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On the developer side of things, the 2018 Mac Mini update is a much lower priced computer with an option for a 6-core i7. If you really need a dedicated GPU, yo

On the developer side of things, the 2018 Mac Mini update is a much lower priced computer with an option for a 6-core i7. If you really need a dedicated GPU, you can add one with a Thunderbolt enclosure. The new Mac Pro is for movie studios and maybe very large machine learning models.

querulous 7y ago
no cuda, so it's definitely not for machine learning
- Asmod4n 7y ago
  The last Mac to support NVIDIA cards came out 10 years ago.
- PascLeRasc 7y ago
  It's so weird that Cuda has latched on to the ML world so tightly. It's a field where literally everything else is all about open-sourcing and giving away ivory tower knowledge, and then there's so much BS that Nvidia makes you go through - I had to wait a few days to get "approved" to download CudNN, where else is that acceptable? AMD releases high-quality open-source drivers, has better performance/TDP, usually better performance/$, and isn't having security issues every month. It'd be great to see them start to compete with ML libraries as well, they're such a better citizen. So no Nvidia cards is a feature for me.
bscphil 7y ago
>for movie studios You have to wonder how many you could reasonably expect to sell that way, though. Everyone in this thread is talking about some upper-elite of pro computer users (above your ordinary multi-six-figure developer salary on HN), but at only $6k per, that's not any way to make money. If that's really the target market, I would worry about making my design money back, let alone making a profit. So I have to assume that that's not quite true: it's a computer targeted at studios, other million dollar a year creative professionals, and (the largest market) relatively rich folks who want to play at being creative professionals. Nothing else makes sense: it's not a computer for enthusiasts, because it's at least 50% overpriced for the market, it's not for developers, as this thread amply illustrates. Consumers are far more likely to buy an iMac than a Mac Pro if they have a desktop at all. The only major market left are people with enough disposable income to buy products because of their branding and because they know it's what the fancy creatives are buying. Buying a Mac Pro will make you feel like a multimillionaire creative - that's the selling point. It's really the same principle as in digital cameras. Pricey full frame SLRs like the Canon 5D mk.IV are great cameras that are essential to photography professionals, but the vast majority of the market for these cameras is wealthy people who want to buy the expensive model from a recognizable name brand because "it's what the pros use". Edit: perhaps those who disagree with this could provide their own breakdown of who they think is the target market for these, and how many Apple can expect to sell to each.
- rhinoceraptor 7y ago
  Even if they doubled the price they'd still make peanuts compared to iPhones.

querulous 7y ago

no cuda, so it's definitely not for machine learning

Asmod4n 7y ago
The last Mac to support NVIDIA cards came out 10 years ago.
PascLeRasc 7y ago
It's so weird that Cuda has latched on to the ML world so tightly. It's a field where literally everything else is all about open-sourcing and giving away ivory tower knowledge, and then there's so much BS that Nvidia makes you go through - I had to wait a few days to get "approved" to download CudNN, where else is that acceptable? AMD releases high-quality open-source drivers, has better performance/TDP, usually better performance/$, and isn't having security issues every month. It'd be great to see them start to compete with ML libraries as well, they're such a better citizen. So no Nvidia cards is a feature for me.

bscphil 7y ago

>for movie studios You have to wonder how many you could reasonably expect to sell that way, though. Everyone in this thread is talking about some upper-elite of pro computer users (above your ordinary multi-six-figure developer salary on HN), but at only $6k per, that's not any way to make money. If that's really the target market, I would worry about making my design money back, let alone making a profit. So I have to assume that that's not quite true: it's a computer targeted at studios, other million dollar a year creative professionals, and (the largest market) relatively rich folks who want to play at being creative professionals. Nothing else makes sense: it's not a computer for enthusiasts, because it's at least 50% overpriced for the market, it's not for developers, as this thread amply illustrates. Consumers are far more likely to buy an iMac than a Mac Pro if they have a desktop at all. The only major market left are people with enough disposable income to buy products because of their branding and because they know it's what the fancy creatives are buying. Buying a Mac Pro will make you feel like a multimillionaire creative - that's the selling point. It's really the same principle as in digital cameras. Pricey full frame SLRs like the Canon 5D mk.IV are great cameras that are essential to photography professionals, but the vast majority of the market for these cameras is wealthy people who want to buy the expensive model from a recognizable name brand because "it's what the pros use". Edit: perhaps those who disagree with this could provide their own breakdown of who they think is the target market for these, and how many Apple can expect to sell to each.

rhinoceraptor 7y ago
Even if they doubled the price they'd still make peanuts compared to iPhones.