Is MacRumors sensing a big upcoming change in their Pro community?

[m4v3r1ck]

What's the consensus of the pro-user MR members about my question/statement?

I do believe the MR staff is sensing a big upcoming major change, that a lot of pro-members will move to Windows and all its - state-of-the-art - new hardware. But hey, they want us to stay a member here anyway!

I believe it was a - strategical- smart move by the MR staff and I already like this sub-forum a lot! So thank you MR for that!

According to my own personal needs and linkings I'm looking at:
- HP Z840
- Microsoft Surface Studio

But as said elsewhere on MR, money wise I do hope my two cMP's will last a few years more. I've never - obvious as many other MR members have too - invested in a computer eco-system before as bad as for my cMP's. But hey, enjoyed the ROI coming from them every single day!

Perhaps the decision - 'forced' or not by Apple - to make that big change in eco-systems, as no more decent pro-hardware has been developed by Apple over the last years, is just around the corner for me. Time will tell!

Cheers

 

[maflynn]

I do believe the MR staff is sensing a big upcoming major change, that a lot of pro-members will move to Windows and all its - state-of-the-art - new hardware. But hey, they want us to stay a member here anyway!

It was more of the fact that we were seeing a rise in PC threads in the various Mac forums and wanted to provide a separate forum for these discussions. Partly because many people in the Mac forums would prefer not seeing Windows related threads.

Also it will help centralize the discussions so that they will not get duplicated across the various Mac hard forums (iMac, MacBook, MBP and Mac Pro).

Another reason is to keep the peace, though I'm not that naive to assume we'll be singing Kumbaya, but people who are staunchly Mac fans and those who have genuine questions now each have their own forums to discuss topics that interest them.

 

[0388631]

I'm waiting to see the reviews of someone buying the Z840 dual processor setup with the highest available processor, 44 cores 88 threads. Along with the PCIe setup and other goodies, including the TB3 options.

Though I doubt anyone is willing to drop about $40K altogether.

 

[m4v3r1ck]

Thank you @maflynn for your reply and insights on which MR obviously made its decision, appreciated!

Cheers

 

[m4v3r1ck]

I'm waiting to see the reviews of someone buying the Z840 dual processor setup with the highest available processor, 44 cores 88 threads. Along with the PCIe setup and other goodies, including the TB3 options.

Though I doubt anyone is willing to drop about $40K altogether.

For me it's not about buying a decked out HP Z840 all-in-one, but being able - just like I did for my cMP 5.1 - to upgrade it with state-of-the-art goodies as needed and/or liked!

Cheers

 

[Queen6]

With Apple's apparent disregard for the Mac only a matter of time really, as MR is very much a reflection of it's members. I have already moved my 13" class notebook to Microsoft's Surface Book, 15" I am debating a similar move, as for desktop solutions Apple is not even close to being on the radar.

Even if Apple do attempt to revitalise the Mac and the desktop OS, it will likely be a form over function exercise, with Apple now being so far out of touch with what was once it's core professional community. Apple's exec's surprise at the negative reception of the 2016 MBP generated simply speaks volumes, with wants & needs being very different factors...

Personally I welcome the move by MR as it now offers a space for those who are Mac & OS X orientated, however need solutions outside of what Apple currently offers.

Q-6

 

[m4v3r1ck]

With Apple's apparent disregard for the Mac only a matter of time really, as MR is very much a reflection of it's members. I have already moved my 13" class notebook to Microsoft's Surface Book, 15" I am debating a similar move, as for desktop solutions Apple is not even close to being on the radar.

Even if Apple do attempt to revitalise the Mac and the desktop OS, it will likely be a form over function exercise, with Apple now being so far out of touch with what was once it's core professional community. Apple's exec's surprise at the negative reception of the 2016 MBP generated simply speaks volumes, with wants & needs being very different factors...

Personally I welcome the move by MR as it now offers a space for those who are Mac & OS X orientated, however need solutions outside of what Apple currently offers.

Q-6

Thank you very much for your contribution to this thread and hey, I couldn't agree with you more! Great move by MR indeed, keeping us hybrids - macOS & Windows - on board. I'm very curious what Apple's next step for the pro workstation line-up will be too.

