First look: Apple's upcoming Mac Pro and new MacBook Pros with Retina display
Apple on Tuesday announced updates to its Mac product lineup, offering a closer look at the upcoming Mac Pro desktop and refreshes to the MacBook Pro with Retina display lineup. AppleInsider was at the event for a hands-on look at the new machines.
Apple's Mac Pro will launch in December. | Photo: Daniel Eran Dilger
Unlike the Mac Pro introduction in June, which showed off a non-functioning model behind glass, Apple gave attendees of its media event some hands-on time with the forthcoming pro-level desktop.
As seen above, Apple had a disassembled Mac Pro on display, revealing the triangular heat sink and unique internal layout of the aluminum-clad device. Apple's pro workhorse features a base configuration with 3.7GHz Intel Xeon E5 processor, 12GB of RAM, dual FirePro D300 GPUs with 2GB of RAM each, and a 256GB SSD.
The computer was also being shown off running Final Cut Pro X on 4K displays made by Sharp, connected to one or more of the Mac Pro's six Thunderbolt 2 ports. With up to 20Gbps of bandwidth per channel, the Mac Pro can interface with up to 36 Thunderbolt peripherals, including hard drives, PCI expansion components, audio and video breakout boxes and high-resolution displays.
As for the new MacBook Pros, not much has changed aesthetically aside from a slimming down for the 13-inch version, which is now only 0.71 inches thick. Both models got significant spec bumps, however, including new Haswell Core i5 and i7 processors and next-generation integrated graphics from Intel.
Among the updated internal components, both the 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pros received PCIe-based flash storage with up to 60 percent faster read speeds than last year's models. In addition, the laptops were brought in line with the MacBook Air lineup and now feature 802.11ac Wi-Fi connectivity. Battery life has been boosted as well, with the smaller model now lasting up to nine hours, while the 15-inch Pro can run for eight hours on a single charge.
Apple's MacBook Pros are out now with new lower starting prices of $1,299 for the 13-inch model and $1,999 for the 15-inch version. The company did not set a firm date for the Mac Pro's release, but pegged a base price at $2,999.
Apple's Mac Pro will launch in December. | Photo: Daniel Eran Dilger
Unlike the Mac Pro introduction in June, which showed off a non-functioning model behind glass, Apple gave attendees of its media event some hands-on time with the forthcoming pro-level desktop.
As seen above, Apple had a disassembled Mac Pro on display, revealing the triangular heat sink and unique internal layout of the aluminum-clad device. Apple's pro workhorse features a base configuration with 3.7GHz Intel Xeon E5 processor, 12GB of RAM, dual FirePro D300 GPUs with 2GB of RAM each, and a 256GB SSD.
The computer was also being shown off running Final Cut Pro X on 4K displays made by Sharp, connected to one or more of the Mac Pro's six Thunderbolt 2 ports. With up to 20Gbps of bandwidth per channel, the Mac Pro can interface with up to 36 Thunderbolt peripherals, including hard drives, PCI expansion components, audio and video breakout boxes and high-resolution displays.
As for the new MacBook Pros, not much has changed aesthetically aside from a slimming down for the 13-inch version, which is now only 0.71 inches thick. Both models got significant spec bumps, however, including new Haswell Core i5 and i7 processors and next-generation integrated graphics from Intel.
Among the updated internal components, both the 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pros received PCIe-based flash storage with up to 60 percent faster read speeds than last year's models. In addition, the laptops were brought in line with the MacBook Air lineup and now feature 802.11ac Wi-Fi connectivity. Battery life has been boosted as well, with the smaller model now lasting up to nine hours, while the 15-inch Pro can run for eight hours on a single charge.
Apple's MacBook Pros are out now with new lower starting prices of $1,299 for the 13-inch model and $1,999 for the 15-inch version. The company did not set a firm date for the Mac Pro's release, but pegged a base price at $2,999.
Comments
I was hoping for a nice new monitor to push 4K display data to.
The Pro isn't out yet. Perhaps we'll see that in December when it launches?
I was hoping for a new car. Apple didn't release that either. I'm so frustrated. Jk jk jk.
Seriously, this Mac Pro is not something I need. But it sure as h*ll is something I want! Cool!
Has anybody wondered why Apple hasn't announced a 4K monitor to get along with the new mac pros?
As discussed in the previous thread when this new Mac Pro was originally announced, there are some serious issues with this Mac Pro.
On the bright side, its industrial design is staggeringly awesome, it appears to perform very well as a desktop computer, and it's "cool" factor is off the charts.
The downside, however, is that it no longer appears to be aimed at a large portion of professional users for whom the original Mac Pros were designed.
If you need tons of disk storage space? Sorry, you're out of luck, unless you want to daisychain a few ugly external drivers.
If you need 8+ cores for rendering, etc? Sorry, you're out of luck. This new one basically relies upon a single desktop-class CPU.
If you need to add ram, etc.? Sorry, you're out of luck.
If you want to upgrade video cards? Sorry, you're out of luck.
Again, for many creative professional jobs, this thing will probably be wonderful. But for the types of jobs that required massively powerful workhouse towers loads of storage space and memory, these probably won't hack it.
I know that we've beaten this dead horse into the ground, already. But I think it is clear that this computer, in many ways, is aimed a slightly different type of "professional" user than the older Mac Pros.
