Apple Previews iMac Pro: The Fastest Mac Ever

[WilliamLondon]

Hi OK I am sorry for the remark (stupid was really strong my english is not so good)

I hear you ... you are right. I can only tell my experiences with my iMac. I also know others with similar problems my machine 8 years old, and I had many problems with it but I am still using it writing this on it right now. I will sell it after I build the Hackintosh. And yes it keeps its value quite well.

It might be that mine is an early i7 chip which was quite fast in it's time so it might be the cause for the heating problems, I also know other iMacs even older than mine which are OK (the screen is not as now but it is OK) those are Core2Duo which never produced that much heat.

But I still think that the iMac as a fast production machine might not be the best idea...

I'll tell you one thing I've learned from this Hackintosh experience -> thermal issues are real!

Before I built one of these machines I never imagined thermal issues to be such a problem, and to be honest Apple has always hidden them from me in my iMacs and laptops for the most part such that I didn't realise how big an issue they were to deal with. Probably with my latest (i7-7700K) Hackintosh I went way overboard with too much cooling, but I figured too much cooling is better than not enough, right? It's not the most aesthetically pleasing form factor my machine, but it's fast and it does stay cool at least!

I do look forward to seeing how they do with such a fast chip in this form factor with the iMac Pro. I doubt they'll be perfect, but the form factor I still find to be the sexiest around. To have a machine like that on a desk reminds me of my first iMac when a friend looked at the iMac screen and asked where the computer was located, thinking there was a tower hidden somewhere. That's technology done super cool, and I like that very much!

 

[ClassicMartini]

% OpenCL vs CUDA optimised apps?

 

[WilliamLondon]

I think that there will not be a Mac Pro 2018.
This is the new desktop mac whose were talking Tim Cook.

Except they've clarified several times the iMac Pro isn't the (modular) Mac Pro that's still in the works (modular plus separate new display!):

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2017/06/imac-pro-most-powerful-mac-arrives-december/

“In addition to the new iMac Pro, Apple is working on a completely redesigned, next-generation Mac Pro architected for pro customers who need the highest-end, high-throughput system in a modular design, as well as a new high-end pro display.”

 

[rockjano]

I'll tell you one thing I've learned from this Hackintosh experience -> thermal issues are real!

Before I built one of these machines I never imagined thermal issues to be such a problem, and to be honest Apple has always hidden them from me in my iMacs and laptops for the most part such that I didn't realise how big an issue they were to deal with. Probably with my latest (i7-7700K) Hackintosh I went way overboard with too much cooling, but I figured too much cooling is better than not enough, right? It's not the most aesthetically pleasing form factor my machine, but it's fast and it does stay cool at least!

I do look forward to seeing how they do with such a fast chip in this form factor with the iMac Pro. I doubt they'll be perfect, but the form factor I still find to be the sexiest around. To have a machine like that on a desk reminds me of my first iMac when a friend looked at the iMac screen and asked where the computer was located, thinking there was a tower hidden somewhere. That's technology done super cool, and I like that very much!

Yeah absolutely I had the same experience everyone asks where is the computer..

Yes sexy, yes cool...BUT all of that has it's price.

The problem seems to be that today CPU's heating up a lot more than some years ago. Also the GPU units. So cooling is really a problem with high tech computing nowdays.

I would rather have something which is upgradeable has lot's of room and can be effectively cooled...

Thanks for the great discussion!!!

 

[ClassicMartini]

Yeah absolutely I had the same experience everyone asks where is the computer..

Yes sexy, yes cool...BUT all of that has it's price.

The problem seems to be that today CPU's heating up a lot more than some years ago. Also the GPU units. So cooling is really a problem with high tech computing nowdays.

I would rather have something which is upgradeable has lot's of room and can be effectively cooled...

Thanks for the great discussion!!!

Agreed.

The numbers bandied about are cooling for a "500 watt (TDP) cooling system" (you saw the x-ray with twins fans).

The performance numbers quoted for the Vega GPU "11 Tflops" is a smidge under a 1080ti/TitanXp, and they are rated at 250W - bit higher under load .

If we extrapolate against the "Quadro 1080ti/TitanXp equivalent - P6000 etc - the 'pro' cards usually run cooler (same gpu under the hood, though) and with a 140W CPU, then its plausible this iMac Pro cooling/thermal dissipation system will hold up.

Couple of take aways, from this thread, and out in the wild.

