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WWDC will (finally) bring us the xMac
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Just curious: You're saying Apple did this at one point, yes? When was that, and what was the model?
Long, long ago. When things came with product names like "Quadra" and "Performa".
And scads of people didn't buy them.
I'd love to see a new macpro with a Apple built breakout box similar to the Matrox or Belkin units and a Seperate HD unit
Ports on the back or the macpro or any computer suck and aren't very user friendly, you could slim the case slightly (maybe) by removing the separate ports, you could also get rid of the SuperDrive.
By having the Seperate Hard drive box, Apple would make arguably more money and users could infinitely upgrade there storage to their needs.
So the main box would contain.
Motherboard, Ram, CPU, GFX cards, maybe OS SSD, maybe Ethernet and a couple of USB
Seperate box for hard drives that could be bought in user configurable sizes (2, 4, 8)
Seperate desktop unit that has USB3, Thunderbolt, SuperDrive, Ethernet, Bluetooth, wireless, FireWire
Ports on the back or the macpro or any computer suck and aren't very user friendly, you could slim the case slightly (maybe) by removing the separate ports, you could also get rid of the SuperDrive.
By having the Seperate Hard drive box, Apple would make arguably more money and users could infinitely upgrade there storage to their needs.
So the main box would contain.
Motherboard, Ram, CPU, GFX cards, maybe OS SSD, maybe Ethernet and a couple of USB
Seperate box for hard drives that could be bought in user configurable sizes (2, 4, 8)
Seperate desktop unit that has USB3, Thunderbolt, SuperDrive, Ethernet, Bluetooth, wireless, FireWire
Because of the way Intel segments their market offerings.
If you want a CPU that you can have multiple physical processors in (like dual 8 core xeons), you need the Xeon line. The i7 only works in a uniprocessor architecture.
I wish Apple would make the Mac pro in single dual and 4 way processor configurations. That is a more realistic way to scale than simply having single or dual quad and hex core processors.
Hence why I said headless iMac. iMac use i7s and consumer tower would never need dual processors.
I still have my TI-99/4A
Although I think the one in the picture is the TI-99/4. Those were all expansions from before the Peripheral Expansion Box, I own one still.----------
I second the name "Mactopus".
Nice image - shows the cleanness of such a cable-free approach
They should have stacked those boxes a little more, but hey: 30 years ago computer knowledge (including ergonomics and space utilization) wasn't as advanced as today. And with today's technology the boxes would be much smaller overall - maybe the size of a Mac mini (perhaps even smaller). You could have such a box as basis on your desk and eventually grow it with another slice or two. And if you reach that rack running along the wall above your desk, you simply add the next slice to the left or right.
That is - if you don't line up your Modular Mac Pro on that rack the way it is shown on that TI image to save space on your desk and floor...
I still have my TI-99/4A
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I second the name "Mactopus".
You are right; that is a TI-99/4 (sans A). Love that machine.
First off, let me say I'm seriously rooting for an xMac model. Right now the folks who would buy an xMac are either building Hackintosh boxes, or migrating to Windows. Apple might as well get those sales instead.
I'm torn on the Xeon issue. Truthfully memory sizes are getting to the point where ECC memory is highly desirable in terms of system stability. It's also preferable for "pro" applications like science, CAD and engineering applications where it's decidedly preferable to not have a bit randomly flip without you knowing it. I'd like to see Apple lead the way by pointing out that ECC is a good thing as memory capacity heads north of 8 GB.
On the other hand, I'd like to see the xMac as inexpensive as possible - and that means regular i7 type processors. So I guess the way to go for this refresh is i7 for xMac as a way to differentiate the Mac Pros aside from multi-CPU. The single Xeon Mac Pro at the entry level (with an eight-core option this time) is the step up from the xMac. I'd also like to see both the xMac and the Mac Pros start supporting multiple video card setups for insane graphics performance, or superior mixed graphics and GPU computing.
In my view, Apple should shoot for the moon on the high end with Mac Pro. I'd like to see up to four-way (at least) Xeon CPUs, a rack-friendly form factor, and an easy way to interconnect them to form even more powerful clusters. This should also be accomplished without a rack using a "stack" type connector, so the Mac Pros form either a row or a stack. That would utilize space most efficiently, while allowing access to truly insane amounts of memory, CPU and GPU resources in a cluster or massively parallel manner depending on workload. This could fairly easily be done using Thunderbolt as the interconnect, as I understand it.
This would clearly make Mac Pros THE most powerful desktop/deskside computers in the world, cementing Apple's position as the top computer company. Given its current market capitalization and resources, Apple should make the effort and once again lead the way in computer innovation.
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Last I checked, single-processor Xeons are almost exactly the same price as their i7 counterparts.
It looks like you're right, I hadn't checked Xeon prices for a while and thought Intel is still charging a big premium for them.
After the Mac Pro challenged keynote I was a bit disheartened, but there is a "new" tag by Mac Pro in the Apple Store. So far, the actual product hasn't been updated, though...I hope we get new processors and current graphics cards at least!
It looks like the "xMac" is a no-go for right now though...
haha, I think some of us must be in our 40's to recall such an antique. The TI-99/4 was one of the first computers I got my grubby mitts on. Funny thign was they shared a lab with Apple II's, but that was back in the low res mono Apple II days. The TI's got more attention becuase they were color!
Well if we wanted to get technical, the Mac Pro is technically a mid-tower machine by current measures. 4 hard drive bays, two optical bays and 4 PCIe expansion slots are all things you'll find on standard ATX form factor mid-tower PCs. Full tower enclosures are behemoths in comparison.
What people are really asking for in this proposed "xMac" is a mini-tower form factor with support for a single CPU and scaled down expansion. And this is something that I don't believe will ever happen when the majority of consumers would rather buy a 27" iMac in lieu of a mini-tower with ONE Apple-blessed display option. People will still suck it up and stick to Mac Pro towers if they really the internal expansion bus and larger drive capacity.
Back when Apple did sell smaller towers, iMacs were marketed as entry-level machines. Now, Apple considers them to be midrange, with the Mini assuming the role of entry-level desktop. And therein lies the problem...
This thread is a great example of something that really annoys me, which is when people title a thread with what appears to be a statement of fact, but is actually an opinion or prediction.
To my mind an appropriate title for this thread would have been 'Will WWDC (finally) bring us the xMac?'
Sorry about the rant.
To my mind an appropriate title for this thread would have been 'Will WWDC (finally) bring us the xMac?'
Sorry about the rant.
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Actually by contemporary standards, it is a full tower. I haven't seen a real full tower since the 90's. All of the big computers these days are mid towers if they are workstations like an HP Z800. Or they are fro the most part SFF "Small Form Factor" mini towers, which are usually designed to function like the old "pizza box" macs. Sitting under the monitor.
Back in the pre-Jobs-2.0 Apple days they had the pizza box quadras, the mid tower quadras and the full tower quadras.
Of course that was in the dawn of time, when there was no iMac.
I am sure they can still make the Mac Pro a third smaller if they just shave off a few PCIe slots, an optical drive bay and some of the handle loop.
I'm tempted to take a sawzall to one of my extra first gen intel mac pros just to illustrate the point.
They would also save a ton of space if they went to a different form factor for storage. Yes I could see Apple making an all flash Mac Pro. That would fit with the Retina and Air Macs just fine. With flash drives you can fit four drives where one full size 3.5" drive fits now.