Mac Pro Now on Sale But Current Ship Date is February

[JMcEntegart]

Mac Pro is on sale but not shipping for a couple of months.

Mac Pro Now on Sale But Current Ship Date is February : Read more

 

[owens]

But I want my fancy garbage bin before Christmas in peak ordering season! this is unacceptable!!!

 

[nikoli707]

only an ignorant person would want an overpriced piece of ancient technology like this. by feb 14 there will be much better technology out making this piece even more obsolete.

 

[overclockingrocks]

I think I can speak for most of the Tom's audience when I say MEH! NEXT!

 

[Quarkzquarkz]

The real question is, is it faster than an i7 3770K + Geforce 670 in SLI? ^_^

 

[HumdrumPenguin]

Gotta be kidding me with the price and the specs. Not to mention it's probably going to run hot like hell. If you really need all that mac osx features to work on your programs (nothing that windows software can't do... but well), I'd just get an iMac instead and spend the rest on something else. Not to mention it's a pre-order.

 

[cburke82]

Looks like Apple is only making desktops for workstation users now. If you look at the price of the cards they are using the value is there but this is not a computer any regular person would need at all.

 

[infernocy]

a fool and his money are easily separated , now in garbage can form and gold xbox

 

[dextermat]

I'd like to be so rich to be able to take a dump in a 3k black toilet

 

[jn77]

I think my Alienware M17xR4 has more power than that thing and it looks better too.

 

[ssalim]

$3000??????????????
Before reading article, I was thinking "watch this, it's going to be $1700 or more" -- whoops was I wrong.

 

[ap3x]

You guys are so predictable. This is a workstation class machine. It's direct competitor is not your gaming machine that you build for 800 bucks.

Here is the HP lineup that competes with this machine.

http://shopping1.hp.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/WFS/WW-USSMBPublicStore-Site/en_US/-/USD/ViewStandardCatalog-Browse?CatalogCategoryID=x.IQ7habXDwAAAFCulgtkXzC&jumpid=cp_r163_us/en/pc_comm/workstations/wsfamily/buynow

 

[warezme]

Who new it took so long to build a garbage can.

 

[wemakeourfuture]

Anyone who compares this to a garbage can fails to realize their desktop box is a million times less aesthetically pleasing than this.

 

[bmwman91]

I typically love to rag on Apple products that don't really bring a decent value proposition to the market. My initial reaction to this was that it was going to be another easy target. However, it is actually fairly reasonable for a workstation product with its given specs. Yes, you can easily get 75% of the same performance from Dell, HP or Lenovo for about half the price. Generally these options will a CPU in the same performance class, but with a single workstation GPU with close performance to a D300 (FirePro W7000 equivalent).

However, if you actually want dual high performance GPUs that are in the W7000 level, you are looking at $3000. I just priced the options out on Dell's site. In fact, it could come in costing more for a Dell or HP box depending on the options you pick. Considering that they are much larger devices, this Mac Pro is in fact not such a terrible thing.

Yes, the lack of upgradability may seem like a big minus, but this thing is not being marketed to the PC enthusiast / hobbyist crowd. It is targeting the same users as other workstation class products, but it looks pretty so I think that people get confused.

All in all, I would say that this thing, while unconventional in appearance, is definitely not BAD. It isn't exactly world-shaking innovation, but it is pretty neat and not really all that absurd in its price. $3k is what a workstation machine, Apple or otherwise, will cost a company that wants these specs.

 

[ericburnby]

I've read Tom's for as long as I can remember, mainly because I started building my own rigs since the 486 came out. I always counted on Tom's for news and reviews on the latest CPU's, GPU's and other components.

Because of this I expect Tom's posters to be tech literate, but after reading this thread I'm disappointed. I would think people know the difference between workstation or server class machines from what Mose people have at home. Or the difference between a gaming GPU and a workstation GPU.

 

[jasonpwns]

Work class or not BMW the upgrade factor is still a major knock. On most workstations you can easily upgrade the graphics cards. Say your company just got an excellent deal on better workstation cards. On a non mac pro you can easily upgrade to those better cards. On a mac pro you have to buy a new macpro.

 

[nikoli707]

quad 7970's will tear absolutely demolish dual firepros/quadros for just over $1000. workstation gpus are for dedicated hardware rooms where cooling is an issue and you have limited cooling options.... not a desktop where you have near unlimited options. we already know that a titan offers all the performance of the k20's but lacks only a few very rarely used instruction sets. if you have this kind of money... you also have the money for newer full feature software that will take advantage of normal gpu instruction sets thus making workstation gpu's unnecessary unless... again your working with a dedicated hardware room where cooling options are limited.

 

[wemakeourfuture]

iknowhowtofixit
This isn't the same Tom's Hardware as it was 10 years ago... The site and the audience are both quite different now.

Be that as it may, I can build a workstation (with ECC rated parts) for way less and even install OSX if I wanted to. However, that doesn't change the fact that Apple designed workstation that doubles as a place to put your dirty tissues.

Please spec out your server parts and prices and show us.

Make sure you're listing comparable hardware. Can't add any 256 SSD, need to add one with comparable speed. Also, make sure it fits in the same size as the Mac Pro, or lets see what you can create and the dimensions and lets compare.

