Ivy Bridge is a go. Officially.

[Walter Soyka]

[Chris Kenny] “It’s an invalid analogy. I’m not arguing demand for CPU performance will hit a wall and nobody will ever want any more. I’m arguing that at some point single CPU systems will serve the Mac Pro’s current demographic well enough that for most of us (nearly all of us) dual CPU machines will no longer pass a cost/benefit analysis. (The same way most of us probably wouldn’t buy a quad CPU Mac Pro today if Apple had one available at, say, $15K.)”

You’re saying there’s no need for growth of serious computational power on the Mac platform, because the users don’t want it or need it — which is fundamentally the same small thinking exemplified by what Bill Gates (never) said about memory layout on the PC platform.

You also ignored the second half of my post entirely, where I talked about how Apple’s reticence to update their workstations and offer more compelling configurations is scaring away prospective customers for future high-performance Mac Pros.

With Thunderbolt here, anyone who only needed throughput from their workstation can probably be happy with an iMac. If you’re a straight-up video editor, you don’t need a Mac Pro anymore, full stop. But AE? C4D? Nuke? Maya? These apps all scale with available power, and Apple is practically discouraging their use on the Mac platform.

I’m arguing that there is a market for this power on the desktop, that the absolute number of workstation customers is growing, and that Apple could be in it if they chose to be. Instead, they’re creating FUD about themselves and actually inviting their current Mac Pro customers to check out HP’s Z-series, the ProMax One, and whatever Dell has coming out next.

I agree with a lot of what you’re saying. You’re explaining Apple’s behavior, and why it’s best for Apple. I get it, and you’re right.

The thing is — beyond our 401Ks and stock portfolios, nobody here really cares what’s best for Apple unless it also coincides with what’s best for us.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[Chris Kenny]

[Walter Soyka] “You’re saying there’s no need for growth of serious computational power on the Mac platform, because the users don’t want it or need it — which is fundamentally the same small thinking exemplified by what Bill Gates (never) said about memory layout on the PC platform. “

“Growth of serious computational power” doesn’t require dual-socket towers. Dual-socket is, at best, a way to get twice the performance — which you’d get with a single-socket machine ~24 months later anyway. It puts you a generation ahead at considerable extra cost (not in Apple’s tower lineup, because their single-socket model isn’t very attractively priced, but in general), but it’s not like single-socket machines aren’t also getting faster.

Basically, I’m not arguing that there won’t be future applications that want 10, 100 or 1000 times as much CPU power as today’s apps, which is the implication of the other quotes you mention. I think there will be such apps, sooner or later. But as mainstream hardware gets faster, the benefits of spending lots of extra money for higher-performance marginally mainstream hardware (like the Mac Pro) recede. And eventually that marginally mainstream hardware is no longer mainstream at all. Apple makes mainstream hardware. When the Mac Pro crosses this line, Apple will stop making it.

—
Digital Workflow/Colorist, Nice Dissolve.

You should follow me on Twitter here. Or read our blog.

[Walter Soyka]

[Chris Kenny] “Basically, I’m not arguing that there won’t be future applications that want 10, 100 or 1000 times as much CPU power as today’s apps, which is the implication of the other quotes you mention. I think there will be such apps, sooner or later. But as mainstream hardware gets faster, the benefits of spending lots of extra money for higher-performance marginally mainstream hardware (like the Mac Pro) recede. And eventually that marginally mainstream hardware is no longer mainstream at all. Apple makes mainstream hardware. When the Mac Pro crosses this line, Apple will stop making it.”

Chris, I agree with you that cheaper computers are becoming increasingly powerful. It has been ever thus.

My point in bringing up those quotes was that it’s alarming when a computer manufacturer that ostensibly supplies professionals stops pushing the envelope. Expectations rise at the same rate as capabilities. There are not just future apps that will someday need this power; there’s a whole class of current creative apps that are limited by today’s CPU constraints.

Really, you have no argument here from me and I apologize for starting one. Apple will most likely not feel the need to have a dual-socket workstation, though other computer manufacturers interested in niche markets will.

I think you are explaining Apple’s motivations and likely future direction very well, and I think that many of us who have benefited from a mainstream company like Apple dabbling in our niche have to decide if we’ll be better off moving toward the mainstream or further into our niches.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events