Pricing for BTO MacPros Revealed. Breathtaking ...

[nk_e]

MacRunors has pieced together BTO pricing based on Apple's price quotes to business customers.

From: http://www.macrumors.com/2013/12/16/mac ... -revealed/

For upgrades beyond the $3999 high-end stock configuration, here is our estimated pricing (all prices relative to the stock model):

CPU (Stock: 3.5GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon E5)
- 3.0GHz 8-core: +$1500
- 2.7GHz 12-core: +$3000

Graphics (Stock: Dual AMD FirePro D500 with 3GB GDDR5)
- Dual AMD FirePro D700 with 6 GB GDDR5: +$600

RAM (Stock: 16GB 1866MHz DDR3 ECC - 4x4GB)
- 32GB (4x8GB): +$400
- 64GB (4x16GB): +$1600

Flash Storage (Stock: 256GB PCIe-based)
- 512GB: +$300
- 1TB: +$800

As an example, for a customer looking to buy an 8-core Mac Pro with 32GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, the machine would cost $3999 base + $1500 processor upgrade + $400 RAM upgrade + $300 storage upgrade, yielding a total price of $6199.

At the lower end, Apple's $2999 base Mac Pro model carries a quad-core Intel Xeon processor, 12 GB of RAM, and dual AMD FireCore D300 graphics, compared to the $3999 high-end stock configuration with 6-core processor, 16 GB of RAM, and D500 graphics.

We have not seen any exact breakdowns of how much each of those changes contributes to the overall $1000 price difference between stock configurations, but expect roughly half of the price difference to be represented by the processor upgrade, a somewhat smaller amount for the graphics upgrade, and a relatively nominal amount in the range of $100 for the bump in RAM.

A fully tricked out "future proofed" model is over $9000. Yikes!

Looks like Ill be sitting on my current configuration for a long, long time.

[BKK-OZ]

I have been watching and waiting for the new MPs for awhile now, I dunno that I would believe those quotes - they have been out on the 'net for a week or two now, with no real verification. Mind you, they could be real, but there isn't any real confirmation that they are.

The $9k figure is for a fully tricked out machine too, not sure how that would compare to the previous MP fully tricked, but I reckon the last version wouldn't be that far off the $9k figure, if you add in a couple of Radeon 5870's, some SSD's, etc. etc.

[nk_e]

Good points.

I dimly recall fully tricked out MacPros were somewhere in the neighborhood of $8K or so especially if you bought the Apple ram. Nice thing with those machines was you could buy the beefiest processor you could afford and retrofit all the other stuff as you could afford to do so. I don't think that is really possible here, is it? Likely we don't know yet.

[mikehalloran]

So, the performance has gone way up while the price has remained about the same. Seriously, this is not Apples to apples here.

Shall we compare the price of a tricked out G5 when new? How about a Mac+? I bought both and remember what I spent.

I paid $6,600 for my system in 1986. The Mac+ with 1MB RAM was $2,499 alone.

[nk_e]

So, the performance has gone way up while the price has remained about the same. Seriously, this is not Apples to apples here.

Shall we compare the price of a tricked out G5 when new? How about a Mac+? I bought both and remember what I spent.

I paid $6,600 for my system in 1986. The Mac+ with 1MB RAM was $2,499 alone.

LOL. My gosh, let's not go down THAT particular memory lane. I shudder to think what I paid for my old performa/quadra/radius 8100/9600 tower/etc.

Apple's pricing strategy for each new generation of tech is pretty solid. More performance at an "established" high end price point with each generation.

Certainly works for me.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

In two years you can pick up a used one tricked out for $2500. In the mean time, I suspect used Mac Pros are going to be the wave of the future. They're quite capable and all your PCI and maybe even some of your RAM might still be good to use. At a few hundred dollars, an 8 or 12 core MP is IMO a much better choice for those with slightly less than disposable income.

[David Polich]

In two years you can pick up a used one tricked out for $2500. In the mean time, I suspect used Mac Pros are going to be the wave of the future. They're quite capable and all your PCI and maybe even some of your RAM might still be good to use. At a few hundred dollars, an 8 or 12 core MP is IMO a much better choice for those with slightly less than disposable income.

+1000.

The question to ask is, "is a new Mac Pro absolutely necessary?" Don't forget that if you want to keep using PCI cards (UAD, for example), you need to add in a PCI to Thunderbolt chassis on top of all the other trick goodies.

I just increased the RAM on my 2010 QuadCore Mac Pro to 32GB, got a new 27" ASUS graphics monitor, and I feel like I have a new machine. Plenty of speed and capacity to do anything I need to do.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Not to mention what an SSD drive can do for ya!

[BKK-OZ]

Article about them going on sale from Wired: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/12/ ... o-on-sale/

[BobK]

For me, the $3k price of entry is a drag considering that engineering/production are only a small portion of my income, and especially considering that it used to be possible to get into an entry-level Mac tower for around $2,100-2,200 with an educator discount.

[mikehalloran]

For me, the $3k price of entry is a drag considering that engineering/production are only a small portion of my income, and especially considering that it used to be possible to get into an entry-level Mac tower for around $2,100-2,200 with an educator discount.

