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New Mac Pro - meet new toaster with exorbitant price
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    Starting price is $5,999 for:

    • Cheap DDR4 32GB of memory
    • Only octa-core Intel Xeon CPU
    • Cheap Radeon Pro 580X 8GB graphics
    • 256GB SSD
    • Total specs typical for around $800-999 PC

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  • 33 Replies sorted by
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  • Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha thriiiilllllerrrr ^^

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    Also Macbook Air with handles and in three colours!

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  • @4CardsMan

    OK, lets make standard ATX system that similar, but more powerful and really upgradable

    • $199 GIGABYTE Radeon RX 580 DirectX 12 GV-RX580GAMING-8GD 8GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0
    • $170 32GB DDR4 - 2x GeIL SUPER LUCE RGB SYNC AMD Edition 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) Desktop
    • $499 AMD 1st Gen RYZEN Threadripper 1950X 16-Core / 32 Threads 3.4 GHz Socket sTR4 180W YD195XA8AEWOF Desktop
    • $145 Thermaltake Core X71 Tempered Glass Edition
    • $139 EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 PQ, 80+ PLATINUM 1000W, Modular, EVGA ECO Mode, 10 Year Warranty, Power Supply
    • $80 4xPhanteks PH-F200SP_BK 200mm Case Fan
    • $90 be quiet! Dark Rock Pro TR4
    • $159 SAMSUNG 970 PRO M.2 2280 512GB PCIe Gen3. X4, NVMe 1.3 64L V-NAND 2-bit MLC Internal
    • $349 ASRock Fatal1ty X399 Professional Gaming

    Total - $1830, can add pair of cheaper 1TB NVMe SSDs to make it $2000.

    All prices US, Newegg or B&H.

    Such system will be whisper quiet, extremely upgradable (up to 420+420+360 radiators), can add second PSU, MB really bear 4x GPUs. Does not have Thundebolt by default (can add PCIe card if you so like), but has USB 3.1 Gen 2 and 10Bit network (+2 other network cards).

  • A proper comparison would be with a Xeon processor and ECC RAM. Something from HP Z8 would be a better comparison.

  • @retrospective

    Why Xeon? It is most performance/cost inefficient option.

    For price slightly more than of cheapest shitty Mac Pro you can make pair of top 16-core AMD systems in Thermaltake Core W200 CA interconnected by Infiniband. Later just upgrade to pair of 32 (current) or 64 (next gen) core CPUs, all else will remain.

    If you so like can install ECC RAM in TR4 board, it is supported.

    If you are not in corporation (or big editing team) or running server 24/7 I see no point in EEC memory.

  • I agree with the fact that Xeon is overpriced and not many apps can fully take advantage of it. However it’s a more honest comparison if you’re doing a proper comparison with the Mac Pro. HP Z8 would be a valid comparison since it’s using Xeon, ECC and meant to be a turn key solution without having to build one yourself.

  • @retrospective

    My whole point is to NEVER get turn key solutions for such thing, at least if you are small firm / individual.

    Honest comparison is if you get better or same performance. All else does not matter.

    HP, Dell, Intel - all of them live and prosper from such "turn key" things.

  • @vitaliy ok then make it clear rather than comparing a turn key solution to a DIY. It’s like the go to “message” of anyone trying to disprove Apple. You can make the same argument against HP. Honest comparison is turn key to turn key. What you’re implying is an alternative solution with different brand/model.

  • @retrospective

    Honest comparison is turn key to turn key. What you’re implying is an alternative solution with different brand/model.

    Well, I have no words. Something tells me that around 99% of video editing individual guys/small firms do not have free $2500 (actually more!) to get it "turn key" instead of spending 2-3 hours assembling it.

    $5999 MacBook gets you exactly:

    • 3.5Ghz octa-core Xeon W
    • 32 GB RAM
    • AMD Radeon Pro 580X
    • USB 3.0 (x2), Thunderbolt 3 (x4), Gigabit Ethernet (x2), 3.5mm headphone jack
    • 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0
    • 20.8 x 8.58 x 17.7 inches (52.9 x 21.8 x 45 cm) case
    • 18 kg

    Now, let's just make similar priced not turn-key config for $6350

    • 2x GIGABYTE Radeon RX 580 DirectX 12 GV-RX580GAMING-8GD 8GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0
    • 2x 32GB DDR4 - 2x GeIL SUPER LUCE RGB SYNC AMD Edition 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) Desktop
    • 2x AMD RYZEN Threadripper 2990W 32-Core / 64 Threads Socket sTR4
    • Thermaltake Core W200 CA
    • 2x EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 PQ, 80+ PLATINUM 1000W
    • 8 x Phanteks PH-140MP fans
    • 2x be quiet! Dark Rock Pro TR4
    • 2x SAMSUNG 970 PRO M.2 2280 512GB PCIe Gen3. X4, NVMe 1.3 64L V-NAND 2-bit MLC Internal
    • 4x 1TB Netac NVMe SSD
    • 2x Mellanox Infiniband PCIe cards + interconnect
    • 2x ASRock Fatal1ty X399 Professional Gaming MBs

    Such system is heavy GPU bound, If you ask me, proper GPUs for such system are pair of Radeon VII.