Cheers

 

[Queen6]

Thank you very much for your contribution to this thread and hey, I couldn't agree with you more! Great move by MR indeed, keeping us hybrids - macOS & Windows - on board. I'm very curious what Apple's next step for the pro workstation line-up will be too.

Cheers

Personally I believe Apple is making a mistake by not accounting for the halo effect of it's professional community, was a time I would have unreservedly recommended the Mac. Today unless you are deeply ingrained in Apple's ecosystem or just want a piece of stylised technology Apple offers little more than a substantial price tag.

Apple has always presented the customer with a higher ticket price, equally the intrinsic value was present, however that value is currently missing with Apple attempting to reduce it's computing platform to little more than another IOS device.

I also find it's now difficult to trust Apple from a business perspective, as Apple appears to only pander to the tech press, rather than listen to it's customers. Maybe Apple will work miracles in 2017, equally Apple may then disregard the same hardware for literally years on end, as they have already so effectively done, so...

Q-6

 

[vrBrew]

The Z840 is a beast. I bought a refurb with dual 2690.

Then added the icy dock tough armor MB998SP-B to cram it full of SSD drives, added dual GTX 1080s, and upped the RAM to 128GB.

I had to make sure the refurb had the 1125 watt power supply so I wouldn't be skimping power for the GPUs. The tool less installation is very nice.

 

[m4v3r1ck]

The Z840 is a beast. I bought a refurb with dual 2690.

Then added the icy dock tough armor MB998SP-B to cram it full of SSD drives, added dual GTX 1080s, and upped the RAM to 128GB.

I had to make sure the refurb had the 1125 watt power supply so I wouldn't be skimping power for the GPUs. The tool less installation is very nice.

Wow, that's great! Do you mind to share some benchmarks - to your own workflow related and in comparison with your cMP (if you owned any) - with us? Of course I'm interested what you paid for it, if I may be so frank to you. A refurb seems a good way to go ahead and make te exchange cost-effective AND getting a good ROI even quicker.

Cheers

 

[ZapNZs]

I think some of the changing perspectives of individuals has to do with other Makers offering high-quality, affordable, and capable workstations, at a time when Apple hasn't done a whole lot on that front compared to what they have in the past, and there is some uncertainly in regards to Apple's commitment for this market.

Presumably, this isn't a highly profitable sector for Apple, and I can't fault them for prioritizing areas that bring in the most money (after all, that's what most of us use their computers for!!!) But it will be interesting to see if this has a ripple effect on items like iPads and iPhones, as one thing many Brands now push is cross-platform continuity. If someone leaves the Apple computing ecosystem, will they also leave the iOS ecosystem? If so, will that ripple effect have a negative impact on income, or be offset by the sale of mainstream devices & new customers coming to those platforms?

 

[0388631]

For me it's not about buying a decked out HP Z840 all-in-one, but being able - just like I did for my cMP 5.1 - to upgrade it with state-of-the-art goodies as needed and/or liked!

Cheers

The Z840 is not an AIO. It's a tower workstation. Quite different. There is a company that's coincidentally called Z Workstations, that has no relation to HP, but is an authorized reseller, that offers far better products in the HP Z line than HP themselves offer.

 

[niploteksi]

It's nice to be able to discuss other than Apple's products. I for one still use Apple products but have moved on to Windows for some of my computing.

 

[m4v3r1ck]

The Z840 is not an AIO. It's a tower workstation. Quite different. There is a company that's coincidentally called Z Workstations, that has no relation to HP, but is an authorized reseller, that offers far better products in the HP Z line than HP themselves offer.

Oops, a very misleading typo by me! I meant all-in-ONCE! Mea Culpa

Cheers

 

[0388631]

Oops, a very misleading typo by me! I meant all-in-ONCE! Mea Culpa

Cheers

Yep. I can't imagine anyone but motion graphic or editing houses purchasing such an expensive rig. A single 22 core Xeon is very capable of munching through 4K-8K video editing. Can't imagine how it performs with 44 cores and 88 threads, using PCIe drivers and a massive RAID spindle system for cache.

Though one thing I do like about the Zs is that they look very pedestrian. They're not shiny like a Mac. HP have been using the same exterior frame or similar to for years. You'd never know it was a 30K+ PC when optioned out.

 

[Partron22]

It was more of the fact that we were seeing a rise in PC threads in the various Mac forums and wanted to provide a separate forum for these discussions.

