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The new 2019 Mac Pro Announced! - Apple is back!

Also.. for 10k, you can probably have the 28 core Xeon-W, with lots of ram and storage and maybe a sample library on the side.

According to reports, the processor in the new top-of-the-line MP is the new Intel Xeon W-3275M (Cascade Lake)...MSRP $7453...which wouldn’t leave that much for ‘lots of ram and storage’ if your budget is $10k.

Personally, I think there’s a lot to like about the new MP, and it seems Apple actually listened to what pro users want (actual pro users that is, not prosumers who’re unfortunately left in the cold for now).

As someone working in audio post for a major broadcaster, the pros and cons are as follows:

Pros:
Most powerful workstation processor on the market
Lots of RAM
Video accelerator card
Plenty of PCIe slots (HDX6, yay!)
(Probably) a smart integration of TB via the MPX modules
Pro Display XDR seems amazing for editors/colorists. Getting 3 of these plus a BM Teranex Mini SDI to DisplayPort 8K will come in at a price similar to or less than *one* of our current broadcast monitors (even including the overpriced stand, lol), so if it can hold its own as a broadcast monitor it’s a no-brainer for the next upgrade cycle.

Cons:
Say what you will about the aesthetics of the new case, the inability to open it without disconnecting all cables is a major downside. Hoping the rack one is better in this regard.
Lack of internal drive bays/SATA connectors...might be somewhat mitigated by MPX modules that allows for internal storage (like the Promise RAID module already announced) but what if you went all-in on the graphics cards?
Only AMD/ATI options for graphics. Hopefully Apple will allow NVidia into the fold again.
Rumors of soldered SSDs. Please allow these to be upgraded with 3rd party parts.
 
An embarrassment of riches!
It wasn't that long ago that there was the 5k iMac, the dust bin or upgrades of my cheese grater.
Now I can get choosy!
Sure, the new MP isn't for my "pro-sumer" needs but I bet there's going to be a wait list for these puppies from every studio with a live room and a need for multiple HDX cards (rumor has it that Avid and Adobe had a hand in the design).
Could be one of the "trickle downs" will be a number of iMac Pros with high specs on the used market?
Anywho,..
Thanks for listening Apple!
 
Cons:
Say what you will about the aesthetics of the new case, the inability to open it without disconnecting all cables is a major downside. Hoping the rack one is better in this regard.
Lack of internal drive bays/SATA connectors...might be somewhat mitigated by MPX modules that allows for internal storage (like the Promise RAID module already announced) but what if you went all-in on the graphics cards?
Only AMD/ATI options for graphics. Hopefully Apple will allow NVidia into the fold again.
Rumors of soldered SSDs. Please allow these to be upgraded with 3rd party parts.

Turns out there are two internal SATA ports, and Promise have already announced two-drive and four-drive sleds that will hold 3.5" mechanical drives internally in the new Mac Pro:

https://www.promise.com/us/

Looks like the two-drive model hangs from the top of the case, while the four-drive sled goes in one of those double-wide PCIe slots. Not sure exactly.

In the photos it appears that the SSD boot drive is removable, just like in the Mac Pro cylinder. Probably not a standard m2 connector though, perhaps it's a proprietary connector like in the cylinder. Either way, I'm sure OWC will have drives before the thing ships.
 
It's hardly fair to compare an 18 core i9 with non-ECC memory (and 128 GB maxes it out) to a Xeon W system that supports up to 1.5 TB of ECC RAM.

1. Do you really need 1.5 TB of RAM?
2. ECC RAM brings absolutely no benefits to audio DAW workflow. In fact it is a bit slower than regular RAM.

Mario, don't exaggerate so much! It's more like $6k for a maxed out PC :)

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/JDzWHh

I'd go with Noctua for cooling and Fractal Design case personally, but yeah. Looks like that base Mac Pro would be quite decently outperformed by this config (and possibly also some higher tiered Mac Pros, as well), for the same minimum price of around $6k. :)
 
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Hmmmmmm ... :)

Oh, it's a well-known, established fact that I make.... hmmm.... shall we say, "unwise purchasing decisions" sometimes! If you could see my plug-ins folder (or my Kontakt library) you'd agree.

But I'll skip the Pro Display if I can find a similar number of pixels from Samsung / LG / Dell / etc.
 
According to reports, the processor in the new top-of-the-line MP is the new Intel Xeon W-3275M (Cascade Lake)...MSRP $7453...which wouldn’t leave that much for ‘lots of ram and storage’ if your budget is $10k.

That is just what Intel Ark has it listed as for "suggested MSRP" on account that you can't actually buy this CPU. But the W-3275 is exactly the same except it supports 1TB of RAM instead of 2.

It was more of a generalization, but I roughly specced out a 3175X with 256gb of Ram and lots of storage for under 10k (probably 1/4 of the price of the Mac Pro 28-core). I have it saved in a newegg cart.

