Apple Updates The Mac Pro • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple Updates The Mac Pro

#91

Post by wtallis » Mon, Jun 10, 2013, 7:07 PM UTC

bhauer wrote: post #66

oofabz wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Haswell Xeon E3 series is quad core, single-socket. It uses the same die as desktop Haswell CPUs. The Mac Pro is six core, double-socket, so it must be a "-E". Based on the availability date (later this year), it must be Ivy Bridge-E. Intel will almost certainly call it an E5.

Thanks. That was my vague suspicion--that the 12-core option would be an E5. Presumably the specs they announced are the top-end specs. Perhaps the lower tiers would use E3s.

They're advertising quad-channel DDR3-1866. That entirely rules out the desktop-class processors, which have never been used in a Mac Pro anyways. The Xeon E3 and E5 lines use completely different die configurations and motherboard sockets, and the E3s don't have enough PCIe lanes to feed all the peripheral connectivity the new Mac Pro will have.

Re: Apple Updates The Mac Pro

#92

Post by jfb » Mon, Jun 10, 2013, 7:08 PM UTC

gtaylor wrote: post #86

jfb wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is certainly true; but I wonder for how much longer it will be -- it doesn't seem that economics really favor the build it yourself model nearly as much as they used to.

I guess I haven't ran into this. I've been able to re-use some of my components through different incarnations of this desktop, and it's saved me a ton of money. For example, I don't need to upgrade my entire desktop to upgrade my video card. I can toss something nasty in there, and even if my motherboard doesn't support the latest and greatest PCIe spec, my next one will. Ditto for SATA. I've got a ton of mileage ou…

It is very nice; the model of 'everything is soldered down' is really annoying wherever you find it (my BMW, my Mac, &c.) But I think that the difference in cost between standard expandable hardware and custom stuff is shrinking really rapidly, meaning that designers can now do more things with e.g. thermals or layout that are not feasible using PC style standard hardware.

The age of swapping out parts is coming to a close, I fear.

Re: Apple Updates The Mac Pro

#93

Post by jawilson2 » Mon, Jun 10, 2013, 7:08 PM UTC

bvdbijl wrote: post #43

mosqutip wrote: post #21

"Can't innovate anymore, my ass". Uh... what exactly is being "innovated" here?

Please show me a device that's comparable to the new Mac Pro... So much performance in this small of a form factor is pretty innovative

For the Pro market, expansion and user customization far outweigh form-factor. I have a 2000 sq ft lab space and 500 sq ft office, what do I care about the form factor of the Pro if I can't throw in my stock NVIDIA GPUs and any arbitrary hard drive?

Re: Apple Updates The Mac Pro

#94

Post by xabi » Mon, Jun 10, 2013, 7:15 PM UTC

jfb wrote: post #27

The case reminds me of old SGI hardware; I'm glad to see that it's not just another box full of cards.

Braun KF 20

http://goo.gl/fNfU8

Re: Apple Updates The Mac Pro

#95

Post by jseliger » Mon, Jun 10, 2013, 7:16 PM UTC

rbritton wrote: post #62

masklinn wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They said it's all external via TB2 (they put in 3 TB2 controllers driving 6 ports)

So cords everywhere then. I do a lot of photo editing an have close to 10 TB storage internal (I repurposed the optical drive bays). I can keep all of my working files internally and only have external drives for archiving and backup and aren't connected all of the time.

So cords everywhere then

Sounds like marketing gold for Drobo and Drobo-style solutions.

Re: Apple Updates The Mac Pro

#96

Post by Osmium » Mon, Jun 10, 2013, 7:18 PM UTC

mosqutip wrote: post #21

"Can't innovate anymore, my ass". Uh... what exactly is being "innovated" here?

In fairness, check out the "Thermal Core" section on this page:

http://www.apple.com/mac-pro/

It's a pretty sweet design. Huge central fan in the middle of the column, and three big aluminium plates to conduct heat away and into it.

Re: Apple Updates The Mac Pro

#97

Post by gte910h » Mon, Jun 10, 2013, 7:21 PM UTC

gtaylor wrote: post #83

foxhill wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i do a lot of audio recording. having a machine that is near silent even at full load is incredibly useful.

It's OK if you didn't want to, but you can build something cheaper and even more quiet than this new Mac Pro yourself. There are some excellent cases and cooling systems, and you can choose your components with your needs in mind. With these Mac Pros, I don't think people who buy them are necessarily concerned about specs or cost-effectiveness. I think they are enthusiasts that need Mac OS, and find the Macbook Pro o…

A person can build something cheaper and more quiet. That is not necessarily the person you are talking to though. Many people don't have that skill set, but say, work in music.

They're premium computers that aren't the highest end specs, but have a pretty good set of specs for the size and noise especially and can be serviced quickly at apple stores across the country pretty easily.

Re: Apple Updates The Mac Pro

#98

Post by ttrreeww » Mon, Jun 10, 2013, 7:22 PM UTC

petercooper wrote: post #88

ttrreeww wrote: post #5

Looks like a trash can.

And the old one looked like a cheese grater (to many complaining at the time).

I hope it's quite or fanless. Looks like it's a giant heatsink design.

Re: Apple Updates The Mac Pro

#99

Post by jfb » Mon, Jun 10, 2013, 7:24 PM UTC

gtaylor wrote: post #83

foxhill wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i do a lot of audio recording. having a machine that is near silent even at full load is incredibly useful.

It's OK if you didn't want to, but you can build something cheaper and even more quiet than this new Mac Pro yourself. There are some excellent cases and cooling systems, and you can choose your components with your needs in mind. With these Mac Pros, I don't think people who buy them are necessarily concerned about specs or cost-effectiveness. I think they are enthusiasts that need Mac OS, and find the Macbook Pro o…

Also, people like myself who would use this for work, and could build one, but just don't want to.

Re: Apple Updates The Mac Pro

#100

Post by gte910h » Mon, Jun 10, 2013, 7:24 PM UTC

jfb wrote: post #92

gtaylor wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess I haven't ran into this. I've been able to re-use some of my components through different incarnations of this desktop, and it's saved me a ton of money. For example, I don't need to upgrade my entire desktop to upgrade my video card. I can toss something nasty in there, and even if my motherboard doesn't support the latest and greatest PCIe spec, my next one will. Ditto for SATA. I've got a ton of mileage ou…

It is very nice; the model of 'everything is soldered down' is really annoying wherever you find it (my BMW, my Mac, &c.) But I think that the difference in cost between standard expandable hardware and custom stuff is shrinking really rapidly, meaning that designers can now do more things with e.g. thermals or layout that are not feasible using PC style standard hardware. The age of swapping out parts is coming to a…

Yeah, internal interchangeability without a soldering iron is coming at a real cost these days.

External buses are faster than ever though, so many things go quite quickly through those for expansion capability.