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iMac Pro

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Re: iMac Pro

#71
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But you can't do that with the latest MacBooks, which have their SSDs soldered directly onto the logic boards. And you can't do that with memory for any Apple notebook from the last several years for the same reason. My 7 year old MacBook Pro is running okay thanks to some memory and storage upgrades. I would not be able to get the same life extension with one of the new models, which makes me hesitate to get a new M…

To be fair, most new laptops like the Surface Pro or Dell's XPS 13 make it pretty darn hard to upgrade the memory or hard drive.

XPS laptops use standard nvme m.2 SSDs. Source: have one that I've opened up

Re: iMac Pro

#73

If you want CPU/GPU power on a more realistic budget, I'd suggest something like the HP Z620/640. Dual xeons, loads of disk space, and enough power to put at least two tiptop GPUs in.

But no macOS - despite a few warts and declining quality, still the best desktop operating system available.

That's up to personal taste. I have every day contact with macOS and can't stand it.

Re: iMac Pro

#74
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My friend in film production tells me that his shop does a ton of editing on iMacs despite the premium on hardware. He is an enthusiast and has built his own editing PC, but he tells me the iMacs are rock-solid and never give them any trouble, despite the specs being worse on paper than some other editing machines. I think that the consistency, quality, and software integration are worth a lot to businesses, especial…

so Editing PC gave him trouble ? Why i am the only one around using PC with zero problems and much much better than any apple product?

I'm going to be honest: I never had any PC problems really until Windows 10 came around. Occasionally windows update would get bonked or I'd hose the machine myself but it was pretty reliable. That's going back to Windows NT 3.51 for me. Since Windows 10, screw it. QA is gone. So many little papercuts it's not worth it any more. I use my two Macs and rarely touch the PC, an HP z620 which has just been a total pile of crap to me really. Nothing but problem after problem.

Re: iMac Pro

#75

I'm not amazed. This processor will inevitable throttle, I don't believe that they could cool it to allow for constant boosting. Graphics looks like trash: it's a consumer video card (no ECC, bad double precision speed) inferior to Nvidia. And of course everything glued together will render this PC obsolete in few years without any upgrade path. I hope they'll build a proper Mac Pro.

The cooling system looks similar to what's in a 1U server. It will be incredibly loud under load but it probably won't throttle.

More like two laptop fans combined.

Re: iMac Pro

#76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But no macOS - despite a few warts and declining quality, still the best desktop operating system available.

> declining quality [Citation needed] I agree that it's all about macOS, and I'd use it even if it WERE "declining," but on what basis do you make this comment, besides personal anecdote?

That's based on a few dozen anecdotes over the past half decade - workplaces almost fully on macs. More and more common wi-fi issues, battery/charging problems with latest MBPs, display issues (especially with external monitors), ever more frequent system hangs and weird behaviour in general (locked up processes, memory trashing), animations like mission control keep getting slower unless it's a fresh system, half-assed incorporation of iOS design, continuity hardly works, unreliable bluetooth (and useless outside connection peripherals). App Store has been taken over by crap and marketing scams. They've also been opening the enterprise program to more and more customization (= more crap pushed onto your machine root system, outside of your reach). I might be forgetting something.

I'd still prefer a brick to the face over having to use Windows for work :)

Re: iMac Pro

#77
post #54

To all the people banging on about upgrades... exactly what in the name of silica are you working on that this machine can not possibly handle for the next 5 years? What could you possibly want to upgrade? And what are you currently running?

If you're working on the cutting edge, let's say in graphics or machine learning you'll probably want to upgrade your GPU every year.

Re: iMac Pro

#78
post #14

I would worry that something breaks after warranty expires and the whole computer can go out of the window. With regular good old desktops you can just replace the broken part. With such special custom made hardware it is sometimes impossible. For example the macbook airs have non standard ssd that is not replaceable, so when the disk dies, whole notebook is done...

This also means that iMac and Macbooks depreciate quite heavily in price after the warranty expires.

I'm thinking of selling my Macbook Pro while I can get a decent price for it as I've now had it around 3 years. I'm better of investing that money in new parts for my PC.

Re: iMac Pro

#79

Impressive engineering to get that kilowatt-level power envelope into what looks literally like an envelope. Then the next question: is the target audience really there? The people who need 18 cores + a pro graphics card are the people who used to have mac pros (or still use them). These people care about expandable and replacable things, and most of all they want to use a screen with several computers because these…

I'm seriously considering an iMac these days. Currently I use a 2014-model 15" MacBook Pro, and it's heavy to carry to work every day. I also need a lot more disk space. If Apple allow upgrading the iMac Pro with a 3.5" 12TB hard drive, I'd be interested. The new MacBook Pros aren't suitable for my needs because they don't have ports. I need more storage, but can't upgrade my laptop. I don't want to go down to a 2012…

> So, how am I going to store the Big Data for machine learning on my office computer, while also having a nice screen?

This would be the choice, but I'd hesitate to buy one with the new Mac Pro coming. I hate the idea of attaching a screen to the computer unless absolutely necesary, especially a nice screen.

Re: iMac Pro

#80
I will be blunt, all I have seen since day one is a photoshop exercise with a pretty web page in an attempt to save face after some influential sites starting bashing Apple for letting the previous model languish for three years.

Has there ever been a test system that was allowed to be used by a third party? Considering how far they pushed off "release" it all smacked of "cya".

with regards to the design, AIO. There are still many rumors of a new iMac chassis for the next iteration so why would the Mac Pro not debut the new chassis but instead soldier on with the old chassis?

I take no issue with a line of iMac Pro work stations but a stand alone tower is still a requirement in a Pro line. Even with Thunderbolt supporting high speed external devices the one element I really don't want baked in is my screen

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