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Some interesting things to note from the specs[0]: 1. An 18-core processor option, 4TB of storage (hopefully NVMe) and 128GB of RAM. That's crazy for an iMac f
by rl3 9y ago
Some interesting things to note from the specs[0]:
1. An 18-core processor option, 4TB of storage (hopefully NVMe) and 128GB of RAM. That's crazy for an iMac form factor. I'm surprised Apple is even continuing the traditional Mac Pro form factor, considering.
2. Specific details on AMD Vega's pro models:
Radeon Pro Vega 56 graphics processor with 8GB of HBM2 memory | Configurable to Radeon Pro Vega 64 graphics processor with 16GB of HBM2 memory
Having a GPU with 16GB of HBM2 doesn't necessitate an external graphics card in the vast majority of cases. It'll be interesting if you can then hook up additional external graphics cards to augment its GPU power for either high-end 3D work or deep learning applications.
I'm guessing we may see people hooking up external Nvidia GPUs just so they can take advantage of CUDA, which is kind of a shame considering the specs of the onboard Vega hardware.
Metal 2 introduces compute shaders however, so I'm not sure if Apple intends to challenge CUDA primacy. Considering their reliance on AMD GPUs, it would be in their interest to do so—or at least somehow convince Nvidia to discontinue their anti-competitive practice of locking CUDA to Nvidia GPUs.
[0] https://www.apple.com/imac-pro/specs/ https://www.apple.com/imac-pro/specs/
EDIT: As other commenters pointed out, I incorrectly speculated the Mac Pro form factor was done for. On the contrary, its continuation is officially confirmed. My comment has been updated accordingly. Thanks!
- LeoPanthera 9y agoApple already announced a modular Mac Pro for next year. I doubt they would go back on that.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- gbersac 9y agoIs it me or the specs of this Imac is monstruous ? You forgot to mention up to 128G ram and up to 4T SSD?
- tambourine_man 9y ago"In addition to the new iMac Pro, Apple is working on a completely redesigned, next-generation Mac Pro architected for pro customers who need the highest-end, high-throughput system in a modular design, as well as a new high-end pro display." https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2017/06/imac-pro-most-powerful-mac-arrives-december/ https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2017/06/imac-pro-most-powerfu...
- striking 9y agoAnd you'll only have to wait until after 2017 for it. [1] 1: 'These next-gen Mac Pros and pro displays “will not ship this year”. (I hope that means “next year”, but all Apple said was “not this year”.)' from https://daringfireball.net/2017/04/the_mac_pro_lives https://daringfireball.net/2017/04/the_mac_pro_lives
- tqkxzugoaupvwqr 9y agoWhen Apple did this blogger event a couple of weeks ago to update the tech scene about the future of the Mac Pro, it sounded like they were surprised their pro users wanted updated Mac Pros, not just iMacs. It appears Apple only then decided to work on an update (redesign) of the Mac Pro. So don’t bet on next year. They just started the research for a complete new design.
- pdpi 9y agoA few months ago Apple had a chat with several major bloggers and they specifically said that the Mac Pro wasn't going anywhere, they were redoing it from scratch. The TLDR is that the GPU workloads didn't materialise the way they thought they would so 2x slightly less powerful GPUs doesn't measure up to a single beefier GPU, and the trash can design really limited them on thermal design, which is why updates on that design stalled. Given that limitation, they decided to redesign the whole thing again, targeting a 2018 release, and they mentioned they were introducing a workstation-grade iMac in the meanwhile. So this seems like it would be _that_ machine.
- TheAnimus 9y agoAre there many people who will want the 18-core option, but not have multiple GPUs without a bottleneck of thunderbolt?