New Mac Pro 2013 Teardown

http://blog.macsales.com/22108-new-mac-pro-2013-teardown

by protomyth • 13 years ago

31 39 13 years ago

blog.macsales.com

pan69• 13 years ago

Regardless of specs, it's an absolute terrible looking device, a real monstrosity I would say.

I was just looking into getting a MacPro after years of self building my boxes and started to warm up towards the "previous" Mac Pro boxes/towers.

However, getting a MacPro is now longer a option with this "design" and self build suddenly seems quite appealing again.

ykl• 13 years ago

I'm still slightly iffy on how it looks externally, and I'm still not fond of the lack of user upgradeability, but I have to admit that the interior is a truly remarkable piece of engineering.

jreed91• 13 years ago

Didn't they just say today that the CPU is upgrade able. On top of the ssd, ram, and possibly gpu being user upgradable.

arrrg4• 13 years ago

Well, that’s just, like, your opinion.

Design is the worst. Searching for bookshelf speakers during the last month was an appalling experience. I think they all look absolutely disgusting, no matter how much you want to spend. HiFi people all have disgusting taste. But that’s also just my opinion. They seem to honestly believe that their ugly bookshelf speakers are stunning.

buttsex• 13 years ago

If you are looking at the lower end, have you checked out the Audioengine A2 speakers? I have the black ones and while they aren't the sexiest, pure black is pretty good looking.

xxpor• 13 years ago

I think most hifi people would say if you're basing your speaker decision on how they look you're doing it wrong.

phonon2• 13 years ago

Have you looked at minipod speakers? They are quite impressive in form and function.

http://store.podspeakers.com/product/minipod-mk2-106/ or http://store.podspeakers.com/category/smallpod-18/

onedev• 13 years ago

It's a simple black cylinder, I think it's fantastically minimal.

potatolicious• 13 years ago

I love the shape and functionality of the case, but the chrome-plated shiny is IMO unnecessarily garish.

That said, on the whole of it, I like the design. It also looks pretty self-serviceable, maybe OEMs will start making mobos and graphics cards in this form factor. I'd honestly rather get rid of the monstrosity of a tower I have under my desk for something this size.

Randgalt2• 13 years ago

You are in the minority. I think it's stunningly beautiful.

stock_toaster• 13 years ago

I agree, but I bet it wont be long before there are custom bamboo "sleeves" for it.

codex• 13 years ago

It does have the advantage of being extremely quiet. If you find yourself looking at it in disgust, you could probably put it inside the hollowed shell of an old Mac Pro. Or just put it behind your monitor or under your desk.

issa• 13 years ago

Silly me. Here I've been buying computers all these years based on their ability to help me get work done.

gameshot911• 13 years ago

That actually raises an interesting idea. Does it say anything about the state of a technology when the design becomes a purchasing factor in addition to just the functionality?

In 1995 no one cared what a PC looked like. The driving factors were "You mean I can send a message...electronically!?", "I can chat with other people in a chatroom in real time!?", etc. But today those features are commonplace, and people really do care about how the product looks as much as the capabilities of the hardware. Does this imply some sort of plateau in the progress of the technology or the features it offers? I'd say yes - if a fully functional VR system were available tomorrow (think Oculus v10.0+) it's design would be almost irrelevant in light of the new experiences it offered.

Randgalt2• 13 years ago

Style is also important. Here's a great book on the subject: http://www.amazon.com/Substance-Style-P-S-Virginia-Postrel-e...

bane• 13 years ago

I wish they had embraced the interior triangle design and the ultra-high tech look of the components instead of hiding it behind a garishly bad taste chrome trashcan cylinder. The bits with the case off look like something an alien civilization might have left behind or pieces that fell off of a top secret surveillance aircraft or a small nuke -- stunning.

coldtea• 13 years ago

Regardless of specs, it's an absolute terrible looking device, a real monstrosity I would say.

You could say that, but then you'd have no taste.

However, getting a MacPro is now longer a option with this "design" and self build suddenly seems quite appealing again.

Go for it. Don't forget the xeon lights.

mturmon• 13 years ago

People often make similar comments about high end hardware. Another common line of reasoning is, "I would have been interested in this, but it does not have $esoteric_feature, so I'll have to pass until the upcoming $new_model comes out."

My going-in assumption is that such people are not really serious about buying the hardware at all.

It's OK not to be in this corner of the market, but the rationalizations are tiresome.

psychometry• 13 years ago

If you're not buying the new Mac Pro because of aesthetics, you're certainly not in their target market of professionals who need this machine.

ChuckMcM• 13 years ago

I think this will be an interesting thing to watch going forward.

So for years the "AT" and then "ATX" design has dominated personal computers. pushed by Intel as a way to create a serviceable framework for OEMs to create workable computers, all of the "tough" engineering challenges (like heat management) were "designed in" by the modularity constraints. Evolving as a unit, the x86 PC, the Processor, and power requirements (and later GPU requirements) all foisted their own compromises on the builders.

Now Apple had something pretty cool, they started with a platform that is designed for heat dissipation. Basically the entire central column does nothing but suck heat away from things attached to it. And they put a large diameter fan which can be quieter at the top.

Given that most of the things we used to think of as "interface cards" which attached to a bulky parallel bus are being built on top of serial buses, either USB, Thunderbolt, or PCIe. The ability to support the big hitters (CPU/Memory complex) and GPU complex, in addition to a "ports and I/O zone" would be welcome relief for PC makers if they had something similar.

There hasn't been a company, other than Intel, that had the reach to create a mass market form factor for a long time. The last serious change was when VIA created the ITX standard, and it was really pretty modest relative to the ATX standard at the time.

So whether or not you like the 'jet engine' look of the thing, it seems like it brings some nice innovation to the systems design table. I would love to see a generic equivalent that built in a thermal management system as nice as this one. By keeping the 'fins' on the other side of the boards, there is nothing to suck dust on to the circuit boards. And if you've ever cleaned a PC that was stuck under a desk in somebodies house for a few years you will probably find this a huge improvement.

All in all, I give it top marks. But I've yet to see it in person!

tracker1• 13 years ago

I actually like the design... I only wish they'd do a consumer grade version... somewhere between this and the mini in terms of pricing... around a $1k price point, I'd get one.

mikeash• 13 years ago

Bump up the CPU and RAM on a Mini and you can easily get past $1,000.

jemeshsu• 13 years ago

I'm hoping there will be one... in black colour and CUBE shape!

dsl2• 13 years ago

If they put decent (read: not mobile chipset) graphics in the iMac's the higher end models would fit the bill as a decent mid-range.

New Mac Pro 2013 Teardown

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