    Also I must add that NLE products are changing fast and big core CPUs become faster with each upgrade, and low core Xeons will suck fast.

  • You know what? It sounds to me that the new Mac Pro is not for the freelancer or the dude who shoots and edits his videos part time. They don’t have to buy it. It’s probably geared towards post houses and people who’s got the $ and can’t build their own PCs. There’s no point of complaining since it’s not for you :)

  • @retrospective

    You mean that guy who edit H264 video part time will be making $6000 PC? Really?

    Industry pros I asked have exactly same perception, Apple no longer interested in professionals, they can't compete in extremely competitive PC space, so they made something that will sell in small amounts to few niches.

  • Uh read what I wrote :)

    It’s meant as a workstation so what’s so complicated about it? Price up a similar spec HP or Dell workstation. See the price and tell me. Do we agree?

    Yeah for the majority of one man band company this is probably not the computer for us price wise. Do we agree? :)

  • Price up a similar spec HP or Dell workstation. See the price and tell me. Do we agree?

    You'll be surprised that sales of such workstations are not good. Around 90% are being sold to big corporations or studios only. And even for them it is tought sell.

    Yeah for the majority of one man band company this is probably not the computer for us price wise. Do we agree? :)

    Performance and price wise it is not computer to look for, and it is true for 99% of companies and individuals.

    You'll be pretty surprised on how real companies in news and media works even in US. This guys do not throw huge money just for the sake of Apple fun.

  • A computer like this, where the base model isn't why anyone is buying it and pricey to start with, and the insane models are insanely pricey, is never going to sell non-Apple people on Apple. For my part I love that there are now options all over the range and all the 'Apple doesn't care about pros' folks now get something they can complain is too professional, haha.

  • @kellar42

    Talked with my source in Apple and while he is not related to Mac Pro team it is quite common rumor that all of this had been pushed by top management and design team. All lead managers of Mac hardware team opposed the design, especially only 3 fans (that go into insane speeds with powerful GPUs due to such poor design) and designers front grill that still is 40% more air restrictive compared to simple approaches. Idea of proprietary GPU modules is also very bad. Real hardware team insisted on total water cooling and much larger case. But had no power to do it proper way.

    All, 100% of latest Apple designs are horrible from thermal standpoint because all of them are made by designers, and engineers are only given orders to make stuff to work somehow in the given design.

  • @Firworks

    I am extremely disappointed in few last months of Max videos as he is now only after money, hype and clicks, focusing on Apple, Rode (video arranged by their marketing department across all major bloggers) and such.

  • @vitaliy_kiselev Regardless of his conclusion I think it has a pretty decent look at some of the modules and add-in cards that I didn't see covered well elsewhere.

    Does it seem like this computer is built for some fictional mega-rich researcher rather than the normal creatives who have been trained and ingrained to always consume newest apple product for making videos. Why did they even create a tower that can support a 28C Xeon, 1.5TB (theoretically in the future) of RAM, and 2 x Vega II with 128GB of VRAM? Who is that system for? It's not for a video editor editing 8K RAW. You can do that on a much much lower spec'd system. What current creative workflow besides large data set compute would need 128GB of VRAM or 56 low-speed threads?

  • @Firworks

    They did that they did because designers and managers are running company. And they also know they can't compete in modular ATX PC space, no way, as their minimal acceptable margins are usually 2-5 times higher than even mostly promoted gamers hardware (and this is made for total imbeciles usually!).

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    Real Apple engineers idea had been similar as above (just without shiny RGBs). Integrated distributor with pump, up to 4 GPUs and for 2 CPUs.

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  • Apple has a long history of focusing on design, often at the expense of engineering or other considerations. In the early days, there lots of issues with the Apple III which many attributed to overheating (it did not use a fan or air vents at Steve Jobs insistence).

    And then there's this great story from the development of the original Macintosh when Steve Jobs requested the circuit board layout of some of the early prototypes be changed since it was not aesthetically pleasing. That's the aesthetics of a circuit board, that no one would ever see, inside of the case. Suffice it to say the changes didn't go so well: https://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?story=PC_Board_Esthetics.txt

    This kind of thing is nothing new for Apple, it's pretty much how they roll.