Your focus was on using the box with a laptop, but won't many/most of the users be connecting to desktops? They won't care about clamshell mode, charging etc.
I'm not sure why anyone would want to connect a box like this to any sort of peripheral or breakaway box. You plug this directly into a Thunderbolt port on your computer - connecting any other way is just silly and asking for problems. I understand testing it with these devices, but in reality direct connection is the only sensible way to use it.
I don't think so. Given the iMac footprint, and the need for an external display, I think the MBP is an obvious prime-mover for it. That, and the 5K GPUs are good, and don't really need an expansion. We'll see, though.
I agree with the direct connection point.
I don't buy this at all. Why would anyone hook a high performance video card to a low performance CPU? That is exactly what a laptop is. For many use cases you need a high performance desktop CPU system to effectively drive the GPU. Honestly hooking something like this up to a laptop is throwing good money after bad.
The Core i7 MacBookPros seems more than speedy enough. I want an eGPU for my MBP for when I'm editing FCPX. I don't need it for coding.
When we get a quiet enclosure with a drive bay, ethernet, extra USB ports and a GPU slot + power is when I'll buy.
I'm very concerned that Apple is going the way of MicroSoft. "you'll buy our stuff and like it and we don't care what you want"...
the fact that they killed the MacPro line with the horrible trash can Mac and have not refreshed the Pro lineup since then tells me a lot. The new iMacPro is cool, but it's still not what audio/video pros like me really want or need.
my old MacPro 5,1 is the best pc I've ever owned. I would rather they revive that lineup/design if I'm going to pay $5k for one. I want to be able to install my own hard drives, video cards, RAM and other things myself. You can't do that in an iMac.
if they announce a new version of the trash can MacPro, I will be moving to a windows pc that has the requirements I specify.
plus, while I love my iPhone 7+, it's not really helpful to remove the audio jack as I used my iPhone as an instrument in my music. The little adapter sucks and got lost in 2 weeks. They want 48 bucks for a new one. Screw that.
also, why does everything have to be so damn expensive? They have BILLIONS in the bank. How about boosting profits by dropping prices and selling MORE UNITS?
They've already announced an upcoming Mac Pro that isn't the trash can ("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."), the audio jack complaint is a bit odd in this thread and a bit gratuitous, and the last one is pure ignorance regarding brand and pricing strategy. Keeping prices high and selling fewer is a strategy that feeds directly into their brand; the profits are higher than lowering prices and selling more, that comes directly from pricing strategy models 101.
I'm very concerned that Apple is going the way of MicroSoft. "you'll buy our stuff and like it and we don't care what you want"...
the fact that they killed the MacPro line with the horrible trash can Mac and have not refreshed the Pro lineup since then tells me a lot. The new iMacPro is cool, but it's still not what audio/video pros like me really want or need.
my old MacPro 5,1 is the best pc I've ever owned. I would rather they revive that lineup/design if I'm going to pay $5k for one. I want to be able to install my own hard drives, video cards, RAM and other things myself. You can't do that in an iMac.
if they announce a new version of the trash can MacPro, I will be moving to a windows pc that has the requirements I specify.
plus, while I love my iPhone 7+, it's not really helpful to remove the audio jack as I used my iPhone as an instrument in my music. The little adapter sucks and got lost in 2 weeks. They want 48 bucks for a new one. Screw that.
also, why does everything have to be so damn expensive? They have BILLIONS in the bank. How about boosting profits by dropping prices and selling MORE UNITS?
Have you been listening to any of Apple's responses to pros in the past month or so? They have had an iMac Pro and modular Mac Pro in development for the past year but they couldn't tip their hand before WWDC. They also said that some (unclear of the breakdown) of their pros still prefer all-in-one Macs like iMac Pro for pro development. So unless they're lying (unlikely), we can expect a modular Mac Pro sometime in 2018.
And, Modular means what? They didn't say it would have a socketed processor, removable RAM, and PCI-E slots. They said "modular." Could that mean all these things? Sure.
Could it mean something else? Yes, say, an external GPU in a matching case.
Also, the quote for the Mac Pro reborn isn't "releases in 2018," its "not this year."
Look. I want a resurrection of the slab-side aluminum Mac Pro, because I am a tinkerer. The devil will be in the details, though. We'll see what we get.
I'm very concerned that Apple is going the way of MicroSoft. "you'll buy our stuff and like it and we don't care what you want"...
Yeah, here's the thing, though. They ARE giving people what they want, right?
I get that we, meaning the majority of AI readers, want something different, but Apple IS appealing to its largest market segment with what they're delivering.
[...] Look. I want a resurrection of the slab-side aluminum Mac Pro, because I am a tinkerer.
Which is why Apple is in somewhat of a "no-win" situation here. My preference is not the same as yours. I want something small, light and quiet that I can place anywhere, and don't really care about opening it up.
The last post comes with a major caveat though. I don't care about opening it *IF* I can configure it the way I want from the factory. This assumes that Apple will provide an off-the-shelf configuration that meets my needs. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't.
With more and more peripherals evolving into stand-alone boxes instead of PCIe cards and the broad selection of fast external storage, the need to tinker is gradually fading. Of course, the desire to do so remains for many!
