22 ms·
Mac Pro Late 2013 Teardown
- midgetjones 13y agoThat's a pretty good score, considering how unfixable the laptops have become.
- calinet6 13y agoDifferent tools for different purposes. In my experience, the laptops have not required opening for quite some time, speaking about my retina MBP and Air experiences. I could upgrade the storage (just 256GB seems small) but I don't really need to... I have all the music I want in the "cloud" (Spotify, Rdio, Pandora) and I keep my video on my home server on an external enclosure I can mount anytime through SSH or watch via Plex. I could upgrade the video card, but I never have before in a laptop; if I wanted to do things like that, I'd get a desktop. I could upgrade the memory, but I maxxed it out at 16GB anyway and it won't fit any more. I could open it to fix things, but there are few moving parts and nothing seems to break. I might someday need to replace the battery, but on both my rMBPs so far (one owned 1 year, one owned 6 months) the battery has not notably declined in capacity. Even at the end of its life, a reduced 4 hour battery life will be plenty sufficient, and when it finally kicks the bucket, I'm happy to have Apple service it. In my original 2008 aluminum macbook pro, I replaced the hard drive once, upgraded the memory, and replaced the battery; but none of these things are as relevant or limited as they were in 2009. I have no need for the equivalent upgrades anymore. The machine just works, exactly how I want it to.
- ceejayoz 13y agoLaptops being less serviceable are merely a side effect of the demand for better battery life and smaller devices. Mac Pros don't suffer from that.
- alexcroox 13y agoMy retina MBP is so thin an ethernet cable is too thick for it, I think I can understand why it's not exactly built for hot swapping parts out...
- netcraft 13y agoI hadn't realized how small this is. I was imagining something about 1.5x to 2x as tall from the previous pictures I had seen. It is impressive how modular they have made it in such as small package, but the inability to expand without thunderbolt is a turnoff to me personally. Maybe once thunderbolt becomes more ubiquitous and cheaper it won't be as big of a deal. Apple wants $30 for a half meter cable http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD861ZM/A/apple-thunderbolt-cable-20-m http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD861ZM/A/apple-thunderbol...
- agumonkey 13y agoFirst picture with a hand on it got me mouth-agape. It's a big soda can. Impressive indeed. I wish they chose a more angular form factor, circular feels odd, and oddly not Apple-ish enough. psedit: I didn't see the can / macpro picture the first time (slow DSL today) psedit2: this level of custom hardware reminds me of the ~70s era, on IBM machines, every piece was as specific as it could get. Beautiful to see, maybe less fun when in need for parts.
- calinet6 13y agoIt's actually a special-edition New Belgium Patagonia-themed beer... just discovered it thanks to this. Cool can design.
- gfodor 13y agoCircular not Apple-ish enough? :) http://www.cupertino.org/inc/img/apple_campus-cover.jpg http://www.cupertino.org/inc/img/apple_campus-cover.jpg
- agumonkey 13y agoThey don't ship this one.
- superuser2 13y agoFYI, that "half meter cable" is not simple electrical continuity. There are microcontrollers in the ends handling the data as it passes. http://www.electronista.com/articles/11/06/29/thunderbolt.cable.torn.down.by.ifixit/ http://www.electronista.com/articles/11/06/29/thunderbolt.ca...
- bane 13y agoI wonder how many people will just run this with the case off. It looks so much better to my eyes. Maybe an aftermarket clear case will show up? I really hope a similar form factor takes off for custom computer builders.
- agumonkey 13y agoAn vertically extruded triangle form factor would have been superb, like a sibling artefact from 2001. And Apple already owns triangles http://www.theverge.com/policy/2012/6/7/3068355/Apple-design-patent-macbook-air-wedge-ultrabook http://www.theverge.com/policy/2012/6/7/3068355/Apple-design... ...
- archgrove 13y agoAlas, it won't even turn on without its case (http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/23/5234574/apple-mac-pro-review-2013 http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/23/5234574/apple-mac-pro-rev...). It needs it to guide air through the cooling tower style design. Presumably, someone could make a transparent case as an accessory.
