2022 Mac Pro said to use Intel Ice Lake Xeon W-3300 CPU

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited July 2021
A future Mac Pro is rumored to use the Xeon W-3300 CPU family, in parallel with Apple's commitment to fully transition to Apple Silicon by 2022.

Apple could release Intel Xeon and M-series Mac Pros at the same time
Apple could release Intel Xeon and M-series Mac Pros at the same time


A reliable leaker known as YuuKi_AnS says that the 2022 Mac Pro will use Xeon W-3300 series CPUs. While this corroborates other leaks, it also goes against Apple's promise to transition all Macs to custom silicon.

As reported by WCCFtech, the tweet suggests that Apple will release an Intel variant of the Mac Pro in 2022 in some form or another. This could be released on its own or alongside an M-series Mac Pro to cover both markets of pro users.

Apple's MacPro 2022 seems to use Intel's Xeon-W 33xx series processors...

(LGA4189 iceLake-SP)

-- -YuuKi_AnS (@yuuki_ans)


The next Mac Pro has been rumored to include a processor known as "Jade" or the "M1X." This Apple Silicon processor would have up to 40 cores and a dedicated GPU.

An Apple Silicon version of the Mac Pro would use a case half the current model's size. The new design and processor would limit professionals to custom Apple hardware, however.

Apple may want to serve customers who rely upon legacy components and hardware with a final Intel-based Mac Pro. This rumored model would be compatible with the modular components and external GPUs that professionals need.

Both rumored models could be released in the same year to please all of its professional customers.

With only about one year left of the promised transition window, Apple still has a few Macs to release with the M-series processor. Expect updates to the 16-inch MacBook Pro, a new 14-inch MacBook Pro, and a smaller Mac Pro before the transition is complete.

YuuKi_AnS has been reporting on Intel processors, particularly workstation ones, for several years, with good accuracy.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 71
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,279member

    While this corroborates other leaks, it also goes against Apple's promise to transition all Macs to custom silicon.

    I don't think a promise to transition and the introduction of a model with Intel processors are mutually exclusive. Nothing saying they won't also introduce a version with Apple silicon. It was a promise to transition to their own processors. Apple never said they would cease to do business with Intel ever again.
    narwhalXedJWSCd_2CloudTalkinnadrielwatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 71
    prismaticsprismatics Posts: 164member
    mike1 said:

    While this corroborates other leaks, it also goes against Apple's promise to transition all Macs to custom silicon.

    I don't think a promise to transition and the introduction of a model with Intel processors are mutually exclusive. Nothing saying they won't also introduce a version with Apple silicon. It was a promise to transition to their own processors. Apple never said they would cease to do business with Intel ever again.
    More like a threat many people did not respond well to.

    If x86, why still not the AMD devices?
    edited July 2021 darkvaderwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 71
    caladaniancaladanian Posts: 380member
    Makes sense. Professionals don’t like experiments and like to wait for a well established matured technology before they shift horses. 
    narwhaldavgregelijahgDnykjpRfC6fnBsbaconstangCloudTalkindarkvaderwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 71
    looplessloopless Posts: 329member
    HPC runs on Intel. Software vendors are slow to move in this field as it isn’t a simple recompile to run on Apple silicon. Apple would need to show a massive performance advantage…
    killroyalbatrossflyerdarkvaderwatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 71
    mpantonempantone Posts: 2,040member
    mike1 said:

    While this corroborates other leaks, it also goes against Apple's promise to transition all Macs to custom silicon.

    I don't think a promise to transition and the introduction of a model with Intel processors are mutually exclusive. Nothing saying they won't also introduce a version with Apple silicon. It was a promise to transition to their own processors. Apple never said they would cease to do business with Intel ever again.
    More like a threat many people did not respond well to.

    If x86, why still not the AMD devices?
    Most likely Apple signed a multi-year contract with Intel.

    Assuming Apple releases a refreshed Intel-powered Mac Pro in 2022, most likely they could continue selling it for several years and providing Intel macOS support for several more years beyond.

