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You get get that from Dell. They and HP have been selling this stuff forever.

alwillis 7y ago
Yes, Dell and HP sell perfectly fine workstations. No, there's nothing like the current Mac Pro. A quick look doesn't show a Dell Precision desktop workstation that goes beyond 48GB RAM, for example, while the Mac Pro goes to 1.5 TB. I also didn't see anything like the MPX Module: The MPX Module starts with an industry-standard PCI Express connector. Then, for the first time in a graphics card, more PCIe lanes integrate Thunderbolt and additional power provided to increase capability. With up to 500 watts, the MPX Module has power capacity equivalent to that of the entire previous-generation Mac Pro. Didn't see a way to have up to 8K streams going at the same time or the ability to attach up to 12 4K displays on the Dell site. It goes on and on. You can approximate a lot of what Apple is offering, but you can't duplicate what they're offering at a lower price. There's so much Apple-designed silicon in this box, it's literally impossible for Dell, HP or anyone else to compete with off-the-shelf, commodity components. For the target market Apple is going for, the cost of even a tricked-out Mac Pro is a rounding error.
- detaro 7y ago
  look again at e.g. the Dell 7920: Up to 3 TB RAM, 4 GPUs with 4 DP ports each if you want, dual processor if you want (so 56 cores), ... Costs more or less the same as the Mac though, or more if you go higher-spec. MPX might be interesting, although I notice the Apple marketing comparing it to previous Macs and not competing PC-workstation cards, and of course application-dependent.
  - alwillis 7y ago
    MPX might be interesting, although I notice the Apple marketing comparing it to previous Macs and not competing PC-workstation cards, and of course application-dependent. They were saying this one card has more processing power than the last generation Mac Pro.
  - alwillis 7y ago
    Up to 3 TB RAM, 4 GPUs with 4 DP ports each if you want, dual processor if you want (so 56 cores) Sure, the hardware is comparable if you don't take Apple's custom silicon into account, which by definition doesn't exist anywhere else. None of the highest-end graphics cards--AMD Radeon Pro Vega II (64 compute units, 4096 stream units, 14.1 teraflops single precision or 28.3 teraflops double-precision) or the same card in the Duo configuration with two Vega II GPUs each with the 64 compute units, 4096 stream units, etc. are available from Dell. Windows 10 is a big improvement over previous versions and the rollout of macOS Catalina was rough, but as things settle down, I believe Apple has the edge when it comes to ease of use and robustness. And there's software like Final Cut Pro, which is an industry-standard in the movie business that only runs on macOS and is updated to take advantage of the new Mac Pro.

Yes, Dell and HP sell perfectly fine workstations. No, there's nothing like the current Mac Pro. A quick look doesn't show a Dell Precision desktop workstation that goes beyond 48GB RAM, for example, while the Mac Pro goes to 1.5 TB. I also didn't see anything like the MPX Module: The MPX Module starts with an industry-standard PCI Express connector. Then, for the first time in a graphics card, more PCIe lanes integrate Thunderbolt and additional power provided to increase capability. With up to 500 watts, the MPX Module has power capacity equivalent to that of the entire previous-generation Mac Pro. Didn't see a way to have up to 8K streams going at the same time or the ability to attach up to 12 4K displays on the Dell site. It goes on and on. You can approximate a lot of what Apple is offering, but you can't duplicate what they're offering at a lower price. There's so much Apple-designed silicon in this box, it's literally impossible for Dell, HP or anyone else to compete with off-the-shelf, commodity components. For the target market Apple is going for, the cost of even a tricked-out Mac Pro is a rounding error.

detaro 7y ago
look again at e.g. the Dell 7920: Up to 3 TB RAM, 4 GPUs with 4 DP ports each if you want, dual processor if you want (so 56 cores), ... Costs more or less the same as the Mac though, or more if you go higher-spec. MPX might be interesting, although I notice the Apple marketing comparing it to previous Macs and not competing PC-workstation cards, and of course application-dependent.
- alwillis 7y ago
  MPX might be interesting, although I notice the Apple marketing comparing it to previous Macs and not competing PC-workstation cards, and of course application-dependent. They were saying this one card has more processing power than the last generation Mac Pro.
- alwillis 7y ago
  Up to 3 TB RAM, 4 GPUs with 4 DP ports each if you want, dual processor if you want (so 56 cores) Sure, the hardware is comparable if you don't take Apple's custom silicon into account, which by definition doesn't exist anywhere else. None of the highest-end graphics cards--AMD Radeon Pro Vega II (64 compute units, 4096 stream units, 14.1 teraflops single precision or 28.3 teraflops double-precision) or the same card in the Duo configuration with two Vega II GPUs each with the 64 compute units, 4096 stream units, etc. are available from Dell. Windows 10 is a big improvement over previous versions and the rollout of macOS Catalina was rough, but as things settle down, I believe Apple has the edge when it comes to ease of use and robustness. And there's software like Final Cut Pro, which is an industry-standard in the movie business that only runs on macOS and is updated to take advantage of the new Mac Pro.