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Mac Pro – Thoughts? Winner or Loser?
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[Walter Soyka] “I just can’t help but feel today that Apple’s new Mac Pro design defines both what it is and what it isn’t.”
As an interesting thought, I wonder how the Tube will differentiate itself against future iMacs. For now of course you have the 12 core Xeon, double GPU, Tblt 2 and high speed SSD boot, and an unknown amount of memory. I would imagine that the next iMac update will feature Tblt 2 (though not as many), an SSD boot disk of similar speed, still a single GPU and quad core i7 processor maxing out at 32 gigs of ram. It will be interesting to see what the price differential will be and if there is enough performance difference to make the Tube a succes.
Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
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nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf -
[Herb Sevush] “As an interesting thought, I wonder how the Tube will differentiate itself against future iMacs. For now of course you have the 12 core Xeon, double GPU, Tblt 2 and high speed SSD boot, and an unknown amount of memory. I would imagine that the next iMac update will feature Tblt 2 (though not as many), an SSD boot disk of similar speed, still a single GPU and quad core i7 processor maxing out at 32 gigs of ram.”
I imagine the lines we see today will continue. More CPU/GPU/RAM/ports for the Tube, lower price point for the iMac.
[Herb Sevush] “It will be interesting to see what the price differential will be and if there is enough performance difference to make the Tube a succes.”
Apple has to re-sell the Mac Pro to professionals. In the last couple years, pros have discovered that an iMac suits 90% (or more) of their needs at 50% (or less) of the price than a workstation.
The 12-core Tube with dual 6GB GPUs, 1 TB of flash storage, and 64 GB of ECC RAM that would blow an iMac out of the water will not come cheap. Lower-priced and lower-powered configuration options will not look as awesome next to the iMac and may not be worth a presumed price premium.
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 -
[Walter Soyka] “The 12-core Tube with dual 6GB GPUs, 1 TB of flash storage, and 64 GB of ECC RAM that would blow an iMac out of the water will not come cheap. Lower-priced and lower-powered configuration options will not look as awesome next to the iMac and may not be worth a presumed price premium.”
The big question – will an entry level Tube -say 6 cores, with a 500 Gig flash drive and a pair of less powerful GPUs be worth a possible 2K premium ove the iMac – especially as the iMac itself is upgraded?
As you and others have pointed out for most editors the iMac is enough – it’s for compositing and FX work that a workstation becomes imperative – and it is this niche-within-a-niche market that is being split by the Tube’s limitations.
The pricing of the Tube is going to be extremely interesting.
Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
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nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf -
[Herb Sevush] “The pricing of the Tube is going to be extremely interesting.”
In your opinion, where does it need to be?
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[Jeremy Garchow] “In your opinion, where does it need to be?”
For the maxed out version about 6-7K.
The specs of the entry level Tube will be interesting – as long as it’s a double GPU, at least 6 cores and 32 Gigs of ram it would be a good deal at 4K, which isn’t much more than a maxed out iMac.Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
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nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf -
Pricing history on Mac Pros suggests that the pricing will be pretty close to what it has been. G4s to G5s to intel were all around the same pricing when the next gen machines were introduced as I recall. They could change this behavior, but I don’t think they will.
This machine will make FCP X really sing I’ll wager, and run anything you can throw at it for at least it’s logical lifetime expectancy. It’s about a 4 year lifespan to run current Pro Apps well from all the majors seems like. Then along comes a new wiz bang software you need more power for…
This Mac is about the same size as the original Macintosh. Bit faster eh?
Jerry
Apple Certified Trainer, Producer, Writer, Director Editor, Gun for Hire and other things. I ski. My Blog: https://blogs.creativecow.net/Jerry-Hofmann
Current DVD:
https://store.creativecow.net/p/81/jerry_hofmanns_final_cut_system_setup8-Core 3.0 Intel Mac Pro, Dual 2 gig G5, AJA Kona SD, AJA Kona 2, Huge Systems Array UL3D, AJA Io HD, 17″ MBP, Matrox MXO2 with MAX – Cinema Displays I have a 22″ that I paid 4k for still working. G4 with Kona SD card, and SCSI card.
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[Walter Soyka] “Maybe people will be willing to sacrifice a CPU socket for Mac OS or a lovely object on their desk”
If only it were made of lucite. The tube is the new cube. And it has the roundest corners ever conceived, at last in anything not designed to perk coffee or filter air.
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[Herb Sevush] “The pricing of the Tube is going to be extremely interesting.”
[Jeremy Garchow] “In your opinion, where does it need to be?”
This is a tricky proposition. Low-end workstation-class gear costs more than high-end desktop-class gear, yet it doesn’t perform as well — which is why the Mac vs. PC conversations here end up devolving into a “build your own PC with a 6-core i7 and a GTX whatever and it’ll rock.”
I’ll be curious to see if Apple puts the brakes on iMac performance (maybe continuing to avoid the top of the i7 line) to help differentiate the single-socket Mac Pro tube.
I think their big problem is that over the last couple years, Apple has trained some of their most loyal customers — people who used to buy $5000-6000 Mac Pros without question — to buy a $2000-3000 iMac instead. Will these customers be willing to pay for that kind of performance again, or have they permanently shrunk the pool of Mac Pro buyers?
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 -
[Walter Soyka] “I think their big problem is that over the last couple years, Apple has trained some of their most loyal customers — people who used to buy $5000-6000 Mac Pros without question — to buy a $2000-3000 iMac instead. Will these customers be willing to pay for that kind of performance again, or have they permanently shrunk the pool of Mac Pro buyers?”
Doesn’t matter, bought Mac. 🙂
Clearly, Apple sees a potential market for this.
They sneak peeked it, something they don’t do, Phil Schiller had a fairly vulnerable middle finger moment, it’s full of unreleased technology, and whether you like it or not, it’s in an impressively dense package.
I’m pretty sure Apple has an idea of who is going to buy these, and they will write software to take advantage of it.
They’ve done it before, they’ll do it again.
And if they have lost a few MacPro customers along the way, they gained a few iMac customers along the way, or rMBP customers.
They don’t care as long as you’re buying Mac.
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[Jeremy Garchow] “Clearly, Apple sees a potential market for this… And if they have lost a few MacPro customers along the way, they gained a few iMac customers along the way, or rMBP customers. They don’t care as long as you’re buying Mac.”
Agreed. I think that I phrased it exceptionally poorly with the words “big problem,” because it’s not a big problem at all.
[Jeremy Garchow] “I’m pretty sure Apple has an idea of who is going to buy these, and they will write software to take advantage of it.”
Let me try another way — who do you think will buy this? What market needs more than an iMac but less than a sizzle-core HP Z-series, and would be willing to pay double the price of an iMac to get it?
Since the Internet obfuscates meaning, when I say “who do you think will buy this,” I am not trying to argue that no one will buy this. I’m actually just asking who you think will buy this.
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
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