rob53

dysamoria said:

The SSD issue is a big deal for anyone who needs their data IMMEDIATELY when a machine goes down. People can be aggressive about backups and use external or network storage, but when a workstation is in use, and suffers a failure, the quickest path back to productivity is to move the storage device from the bad machine to a new machine. No reinstalling, very little waiting. This is why studios and whatnot have their own IT departments, and this security will directly obstruct their jobs. At the very least, it should be an optional level of security.

The SSD in question is the internal drive, I don't believe Apple's T2 security chip has any ability to secure external storage devices. I know the internal SSD has to be real fast but I also wonder how many production systems in a large organization actually leave their corporate data on individual computers, instead requiring most data to be stored on secure network servers and RAID systems. Thunderbolt 3 attached drives can be extremely fast so maybe in your case you use an attached drive (like OWC's ThunderBlade, max speed of 2800MB/s up to 8TB) for your content creation and only use the internal drive for OS and applications and non critical projects. 

From Apple's Mac Pro page:

A Secure Enclave coprocessor provides the foundation for encrypted storage and secure boot capabilities. So you can worry less about protecting your work, code, and intellectual property. And focus more on doing your best thinking.

What's going on is the disk encryption is being handled by the T2 coprocessor with/without (not sure which one) user intervention setting the password to create the encryption certificates. Apple is trying its best to protect the data on a consumer's computer yet too many people don't seem to want this feature but the first time their data is stolen, e.g., your company's product you just finished, they complain to Apple about not being protected. Do you want your company's data protected from theft or not? 

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When I was working to protect my company's data on laptops, I would have loved to have had this feature. Our computers were always subjected to data theft when they left our site. We went so far as photographing the screws holding the laptops together before these computers left our site then checking them again when they came back to make sure the laptop wasn't tampered with. 

"The SSD are slotted and modular, but they're also linked to the T2 security chip." Very nice and secure feature. This should make it more difficult for people to steal just the SSD or replace it with a malware-laden SSD. This is a feature Apple should advertise. Of course iFixit sees it as an issue.

As far as their stupid video showing them grate cheese against the case, iFixit has finally gone too far and should be banned from any AI reporting. They used to be a very good repair site but now they've turned into a website that constantly criticizes every thing Apple does just because they're losing business because Apple is making products that don't fall apart and require repair like the other products they review.

EsquireCats said:

It'll only save you money if the end result is stable. Not to sew FUD, but RAM upgrades are notorious for introducing difficult to determine crashes. When it comes to DIY RAM upgrades, don't be cheap.

I’ve used OWC RAM for many years and they’re good, stable and have lifetime warranties. 

zimmie said:

rob53 said:

That RAM price is crazy. Just checked MacSales and they've already added a product holder for up to 1.5TB of RAM. I'm guessing their price will be 50-70% of Apple's letting you get the Afterburner for free!!!!!

I still want to see this monster run some TOP500 supercomputer benchmarks. If it comes in the top 1000, it would be worth the price. 

Their RAM price is actually less crazy than it seems. Six 128GB sticks from Hewlett Packard Enterprise is just under $38k. The same $38k at Apple will get you twelve sticks and the shipping carton is a Mac Pro with a 28-core processor.

Flash Update!! MacSales just announced the price of the new Mac Pro RAM and it's a very good price. $2K for a single 128GB module, $20K for twelve 128GB modules for 1.5TB. Time for HP lovers to find a different RAM supplier. They're also, as usual, backed by OWC lifetime warranty. This is 75% of Apple's price so more than my guess of 50-70% but you can also get  a rebate from MacSales for the original Apple 4x8GB ECC RAM so it would drop the price down a little more. Is a $5K savings worth it? That pays for the Radeon Pro Vega II Duo upgrade or for the Afterburner, 4TB SSD and wheels with money left over or for that matter, all but $2K of the 28-core upgrade.

That RAM price is crazy. Just checked MacSales and they've already added a product holder for up to 1.5TB of RAM. I'm guessing their price will be 50-70% of Apple's letting you get the Afterburner for free!!!!!



I still want to see this monster run some TOP500 supercomputer benchmarks. If it comes in the top 1000, it would be worth the price.