Yea... but that tower ain't this tower and a $1K refurb'd Mini i7 with a 24" generic monitor will run circles around that $2k tower. Add $219 for AppleCare through the Edu store...

I have already figured that I can swing the new Pro using current TB peripherals and get everything I want for the same $6,600 price I paid for my Mac+ system 26 years ago - less if you take inflation into account. That's insane.

Of course, I don't need one but I would like to have one...

The price of computing has come way down. A used Mac Pro is all most of us need. SSDs and PCIe flash drives will really kick a 4.1 or 5.1 Pro into overdrive. You betcha.

My 2010 iMac is feeling its age. No USB3 or TB and only the eSATA port that I had OWC install over three years ago means it would be pretty expensive to add SSDs. The internal HD is over three years old...

The i7 Quad Core iMac has performed far better than I imagined it could. OS 10.8, then DP 8, then Mavericks has actually improved overall performance. But... playing with my wife's new MacBook Air... yea, I want me something with Flash memory... It's getting time to upgrade. DP has taught me that an i7 Quad core is the minimum daily requirement for my needs.

Right now, there are some 12 core Pros in the Refurb store that, with a refurb monitor and AppleCare, would set me back about $4,500 - I can add flash memory later. When I figure that a new iMac tricked out the way I would want with a 1G flash drive is around $3,700... not so far off.

My new job (same company - I was promoted last May) plus my younger daughter graduating college has freed up a bit of capital.

My 'puter is not a frivolous hobby. It's a tool. I am in front of it 8-12 hours a day. Dad likes his tools.



Still... I really like the idea of the new Mac Pro. I am not in a hurry. We'll see...

[BobK]

Yea... but that tower ain't this tower and a $1K refurb'd Mini i7 with a 24" generic monitor will run circles around that $2k tower.

Not true, at least according to Geekbench scores at Everymac.com: My Nehalem 8-core still outscores the latest Mini i7 in all benchmarks except the single-core at 64-bit (which I think is irrelevant because the music apps I use are optimized for multiple cores). And the Mini's maximum of 16 GB RAM is a big minus.

So I still say it's a drag that Apple has made the Mac Pro less affordable to pros on a tighter budget, or 'pro-sumers', or whatever you want to call us.

But between adding more RAM, getting an SSD, and maybe even a processor upgrade, I can probably use this Mac Pro for a few more years (or until software updates make it obsolete).

[HCMarkus]

Yea... but that tower ain't this tower and a $1K refurb'd Mini i7 with a 24" generic monitor will run circles around that $2k tower.

Not true, at least according to Geekbench scores at Everymac.com: My Nehalem 8-core still outscores the latest Mini i7 in all benchmarks except the single-core at 64-bit (which I think is irrelevant because the music apps I use are optimized for multiple cores). And the Mini's maximum of 16 GB RAM is a big minus.

So I still say it's a drag that Apple has made the Mac Pro less affordable to pros on a tighter budget, or 'pro-sumers', or whatever you want to call us.

But between adding more RAM, getting an SSD, and maybe even a processor upgrade, I can probably use this Mac Pro for a few more years (or until software updates make it obsolete).

Plus, if yours is a 4,1, you could flash the EFI to 5,1 for free then drop in a couple of used hex CPUs and get (useable by DP) power that exceeds the base nMP considerably!

[BobK]

Plus, if yours is a 4,1, you could flash the EFI to 5,1 for free then drop in a couple of used hex CPUs and get (useable by DP) power that exceeds the base nMP considerably!

Mine is a 4,1. Any particular resources you recommend for learning about processor upgrades?

Thanks much, HC!

[HCMarkus]

Plus, if yours is a 4,1, you could flash the EFI to 5,1 for free then drop in a couple of used hex CPUs and get (useable by DP) power that exceeds the base nMP considerably!

Mine is a 4,1. Any particular resources you recommend for learning about processor upgrades?

Thanks much, HC!

MacRumors MacPro Forum has a ton, Bob, but this site pretty much nails the basics and more:

http://pindelski.org/Photography/mac-pro

Tom doesn't go for the dual hex upgrade, but that is also an option. There are many different CPU choices. Go for faster clock if single threaded performance is important. For DAW work, you might consider slightly slower clock speed and more cores. Note you need the 5xxx (not 3xxx) CPUs to work in the dual CPU Mac Pros. Westmere CPUs are the top performers, as there were architecture improvements over the CPUs from prior generation (as are currently in your Mac) that speed things up considerably.

The only thing about the Dual CPU 4,1's is they do not use CPUs with the metal top (Integrated Heat Spreader or "IHS") so care is required when tightening the heatsinks when replacing the processors. Many folks have successfully done the upgrade, as can be gleaned from Mac Rumors, but take a look at Anandtech for a massive fail...

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2800/upgr ... mac-pro/10

Mr. Pindelski can upgrade the CPUs for you. There's info on his site. The EFI flash is simple. The single CPU upgrades are cake. I did it with a 4,1; easy peezy.