While everyone waits for Apple to update their Mac Pro workstation, we felt it best to render out some 3D concepts based on what we hope to see, coupled with what makes most sense for Apple moving forward with the machine.
Originally announced on August 7, 2006 at the World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) the Mac Pro had taken the reigns from its predecessor, the Power Mac G5, becoming Apple’s high end workhorse machine known for its outward appearance and capacity for expansion. On January 8, 2008 Apple introduced the 3.2 GHz, dual quad-core Intel Xeon (Harpertown 45nm), becoming Apple’s most powerful machine to date, yet retained its familiar facade. Over a year has passed since the last Mac Pro update, leading many to believe that an overhaul will be unveiled in the near future.
Set as the Intel-based replacement for Apple’s Power Mac G5, the much anticipated Mac Pro gave users a viable high end option. Rumors and speculation of the Mac Pro’s appearance became wildly popular as even the machine’s namesake became clear due to the company’s dropping of the term “power” for “pro” on their higher end notebook. The Mac Pro has been generally well received since its launch, and users have primarily responded well to the updates that it has seen over the past couple of years. Its performance, expandability and sleek design makes the Mac Pro an industry standard high performance piece of machinery that is often the mark by which others are compared. The Mac Pro’s price points can seem rather steep, as an uber supped model can easily fetch in excess of $20,000, yet the performance speaks for itself.
As of late there has been minimal speculation or rumors regarding a Mac Pro update. Over the past couple of weeks, we have caught word of a few minor aesthetic enhancements including the loss of its cheese grater-esque front and back exterior for a more refined laser cut micro-perforated face. Additionally, conceptual slot loading front end drives will allow the Mac Pro shed its outdated mug and eliminate the risk of breakage. It’s important to remember that Apple most likely won’t completely redesign its high-end professional line of machines. Instead, subtle and elegant refinements throughout the machine making for a much sleeker and sexier look is what we expect to see. Apple will most likely make use of its new aluminum manufacturing methods as well.
As far as ports are concerned, we believe that a new Mac Pro could sport additional USB 2.0 inputs, a single FireWire 400 and multiple FireWire 800 ports, dual eSATA and HDMI inputs and also be able to support the new 24″ LED Cinema Displays with dual Mini DisplayPorts and MagSafe power. Two Dual-link DVI ports would remain on the machine for users of the older Apple Cinema Displays.
Recent evidence has also pointed to the adoption of the new eight-core Intel Nehalem class processors that are set to be announced at next month’s International Solid-State Circuits Conference. The ISSCC notes that Intel will show off an “eight-core, 16-thread Xeon processor manufactured with a 45-nanometer process,” that would certainly lend itself nicely to a Mac Pro update. The Mac Pro has not been given any sort of love in over a year, making way for an update that may include new processors which would boost the machine’s overall speed and performance.
Slap on a shiny black trimmed Apple logo to match the new notebook line and you’ve got yourself one hot machine. Without even so much of a whisper about the Mac Pro at this past Macworld ‘09, we expect to see it receive some attention over the next couple of months.
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26 Comments to “The All New Mac Pro: Sleeker, Sexier and More Refined”
I would buy this instantly. If ONLY for the e-sata, HDMI and blu-ray. Hey Apple, you see this? DO IT !
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No, you wouldn’t. Or you would have those in your Mac Pro today. It has PCI slots, you know…
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@peter, I agree man. There’s no sense in radically changing the design, its pretty much timeless, but adding HDMI/eSATA…oh yeah.
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Me want new Mac Pro. But seriously, I would drop duckets on this thing.
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Good grief. I hope I don’t have a wet dream tonight…
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Needs more cowbell.
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Let’s see. eSATA? Put a card in one of those PCI Express slots. My Mac Pro has had eSATA for years.
As for built-in eSATA, HDMI inputs, and Mag Safe stuff, don’t count on it.
I’ll bet we’ll see a new video card with DisplayPort though.
But please, please, no slot loading drives. Talk about limiting your options.
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I have a 2 x 2.66 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon and I am bent that I cant use the new 24 LED screens that Apple just came out with……… I have this machine loaded up with 16 Gigs of RAMM. I cant go and dump another “$10,000 plus” for a new machine!!!! But I will dump some cash if I can get 2 x 24 inches LED screens to work with my machine.
I dont understand why they cant come out with 3 sizes for LED screens…. 20, 24, 30
I have 2 20 inch screens and they are the perfect size for desk setting.
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Buy a samsung LED backlit 24″. You can get two for the price of one Apple glossy crap.
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insane. utterly insane.
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I have to agree with kais on this one. Slot-loading drives on a Pro-level desktop machine would be an unnecessary step that would limit choices. You’d be restricted to only purchasing slot-loading drives, which are generally more expensive than their tray-loading counterparts. For a machine that’s known for expandability, limiting options would be a step backwards.
eSATA is a possibility, but I too think that the PCIe slot already fulfills this need just fine, and most professionals would rather install a drive in one of the slots already provided internally, I would think. At the very least, it saves them the cost of the enclosure.