Again, beautiful machine. Great change of pace from the previous Mac Pro trashcan. But terribly overpriced, and not the best hardware you can buy for DAW work.
 
But I'll skip the Pro Display if I can find a similar number of pixels from Samsung / LG / Dell / etc.

I just bought a not-half-bad 43-inch 4K LG display from Costco for $600 including CA tax. Could get another and would’ve spent the same as Apple’s display mounting system alone will cost.
 
I just bought a not-half-bad 43-inch 4K LG display from Costco for $600 including CA tax. Could get another and would’ve spent the same as Apple’s display mounting system alone will cost.

If you're talking about the 4k 43" LG display, I had one of those for a minute. $479 or so from Fry's on blowout. Physically too large for where it needs to sit in my rig, so I returned it and went back to my Samsung 32" 4k display, which is physically the right size since I sit pretty close to the screen - no mixers, control surfaces, or other crap between me and the display. But a buddy has the LG and it's great in his room because it's a bit further away from his seating position.

Although if we go to 6k then I suspect the pixels will be too tiny on a 32" display, so when the Cheese Greater rolls in I'll be keeping my eye out for a Korean 6k or 8k at about 43" and I'll just have to rearrange my rig. I like the look of the Dell 49" stupid-wide curved display, but 1440 vertical pixels won't do it for me. I'm all about more vertical pixels for more tracks on screen at max zoom-out.
 
Although if we go to 6k then I suspect the pixels will be too tiny on a 32" display

THIS! As my eyes are getting older, I need less DPI. I'm currently running an LG 38UC99, which is the best monitor I ever had. 3860x1600 which equals about 109DPI. Anything more and I have a hard time with those tiny pixels.
 
1. Do you really need 1.5 TB of RAM?
2. ECC RAM brings absolutely no benefits to audio DAW workflow. In fact it is a bit slower than regular RAM.
I don't need 1.5 TB of RAM, but people seem to use their Mac Pros for a really long time, and I bet many of them will appreciate being able to upgrade it to 1.5 TB in 2025 relatively inexpensively.

My point about ECC RAM was not its usefulness for audio applications, but just that it's an unfair comparison to a $6k PC. There are two different debates in this thread: is this Mac overpriced, and is this Mac overkill for audio applications? Usually when you compare the exact same components, the Macs aren't a terrible deal (we'll have to see when the full pricing info is available). Do I want a Xeon in my desktop? Nope, but that's why I chose an iMac. The very highest end hardware is always incredibly expensive.

I suspect that among audio users, there will be a segment of Mac fans who want an incredibly powerful system they can use for 5-10 years, even if it's overkill now. Maybe they don't want to deal with slaves, or they do some video work too. They'll pay, because $10-20k is just part of the cost of doing business. The rest of us will find better value at other price points, Mac or PC.
 
What is crazy is a $5000 display and a $1000 stand for it.
Sure, but the screen hasn't been designed with a fuzzy Kontakt GUI in mind and the stand will only be brought by a very small number of folk, hence the price.

They're not for "us." And that very fact appears to have rubbed the forum up the wrong way!
 
The new MacPro is awesome. I'll be sure to grab one when I need to command the mission to Mars. In the meantime, I'm going to be pissed if they drop the Trashcan Mac's off the back of the OS update bus by saying it's too old just because they took so long.
 
Sure, but the screen hasn't been designed with a fuzzy Kontakt GUI in mind and the stand will only be brought by a very small number of folk, hence the price.

They're not for "us." And that very fact appears to have rubbed the forum up the wrong way!

So the only reasons I'm calling $5000 for a monitor and $1000 for a stand crazy are that they're not for me and that I didn't understand economy of scale?
 
So the only reasons I'm calling $5000 for a monitor and $1000 for a stand crazy are that they're not for me and that I didn't understand economy of scale?
No. The monitor is a very highly specced and calibrated tool for video, grading work etc. Expensive sure, but there are reasons why.

I’m not disagreeing about the stand though. It’s crazy expensive, but the whole package isn’t aimed at the typical VI controller. It’ll be brought by folks who aren’t using their own money to pay for it.
 
I predict that the $5000 monitor will be way less expensive, like half, within two years.

It took a little longer for the 30” Cinema Display, but that was 15 years ago. Monitors are commodities now, and another company will have the same thing for $2500. They’ll buy the screen from the same supplier (as Dell did with their 30” monitor).
 
Its safe to assume Tim Cook isn’t concerned about the carbon footprint of his clients/customers.
200 watts on a Xeon?
14nm Fabrication is taking one last gasp of air.
 
1. Do you really need 1.5 TB of RAM?
I'm also wondering where all these people boasting about the RAM ability are going to find sticks large enough to get that 1.5TB. Hell, most next gen processors can technically handle around 22TB of RAM but the problem is sticks aren't large enough and motherboards don't have enough RAM slots to reach that point despite Xeon boards having many more slots. Then there is the cooling issue. The whole boast about 1.5TB makes my head spin since it's a pointless boast.
 
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