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Pressure

macrumors 603
May 30, 2006
5,080
1,417
Denmark
I will have to disagree with you there. When you have less than ideal yield, volume, and performance which has been an issue with 10nm, desktop processors will see the least priority. They require the highest clocks, and also happens to be the most sensitive market for price. So given the strict requirement that desktop processors need, it is likely that Intel will skip 10nm for desktop processor and focus it on mobile and servers until they can move to 7nm in 2021.

Remember that fabrication processes don't really compare that easily. Intel's 10nm is in fact denser compared to TSMCs 7nm process.
 

Kpjoslee

macrumors 6502
Sep 11, 2007
416
266
Not quite. They're lower binned in the grand scale of what's put out. OEM vendor chips are likely to be lower quality than OEM chips, if that makes sense. A chip going to Dell or HP is going to be locked in at a speed and not be a great clocker compared to the same chip in an OEM box. Current 10nm isn't capable of hitting the same frequency at 14nm++++++ and more. Xeons are different as you pointed out. More refined instruction sets, distributed workload, etc. Xeons, and back in the day, Opterons, did large work gracefully whereas an Athlon64 or P4 chugged alone and created a space heater.

Intel messed up by retooling 14nm plants to 10nm and back to 14 and back to 10. They announced 10nm back in 2012 and said they'd have it by 2014, then 2016, 2017, and so on. They can't do it. They also backed themselves into a corner with the 9900K since it's pushing against a wall where the RoI on frequency increases don't bring in more I/O in relation to heat output.

On a grand scale, yeah, but like I said, clock speed requirements isn't as high on mobile and server as it would be on desktop processor, so they simply are focusing their effort on mobile and server. It won't reach the clockspeed of their 14nm process, but I assume they are betting that IPC increase on Sunny Cove core will be able to offset the clockspeed disadvantage for mobile and server, but not on desktop (as clockspeed gap would be greater on desktop and IPC increase isn't enough to offset it).

That said, I'd expect some AMD hardware in the future from Apple as Intel won't have a viable processor for mainstream until 2022 to 2023.

I fully expect their consumer focused Mac products will be transitioned to their inhouse ARM by then.
 

Zellio

macrumors 65816
Feb 7, 2012
1,165
474
Remember that fabrication processes don't really compare that easily. Intel's 10nm is in fact denser compared to TSMCs 7nm process.

nm is nm. The reason you hear that is because Intel decided to make the entire chip 10nm. That's the entire reason it took so long. Take a look at AMD's Ryzen 3. The chiplets are the only part that is 7nm, the rest is either 12 or 14 (I forget which)
 

0388631

Cancelled
Sep 10, 2009
9,669
10,820
On a grand scale, yeah, but like I said, clock speed requirements isn't as high on mobile and server as it would be on desktop processor, so they simply are focusing their effort on mobile and server. It won't reach the clockspeed of their 14nm process, but I assume they are betting that IPC increase on Sunny Cove core will be able to offset the clockspeed disadvantage for mobile and server, but not on desktop (as clockspeed gap would be greater on desktop and IPC increase isn't enough to offset it).
Sorry, I think you missed what I said. Mobile is better binned because of its low TDP. Better binning is a two way street. Better bins for ultra low TDP ensure the chip is capable on running on as little juice as possible at idle or even lower energy plans. No idea what Apple uses and if it's got anything like Windows. I've never checked on my MBP.

Sunny Cove is based on Fovera, which is 3D stacked chiplets. Sunny Cove mobile is effectively a testing grounds for Intel for the time being.
 

Kpjoslee

macrumors 6502
Sep 11, 2007
416
266
Remember that fabrication processes don't really compare that easily. Intel's 10nm is in fact denser compared to TSMCs 7nm process.

Yeah, I am fully aware. They went too ambitious with their 10nm (with 2.7x density over 14nm, quad-patterning, etc) and it caused numerous delays. Unlike TSMC, Intel doesn't do half steps to develop knowhow of smaller processes over time and might have not foreseen the potential problems with <10nms. Intel is going back to tradtional 2x scaling with 7nm. Intel's 7nm is expected to be slightly more denser than TSMC's 5nm.
 