    It would make zero sense for Apple to sign a contract with AMD at this point since x86 is ultimately a dead end for Macs. In terms of worldwide notebook/desktop PC sales, Macs comprise less than 10% of the market unit sales.
    edited July 2021 williamlondonmichelb76watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 71
    elijahgelijahg Posts: 2,759member
    I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up as some kind of hybrid twin architecture machine. M1(/2?) and Intel. M1 has much less advantage on desktop machines because the efficiency doesn't matter for most people as much. And the fastest Intel CPUs still beat the M1, plus Intel Macs can have >16GB RAM though both the former and latter may well change when the M2 comes out.  What this does mean is Apple would support Intel for 7 at least years after 2022, as they couldn't very well abandon macOS on the Mac Pro after less than that. Good news for Intel Mac owners. Will be interesting to see how much Apple charges when the MP eventually goes ASI only. I doubt the price will dip much.
    killroy
  • Reply 7 of 71
    elijahgelijahg Posts: 2,759member

    mike1 said:

    While this corroborates other leaks, it also goes against Apple's promise to transition all Macs to custom silicon.

    I don't think a promise to transition and the introduction of a model with Intel processors are mutually exclusive. Nothing saying they won't also introduce a version with Apple silicon. It was a promise to transition to their own processors. Apple never said they would cease to do business with Intel ever again.
    More like a threat many people did not respond well to.

    If x86, why still not the AMD devices?
    Switching to AMD would mean a rewrite of quite a few frameworks, accelerate and the video encoding/decoding frameworks especially. And they're not going to do that for an architecture that is a dead end at Apple.
    welshdog
  • Reply 8 of 71
    narwhalnarwhal Posts: 119member
    If Apple releases a Mac Pro with Intel inside in 2022, it means existing Intel Mac users will continue to get OS updates for several more years. Sounds good. I expect that someday Apple will have an M-series chip faster than the fastest Xeons, but if it's not for a few more years, no worries.
    killroymichelb76welshdogwatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 71
    bengbeng Posts: 34member
    Looks like Apple is doing the intelligent thing.  Until significant software titles are written for the M series, the only option for many pros is Intel.  Apple knows this and is offering both the M series and an Intel series.  I expect the Mac Pros to be at least 2x faster/better than the Intel machines.  This will help drive the push for Pro apps to be converted over to the Mac.

    I don’t see any confusion over this.  Bottom line: Apple will discontinue the Intel series If and WHEN enough pros are satisfied with M series applications.  AND, they will want the Pro machine performance to be a great incentive for this to happen.
    patchythepiratekillroydarkvaderwatto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 71
    mcdavemcdave Posts: 1,927member
    loopless said:
    HPC runs on Intel. Software vendors are slow to move in this field as it isn’t a simple recompile to run on Apple silicon. Apple would need to show a massive performance advantage…
    What proportion of Macs are sold into this market?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 71
    I am surprised at the comments so far on this thread - believing and supporting the rumor that Apple would be releasing 2 Mac Pros next year, one with Intel Xeon and other with Apple silicon. I just don't believe it is going to happen. How many Mac Pros have Apple launched in last 10 years? Two? And they are going to launch that many in same year? And what is the significance of Mac Pro in Apple's Mac lineup? Sales of Mac Pro as a percentage of overall Mac sales? Hard to imagine Apple dedicating effort on 2 different niche products at the same time, that too with one of them having technology (x86) on its way out.

    In my view, the next MacPro will have only Apple silicon as an option. Even the discrete GPU is doubtful. We can most likely expect Apple silicon GPU to be integrated into that. I don't believe that Intel Xeon would be an option. For those who need Intel Mac Pros, Apple launched one just 2 years ago and will continue to sell that one for few more years. This rumor does not make any sense or whatsoever to me. 
    edited July 2021 DnykjpRfC6fnBskillroyred oakrundhvid
  • Reply 12 of 71
    mcdavemcdave Posts: 1,927member
    But who would buy this? By release time the Apple pro developer market would have decided to stay or leave the platform. Users should have made their minds up likewise.  If anyone was dependent on x86 they would be better to invest the money in the transition to Windows or Linux.
    Apple could provide a hybrid product but what proportion of Mac sales do 18-core+ Mac Pros account for anyway?
    maximaraelijahgwatto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 71
    maximaramaximara Posts: 409member
    One Idea I have is that the coming Mac Pro will be some form of x86/Apple Silicon hybrid with one of the CPUs on a card.  Sort of like the old Apple II cards that existed for the LC units only in this case the card and the main CPU can run simultaneously .  That way Apple doesn't have to have two separate designs.
    welshdogwatto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 71
    coolfactorcoolfactor Posts: 2,241member
    What they need to figure out is blending x86 and ARM architectures together so you get the best of both worlds in one computer.

    EDIT: Maximara has the same idea. 
    welshdogmattinoz
  • Reply 15 of 71
    coolfactorcoolfactor Posts: 2,241member
    beng said:
    Looks like Apple is doing the intelligent thing.  Until significant software titles are written for the M series, the only option for many pros is Intel.  Apple knows this and is offering both the M series and an Intel series.  I expect the Mac Pros to be at least 2x faster/better than the Intel machines.  This will help drive the push for Pro apps to be converted over to the Mac.