Mike Wuerthele said: [...] Apple IS appealing to its largest market segment with what they're delivering.
Probably true, but I think there are still examples of design choices leading to vicious-cycles.
For example, the mini is no longer available with a quad-core CPU. I've stopped buying them as a result. Sales of the mini are down. Apple says there's no point developing the mini because no one is buying them. Maybe if they updated or upgraded it, people WOULD buy them.
Or maybe not. I don't claim to know what kind of buyers make up the bulk of the mini market. I do know, however, that I am not likely to drop thousands of dollars on equipment that doesn't support the latest external interfaces or internal bus architectures, because it hurts the value of the device by shortening the useful life and thus the hours-of-use-per-dollar-spent. Whether or not that sentiment affects the broader product line is probably open to debate, but I'm sure it hits the Mac Pro right in the pants.
With more and more peripherals evolving into stand-alone boxes instead of PCIe cards and the broad selection of fast external storage, the need to tinker is gradually fading. Of course, the desire to do so remains for many!
Why do you think I'm the eGPU guy, and started a series about renovating the Mac Pro at my old gig before it closed, hm?
With more and more peripherals evolving into stand-alone boxes instead of PCIe cards and the broad selection of fast external storage, the need to tinker is gradually fading. Of course, the desire to do so remains for many!
Why do you think I'm the eGPU guy, and started a series about renovating the Mac Pro at my old gig before it closed, hm?
the fact that they killed the MacPro line with the horrible trash can Mac and have not refreshed the Pro lineup since then tells me a lot. The new iMacPro is cool, but it's still not what audio/video pros like me really want or need.
Really? I am a video professional and my editor edited a feature length documentary (some interviews with a five Multicam setup) on a 2009 iMac without a hitch. The iMac Pro will be a huge workhorse of a machine for video work, especially with up to 18 cores, up to 4.5 GHz and up to 128 GBs of memory. Oh and you are aware that the Mac Pro is coming back next year right?
Your focus was on using the box with a laptop, but won't many/most of the users be connecting to desktops? They won't care about clamshell mode, charging etc.
I'm not sure why anyone would want to connect a box like this to any sort of peripheral or breakaway box. You plug this directly into a Thunderbolt port on your computer - connecting any other way is just silly and asking for problems. I understand testing it with these devices, but in reality direct connection is the only sensible way to use it.
I don't think so. Given the iMac footprint, and the need for an external display, I think the MBP is an obvious prime-mover for it. That, and the 5K GPUs are good, and don't really need an expansion. We'll see, though.
I agree with the direct connection point.
I don't buy this at all. Why would anyone hook a high performance video card to a low performance CPU? That is exactly what a laptop is. For many use cases you need a high performance desktop CPU system to effectively drive the GPU. Honestly hooking something like this up to a laptop is throwing good money after bad.
When doing scientific programming you can actually use the GPU to perform intensive computations for the CPU so the CPU isn't burdened.
I'm very concerned that Apple is going the way of MicroSoft. "you'll buy our stuff and like it and we don't care what you want"...
Yeah, here's the thing, though. They ARE giving people what they want, right?
I get that we, meaning the majority of AI readers, want something different, but Apple IS appealing to its largest market segment with what they're delivering.
If Apple engineers and designers use their own Macs to design the next generation of Apple products, there will always be a built in demand for Mac Pros regardless of external sales.
Comments
The Core i7 MacBookPros seems more than speedy enough. I want an eGPU for my MBP for when I'm editing FCPX. I don't need it for coding.
When we get a quiet enclosure with a drive bay, ethernet, extra USB ports and a GPU slot + power is when I'll buy.
Right now we're real close.
Could it mean something else? Yes, say, an external GPU in a matching case.
Also, the quote for the Mac Pro reborn isn't "releases in 2018," its "not this year."
Look. I want a resurrection of the slab-side aluminum Mac Pro, because I am a tinkerer. The devil will be in the details, though. We'll see what we get.
I get that we, meaning the majority of AI readers, want something different, but Apple IS appealing to its largest market segment with what they're delivering.
The last post comes with a major caveat though. I don't care about opening it *IF* I can configure it the way I want from the factory. This assumes that Apple will provide an off-the-shelf configuration that meets my needs. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't.
With more and more peripherals evolving into stand-alone boxes instead of PCIe cards and the broad selection of fast external storage, the need to tinker is gradually fading. Of course, the desire to do so remains for many!
Probably true, but I think there are still examples of design choices leading to vicious-cycles.
For example, the mini is no longer available with a quad-core CPU. I've stopped buying them as a result. Sales of the mini are down. Apple says there's no point developing the mini because no one is buying them. Maybe if they updated or upgraded it, people WOULD buy them.
Or maybe not. I don't claim to know what kind of buyers make up the bulk of the mini market. I do know, however, that I am not likely to drop thousands of dollars on equipment that doesn't support the latest external interfaces or internal bus architectures, because it hurts the value of the device by shortening the useful life and thus the hours-of-use-per-dollar-spent. Whether or not that sentiment affects the broader product line is probably open to debate, but I'm sure it hits the Mac Pro right in the pants.