Also, you want to put OS X on it? Yah, great job, lets tell companies to put together a bunch of parts throw OS X, with no official support and see how willing they're gonna go for that.

Also, you mock Apple's design, please do show us what amazing design you're cheaper workstation will be really interested in the unique, innovative design you're going to come up with.

 

[lp231]

Looks like Apple is only making desktops for workstation users now. If you look at the price of the cards they are using the value is there but this is not a computer any regular person would need at all.

Apple Mac Pro (Intel Edition) had always used workstation components with workstation class processors.Their previous model has a dual socket board that supports a pair on Intel Xeon, except for this one where it's only single socket. It never used desktop CPUs like Core i3, i5, or i7.
Their desktop for the home use will be their iMac and Mac Mini.

$3000??????????????
Before reading article, I was thinking "watch this, it's going to be $1700 or more" -- whoops was I wrong.

If the starting price was $1,700, I bet many of us who build out own PCs, would buy one just for the heck of it.
Apple Mac Pro starting price was always that high, so it's no surprise.

The Mac Pro's highest available CPU is the Intel Xeon E5 12 Core @ 2.7GHz. With this info, the actual model would be Intel Xeon E5 2697 v2, that is based on Ivy Bridge-E, and it has 12 cores.
It also has a pair of AMD FirePro D500 workstation class graphic cards. According to a article, it says these are specially made for these Mac Pro so there is no way to find a exact model for price comparison, however based on the specs, they say it's either a AMD FirePro W8000 or W9000. I used the W8000 as price reference.

Apple Mac Pro with 12 Core and every thing else left at default selection is $6,999.00
Intel Xeon E5 2697 v2 @ 2.7GHz 12 core $2,749.99
AMD FirePro W8000 $1,399.99 x 2 = $2,799.98
Just these 3 components will cost $5,549.97
Price difference so far is $1,440.03
I haven't added the CPU cooler, ECC ram, PCI-E SSD, psu, case, and OS. When it's all added, price difference shouldn't be too far apart between the two.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814195117
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116925
http://architosh.com/2013/10/the-mac-pro-so-whats-a-d300-d500-and-d700-anyway-we-have-answers/

 

[nikoli707]

the design is beautiful... no doubt. the cooling is probably amazing too even on pure air. but unless your rich and like doing workstation stuff at home and you need it in white or black to match your office.... i see not much use for it.

i actually know a huge mac fan who wants to buy this but is disappointed in the feb14 wait time. all hes going to use it for is doing his amateur final cut pro and would like to do some gaming. hes a great guy... total geek... has the money... but truly wasteful.

if you can build your own computer... you can easily follow the directions on the internet to install osx on your modern intel system. but i was playing around with the builder and again... apple is charging an arm and a leg for the component add ons. you can build a 3930k+dual 7970's+512gb ssd for half the price and get about 300% the performance.

 

[bmwman91]

nikoli,
Workstation GPUs and consumer/gamer GPUs aren't going to perform the same in actual business use cases. Yeah sure you can often hack the drivers to have a consumer GPU spoof a workstation one, at least for the cheaper ones. But, no enterprise customer is going to fool around with that.

A dedicated workstation GPU with ISV optimized driver support and some of the other hardware tweaks you find on them are what is needed to handle massive GIS datasets, CAD assemblies and medical imaging needs. Consumer GPUs just don't cut it there. We aren't talking about hobbyists running torrented copies of SolidWorks and designing their own car parts on a gaming GPU.

I also find it amusing that my previous post has been downvoted. Can't have any factual information in the comments, can we? Just go to Dell's business site and price out a workstation with the same specs as the base model Mac Pro. I don't own a single piece of Apple hardware, not one, but the fact is that this thing isn't a bad value for the market that it targets. I assume that the people raging against the Mac Pro would also rage against a $3k Dell workstation with the same specs?

 

[nikoli707]

bmwman91,
your exacltly right... no enterprise customer is going to fool around with that. they are paid well and can afford it. but when enthusiest are raving about it and think its going to help them with their final cut pro and cad college stuff and they would like to try gaming on one... i cringe. i would be willing to bet that since apple is sold out of them... it wasn't enterprise customers who are all of a sudden uprooting their firepro/quadro systems just to go to apple. it was mac enthusiests like the brother of my best friend who want a nice piece of machinery and dont mind wasting money. he already has like a 2010 mac pro with a xeon in it but wants a new one for faster work on youtube and amateur home video stuff he likes doing. he doesn't make money from it. apple fully knows no less than half of these stock $3k models will be sold to hobbyists.

 

[Francis Son]

Someone should make a hackintosh business, release date on this so far behind better hardware will be available, why overpay for outdated hardware, amazing job Tim Cook for another fail, no respect for techies AGAIN

 

[kinggremlin]

I see multiple comments about this using outdated hardware. Any one of you saying this care to elaborate what in this is outdated? The base CPU is a 2nd gen IB Xeon which was released in the 3rd quarter of this year. What high end consumer CPU has Intel released since then? I guess all of you have REALLY outdated hardware then, since it is older than the antique in the new Mac Pro. The video cards as well are a new line of Fire Pro cards. Likely rebadges like everything except the 290/290x in the current consumer line, but still as new as is available. The facts aren't hard to find. What has happened to knowledge level on this site? Used to be a great place to pick up information, now just a troll fest of people spewing totally made up and inaccurate information.