    I don’t see any confusion over this.  Bottom line: Apple will discontinue the Intel series If and WHEN enough pros are satisfied with M series applications.  AND, they will want the Pro machine performance to be a great incentive for this to happen.

    Have a look over the M1 reviews on YouTube. You'll see that MANY of the pros are blown away by the performance of the M1 machines. Even when running on Rosetta, they have been outperforming Intel machines, or at least keeping pace. A lot of this actually has nothing to do with the M1 chip, thought. The unified RAM approach and the much faster SSDs are contributing factors to the increased performance. Intel should pay attention to some of these lessons.
    killroywatto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 71
    zimmiezimmie Posts: 651member
    loopless said:
    HPC runs on Intel. Software vendors are slow to move in this field as it isn’t a simple recompile to run on Apple silicon. Apple would need to show a massive performance advantage…
    Not so much. Fugaku, the top HPC cluster in the world, is ARM. Summit and Sierra, the number 2 and 3 clusters are POWER9. Sunway TaihuLight is a custom, decidedly-non-x86 architecture. 5 through 10 are all amd64 plus some specialized hardware (mostly Nvidia A100 cards). The fifth place system isn't even particularly close to fourth place, let alone to first. In Rmax TFLOPS:
    1. Fugaku - 442,010
    2. Summit - 148,600
    3. Sierra - 94,640
    4. TaihuLight - 93,014
    5. Perlmutter - 64,590 - This is the top system with amd64 processors involved
    On a percentage basis, Perlmutter is almost as far behind TaihuLight as Sierra is behind Summit, and Fugaku's lead is just as stark as it was when it was introduced in 2020.
    rob53killroyRayz2016h2pwatto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 71
    This is just a refresh for the current Mac Pro. No big deal. It’s cost-effective for them, and likely has always been part of the plan. The insider news here is Apple has settled on which generation of Xeon-W they will use for this, and when.

    But this does indicate, I think, that the first Apple Silicon Mac Pro will have a different form factor from the current design. The “mini-me” concept shown in the illustration here seems absurd to me, almost a joke. I could see them producing a module for the current Mac Pro, but I can’t see them making that the only option. iMac Pro reborn is a possibility, but it could also be something that is the heir to the cylinder, something that goes really well with the XDR display.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 71
    elijahgelijahg Posts: 2,759member
    mcdave said:
    loopless said:
    HPC runs on Intel. Software vendors are slow to move in this field as it isn’t a simple recompile to run on Apple silicon. Apple would need to show a massive performance advantage…
    What proportion of Macs are sold into this market?
    It used to be surprisingly high. A large proportion of scientific software runs on Macs. That it until Apple essentially abandoned HPC users with the trash can, plus the 7 year gap between Mac Pro updates. Bit like the abandonment of Macs when Apple tried to force FCPX on editors, and then dropped Shake. Apple’s unreliability and penchant for dropping software titles isn’t something businesses can rely on with long term investments in hardware and staff. So they have gone elsewhere. The BBC’s editing was almost all on Macs until the FCP fiasco. Now it’s Avid on PC. 
    darkvader
  • Reply 19 of 71
    mdriftmeyermdriftmeyer Posts: 7,503member
    zimmie said:
    loopless said:
    HPC runs on Intel. Software vendors are slow to move in this field as it isn’t a simple recompile to run on Apple silicon. Apple would need to show a massive performance advantage…
    Not so much. Fugaku, the top HPC cluster in the world, is ARM. Summit and Sierra, the number 2 and 3 clusters are POWER9. Sunway TaihuLight is a custom, decidedly-non-x86 architecture. 5 through 10 are all amd64 plus some specialized hardware (mostly Nvidia A100 cards). The fifth place system isn't even particularly close to fourth place, let alone to first. In Rmax TFLOPS:
    1. Fugaku - 442,010
    2. Summit - 148,600
    3. Sierra - 94,640
    4. TaihuLight - 93,014
    5. Perlmutter - 64,590 - This is the top system with amd64 processors involved
    On a percentage basis, Perlmutter is almost as far behind TaihuLight as Sierra is behind Summit, and Fugaku's lead is just as stark as it was when it was introduced in 2020.
    Fugaku won't be in the top spot for very much longer.
  • Reply 20 of 71
    digitoldigitol Posts: 276member
    Digital dark ages. 
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