Good move. It's a jarring transition after 33 years of almost exclusive Mac, and Windows fora are far more geared to Gamers and people who did not give up in disgust after Windows 93.
Stack exchange is nice, but a bit formal. I hope you folks will consider expanding Windows/Linux coverage even more if Apple continues down the road it looks to have chosen.
You could probably even make a living at it.

 

[kazmac]

Thank you @maflynn for your reply and insights on which MR obviously made its decision, appreciated!

Cheers

Yes, thanks to the MR staff for adding this area. I love this forum, but I suspect I will find myself in this part of the forum a lot more frequently now.

 

[vrBrew]

Wow, that's great! Do you mind to share some benchmarks - to your own workflow related and in comparison with your cMP (if you owned any) - with us? Of course I'm interested what you paid for it, if I may be so frank to you. A refurb seems a good way to go ahead and make te exchange cost-effective AND getting a good ROI even quicker.

Cheers

I paid 5K for the base system with both processors, 16GB of memory, 1 1TB 7200RPM HDD, and low end Nvidia Quadro.

The extra 112GB mem, 2.5 inch drive chassis, storage drives, and video cards, and extras put me at about 8K. I also run 3x 27 inch 2k displays.

I mostly run model and simulation for network architecture and data center designs but also do my own home video editing. I was thinking about adding more memory because virtualization is memory hungry.

 

[bigfatipod]

I paid 5K for the base system with both processors, 16GB of memory, 1 1TB 7200RPM HDD, and low end Nvidia Quadro.

The extra 112GB mem, 2.5 inch drive chassis, storage drives, and video cards, and extras put me at about 8K. I also run 3x 27 inch 2k displays.

I mostly run model and simulation for network architecture and data center designs but also do my own home video editing. I was thinking about adding more memory because virtualization is memory hungry.

What OS are you running on it? (sorry if i missed this somewhere)

 

[vrBrew]

What OS are you running on it? (sorry if i missed this somewhere)

Windows 10 pro.

 

[m4v3r1ck]

I paid 5K for the base system with both processors, 16GB of memory, 1 1TB 7200RPM HDD, and low end Nvidia Quadro.

The extra 112GB mem, 2.5 inch drive chassis, storage drives, and video cards, and extras put me at about 8K. I also run 3x 27 inch 2k displays.

I mostly run model and simulation for network architecture and data center designs but also do my own home video editing. I was thinking about adding more memory because virtualization is memory hungry.

Thanks for sharing your bill(s) in this thread. It indeed is quite an investment but if you're using it for your business the only thing that counts is the ROI of your system.

The fact that you combine this beast for the "work hard, play hard" adagio - using it for your home video editing too - makes perfect sense to me!

Enjoy and good luck!

Cheers

 

[navaira]

With Apple's apparent disregard for the Mac only a matter of time really

...until this website needs a new name.

How about:

iOSRumors
RumorsEdition
or
RumorsPro?

 

[vrBrew]

...until this website needs a new name.

How about:

iOSRumors
RumorsEdition
or
RumorsPro?

What are you getting at?

 

[Queen6]

...until this website needs a new name.

How about:

iOSRumors
RumorsEdition
or
RumorsPro?

RumorsPro; naturally features reduced, longevity limited & prices hiked should you need to upgrade ...

Q-6

 

[navaira]

What are you getting at?

Let me re-quote it for you.

I do believe the MR staff is sensing a big upcoming major change, that a lot of pro-members will move to Windows and all its - state-of-the-art - new hardware.

With Apple's apparent disregard for the Mac only a matter of time really, as MR is very much a reflection of it's members. I have already moved my 13" class notebook to Microsoft's Surface Book, 15" I am debating a similar move, as for desktop solutions Apple is not even close to being on the radar.

Basically we think that 1) Apple is at best scaling down it's Mac "commitment" in their clogged "in the pipeline" and 2) I'd have renamed the website to AppleRumors a long time ago already because actual Mac rumors post is maybe one out of twenty that appear between "iPhone 8 will not have a curved screen after all" and "iPad screen size will be 10.5" and not 10.7 according to generably reliable analyst Ming Chi-Kuo". This is not a dig at MR staff at all! It's a dig at "we are very much committed to Pro community" Mr Cook.