Apple plots new Mac Pro, eyes desktop innovation (Mac Pro assembled / partially made in USA)

ZD Net ^ | 6/10/2013 | Larry Dignan

[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."

[Yossarian]

Good news - the new Mac Pro will be assembled in the USA, and will have many US-created components in it! It won't be available until later this year, but if you want to buy American, you'll have an option later this year (when Intel releases the new Xeon processors it relies on).

It certainly is a funky little cylindrical thing... It's like Darth Vader's coffee can. In addition to the small size is an innovative 3-way heat sink, and single fan to keep noise levels low.

Learn more at this Apple page describing the new design.

- The microprocessor is an Intel Xeon, meaning it will be made in Oregon;
- The dual GPU is AMD, so it will probably be made in Taiwan by TSMC, but at least they have rights there, even if Taiwan is far friendlier with China than in the past;
- I don't know where the circuit boards will be made...

So here's a little bit of good news to take in with all the revolting scandals going around! Go USA!

[Yossarian]

Tech Ping!

[kevkrom]

If I got the gist correctly, no internal expansion possible or required — all expansions are intended to be done via high-speed Thunderbolt. That keeps the core design simpler and easier to ensure it all works in OS X while allowing the power users the flexibility to add components that they need.

Pretty smart.

Of course, this is a specialty machine, really designed for high-end photo and video processing. Most users have no need for a Mac Pro.

[Yossarian]

For a machine of its power (dual Xeon processors, up to 12 cores, PCI-E based SSD, dual GPUs) it's tiny - less than 10 inches tall and 6.6 inches diameter.

However, that's also a negative - all expansion is external. It has 6 Thunderbolt 2 ports, each offering 20 Gb/s bandwidth, so it's essentially an externalized PCI-E bus. But for some things, like 1 to 2.5 terabyte spinning drives, blu-ray burners, or HDMI capture, it's going to be physically unwieldy....

[Yossarian]

Mac Ping! (If that’s allowed these days....)

[Wyatt's Torch]

I’ve had a Mac Pro for the last 5 years and have loved it. What I have liked is the ability to upgrade myself. Not sure which direction I will head with my next machine given the ability to have massive NAS’s for pretty cheap. Storage has always been my issue.

[Yossarian]

Yes, compact, but without internal or a good way to stack components, (or rack mount) things could get unwieldy.....

[HiTech RedNeck]

yeah, you get a spider. of course maybe someone else will provide a box in which all this thunderbolted stuff can fit. the next step would be to implement thunderbolt like capability via wifi or better. now you can put your peripherals pretty much anywhere you like.

[Yossarian]

The good news is that you'll always be able to use your existing Mac Pro as the world's biggest and best cheese grater!

(That's about the only thing my G5 is doing these days....)

[Gene Eric]

Sweet... I mean cool!

[miliantnutcase]

Not to mention it needs a brushed aluminum finish to be recognizable.

[CrappieLuck]

I’ve been rocking my dual core X2 2.66 GHz since 2007. LOVE IT.

Can’t afford to upgrade to this new one. I’ll keep this one until it dies.

[Gene Eric]

BTW, I got dibs on the lampshade patent!

[MCH]

Prediction - it will be called the “stovepipe” or the “silo” by detractors, terms in the industry that have somewhat of a negative connotation implying proprietary, closed and/or difficult to expand architectures. Now it looks the part as well.

[VanDeKoik]

“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.”

Sell it under 1000.00 and then maybe you can stop talking out of your ass?

Until then it’s an expensive fancy trashcan.

[Yossarian]

Sell it under 1000.00 and then maybe you can stop talking out of your ass?

Do you know how much the Intel Xeons go for, alone? Not to mention the AMD FirePower GPUs? Or PCI-E SSDs?

Add up raw costs alone and it goes well above $1K. Apple makes a < $1K Mac, this isn't it.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

I was warching the Anandtech libe Blog.....this was almost an after thought.

They seem to be really integrating things across all of their stuff.

[Yossarian]

Correction, that’s dual “FirePro” GPUs, not “FirePower”.

[Wyatt's Torch]

Might be the most ill informed post in history...

[Yossarian]

Made in the USA ping!