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Mac Pro quietly gets first update since 2010
#3
highplnsdrifter 
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Posted 11 June 2012 - 12:34 PM
How strange is this? It doesn't make a lick of sense!
#4
iandoubleyou
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Posted 11 June 2012 - 12:36 PM
Smart not to announce at keynote - would have been laughed off the stage. This is not an update - no thunderbolt, no USB3 - just old technology reconfigured. Shame to see the Pro so completely neglected
#6
jedi228
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Posted 11 June 2012 - 12:42 PM
This is a very weird update. It seems like perhaps they planned something that wasn't ready or perhaps they had last minute cold feet and are thinking about killing the Mac Pro. Maybe there is a battle inside Apple.
#7
stimarco
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Posted 11 June 2012 - 12:42 PM
Thunderbolt is basically just a PCI-bus-on-a-string, so it shouldn't take too long for Thunderbolt PCI expansion cards to appear. USB 3 cards already exist.
The whole point of buying a Mac Pro is that you can add expansion cards to it, so not including one as standard isn't a problem. If you need Thunderbolt or USB 3, buy a suitable PCI card. If you don't, you won't end up paying for a port you'll never use, so it's a win-win.
Furthermore, if it's storage and speed you're after, the Mac Pro already has four internal SATA bays, and you can also buy PCI-based SSDs which put even SATA SSDs in the shade. SANs are arguably of greater importance to most Mac Pro users than Thunderbolt in any case: Thunderbolt isn't networkable, so you need to look into SANs, Fibre Channel and 10GbE infrastructure for that kind of workflow. That's the level Mac Pros are aimed at, so forcing people to buy the relatively new, and still rather expensive, Thunderbolt port when most may never use it is silly. It's an expandable tower form-factor for a reason.
The whole point of buying a Mac Pro is that you can add expansion cards to it, so not including one as standard isn't a problem. If you need Thunderbolt or USB 3, buy a suitable PCI card. If you don't, you won't end up paying for a port you'll never use, so it's a win-win.
Furthermore, if it's storage and speed you're after, the Mac Pro already has four internal SATA bays, and you can also buy PCI-based SSDs which put even SATA SSDs in the shade. SANs are arguably of greater importance to most Mac Pro users than Thunderbolt in any case: Thunderbolt isn't networkable, so you need to look into SANs, Fibre Channel and 10GbE infrastructure for that kind of workflow. That's the level Mac Pros are aimed at, so forcing people to buy the relatively new, and still rather expensive, Thunderbolt port when most may never use it is silly. It's an expandable tower form-factor for a reason.
#8
wessew10
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Posted 11 June 2012 - 12:44 PM
No one in their right mind would buy one. It is dated, old technology at a premium price. Sad. Apple knows how to implement new technology. And they are not resource constrained in terms of funds or margins. Why bother....
#9
cseeman
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Posted 11 June 2012 - 12:45 PM
It's not an update, it's a consolidation due to declining sales.
It' looks they didn't even update the Xeon to Sandy Bridge.
t's now just listed as Xeon.
No Thunderbolt (which would be a serious design challenge but we hoped)
No USB3
No 6GBs SATA
No PCIe 3
Why are they keeping it alive except as a placeholder for a product not yet ready?
It' looks they didn't even update the Xeon to Sandy Bridge.
t's now just listed as Xeon.
No Thunderbolt (which would be a serious design challenge but we hoped)
No USB3
No 6GBs SATA
No PCIe 3
Why are they keeping it alive except as a placeholder for a product not yet ready?
#10
4dmaze
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Posted 11 June 2012 - 12:46 PM
On top of it all isn't this 'new' processor several years old? I guess since no one will be buying these, Apple can justify dropping them from the line. So sad, the MacPro was an incredible machine for 3D work. Probably still isn't as fast as an iMac.
http://www.cpubenchm...565+%40+3.20GHz
http://www.cpubenchm...565+%40+3.20GHz
#11
cseeman
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Posted 11 June 2012 - 12:48 PM
stimarco, on 11 June 2012 - 12:42 PM, said:
Thunderbolt is basically just a PCI-bus-on-a-string, so it shouldn't take too long for Thunderbolt PCI expansion cards to appear. USB 3 cards already exist.
