Apple upgrades 2013 Mac Pros with more cores & faster GPUs
Simultaneous with teasing redesigned Mac Pros due next year, Apple on Tuesday announced modest upgrades to existing 2013 models, increasing the performance of stock configurations.
The base $2,999 model is being boosted from 4 cores to 6, and from twin AMD FirePro D300 cards to a pair of D500 units. The $3,999 model is growing from 6 cores to 8, and switching its twin GPUs from the D500 to the D700.
The upgrades should go into effect later today, but are not yet reflected on Apple's online store.
Apple has left the Mac Pro largely unchanged since 2013, creating problems for professionals who want to use a Mac for performance-intensive tasks such as 3D rendering or high-resolution video editing. Other Macs use mobile graphics cards and more conventional CPUs which may not be able to keep up.
Indeed the new Pros are otherwise unaltered, missing technologies like USB-C or Thunderbolt 3. As a result they don't support the LG UltraFine 5K display, which actually does work with the less expensive 2016 MacBook Pro.
The 2018 Mac Pros will have modular designs, making them easier to upgrade, and ship alongside a new Apple-branded "pro display."
The base $2,999 model is being boosted from 4 cores to 6, and from twin AMD FirePro D300 cards to a pair of D500 units. The $3,999 model is growing from 6 cores to 8, and switching its twin GPUs from the D500 to the D700.
The upgrades should go into effect later today, but are not yet reflected on Apple's online store.
Apple has left the Mac Pro largely unchanged since 2013, creating problems for professionals who want to use a Mac for performance-intensive tasks such as 3D rendering or high-resolution video editing. Other Macs use mobile graphics cards and more conventional CPUs which may not be able to keep up.
Indeed the new Pros are otherwise unaltered, missing technologies like USB-C or Thunderbolt 3. As a result they don't support the LG UltraFine 5K display, which actually does work with the less expensive 2016 MacBook Pro.
The 2018 Mac Pros will have modular designs, making them easier to upgrade, and ship alongside a new Apple-branded "pro display."
Comments
Schiller: “In the meantime, we’re going to update the configs to make it faster and better for their dollar. This is not a new model, not a new design, we’re just going to update the configs. We’re doing that this week.”
... Sucks to be you Apple...
The fact is the most mature tech market of all is the desktop. There's only so much even Apple can do...
Apple needs to stop trying to reinvent the wheel with each new product release. The Workstation form factor is a necessity for some and a preference for others. For once, maybe Apple can conform to industry standards and design a Mac whose purpose is not as an object of art or industrial design- but as a form follows function tool that is versatile, maintainable over more than 24 months, user upgradeable and highly reliable.
A slightly smaller version of the Mac Pro Workstation with modern internals and connectivity would be just the ticket.
The USB-A part of your complaint is silly. If you have USB-A devices, you buy a $5 adaptor and stick it on the end of your USB-A cable and never think about it again. At least that's what I did. For example, I have a USB thumb drive on my keyboard; since I got my MacBook Pro it's become a USB-A thumb drive thanks to a tiny adaptor. Having legacy USB-A slots on brand new PowerBooks would be a mistake.
=> Apple produces the new MBP - innovations across the board (Touch Bar, TouchID, powerful & multi-purpose ports, trackpad, screen, speakers, cooling)
=> The Internet complains that this is not what they want - they want same chassis, same ports, more RAM, upgraded CPU
Users like Apple's Cinema displays, but complain that they are not upgraded nearly often enough, are too expensive, and tired of paying 50% more because it looks good
=> Apple partners with LG, to aid *LG* in developing a 5K display that works with specs of new MBP. Product is very functional* and cheaper than Apple would sell.
=> Internet complains that it "looks cheap", doesn't match to how MBP looks - bemoans Apple abandoning the market.
* yes, the product was found to have a legitimate shielding issue, but this was a) after all the complaining per above, and b) this is LG's product, not Apple's.
What I see are LOTS of iMacs, closely followed my MBPs connected to large displays.
At least in the graphic design field, all the points made in the press meeting are validated by my own observation.
The Mac Pro used to be standard issue. It hasn't been in quite some time. iMacs and MBPs HAVE picked up a lot of the slack (I know nerds will argue with me on this point, but it's true in my business) and Apple has a lot of catching up to do if they want to reestablish the Mac Pro in the creative field.