roundaboutnow

atonaldenim said:

Good report Mike. I also don’t think 2023 Mac Pro will sell nearly as well as the 2019 Pro. I hope that dip in sales prompts them to double down on improving future Mac Pros, rather than abandoning it altogether.

I’d guess that they would have liked to do more with AS Mac Pro, but for whatever reason were not able to get it done this year. Hopefully they will keep pushing forward. From taking a year longer than their 2 year transition goal, to failing to deliver the planned Jade 4C “Extreme” SoC in both M1 and M2 generations, seems like they really hit some roadblocks from their original intent. I highly doubt they would have given 2019 Mac Pro such dramatically better expansion capabilities if they knew they wouldn’t be able to maintain that level of performance after Apple Silicon transition.

One has to suspect the ongoing brain drain on the Apple Silicon design team is part of these stumbles. Let’s hope Srouji gets the big Mac back on track, and their patented multi-GPU tech comes to light soon!

The 2023 Mac Pro does feel like a stop gap, and I also feel like Apple still intends to do more with it. 

Thanks for the links to the other AI articles to provide evidence of what Apple might hope to achieve with the Mac Pro and the possible reason why only so much progress has been made.

As much as I would like to see a more versatile and expandable Mac Pro, the fact is that one of the reasons I wanted this was for the horsepower to play back very large format video files out of 4 to 8 4K display outputs. Now we see that the Mac Pro can do this without the need for GPU expansion cards, so yay... However, if no expansion card needed, guess what? -- the Mac Studio M2 Ultra can do this too (and is much less expensive).

The current M2 Ultra's GPU performance and physical display outputs will be enough for a good number of users and that while providing additional expansion capabilities is important, Apple has bought the time to figure it out. In the meantime, at least users that need non-GPU cards (don't forget about those SSD expansion cards) have something to work with.

Fidonet127 said:

What is this for if the new Mac Pro won't support graphic cards?  aux cable kit for 2019 and 2023 Mac Pros.

The Belkin AUX Power Cable Kit for Mac Pro provides a set of common AUX power cables for graphics cards and other AUX-powered PCI Express devices that enable connection to the 6‑pin and 8-pin AUX power receptacles in Mac Pro. The kit includes seven typical AUX power cables: four 8-pin to 8-pin cables, two 6-pin to 6-pin cables, and an 8-pin to dual 6-pin cable. Mac Pro provides one 6-pin and four 8-pin AUX power connectors internally, enabling connection to accessory devices.

Enables PCI Express devices requiring AUX power to be connected inside Mac Pro

Provides cables needed to power typical graphics cards and AUX power PCI Express cards

Apple took the time to note this is compatible with the new Mac Pro and is even linked from the 2023 Mac Pro ordering pages. 

What is it for? It's not just for graphics cards. Like the description says "...and other AUX-powered PCI Express devices...".

On Mac Studio M2 Ultra, I see 4 TB ports on rear, 2 TB ports on front, and 1 HDMI port on rear. So no way to directly connect "Eight displays with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz" ...at least one TB dual-display adapter would be needed.

If I want to drive 8 HDMI displays, it should be possible to install four TB-to-dual HDMI adapters on the 4 rear M2 Ultra TB ports.

I'll be looking into this further, but if anyone has any insights on doing this, I'd appreciate hearing about it.

Xed said:

eightzero said:

Xed said:

MacPro said:

Xed said:

It's too bad Apple wasn't able to have you input your prescription or go through a series of beautifully modernized visual tests that effectively cover what an optometrist would test so that Apple Vision could adjust the display output to match your prescription without the need for corrective lenses.

Or just enter your prescription information. Now that would be magic.

If they can do it, that would be an option, but remember that your vision does change over time so being able to do a vision calibration test on the device would be a great way to set it up.

I'm not really sure a display can run a optometric exam. I did opine this would be a great use of the device, but (and perhaps a OD can confirm) I think perhaps the physics prohibit this. If the image itself is blurred, I don't think any lens can correct it.

Couldn't the system just presents Image 1 then Image 2, then Image A and Image B, and so on, asking you to choose which one looks better until you end up with the best looking display for your visual acuity.

https://www.computerworld.com/article/2490626/vision-correcting-display-nixes-your-need-for-eyeglasses.html

Some form of adaptive optics could be the solution. If they can be variable, using the Digital Crown as the focus adjust knob during set up might be a way to "calibrate" (as well as allow for re-adjustment down the road as vision changes). 
https://www.deepoptics.com/technology

Not too bad.
I was afraid the list would be much more extensive. I can live without those five (13" MBP i5).