• We all think its kinda a welcome/necessary/stupid stop-gap.
  • 3, 4 years later off lease it'll be a nice "cascade-down" mac.
• Speculation it'll open up VR Content creation. It wont, much. CUDA is dominant there*. Cinema 4d/Octane etc.
  • Apple will go to great lengths to entice new developers. They'll get some. And it'll be great for a year or two, then Apple will leave Metal twisting in the wind. For too long.
    Then radically abandoning all previous APIs.
  • eGPU is sorta an option, but out in the wild its a pain. Even if it works flawlessly.
• The cooling will probably hold up. Even under load for more than 30 minutes. Apple will, ever so slightly, gimp the GPU to make sure
• The cooling system will make future 4/6 core mainstream platform run better.
• Final Cut Pro users will love it. DaVinci resolve too.
• It won't win back anyone who jumped ship to build a Windows 10, X99 system*
  
• We secretly crave it anyway

* they may be persuaded to bring their Pascal GPU's back to the "Modular" Mac Pro?

 

[ZDigital2015]

Or, and please hear me out on this, most Pros can hop on Apple's website and max out a 27" 5K iMac with 64GB of RAM, 2TB of flash and a 4.2Ghz 7700K for $5458.00 and be better served by a single thread/multithread beast that should chew through all but the heaviest multi-threaded tasks for whom the iMac Pro and Mac Pro will be a no-brainer. Add to this iMac a solid, reliable, fast Thunderbolt 3 RAID, a supported eGPU (RX580 8GB) solution that can aid in FinalCut Pro X renders and unless you're dealing with RED Weapon footage all day and all night, at least 80% of us would be sitting pretty.

That being said, I fully admit that I was the target market for the iMac Pro a long time ago. I want one, but I don't need one and I just can't justify that kind of cash...it will be fun just watching people put it through it's paces, though.

 

[vulgo]

I would rather have something which is upgradeable has lot's of room and can be effectively cooled...

At least cooling shouldn't be a problem. They've taken the cooling design from the 2016 Macbook Pro and reversed the airflow for an 80% improvement in temperatures.

 

[ZDigital2015]

Agreed.

The numbers bandied about are cooling for a "500 watt (TDP) cooling system" (you saw the x-ray with twins fans).

The performance numbers quoted for the Vega GPU "11 Tflops" is a smidge under a 1080ti/TitanXp, and they are rated at 250W - bit higher under load .

If we extrapolate against the "Quadro 1080ti/TitanXp equivalent - P6000 etc - the 'pro' cards usually run cooler (same gpu under the hood, though) and with a 140W CPU, then its plausible it'll hold up.

Couple of take aways, from this thread, and out in the wild.

• We all think its kinda a welcome/necessary/stupid stop-gap.
  • 3, 4 years later off lease it'll be a nice "cascade-down" mac.
• Speculation it'll open up VR Content creation (it wont, CUDA is dominant there*),
  • Apple will go to great lengths to entice new developers. They'll get some. And it'll be great for a year or two, then Apple will leave Metal twisting in the wind. For too long.
    Then radically abandoning all previous APIs.
  • eGPU is sorta an option, but out in the wild its a pain. Even if it works flawlessly.
• The cooling will probably hold up. Even under load for more than 30 minutes. Apple will, ever so slightly, gimp the GPU to make sure
• The cooling system will make future 4/6 core mainstream platform run better.
• Final Cut Pro users will love it. DaVinci resolve too.
• It won't win back anyone who jumped ship to build a Windows 10, X99 system*
  
• We secretly crave it anyway

* they may be persuaded to bring their Pascal GPU's back to the "Modular" Mac Pro?

Ordinarily, I would agree with you that Apple would abandon Metal, but it well and truly can't at this point. It underlies macOS, iOs, watchOS and tvOS and they can't just ignore it. Metal will stay alive because too many platforms depend on it now, and not just a small marketshare, niche platform (macOS) but a giant-honkining beast of a platform (iOS). Metal is here to stay.

Whether Apple makes a dent in VR depends on how seriously they work to ensure AR is a success on the iOS platform. Right now, VR is still a small niche in the overall computing landscape...for now.

 

[Gigamaxx]

Are these real? Check it out, they are a little low for the compute score but they are in 12.5 so the 36 CU fix isn't built in the drivers yet. In Sierra 12.6 public beta we now have the 36 CU working and Ellesmere listed. The RX 560 is listed correctly.

 

[trs96]

Those look real. The iMac 18,3 has been available since WWDC 2017 on June 5th. It's not the iMac Pro that's yet to be released.

http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...7-inch-aluminum-retina-5k-mid-2017-specs.html