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0388631

Cancelled
Sep 10, 2009
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10,820
I fully expect their consumer focused Mac products will be transitioned to their inhouse ARM by then.
I can't see them going towards ARM to be honest. An ARM processor may seem fast but that's short burst performance. Sustained performance is important. And I suspect you'd need a processor as large and a typical CPU and have maybe 80% of its energy output at idle or load depending on what vendor model you go by. If Apple can design an ARM CPU that idles at 75 watts and can take 4K raw uncompressed video and crunch it on the CPU down to 1080p using h.265 for a 40 minute video, I'll be impressed. Provided they can convince software vendors to make another switch.
[doublepost=1559773701][/doublepost]
Yeah, I am fully aware. They went too ambitious with their 10nm (with 2.7x density over 14nm, quad-patterning, etc) and it caused numerous delays. Unlike TSMC, Intel doesn't do half steps to develop knowhow of smaller processes over time and might have not foreseen the potential problems with <10nms. Intel is going back to tradtional 2x scaling with 7nm. Intel's 7nm is expected to be slightly more denser than TSMC's 5nm.
Well that and mesh isn't as good as ring bus. Which brings Infinity Fabric into question, as the latency in the current Ryzens isn't great for some stuff, like audio production according to what I've read. But I can't seem to find the source of said claims and any claim that isn't a parroted talking point.

Microsoft had to go out of there way to make W10 more applicable with some legacy VST programs. Intel isn't the only one in a bind.
 
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lennyeiger

macrumors member
Jan 6, 2015
90
80
Santa Cruz, CA
Let me dispel all this quoting of a $5999 price. I'm not going to invest at least $6K on a machine with a 256GB hard drive, and almost no RAM. I am going to want at least a TB of SSD drive space, and 48-64 Gigs of RAM. By the time I add Sales Tax, this machine is going to be around $8000. (With a monitor, if I wanted to go for that, it would total about $15,000.)
It isn't $5999. I know you all know this and its been said its a "starting" price, but lets get it out of our heads right away. This bastard is expensive.

There was a lot about upgradeability. There was nothing in the keynote about upgradeable cpu's down the road.

Apple has missed it again. They have low end, non-upgradeable machines, and then they have machines for professional movie production. I am not involved in movies (and don't want to be). While I do Photography at a very high level, most of wy workin the last 33 years has been custom database design and development. Helix, FileMaker, PHP, node, mySQL and iPhone apps that hook to the various databases. I need a power machine, to work with files in the 1-5 Gigabyte range, with lots of screen space.

It appears once again, that the only business market Apple can see is the movie studios. It may be a very reasonable cost for them, especially if one machine can replace many, as they say. However, that is a very limited market. All the nay-sayers will get their point proven. They will sell a few, but not enough to warrant upgrading it fo many years.

This article states it very plainly, what about the rest of us power users?
 

Zellio

macrumors 65816
Feb 7, 2012
1,165
474
Yeah, I am fully aware. They went too ambitious with their 10nm (with 2.7x density over 14nm, quad-patterning, etc) and it caused numerous delays. Unlike TSMC, Intel doesn't do half steps to develop knowhow of smaller processes over time and might have not foreseen the potential problems with <10nms. Intel is going back to tradtional 2x scaling with 7nm. Intel's 7nm is expected to be slightly more denser than TSMC's 5nm.

Actually they did for the longest time, it's why again 10nm took so long. Intels chips have never fully been the same nm as stated until the 10nm chip! Usually parts of the chip are a higher nm and the rated nm is for the lowest nm on the chip
 

gilles_polysoft

macrumors regular
Jul 7, 2017
225
604
Tours (France)
Apple never had a Mac Pro for less than $2499,00

Not exactly true...
You could buy in 2006 BTO Mac Pro at $2099, with downgrading the CPU to two 2.0 Ghz Xeon if I remember correctly.

And of course, Mac Pro did sold far less than PowerMac G3/G4/G5 which were very commonly sold desktop machines, starting at ~$1300...
 
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tsialex

Contributor
Jun 13, 2016
13,109
13,307
Not exactly true...
You could buy in 2006 BTO Mac Pro at $2099, with downgrading the CPU to two 2.0 Ghz Xeon if I remember correctly.

And of course, Mac Pro did sold far less than PowerMac G3/G4/G5 which were very commonly sold desktop machines, starting at ~$1300...

Screen Shot 2019-06-05 at 19.55.10.png

2006 BTO with 2.0 Xeons was $200 less, so $2299,00.

You can still read the press releases and check prices:

2006 Mac Pro (2x2core 2.66GHz $2499) August 7, 2006 PRESS RELEASE Apple Unveils New Mac Pro Featuring Quad 64-bit Xeon Processors
2007 Mac Pro (8core $2799*) no PR
2008 Mac Pro (8core $2799) January 8, 2008 PRESS RELEASE Apple Introduces New Mac Pro
2009 Mac Pro (4core $2499, 8core $3299) March 3, 2009 PRESS RELEASE Apple Introduces New Mac Pro
2010 Mac Pro (4core $2499, 8core $3499, 12core $4999*) July 27, 2010 PRESS RELEASE Apple Unveils New Mac Pro With Up to 12 Processing Cores
2012 Mac Pro (4core $2499*, 8core $3799*) no PR
2013 Mac Pro (4core $2999, 6core $3999) December 18, 2013 PRESS RELEASE All New Mac Pro Available Starting Tomorrow

*Mactracker prices.
 
