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."
“I think this mostly hurts in being able to upgrade to a better graphics card down the road.”
I’d be willing to bet Apple offers GPU upgrades.
I’ve long considered that. Something where you just stack Mac Mini style boxes as needed, thick or thin, simple vertical connector.
“Pretty smart.”
Considering the classic tower is mostly an empty box.
The old 'AT/ATX'-style motherboard that G5 Mac Pros shared with the PC/AT platform has now been separated into three distinct panels within the new Mac Pro design. I'm sure that these panels are intended to be swappable as upgrades become available, which means the new Mac Pro is really just a newly modernized form factor that murders ATX. And good riddance.
Amazing to watch Apple fans of all people complaining about the loss of totally unnecessary *internal* expansion. The desktop computing world is all solid state now, and it's like watching Apple fans weeping over the loss of the 16-bit ISA slot like PC enthusiasts did over a decade ago. Oh, the flipping irony.
I am SOLD on the new Mac Pro. Just look at the specs on that mother. Guess I'll need to be getting nerd glasses, a goatee, and sleeve tattoos for camping out overnight outside the Apple Store to get my hands on one when they finally ship.
There's not one good reason for me to buy into another MSFT Windows PC, and I develop for that environment in MS Visual Studio. All I need is a life support system for Win7.
Fully agree.
Nice to see Apple once again tell the engineers “go nuts, make it powerful and make it perfect”.
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