HDMI seems like a pipe dream as well, since Apple has thrown their lot in with the Mini DisplayPort technology, which competes with HDMI. Unlike FireWire and USB, which are aimed at serving different purposes, DisplayPort and HDMI are largely trying to do the same thing, so it seems likely that Apple would pick one and stick with it, and they’ve picked DisplayPort with good reason. I could maybe seen the MagSafe happening though.
Another commenter mentioned Blu-Ray, but I find that unlikely too, since Apple seems to be in the process of abandoning physical media altogether. The MacBook Air is a first indication of it, but it’s just a matter of time before more and more of their computers ship without optical drives at all. Sure, it might be 5 more years, or even 10, but it’s still just a matter of time. When it comes to Blu-Ray needs, the Mac Pro already provides a second optical drive expansion slot, and that’s all that’s necessary. People that need Blu-Ray can install it themselves in a few minutes.
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As a pro who uses a Mac Pro for professional video production, I can say that this proposal was created by a home user that wants more junk.
I use RAID for storage. eSATA gives a pro no benefit.
I don’t have any need at all for HDMI useless to a pro. DVI is good, DisplayPort may be good in the future.
MagSafe? Do I really want the proposed dual wall-warts that can be mistakenly unplugged while reaching behind the machine? If anything, give me dual 120V/240v AC power connectors.
And BluRay – do I want to waste time burning a BR disc when I can just send my few clients that need raw video a reusable, faster, and highly accessible 250 GB USB HDD enclosure.
Maybe other pros have other ideas of what’s a good idea or a bad idea.
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I agree, this machine is NOT primarily intended for the “home” market.
I use my MacPro in a studio and we do video/audio work and some rendering.
The thing the pro lacks isn’t horsepower or memory (we have dual Quadcore 2.8Ghz machines with 32GB of memory, connected to external storage) and that’s plenty for just about everything we do, what it sorely lacks expansion card slots.
You install a second graphics card, an audio interface card and one audio processing card and you’re basically out of luck. And that’s if the cards aren’t oversized and require the space of two slots! We had to purchase an expansion chassis just to support a couple of extra audio plug-in processing cards. That’s outrageous in a machine of this size and this price range. I can appreciate the space constraints on an xserve but this is a tower…
For the life of me, I can’t understand that on a lowly PC we can have 6 or more expansion slots of various types but on my high end Mac Pro I’m so limited. Perhaps before mobo designs were limited on the PowerPC chips, but there are lots of components/design options available for Intel cpu boards.
Ns
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If they can somehow let me get one WITH a monitor for under $3k. I’m in 10000%
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I think it looks freakin sweet however there are way too many firewire 800 ports on there.. Why is there only one firewire 400?
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OK,
but fo us as Pro- Video guys the ability to mount a Mac Pro into a 19″ Rack is crucial!
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A new “Pro” is guaranteed, and I’d buy this one in a heart beat when I get the CA$H to do it… what I still hope Apple decides to release is a mid-range expandable Mac (not an iMac) like the one below.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10604868@N06/3230936031/
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Why on earth does anyone want the power cable up at the top of the machine?!?
The rest of the machine looks great, for a concept…
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Nice render work, but I seriously do not hope it will look like this… The embossed/rounded front edge is plain ugly and cheap and will absolutely not fit in the new Aluminum/Black glass look. Also the smaller mesh feels bad…
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only slot-loading drives on a professional machine? I hope not. I work with a lot of people who capture video on mini-dvd camcorders, and they better not take my easy-to-use tray away…
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But When ? !!!
I really need a new macPro…
Anyone an idea?
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Question for you experts. I am acquiring a canon HF11 high definition camcorder AND a digital SLR camera. I am going to be doing some intermediate HD video and photo editing for home use. I’ve always been a PC guy and I’m ready to make the switch. My question is this, is a MAC Pro going to be too much for me? Thanks for your assistance and advice.
Respectfully
Frazier
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I don’t know what you own now but on the HF11 you need a dual processor in order to log and transfer any data into final cut Your not really working with that large of content so a mac pro is not really needed. You could just get a macbook pro and save some cash. But, if you have cash to burn then it’s well worth it, make sure you get two screens or you loose half the fun.
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Yeah should have known apple wouldn’t do even a third of these even though were asking for it and every other manufacturer employs some of it.
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The new Mac Pro is worse than the old one. It may have a better CPU etc but… no Firewire 400, 4 useless Firewire 800 ports when there are more Firewire 400 than 800 devices in use and on the market, no dual DVI graphics card, still no eject button on the DVD drive. A piece of pretty junk basically. I own the previous model and anyway I am going to sell on eBay next week because it is a pain to work with.
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You DO realize FW800 is backward-compatible, right? All you need is an adapter or a FW400 to FW800 cable… Also, with a adapter, you’ve got your 2 DVI ports… and the eject button is on the KEYBOARD and works just fine! And you actually own a mac pro? Whoa… scary.
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