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Kpjoslee

macrumors 6502
Sep 11, 2007
416
266
I can't see them going towards ARM to be honest. An ARM processor may seem fast but that's short burst performance. Sustained performance is important. And I suspect you'd need a processor as large and a typical CPU and have maybe 80% of its energy output at idle or load depending on what vendor model you go by. If Apple can design an ARM CPU that idles at 75 watts and can take 4K raw uncompressed video and crunch it on the CPU down to 1080p using h.265 for a 40 minute video, I'll be impressed. Provided they can convince software vendors to make another switch.

Not only ARM but I think Apple might integrate specialized ASIC to accelerate certain workload as well. Like you said, it will be up for Apple to convince developers to make switch.

Well that and mesh isn't as good as ring bus. Which brings Infinity Fabric into question, as the latency in the current Ryzens isn't great for some stuff, like audio production according to what I've read. But I can't seem to find the source of said claims and any claim that isn't a parroted talking point.

Microsoft had to go out of there way to make W10 more applicable with some legacy VST programs. Intel isn't the only one in a bind.

Well, limit for ring bus seems like 10-core and they might have to keep using Mesh for higher core counts. For Infinity Fabric, Ryzen 3 has bigger L3 cache to mask its potential latency problem so latency problems with previous Ryzen might not be present....but can't really say until actual benchmarks come out.
 
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0388631

Cancelled
Sep 10, 2009
9,669
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Not only ARM but I think Apple might integrate specialized ASIC to accelerate certain workload as well. Like you said, it will be up for Apple to convince developers to make switch.
Afterburner says hi.
[doublepost=1559778671][/doublepost]
Well, limit for ring bus seems like 10-core and they might have to keep using Mesh for higher core counts. For Infinity Fabric, Ryzen 3 has bigger L3 cache to mask its potential latency problem so latency problems with previous Ryzen might not be present....but can't really say until actual benchmarks come out.
Yeah that and some other work they did. I didn't pay much attention to benches then but if they closed all gaps in Zen2 then it stands that most enthusiasts in the PC world may go with Ryzen for the interim until Intel brings out a new architecture that beats whatever AMD will be doing then.

There's always the potential for the next best product to come out after you purchase. That's a given. How long between your purchase and said release matters more. Grab a 3900X this summer and use it until 2023 or 2024 and then go back to Intel IF it's worth doing so.
 

MacGarage

macrumors regular
Jun 18, 2017
189
88
Ohio
I am thinking the price line is about in line as to what I paid for my 2008 Mac Pro new...the Cinema Display was cheaper (I am still using it...and the Mac Pro is still a 24/7 server now).
Screen Shot 2019-06-05 at 7.49.28 PM.png
 

nerdynerdynerdy

macrumors regular
Jul 22, 2007
126
127
The Mac Pro is very expensive, but it's very nice. Most of the complaining about cost here is coming from people who can't justify and/or don't need the machine.

By way of example, in my small studio a graphics/edit suite bills ~$1000/day. Ends up around the $250,000 per year mark. I will get a minimum of three years out of a new Mac before replacing it, at which point it still holds quite a lot of value on the used market.

So if over three years the suite pulls in $750,000, a $20k investment in a computer is not outrageous. Even less so assuming that this machine can be comprehensively internally upgraded at that point. I think the new design makes it pretty clear that Apple intend to be more proactive in releasing internal upgrades.

Could I buy more performance for less money from HP? Yes I could.

But I am part of Apple's traditional base of pro customers. People who run studios that are expected to look sharp as well as provide great creative work. Believe it or not, clients respond positively to nicely designed computers and furniture when they come in.

I'm not a big player by any means. You don't need to be a huge studio to justify this.



(As a postscript, I do realise there are plenty of people with heavily render-based NVIDIA workflows. I do hope for you guys that Apple come through with something in the future.)
 

handheldgames

macrumors 68000
Apr 4, 2009
1,939
1,169
Pacific NW, USA
The Mac Pro is very expensive, but it's very nice. Most of the complaining about cost here is coming from people who can't justify and/or don't need the machine.

By way of example, in my small studio a graphics/edit suite bills ~$1000/day. Ends up around the $250,000 per year mark. I will get a minimum of three years out of a new Mac before replacing it, at which point it still holds quite a lot of value on the used market.

So if over three years the suite pulls in $750,000, a $20k investment in a computer is not outrageous. Even less so assuming that this machine can be comprehensively internally upgraded at that point. I think the new design makes it pretty clear that Apple intend to be more proactive in releasing internal upgrades.

Could I buy more performance for less money from HP? Yes I could.

But I am part of Apple's traditional base of pro customers. People who run studios that are expected to look sharp as well as provide great creative work. Believe it or not, clients respond positively to nicely designed computers and furniture when they come in.

