Live data from Hacker News

Apple Teases Upcoming Space Gray iMac Pro, "the most powerful Mac ever"

9to5mac.com

171–180 of 301 posts

Re: Apple Teases Upcoming Space Gray iMac Pro, "the most powerful Mac ever"

#171

Gonna leave this here from the official press release as it seems quite a few people have missed this point: "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." https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2017/06/imac-pro-most-powerfu... Also…

I get that they want a common design language and to simplify supply chain/manufacturing, but why take those compromised butterfly switches and make a desktop keyboard out of them? The previous scissor switch keys were OK. A big improvement over their previous garbage membrane keyboards in fact. But the new keys are really a necessary evil to make thinner laptops - why hamper the desktop experience with them? On the…

I wish apple would rerelease their old ALPS SKCM keyboards. They were amazing. I really do not like the butterfly switches. https://deskthority.net/wiki/Alps_SKCM_Salmon

Re: Apple Teases Upcoming Space Gray iMac Pro, "the most powerful Mac ever"

#172
post #4

I'm watching this iMac announcement and .. hm, I still find it underwhelming. The top-spec'd iMac will be less powerful (when it comes to CPU) in Jan/2018 than my current desktop I bought in mid-2015. We'll see the actual pricing though. I don't think that forcing high-perf components into a small desktop chassis makes a lot of sense, but it might me only me.

I think there a VERY small subset for users that need anything that the current line of iMac can't deliver. At my previous employer I had a 2012 iMac as a developer workstation. It would still be more than sufficient today. Even my 2011 MacBook Air would still be fine, if it wasn't for me wanting a better screen and more than 128GB of storage.

People buy Macs for the operating system, not the hardware. The hardware has been sufficient for at least five years in a row, for all but a very small subset of consumers.

I would agree with you that the Mac isn't a particular cost efficient way of getting high performance hardware, it's just that I don't think that matter any more. Windows is still a bastard operating system and Linux is not nearly as polished as MacOS. Personally I'm not sure that I'll necessarily get a Mac next time, but there's also not a whole lot of other options out there. Maybe I'll built an OpenBSD box, at least that OS is consistent.

Re: Apple Teases Upcoming Space Gray iMac Pro, "the most powerful Mac ever"

#173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You do realise Xeons are a completely different range with different price points right?

for all we know at this point the new intel lines are rebranded xeons (plus a few consumer features), the hastily put together response to AMD seems to suggest this.

relevant for people who don't know: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWFzWRoVNnE

the funnier version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xah84cJwdxE

http://i.imgur.com/EZ6LyI1.png

http://i.imgur.com/tbwNbdh.png

EDIT: by mistake I originally linked this video I had in my clipboard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5scez5dqtAc

Re: Apple Teases Upcoming Space Gray iMac Pro, "the most powerful Mac ever"

#174

Gonna leave this here from the official press release as it seems quite a few people have missed this point: "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." https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2017/06/imac-pro-most-powerfu... Also…

I get that they want a common design language and to simplify supply chain/manufacturing, but why take those compromised butterfly switches and make a desktop keyboard out of them? The previous scissor switch keys were OK. A big improvement over their previous garbage membrane keyboards in fact. But the new keys are really a necessary evil to make thinner laptops - why hamper the desktop experience with them? On the…

Why would Apple make a "mechanical" keyboard when there's already multiple vendors like Matias (http://matias.ca/tactilepro/) that make several models of that exact thing?

Personally I think the new keyboards are really good, there's a lot less travel on each key which makes typing more efficient. Going back to an old keyboard with full travel feels like hammering on a typewriter.

Re: Apple Teases Upcoming Space Gray iMac Pro, "the most powerful Mac ever"

#175
post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is just confusing. There will be a modular Mac Pro that is totally different from this iMac Pro? That leaves me to wonder who exactly this iMac Pro is targeted at.

Next year's Mac Pro is up to 18 months away, they made this because that's a long time to leave developer communities discussing Windows and Linux alternatives.

But you still have to wait 6 months to get an iMac Pro.

Releasing the iMac Pro in December 2017 may as well be considered a 2018 release.

Re: Apple Teases Upcoming Space Gray iMac Pro, "the most powerful Mac ever"

#177
post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It sounds like the target audience for the new Mac Pro will be people who can afford to spend $10k on a quad-CPU machine. I'm sure those people will be happy. But what I want is an upgradable / self-servicable machine that costs under $3k. I hope Apple isn't about to miss the plot again .

> But what I want is an upgradable / self-servicable machine that costs under $3k. Yeah that's never going to happen. The Pro iMac starts at $5k. When the Mac Pro does come out it will at least start at that as well, if not higher.

It's not clear if it'll start at $5K. The iMac Pro is a top-tier offering that goes beyond what the already expensive 27" iMac does, and it comes with a screen built-in. The Mac Pro today starts at $3K, so you'll probably see something at the same mark when it does get launched.

Re: Apple Teases Upcoming Space Gray iMac Pro, "the most powerful Mac ever"

#178
post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is just confusing. There will be a modular Mac Pro that is totally different from this iMac Pro? That leaves me to wonder who exactly this iMac Pro is targeted at.

I'm sure there are still professionals who would prefer pre-packaged solutions. Sure, many prefer being able to continually upgrade and add to their setups as well. Just a different kind of sub-market, I think.

The iMac pro will fit in a big pelican case and be good for on-site video workloads. this is a real need, and probably accounts for a lot of the mac pro trashcan use now.

Re: Apple Teases Upcoming Space Gray iMac Pro, "the most powerful Mac ever"

#179
post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It sounds like the target audience for the new Mac Pro will be people who can afford to spend $10k on a quad-CPU machine. I'm sure those people will be happy. But what I want is an upgradable / self-servicable machine that costs under $3k. I hope Apple isn't about to miss the plot again .

> But what I want is an upgradable / self-servicable machine that costs under $3k. Yeah that's never going to happen. The Pro iMac starts at $5k. When the Mac Pro does come out it will at least start at that as well, if not higher.

What makes you think that? A large part of the cost of the iMac is the screen & design. I would expect an entry level new Mac Pro to cost exactly the same or less than every other Mac Pro, so around 3K.

Re: Apple Teases Upcoming Space Gray iMac Pro, "the most powerful Mac ever"

#180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure why people are burying you, because that's 100% accurate. 8 core for $600. 10 core for $1k, 18 core for $2k. With 12, 14, and 16 core increments available in-between. https://www.pcper.com/reviews/Processors/Intel-Core-i9-Annou...

Because it's Xeons which is a different line.

No, they are not. All extreme edition CPU's from Intel are cut down Xeons with deactivated features (like ECC support), and the need to buy hardware dongles to make RAID 5 and RAID 10 work.

EDIT: read the children posts. I mistakenly read "chip" instead of "line". Of course Xeons are a different line compared to Intels extreme line. The above about the extreme series CPU's being cut down Xeons is still true but in this context wrong and irrelevant.

Post reply on HN