For the "real" heavy duty applications pros are already using breakout boxes and rack mounted SATA RAID 50 so the enclosure isn't that big of an issue. The video card issue might be solvable through Thunderbolt if dual AMD FirePro D500 doesn't do it for you. You are incorrect about the CPUs. These are state of the art Xeons up to 12 cores with up to 64GB of ram. Do you know any current Mac Pro users with that much power? didn't think so.
You obviously weren't watching the keynote. The Pro can be upgraded to 12 cores, the memory and flash drive are user upgradeable. As for disks, where have you been? Thunderbolt external raid is the way professionals will go. Watch the keynote again before complaining.
As discussed in the previous thread when this new Mac Pro was originally announced, there are some serious issues with this Mac Pro.
On the bright side, its industrial design is staggeringly awesome, it appears to perform very well as a desktop computer, and it's "cool" factor is off the charts.
The downside, however, is that it no longer appears to be aimed at a large portion of professional users for whom the original Mac Pros were designed.
If you need tons of disk storage space? Sorry, you're out of luck, unless you want to daisychain a few ugly external drivers.
If you need 8+ cores for rendering, etc? Sorry, you're out of luck. This new one basically relies upon a single desktop-class CPU.
If you need to add ram, etc.? Sorry, you're out of luck.
If you want to upgrade video cards? Sorry, you're out of luck.
Again, for many creative professional jobs, this thing will probably be wonderful. But for the types of jobs that required massively powerful workhouse towers loads of storage space and memory, these probably won't hack it.
I know that we've beaten this dead horse into the ground, already. But I think it is clear that this computer, in many ways, is aimed a slightly different type of "professional" user than the older Mac Pros.
A list of factual errors you made would be longer than your post. I presume you either are a journalist or analyst.
The Pro can be upgraded to 12 cores, the memory and flash drive are user upgradeable.
You are correct. I missed this somehow. I will edit out my original post.
The downside, however, is that it no longer appears to be aimed at a large portion of professional users for whom the original Mac Pros were designed.
???
Since when is a Xeon a desktop-class CPU? It's only found in a server or workstation class configuration from all the major PC manufacturers I've ever seen.
And while the 8 or 12 core configurations aren't available yet, they were announced and will likely be available early next year (EDIT: they're available now as configurable upgrades).
Did you even read the specs? "Memory - user accessible". The old Mac Pro didn't support more than 64GB either (and only on the 12-core model).
There weren't a lot of options with the old Mac Pros either unless you were willing to trust hacked-for-EFI firmware and risk instability (not an option for most pros). I seriously don't think there are many people who would need to upgrade beyond a dual FirePro D700 (again, a configurable upgrade).
Sorry, but the supercomputer market isn't something Apple has ever tried to service.
Why are you alive?
Quote:
For the "real" heavy duty applications pros are already using breakout boxes and rack mounted SATA RAID 50 so the enclosure isn't that big of an issue. The video card issue might be solvable through Thunderbolt if dual AMD FirePro D500 doesn't do it for you. You are incorrect about the CPUs. These are state of the art Xeons up to 12 cores with up to 64GB of ram. Do you know any current Mac Pro users with that much power? didn't think so.
I am slightly (emphasis on slightly) surprised that they went with the quad cpu and still upped the price. It appears to be a v2 bump of an E5-1620 That is a logical choice for a base model. I just didn't expect it to hit $3k in that configuration.
A list of factual errors you made would be longer than your post. I presume you either are a journalist or analyst.
LOL at the "I presume you either are a journalist or analyst."
Quote:
I am slightly (emphasis on slightly) surprised that they went with the quad cpu and still upped the price. It appears to be a v2 bump of an E5-1620 That is a logical choice for a base model. I just didn't expect it to hit $3k in that configuration.
Well I think you are going to see a huge speed bump with the base config over something with a similar spec'd CPU. The data channel here is wide and fast. I think I remember dual channels to the storage. They've gotten rid of a lot of bottlenecks especially in the graphics pipeline where most of the processing is going on these days. With ultrafast access to video, storage and all peripherals, what are you needing so much more CPU for? Other than non-optimized 3D apps, what's going to wear out this CPU? JavaScript hacks? Word?
???
Since when is a Xeon a desktop-class CPU? It's only found in a server or workstation class configuration from all the major PC manufacturers I've ever seen.
And while the 8 or 12 core configurations aren't available yet, they were announced and will likely be available early next year (EDIT: they're available now as configurable upgrades).
Did you even read the specs? "Memory - user accessible". The old Mac Pro didn't support more than 64GB either (and only on the 12-core model).
There weren't a lot of options with the old Mac Pros either unless you were willing to trust hacked-for-EFI firmware and risk instability (not an option for most pros). I seriously don't think there are many people who would need to upgrade beyond a dual FirePro D700 (again, a configurable upgrade).
Sorry, but the supercomputer market isn't something Apple has ever tried to service.
I think this machine would be twice as fast as a ten year old CRAY. Are we even sure what we are talking about anymore in regards to "Super" computer? I think this thing does 2 teraflops compute and 72 graphics (yeah, I'm too lazy to look up the specs -- and that is a LUDICROUS amount of power which is why I vaguely remember it).
So "super duper" computer will have to be a Petaflop now. You are NOT buying a Super Duper Computer, but yes, you in fact DO HAVE a Super Computer on your desktop. Or on your floor. Personally, I'd mount this on a lamp shade and disguise it as a lava lamp, just to keep everyone guessing how I'm pulling these mad hacks out of thin air!