well not yet anyway, but from where I sit is sure looks like that is exactly what they are doing at the top end.

Intel didn't help things by being late on Sandy Bridge E

 

[xgman]

They're not losing any money on the Mac though, and all indications are they're not losing money on the Mac Pro either.

Not loosing money doesn't necessarily equate with loosing interest.

By the way, why hasn't Logic pro been updated to a new version in over 2 years?

APPLE PRIORITY LIST (imho)

itunes store?
iphone
ipad
ipad mini
Air's
MacBooks
iMacs
MacMinis (i don't know how they have lasted this long)
Mac Pro (trailing the pack)

In new products for the future:
iTV

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So long as Apple continues to ship OS X Server, Final Cut Pro, Motion, Compressor and Logic Pro there will be a need for a Mac Pro.

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Intel didn't help things by being late on Sandy Bridge E

But Intel also sees the writing on the wall and may even have written on it themselves. (Priority: low)
Intel is banking on ultralites or whatever they are called.

I guess I'm ready to admit defeat and move on. (whatever that means)
Even if they push one more MP out, do you really think it will continue? I just think Apple has already moved on.

 

[goMac]

Not loosing money doesn't necessarily equate with loosing interest.

By the way, why hasn't Logic pro been updated to a new version in over 2 years?

Not only have there be many rumors of a new version, but Logic Pro got both 64 bit and 12 core updates.

But Intel also sees the writing on the wall and may even have written on it themselves. (Priority: low)
Intel is banking on ultralites or whatever they are called.

I guess I'm ready to admit defeat and move on. (whatever that means)
Even if they push one more MP out, do you really think it will continue? I just think Apple has already moved on.

Honestly, I don't think Intel thinks Pros need as many updates. Pros don't buy machines as often, and there are many things Pros don't care about which is where most the momentum is (integrated graphics or battery life.)

Why should Intel honestly market as much to pros? Is there a reason Intel needs to rev their pro chips as much? I mean, they're going to rev them for what... at most a 10% speed gain? Honestly, for all the angst here, Sandy Bridge is not that big of a revision, and the speed gain is not really all that much.

 

[nuckinfutz]

Why should Intel honestly market as much to pros? Is there a reason Intel needs to rev their pro chips as much? I mean, they're going to rev them for what... at most a 10% speed gain? Honestly, for all the angst here, Sandy Bridge is not that big of a revision, and the speed gain is not really all that much.

Much of the evolution for Pro sector seems to be coming in the form of faster subsystems. Storage, RAM, Connectivity. The CPU/GPU is incrementing forward but I'm most excited about things like SSD, Thunderbolt and OpenCL.

 

[xgman]

Why should Intel honestly market as much to pros? Is there a reason Intel needs to rev their pro chips as much? I mean, they're going to rev them for what... at most a 10% speed gain? Honestly, for all the angst here, Sandy Bridge is not that big of a revision, and the speed gain is not really all that much.

True to some extent, but, the heart wants what the heart wants and I'm ready for a bump. This is the longest I have ever kept one machine. It's more than just speed, but heck, you could really says the same thing you said above about any tech product almost. Most people won't notice the difference, . . . but I do.

 

[thekev]

Honestly, I don't think Intel thinks Pros need as many updates. Pros don't buy machines as often, and there are many things Pros don't care about which is where most the momentum is (integrated graphics or battery life.)

Why should Intel honestly market as much to pros? Is there a reason Intel needs to rev their pro chips as much? I mean, they're going to rev them for what... at most a 10% speed gain? Honestly, for all the angst here, Sandy Bridge is not that big of a revision, and the speed gain is not really all that much.

I've read numbers that are all over the place, so I'm not sure what is realistic. The rumor was that they ran into stepping problems, and given the initial problems with Sandy Bridge early last year, they most likely did not wish to repeat it. Overall on the "pro" end, Intel has one update slated for each consumer revision. As for waiting on a Sandy Bridge E update, there are a few advantages beyond cpu speed. We'll see newer gpus, most likely 7XXX replacing 5770s and 5870s which will likely appeal to some people. We will see PCIe 3.0. It might benefit OpenCL somewhat. More importantly, the current revision uses the same board they've used since 2009. I'd feel safer regarding the future support life on a new one.