I'm not a big player by any means. You don't need to be a huge studio to justify this.



(As a postscript, I do realise there are plenty of people with heavily render-based NVIDIA workflows. I do hope for you guys that Apple come through with something in the future.)

Your assessment is spot-on. Thanks for the contribution.
[doublepost=1559787876][/doublepost]
I get people saying that this device is not meant for developers, etc... but then why the hell was it announced at WWDC? Why not hold a different event for it?

It sounds like you need to watch the event. Beyond all the high end video examples, they also showed how developer could use the CPU power to simultaneously emulate & debug multiple iOS devices.
 
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ct2k7

macrumors G3
Aug 29, 2008
8,369
3,436
London
Your assessment is spot-on. Thanks for the contribution.
[doublepost=1559787876][/doublepost]

It sounds like you need to watch the event. Beyond all the high end video examples, they also showed how developer could use the CPU power to simultaneously emulate & debug multiple iOS devices.

I was at the event. The applications exposed to developers was only the simulations of several devices... which let’s be honest.. isn’t extremely difficult to achieve right now.

The Pro Studio did not showcase any of this however, and was purely focussed on content creation. The staff at the Pro Studio Event were focussing purely on media and not development qualities.
 

MagnusVonMagnum

macrumors 603
Jun 18, 2007
5,193
1,442
Power Macs are not Mac Pros ;)

BS. We all know by now that the "PRO" moniker means absolutely NOTHING (see: 13" Macbook Pro POS with garbage graphics, etc. that is in no way a "Pro" computer).

The PRO moniker means NOTHING.

PowerMac, Mac Pro. Same damn thing unless you want to play games with "XEON" (which when they used PPC didn't apply).

There was a "Mac Pro G5" with the "Pro" name and it started at $2000, not $6000.
 

Think Again

macrumors newbie
Jul 12, 2018
1
0
As excited we are with any announcement at WWDC, realistically, the majority of Mac enthusiasts likely won’t be able to afford a Mac Pro.

Prices will likely start around $5K, so unless you’re a professional, or a company that needs the horsepower, you might be better off with an iMac.

I doubt we’ll ever see a $1500-$2500 breakout tower. It’s not like the old days where a hobbyist can afford to tinker with an expansion slot based G4 Power Mac or Cheese Grater Mac.
 

RCPhotos

macrumors newbie
Mar 21, 2019
23
9
PNW
As excited we are with any announcement at WWDC, realistically, the majority of Mac enthusiasts likely won’t be able to afford a Mac Pro.

Prices will likely start around $5K, so unless you’re a professional, or a company that needs the horsepower, you might be better off with an iMac.

I doubt we’ll ever see a $1500-$2500 breakout tower. It’s not like the old days where a hobbyist can afford to tinker with an expansion slot based G4 Power Mac or Cheese Grater Mac.
[doublepost=1559824534][/doublepost]Tim simply doesn't care to compete with Asus or iBUYPOWER or Dell or HP or any manufacturer, thereby dropping 95% of the potential shared market. I think if he took a look at what the lion's share wants he would see that all of us just want an affordable fast device, be it a desktop, or an iPad. Starting at $5k is ridiculous.
 

foliovision

macrumors regular
Jun 11, 2008
184
84
Bratislava
Pushing us off to iMacs is a non-starter. iMacs are non-repairable and not upgradeable. Tim can take his overpriced or anti-ecology, anti-green disposable computers and stick them where the sun doesn't shine.

I've got a stable of seven or eight 4,1 MacPros upgraded to 5,1 with nice graphic cards and some spare parts. When they won't cut it any more, back to Hackintoshes. I won't buy a MBP without ports either. No way I'm going to run around with a pocket full of silly dongles like some geek out of the eighties.

Current enthusiastic Apple users are anything but cool – more sheeple. Polluting the environment, running around with dongles, frothing at the mouth, justifying going into debt to help ruin the earth.

I have some sympathy for the high middle tier studio owner. He's running a kind of brothel: good sheets and fancy furniture keep the prices higher. Good on him – he knows why he's doing it and he's getting his money back. These days it's easy enough to bury the computers themselves in server rooms (for silence) and much of the heavy lifting is being done on Linux (DaVinci Resolve, the 3D rendering apps) so there's other ways to tickle the clients expectations. I'm still using Mac versions for my creative work as well.
 

vaugha

macrumors 6502a
Nov 3, 2011
611
206
Here's a quote from an Apple employee, Sarah Herrlinger, director of Global Accessibility Policy & Initiatives in regards to the 2019 Mac Pro:

"it's not for everyone, not even for most people."

This pretty much sums it up on how much they will charge. Like I said before, a maxed out mac pro will be in the scale of a price of a decent luxury car.
 
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