As you can tell from my Happy Birthday Macintosh post, I am not Apple's biggest fan. And I will openly admit that I mockingly poked fun at the new Mac Pro design. I have referred to it as anything from "the trash can" to "Darth Vader's Roomba". I freely pictured myself in a studio, reclining in my desk chair, throwing balled up pieces of paper into it from across the room as if it were a basketball hoop.
But all yokes aside, the 6-core version is a beast. They probably should have bought the rights to the Punisher logo from Marvel and plastered it on the side of every model. So how "amazing" is the little guy? Lets take a look at a comparison between my computer and the base model (targeted at the larger consumer demographic) of the new Mac Pro:
Component | My Computer | Mac Pro |
|---|---|---|
Operating System
|
Mountain Lion
| Mavericks |
CPU
|
Intel i7-3770k
Quad Core
(3.5 GHz Base)
(3.9 GHz Turbo) (4.2 GHz Over Clock) | Intel Xeon E5 Quad Core (3.7 GHz Base) (3.9 GHz Turbo) |
| Memory |
2x 8 GB
1333 MHz
(Coarsair Vengeance)
| 3x 4GB 1866 MHz |
| Storage |
2x 120 GB SSD
1 TB SATA Drive
| 256 GB Pcie flash storage |
| Graphics |
Nvidia GTX 770
Clock: 1137-1189 MHz
# of Cuda Cores: 1536
256-bit Memory Bus
Memory: 4GB VRAM (@7010 MHz)
Up to 3 displays via:
(HDMI/Display Port/DVI-I/DVI-D)
| 2x AMD FirePro D300 Clock: * Cuda Cores: Unavailable 256-bit Memory Bus Memory: 2GB VRAM Up to 3 4K Displays Up to 6 Thunderbolt Displays |
| Connections |
1x PS/2 (keyboard/Mouse)
6x USB 3.0 (rear) 1x USB 3.0 (Front)
4x USB 2.0 (Front)
1x Firewire 400 (Front)
2x eSata ports
1x S/PDIF optical port
2x Ethernet Ports
Plus aforementioned display ports
| 4x Usb 3.0 6x Thunderbolt 2x Ethernet Ports 1x HDMI |
| Network | Ethernet capability (no WiFi card) Bluetooth 4.0 | 802.11 ac WiFi Networking Bluetooth 4.0 |
| Price |
~$1400.00
| $2999.00 |
*AMD has specially designed the FirePro D300's for the Mac Pro and I was unable to find a definitive clock speed.
So as we can see, in some cases my computer holds the advantage over the new Mac Pro design such as a faster processor (due to overclocking), more RAM (capable of being overclocked to match), a substantially greater amount of connections in addition to PCI expansion slots on the motherboard (which, given its design and size, I can only assume the Mac Pro does not have) and a much lower price.
In theRoomba's Mac Pro's defense, it has quality built-in networking capabilities, a ridiculous amount of Thunderbolt ports, and AMD's dual FirePro GPUs (although less powerful than the GTX 770, are still very impressive) and a larger Storage device.
In the
But lets look at it from the view of the consumer:
-$3000 is a lot of money. And as I hinted at in my previous post, for half of that, I can build a comparable computer with a little bit more of a hassle (building/installation) than paying shipping cost.
-How upgradable is this system? In a year or two, when Intel comes out with faster processors, or AMD improves their GPU's, how easily can I upgrade my components (if at all possible)?
-Why do I need 6 Thunderbolt ports? Who has six devices (even displays) that need that speed? Also... who has six devices that USE thunderbolt connectivity (More money for converter cords)
So for the average consumer, I have to say that the new Mac Pro isn't worth it. Its not cost-efficient when it comes to performance. Its a little over-kill for web browsing, games (at least for Mac games), and word processing. Plus, even consumers like recording/post-production studios or graphic designers that would require a higher performance computer wouldn't buy the base model. They would most-likely purchase the 6-Core model (base price at $3999.00).
All in all, I have to say that I am not "blown away" by the basic model. The upgraded version is more of "WOW" but for an extra thousand dollars, I'd rather buy beer, food, school books, shoes, music... more beer... you get the point. I will give Apple credit for stepping outside its comfort zone and contracting components to 3rd party manufacturers (Intel/AMD) and (try not to faint) for thinking of consumer needs when upgrading the system performance.
Now if we could only teach Apple the concept of the "Bear Market" they might realize that their shareholders are still back in that "recession thing" and knock that price tag down a bit... Oh, wishful thinking... you slay me.
I am in complete agreement with you concerning the new Mac Pro. As a Mac user myself I don’t know why I was so inclined to purchase an overly priced IMac versus building myself a better performing or PC or heck, even piecing together a Hackintosh would have been cheaper. What do you think drives costumers to the Apple brand? I mean it’s fairly common knowledge that building your own machine isn’t all that difficult and it’s extremely obvious how much cheaper it is, do you think its Apples over all position in society that drives people to purchase their products instead of cheaper products that are just as readily available?
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, Apple's position in the technology market affords them the ability to jack up the price on pretty much every product they sell because there is a huge demand for the brand name. Its like a tech "fad" to own Apple products. Thats why there are lines out the door whenever theres a new version of the iPhone or iPad.
DeletePersonally, I am drawn to Mac computers by the operating system. I grew up with Microsoft and I'm very familiar with Windows, but OSX just seems friendlier, more simple and easier to use. Which is why I built a hackintosh. I got the best of both worlds: cheaper and higher quality components coupled with OSX.
I both respect and despise Apple. Mostly despise them because I have to listen to my entitled and elitist friends rant about the "superior" products. This is also why I respect them. They have built up a customer base that will spend this ridiculous amount of money on a product that can be bought or assembled for a fraction of the price. I respect that they are trying to build a future proof computer, but the problem is once you spend this kind of money on a computer you're stuck. Like you mentioned, how do you update it? Better graphics cards will come out, better processors will come out. Why spend $3000 today when in two years I'll have to do it again? I'm sure Apple will make a bunch money from this, but I can't help but wonder if this will alienate some of their customers.
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