Apple Unveils Redesigned Mac Pro Desktop and Pro Display XDR at WWDC

[izo1]

I had high hopes for the Mac Pro, and while it's no doubt a beast of a machine, it still missed the mark IMO. What Apple's lineup lacks is a prosumer-grade Mac that is not an all-in-one and comes with a decent graphics card. Perhaps a larger Mac mini that can accommodate (and effectively cool) a Vega card. As things stand, there is no standalone desktop option between the mini and the Pro, and the cost of entry for a Pro is now simply ludicrous, particularly for people who have powerful hacks running something like a 9900K.

That display, though. Aside from the ridiculous price of the stand, that one simply stole the show. I'd love one of those on my desk.

Apple is a business and their primary income is from iOS devices and not computers.

The Mac Pro always had Xeon server processors, and the 9900k is not a Xeon processor with 64 PCIe lanes.

I think what they're banking on is people get a midrange one and not the base one.

If you get the base Mac Pro, and if the CPU is user upgradeable, it won't be a terrible deal. The ram is obviously upgradeable and so is the GPU.

I really just wish the base started at 3999 at least, that would be fair imo. 256GB SSD is a joke.

 

[Gogeta-Blue]

1000 for a monitor stand

way to go apple

look at the keynote when they make the announcement and listen carefully
so you can listen to boos when they say 1000 dollars for the monitor stand

at least thanks to that new Mac Pro we have another 5 years of intel Hackintosh support
probably a little bit more
that is the only good news for me

still no nvidia

 

[scottkendall]

I love Macs in general, I hadn't owned an actual PC since 2004 where I used Macs exclusively until 2015 when Apple stopped producing decent desktops.

For me tinkering is a waste of time, I just want to do my job and move on.

Now the base 2019 Mac Pro has priced out a lot of people. I can afford it, but it's not going to be faster than my iMac Pro clone, that's for sure. And mine cost about the same and even less.

$6k base Mac Pro, then another $6k for the display or whatever, that's $12k for an average performing computer and a very good monitor. Yeah I can use my current monitors, but at $6k the base model is really dumb for me.

The previous gen Mac Pros started at $2999 which was a fair price.

The power supply and case for the 2013 Mac Pro was cheap, by comparison the 1400W power supply and the case has been noted to likely cost 2k to fabricate. I checked with my Structural steal guy and he told me it would cost me around 2500 including labor to casing the front and back panel. I think these are the two main factors in why the base computer is so expensive. (the case mainly)

 

[trs96]

I think these are the two main factors in why the base computer is so expensive. (the case mainly)

That's correct. It's a case built to last a long time just like the original MP cheese graters. Look at all the modders here still using G5 Power mac cases for their mods. If you simply focus on the CPU, ram, graphics and storage the base model gives you, it really is way overpriced for the specs you get. I'd guess that the motherboard even costs upward of 700 dollars. It's server grade obviously. I'm not saying that I would pay 6 grand for the base model because I'd have to spend another 1-2000 dollars on upgrades.

The build quality of the case and design is way beyond anything for sale on Newegg or Amazon. A few Lian Li cases might come close but even those can cost 2,000 dollars. So for anyone that likes to go cheap and buy an 80 dollar case, this MP is not for you. You only get one choice. That motherboard isn't going to fit in anything else.

 

[izo1]

I think I figured out why the bean Mac Pro is so expensive.

This is at least a 10 year design (with minor tweaks every generation) and knowing Apple they will be doing speed bumps to the base model.

So eventually in a year or 2 for the base model for $6,000, it’ll be 16 cores so it will look like a good purchase.

There’s some good stuff going on in the Cpu world right now between intel and AMD. Not just on the consumer space, but also server (Xeon and Epyc) so Intel is not going to sit idly by and let AMD take the throne.

 

[tabarus]

I wonder how the 8 Core XEON compares to a I7/I9 when it comes to single core performance.
Single Core performance is still very important for musicians since most (any?) DAWs do not spread the load of one channel to multiple cores.

 

[izo1]

I wonder how the 8 Core XEON compares to a I7/I9 when it comes to single core performance.
Single Core performance is still very important for musicians since most (any?) DAWs do not spread the load of one channel to multiple cores.

They are using Cascade Lake-X which is a refinement of Skylake-X and still a 14nm part. Seems like the cache for the 8 core is much higher than the W series that's on Intel's ARK site. The 9900k has a 3.7Ghz base clock and a 5.0Ghz boost clock, and if you get a decent cooler you can sync all cores at least and boost all cores to 5Ghz and get some fantastic performance out of it. Probably mid ~6.5k+ Single core and ~35k +/- Multi perf in Geekbench without doing any exotic watercooling, just a 360mm AIO.

Essentially this 8-core Xeon part vs lets say a 9900k, the latter will beat it especially in single core perf. The 9900k is finely tweaked for single core performance. However obviously with a Z series mobo, you don't have an upgrade path above the 9900k, this is the reason why I went with a Skylake-X X299 board and have maxed out my CPU (still going to max out the RAM soon)....

The GOOD news is, it seems the CPU is socketed and replaceable, so with a little bit of work and thermal paste re-application, you are essentially able to upgrade your base 8 core model to 28core in a few years when corporations start dumping these CPUs on eBay for dirt cheap.

We have to remember, AMD is kicking Intel's butt even in the server space in terms of cheaper hardware, so Intel will most likely come out with a 56core version of this W processor...so things are really getting interesting in this space. And if Intel moves to 10nm in the consumer line (They usually shrink silicone for laptops first, then > server > desktops) so eventually who knows, Intel might do a 64+ core CPU in the next 1-2 years, but their limitation lies in the monolithic design of their chips, but that has a plus because there's less latency involved compared to what AMD is doing with chiplets and infinity fabric interlinking. But whatever happens, DDR5 and PCIe 4.0/5.0 are around the corner.

 

[poles]

One (1) Apple Pro Stand for the Pro Display XDR monitor: $1,000

$1000 for a stand! Apple must be smoking weeds

And guess what Elon Musk decided to use it in SpaceX rocket launcher. Its so hard & solid

 

[izo1]

$1000 for a stand. Apple must be smoking weeds

It comes with a stand, which is probably just rigid and has a simple up and down movement. $1,000 may seem overpriced but it's not that terrible when you think about it.

I think they shouldn't have put that thing in the keynote, it's become a joke and a meme around the internet. If they did want to show it they shouldn't even have mentioned the price.

 

[DmitriZigany]

1000 for a monitor stand
way to go apple

In the video/film world you can easily pay $1000 for a metal plate with some holes in it just to mount your camera on your shoulder. So in that context $1000 for a stand isn't that much.
Maybe the alternative was to charge $6999 for the monitor. Now at least you have the option.

But I think it should really have been included or cost $299 tops.