- marknutter 13y agoI think there'd be a market for a third-party glass or clear plastic case, which I believe would serve the same purpose but show of the awesome internals.
- MartinCron 13y agoIf ever there was a product that called out for a Kickstarter, it would be the clear Mac Pro case. Artisan borosilicate glass, naturally.
- Touche 13y agoA Kickstarter for a case for a very expensive computer... I don't see that going so well.
- stephann 13y agoI hate apple products lately (macbook pro), well I love them but I hate you cant replace components like RAM and SSD. I wish they improved soon. As for mac pro, I love design.
- Kiro 13y agoWhy can't you replace the SSD?
- whichdan 13y agoThey've started using a proprietary SATA connector.
- nwh 13y agoPCIe, which is reasonably standard.
- post_break 13y agoQuick, find me a replacement at an online retailer. Then tell me how reasonable it is. There is currently only one supplier and they charge a fortune.
- e1ven 13y agoNot to discount your point about retail availability, but this appears to use the M.2 (NGFF) format, which has been widely praised (outside of any Apple context) as an industry-standard approach to flash memory. http://www.anandtech.com/show/6293/ngff-ssds-putting-an-end-to-proprietary-ultrabook-ssd-form-factors http://www.anandtech.com/show/6293/ngff-ssds-putting-an-end-... The M.2 form-factor is available for both SATA and PCIe cards. PCIe versions are becoming the new normal, due to the speed increases - http://www.tested.com/tech/pcs/456464-why-ssds-are-transitioning-sata-pcie-next-gen-form-factor/ http://www.tested.com/tech/pcs/456464-why-ssds-are-transitio...
- protomyth 13y ago
- samatman 13y agoSaying that it's 'shockingly un-apple-like' that the outer case can be removed, shows that the reviewer is handling his first Mac Pro. I still remember the glee I felt, every time I opened my G5 Mac Pro. My lust for this machine is only growing. It looks like a cross between Darth Vader and R2D2. Love it.
- Tloewald 13y agoIndeed, Apple's pro macs have generally been ridiculously upgradeable and user-accessible. (Modulo needing to "cover your hands in bandages" before opening up one of the full-sized Mac II series). The 7-series "sidecars", and 8- and 9- series towers, could be completely accessed without tools and had CPUs on upgradeable daughtercards.
- leoc 13y agoHere's Jobs touting the accessibility of the 1999 PowerMac G3's internals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=pH-6Tek9yF4#t=2492 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=pH-...
- peedy 13y agoLink that starts from a good time, http://youtu.be/pH-6Tek9yF4?t=40m41s http://youtu.be/pH-6Tek9yF4?t=40m41s
- brudgers 13y agoThe video cards in the last generation of MacPro's could only be upgraded to the cards offered directly from Apple or the handful Mac-specific parts offered by third parties. With it's unusual form factors, the new MacPro will probably offer even fewer options. It also looks like the current form factor also limits internal storage to a single drive - i.e. it's a workstation that does not provide for an internal RAID configuration. It also does not provide any way to back data up without using a network connection or external device. None of these may be deal breakers, of course, but the trend is definitely away from upgradability. Then again, a shared heat sink and limited air volume combined with a 450w power supply and a single fan design probably give Apple business reasons to move in that direction.
- jokoon 13y agoI hope this is the most mucle-y windows-running computer.
- mortyseinfeld 13y agoWow, that thing is freaking cool.
- marknutter 13y agoI'm probably going to be buying one of these today so I've been doing a bit of research. Turns out most everything is user replaceable; most importantly, the processor. So you can save your self a fair bit of cash by buying the base model and upgrading later as needed, which is what I intend to do.
- josephlord 13y agoXeon processors don't seem to drop in price the way the consumer ones do so you might not save as much as you expect. Edit: It may still be worth buying the base model now and upgrading immediately if the Apple markup is large.
