Posted on 06/10/2013 12:52:41 PM PDT by Yossarian
Apple plots new Mac Pro, eyes desktop innovation
Summary: Mac Pro looked a bit like something Darth Vader would use to operate the Death Star and is an eighth the size of the previous version.
By Larry Dignan for Between the Lines | June 10, 2013 -- 18:12 GMT (11:12 PDT)
Apple said that it will keep the Mac Pro alive---even though it hasn't been updated forever. In a sneak peak, Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller said it rethought what a desktop should be.
The Mac Pro, which caters to video editors and folks that need more horse power, was outlined in a sneak peak from Schiller. The desktop is a black cylinder looking thing. "Can't innovate anymore my ass," said Schiller.
Mac Pro looked a bit like something Darth Vader would use to operate the Death Star and is an eighth the size of the previous version. The latest Pro will have the latest Xeon cores, ECC memory and Flash internal storage with PCIe controller. Expansion is external for RAID and other additions with Thunderbolt 2.
Meanwhile, there are dual workstation GPUs. The Mac Pro more than doubles the performance of the previous model and supports 4K displays. Final Cut Pro 10 will updated for the new Mac Pro.
Schiller said that Mac Pro will appear later this year. Pricing is to be determined. "This is without a doubt the future of the pro desktop."
There’s a song in there...somewhere
My limited understanding is that Thunderbolt is basically a transport layer for PCI Express, and TB2 should have enough overhead to be just as fast, even with multiple cards. I bet there are engineers at Belkin and Griffin already working on an expansion chassis full of drive bays and PCI slots that looks a lot like the old Mac Pro box; maybe even with room to put the black cylinder inside it.
“Of course, this is a specialty machine, really designed for science, engineering, and software development - plus high-end photo and video processing.”
FTFY. :-)
Physically unwieldy? I’m not sure I agree. Considering the size of the previous MacPro line - a behemoth by today’s standards, the much smaller MacPro design, even with a few external peripherals, it will occupy less space. Indeed, in a way - it makes your work more portable - as you can tote that external drive with the big project from station to station (or to your home office).
But I do grasp the benefits of having lots of INTERNAL expansion. That is why I haven’t let go of my old Dual G5 PowerMac at home.
With the implementation of 802.11ac in Apple's portable line-up, we see things moving that very direction!
Pretty evident he doesn't have a grasp on reality... but then again, many of those who are Apple-detractors fall into two categories - either the ignorant who speak out of their stink-hole, or those who actually have encountered issues or situations where a Mac wasn't the right tool for them.
The Mac Pro, coupled with the old 30” Cinema Display? The stuff of my computing dreams. Can’t bring myself to pony up the bucks, so I’ll just admire from afar and enjoy my base model iPad (and my Sams’s close out rack HP PC).
Can I hab it?
First somewhat legitimate gripe I have read on this thread. I suppose the "spin and illuminate" idea is Apple's "solution", but I'm not sold. I agree - need at least a port on the front...Of course, I suppose one could just plug in hub and cable... But that is not up to Apple's usual "graceful design" idea...
Maybe a box that can be grown with Lego like (or analogous) components. If it only has a little inside, it’s small and skinny. If it has a lot, get the extra panels & posts, expand it and it’s large and/or fat.
I believe the speed of PCIe is pretty much the same as Thunderbolt 2.0: 20 gigabits per second. As such, connecting an external mass storage drive means no loss of access speed to and from the external storage device.
A sixteen-lane PCIe v4.0 slot maxes out 31.51 GB/s. Note the uppercase "B". That's 12.5 times faster than Thunderbolt 2.0.
I think this mostly hurts in being able to upgrade to a better graphics card down the road.
Wonder if it’s the right caliber to fit in a pneumatic tube.
It really is easy to picture Star Wars characters having a light saber duel around this thing. Especially in the second pic, it looks like a control kiosk in the central corridor of the Death Star.
The Death Star had a fatal weakness. A port that led to the center where it could be destroyed. This design of the Mac Pro has me concerned. Can you imagine something spilling into the top fan port? An errant drink, grandpa’s cigarette butt, or a child dropping who knows what candy into it. Shudder!
I do like the design, reminds me of the simplicity of my Apple Cube (Power Mac G4) that has a center vent arrangement.
That 30" display was a beaut, but I figured out a while ago I like multiple monitors rather than huge ones. I have the 21.5" iMac with two external monitors flanking it. My 20" Dell monitor started leaking magic smoke, so I replaced it with a 19" Samsung. You can get amazing deals on smaller LCD monitors at thrift shops these days.
There's a company called DisplayLink that makes USB video adapter chips. A lot of companies use their chipset, which has Mac and Windows drivers. They usually run about 50 bucks, and while I wouldn't want to use one of those screens for gaming, they're great for browser windows and Photoshop palettes. I'm thinking about adding a fourth screen next time I see one of those adapters on sale.
LOL — good point.
I was thinking about my 1-year-old granddaughter, who I often babysit. She loves to shovel cat food into different containers. Ignores fancy toys. I can picture her thinking the new Mac Pro is another container for her to fill with cat food. Perhaps a mesh fabric cover would help. She plays with my Mac Mini Server but it’s pretty much indestructible.
Thank you.
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