Intel has already said Thunderbolt MUST be built on the motherboard. PCI card not possible.
This is also why there's a challenge with GPU, Thunderbolt and MacPro. GPU would have to be built in to the system as well like MacBook Pro or iMac since Thunderbolt carries GPU as well.
#12
roadwarrior
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Posted 11 June 2012 - 12:53 PM
Wow. I was really happy at first, when I read the headline. Then I read the article. What a joke.
If they're going to kill the Mac Pro, they should just do it already. Either they can replace it with an i7-based mini-tower with at least a couple of PCIe3.0 ports, USB3, and Thunderbolt...or they can let me know it's time to seriously consider switching to Windows for the first time in my life.
If they're going to kill the Mac Pro, they should just do it already. Either they can replace it with an i7-based mini-tower with at least a couple of PCIe3.0 ports, USB3, and Thunderbolt...or they can let me know it's time to seriously consider switching to Windows for the first time in my life.
#13
macandjacks
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Posted 11 June 2012 - 12:53 PM
stimarco, on 11 June 2012 - 12:42 PM, said:
Thunderbolt is basically just a PCI-bus-on-a-string, so it shouldn't take too long for Thunderbolt PCI expansion cards to appear. USB 3 cards already exist.
The whole point of buying a Mac Pro is that you can add expansion cards to it, so not including one as standard isn't a problem. If you need Thunderbolt or USB 3, buy a suitable PCI card. If you don't, you won't end up paying for a port you'll never use, so it's a win-win.
Furthermore, if it's storage and speed you're after, the Mac Pro already has four internal SATA bays, and you can also buy PCI-based SSDs which put even SATA SSDs in the shade. SANs are arguably of greater importance to most Mac Pro users than Thunderbolt in any case: Thunderbolt isn't networkable, so you need to look into SANs, Fibre Channel and 10GbE infrastructure for that kind of workflow. That's the level Mac Pros are aimed at, so forcing people to buy the relatively new, and still rather expensive, Thunderbolt port when most may never use it is silly. It's an expandable tower form-factor for a reason.
The whole point of buying a Mac Pro is that you can add expansion cards to it, so not including one as standard isn't a problem. If you need Thunderbolt or USB 3, buy a suitable PCI card. If you don't, you won't end up paying for a port you'll never use, so it's a win-win.
Furthermore, if it's storage and speed you're after, the Mac Pro already has four internal SATA bays, and you can also buy PCI-based SSDs which put even SATA SSDs in the shade. SANs are arguably of greater importance to most Mac Pro users than Thunderbolt in any case: Thunderbolt isn't networkable, so you need to look into SANs, Fibre Channel and 10GbE infrastructure for that kind of workflow. That's the level Mac Pros are aimed at, so forcing people to buy the relatively new, and still rather expensive, Thunderbolt port when most may never use it is silly. It's an expandable tower form-factor for a reason.
I don't find this to be a very defensible argument. Apple had over TWO YEARS to update components on the Pro, even as they were waiting for new architecture from Intel. This "new" Mac Pro lacks features now present on even a lowly $999 Air. There is no conceivable reason to omit USB3 from an update of this powerhouse machine. It almost seems like a slap in the face to those who have waited so long- and an unofficial endorsement of the Hackintosh community.
#14
tfrogh
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Posted 11 June 2012 - 12:56 PM
As the IT manager for my company, I have stopped buying them. In their day, they were great machines. We are slowing turning them all into Windows 7 machines for running some Windows only software we use. At that task, they are superb. Instead we are now buying iMacs and 17" laptops with i7 processors. They run just as fast and faster for $1,000-$2,500 less.