- marknutter 13y agoThe Apple markup is large.
- sjtgraham 13y agoNo http://bgr.com/2013/12/26/mac-pro-windows-diy-cost/ http://bgr.com/2013/12/26/mac-pro-windows-diy-cost/
- barrkel 13y agoYou should do the homework yourself, rather than relying on an article whose motivations you can't be sure of. It's awkward to match the Apple machine exactly because of the non-standard graphics hardware. The D300/500 are approximately cut-down versions of W7000/8000 with reduced VRAM. I specced up a machine on newegg and other sources for the CPU. E5-1660 V2 (3.7Ghz with 15M cache), LGA 2011 motherboard, 64G ECC RAM, 2xW7000 graphics, 480G PCIe SSD (2x240G), and a CPU cooler / case / power supply to round it out (not looking to buy the most expensive options here). Came to about $4800. An Apple.com Mac Pro machine with 3.5Ghz / 12M cache CPU (worse), 64G memory, dual D500 GPU (worse) and 256G PCIe (worse) comes to $5200. On the pro Apple side, you get a very nice case and a lot of integrated wireless stuff, Thunderbolt etc. On the anti Apple side, you get much better expandability (the option to go dual socket in particular) and upgradability, and an overall more powerful system for nearly 10% less.
- thirdsight 13y agoMuch better than I expected. I've been concerned that they're making lemons recently with the total black box MBPs. iPads I can understand being sealed/disposable but not MBP line machines. Good on Apple for friendly engineering design this time. Unfortunately for me though, I both can't justify one and can't afford one anyway.
- codex 13y agoSurprise feature: 512GB of DRAM associated with the SSD. Is this a write cache? If so, is it battery backed?
- cdawzrd 13y ago*512MB. This is not an Apple innovation... I believe all SSDs have caches hanging off of the controller, used for both write and read. Flash memory is very much slower than DRAM when writing. This DRAM cache is why many SSDs have better burst performance than sustained write performance. Only the most high-end datacenter-oriented SSDs have backup power, typically supplied by supercapacitors rather than batteries though. I don't see any backup power on this Apple SSD.
- konstruktor 13y agoWhich brings us to an interesting point: A typical workstation USV is about the size of the Mac Pro :)
- hashtree 13y agoSeriously impressive design all around. However, I still can't pull myself to spend 10k on one when I can instead do a decked out iMac and then offload processing to ~4 custom built servers with far more total procs/ram/ssd. The only hard to replicate piece is the six channel PCI-E SSD (cost-wise). This is what I have done for years now, and however much I might like to just for the design... I imagine sticking with it.
- lisp-and-seo 13y ago>> The only hard to replicate piece is the six channel PCI-E SSD (cost-wise) Not really, all you need are a motherboard supporting (fake) hardware RAID (that's almost any over $100) and a couple of good 240GB SSDs. A RAID 0 will far outperform the MacPro in random access (e.g. OS drive) and in the worst case - sequential reading - will be no more than 10% slower. The hard to replicate part is the OS, but IMHO Linux and Windows with some UI configuration are superior.
- yeukhon 13y agoThis is a beautiful machine. It does look odd but every hardware built into the Pro looks amazing fit and stylish. The only complain, of course is when you need all those extra cables and just make the Pro looks uglier. I am going to one of these a year or later, like when the 2nd or even 3rd generation comes out. When iPod first came out, it was a big hit but it was a monster. 2 generations down it was slim.
- gfodor 13y agoI'm pretty sure the form factor is here to stay for a while. Apple isn't going to re-engineer the Mac Pro's case nearly as rapidly as their other consumer devices.
- yeukhon 13y agoAh. I don't know. I feel like there might be improves. But Apple does have a track of adding/removing small features like removing or adding usb and 1394 ports.
- rsynnott 13y agoAnd it's not like they change their other computers' cases very much, anyway. The previous iMac managed about five years, for instance.
- userbinator 13y agoThose caps in the PSU are going to get pretty cooked judging from their position...