Anyway there are reasons beyond cpu speed there. The one downside is that it'll probably start with Mountain Lion meaning that I'd have to wait for a stable Mountain Lion to make proper use of such a machine. Along with waiting for software patches, that could push it to very late in the current year.

First world problems

 

[Dr. Stealth]

Here's What I Just Did.....

1. Ebay'd my 2007 8-core 2,1 MP.

2. Found a really sweet deal on a brand new 5,1 MP.

3. Good for another 5 years.

4. Profit....



(2004 macrumors newbie)

 

[ClassObject]

There is no end of the pc era. There is an end to everyday people owning desktop computers, and that is a good thing. Developers, people who render stuff, and real desktop pc buyers still need workstations. There will be still be something that equals a macpro. Wish this crap would end.

 

[NewbieCanada]

I really think Apple is desperately trying to wind down the desktop era, not enhance it.

They're still making and refreshing the iMac and Mini. There just isn't a large enough market for the Pro.

 

[unfrostedpoptar]

There is no end of the pc era. There is an end to everyday people owning desktop computers, and that is a good thing. Developers, people who render stuff, and real desktop pc buyers still need workstations. There will be still be something that equals a macpro. Wish this crap would end.

Well, in one important way it's not a good thing. Remember the cost of desktops in the early '80s? A lot of what drove down the cost of the powerful systems we want for work and development was the huge market for consumers. If most folks just have a suped-up iPad at home - which will likely happen - then desktops/laptops with real OSes and power will be a much smaller market which means: higher prices and smaller selection (the 2nd one doesn't Apple to Macs...).

 

[ClassObject]

Well, in one important way it's not a good thing. Remember the cost of desktops in the early '80s? A lot of what drove down the cost of the powerful systems we want for work and development was the huge market for consumers. If most folks just have a suped-up iPad at home - which will likely happen - then desktops/laptops with real OSes and power will be a much smaller market which means: higher prices and smaller selection (the 2nd one doesn't Apple to Macs...).

Sounds good to me. Pay to play.

 

[zephonic]

Well, in one important way it's not a good thing. Remember the cost of desktops in the early '80s? A lot of what drove down the cost of the powerful systems we want for work and development was the huge market for consumers.

Following this logic we could see iPads with MacBookPro power or better. That can only be a good thing. I am not particularly fond of the keyboard/mouse interface and when developers rebuild their pro apps for touch I'd happily embrace that.

If most folks just have a suped-up iPad at home - which will likely happen - then desktops/laptops with real OSes and power will be a much smaller market which means: higher prices and smaller selection (the 2nd one doesn't Apple to Macs...).

Major advances in desktop/server are unlikely, we are close to the limits of physics with current tech so until molecular or quantum computing (or something completely different) becomes a viable option this is pretty much what it is.

But if you can control a bunch of number-crunching nodes from an iPadPro at zero-latency, what do you need that workstation for? Again, if you have access to the same processing power and the same pro apps, is there really a good reason to stick to the old way of working?

 

[theSeb]

They're not losing any money on the Mac though, and all indications are they're not losing money on the Mac Pro either.

It would certainly be odd that just when they get Final Cut optimized for 12 core configurations with high end GPUs, they cut the only machine they ship with 12 cores and high end GPUs.

That's a good point and one that seems to elude most.

Apple product meeting:

Hey, let's use all these resources to make our software use more than 4 cores, but we won't sell a computer with more than 4 cores. Just for xxxxs and giggles.

Yeah, that's an awesome idea.

(high fives all around)

 

[JesterJJZ]

I am not particularly fond of the keyboard/mouse interface and when developers rebuild their pro apps for touch I'd happily embrace that.

I dunno about everyone else, but using a ipad for an extended period of time can make my arms tired depending what angle im using it at. Can't imagine trying to edit video with a touch interface at 18 hours blocks. I can sit for days at a time and edit with a mouse.

A large touch interface only makes sense to me in a tabletop configuration that you stand over. Using a touch screen imac would suck. But as long as we have "options" i don't really care.