Mac Pro - page 4

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Just how well does a new $3,500 M1 Max MacBook Pro perform against a $15,000 Mac Pro that’s only two years old? The results from the latest tests and benchmarks are simply insane.

Also on The CultCast:

• Apple plans to make a totally autonomous car — with no steering wheel or pedals! And it might show up by 2025.
• Leander’s Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition coffee table book is on sale for just $9.99.
• And our favorite TV shows in an all-new “What We’re Into” segment.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video livestream, embedded below.

You see a lot of people busting on each other for “flexing,” or bragging, about their computer setups shown in social media posts. We came across a doozy today with a dual-display setup bathed in a cool wash of color. But it’s not really about the double luxe displays; lots of people have that. It’s about the two expensive Mac Pros tucked under the desk.

“Needed a change for 2021” reads the title of Redditor Robert_Cutty’s recent post. It shows off a heck of a nice computer setup. With a late-model Mac Pro Tower and a magnificent Pro Display XDR taking center stage, what’s not to like?

AMD launched new Radeon Pro W6000X series GPUs for Mac Pro on Tuesday. These add-on graphics processing units for Apple’s most powerful macOS desktop are designed for demanding professional applications, including 3D rendering, 8K video compositing, color correction and more.

Apple just reported a hugely successful quarter for the Mac — one of its best ever — and it looks like it’s only going to get better. A new report detailing the company’s Apple Silicon roadmap says the best is yet to come.

In addition to new MacBook Pro models powered by faster Apple Silicon chips, which are still on track for this year, Apple is expected to roll out a high-end Mac mini before the year is out. Then, in 2022, we could see a “revamped, smaller Mac Pro” featuring custom Apple chips — and more.

Gorgeous, high-definition monitors hold a place of honor in many a computer setup. And sometimes it’s several displays, actually. But we rarely come across one of the most amazing monitors out there: the Apple Pro Display XDR. Why? Well, it costs $6,000, for one thing. Or, if you’re lucky, not quite that much.

So if you’re not a wealthy or financially irresponsible person, what’s a reasonable alternative to the Pro Display XDR?

A concept artist took the rumors about an Mac Pro desktop with Apple Silicon and created a design that might really be what’s on the drawing board.

The concept combines the look of the current Mac Pro tower with the Mac mini to create a unique device.

Redditor XTJ7, a programmer and photographer based in Germany, knows how to make a setup last and do just what he needs it to do. As his recent post declared, his setup’s core is two “trash can” Mac Pro towers from 2013 plus a racy gaming PC.

Yeah, you heard right: That’s two computers running from 2013 to now. Eight years might as well be a few decades as far as computer performance goes. But he has his reasons to wait on the upgrade.

The pandemic continues to drive up demand for notebooks and desktops, and Mac shipments saw a triple-digit annual increase in Q1 2021 according to a market research firm. Apple also almost certainly also benefitted from the release of the first M-series computers near the end of 2020.

Redditor and commercial editor nicknotes posted their work-and-game-from-home setup with a lot of praise for a slick new display. It’s the monitor used mainly for work, which appears to be well-paired with the one already in place for gaming.

Apple’s newest MacBook Air is its fastest, most impressive to date. And now is a great time to buy one, with some retailers offering the biggest discounts we’ve seen so far. What’s more, we can help make your upgrade even more affordable.

Sell your old Mac to Cult of Mac today and you’ll get a nice stack of cash to put toward a new model. We typically pay more than anyone else, and we’re fast!

Redditor Liquidsama’s setup is popular on the social media app not just for the adorable Pac-Man Ghost Light in the corner (see photos), but for its awesome computing power for work and play.

The LED ghost light phases through nine colors and reacts to music, by the way — which is neat — but the real draw here is a bulked-up Mac Pro for IT work and a heavily modded PC for gaming. Not to mention a great audio rig for podcasting.

Apple leaker Jon Prosser has shared the first image of what he claims is Apple’s forthcoming Mac Pro mini.

Prosser shared a picture of the new device as part of his latest FrontPageTech video, along with news about the multiple color options for the forthcoming iMac redesign.

If you’ve ever wondered why Apple doesn’t do more manufacturing in the United States, a new report by Bloomberg offers a few answers. Covering the career of CEO Tim Cook, the article details the challenges of U.S. manufacturing, as epitomized by Apple’s Mac Pro factory in Austin, Texas.

“It was an experiment to prove that the U.S. supply chain could work as good as China’s, and it failed miserably,” a former senior manager is quoted as saying.

An IT professional who specializes in Mac and iOS home implementations probably has a leg up on the next guy when it comes to building an Apple-centric home office and man cave.

Or is it a man cave and home office? We’ll let Paul O’Toole, an IT pro from Worcestershire, England, decide that. It’s his, after all. He calls it a “sitting room,” actually.

He turned his garage into an office and movie palace, thanks to an LG 34UC99 curved monitor and a pair of HomePods running with his Mac Pro.

It’s good to be the president. People just give you things, like the first 2019 Mac Pro assembled in Austin, Texas. Tim Cook gave this pricy computer to Trump, probably after the president toured the factory.

The iMac is about to get the dramatic redesign so many people have been hoping for, according to a highly reliable source. Smaller bezels and an M-series processor are highlights.

Apple is also reportedly planning a significant redesign of the Mac Pro desktop.

The first M1 Macs just hit desks and laps around the world, but Cupertino’s already hard at work on next-gen Apple Silicon processors, Bloomberg reported Monday.

According to the report, Apple is working on “several successors” to the surprisingly powerful M1 chip. These could “significantly outpace” the performance of the top computers currently running Intel chips — including the first 32-core processor high-end Macs.

Anthony Ivanovsky is a Toronto-based marketing expert and IT manager who has a knack for gadgets, both big and small. In his setup, an MSI Optix MAG341CQ 34-inch UltraWide Curved Gaming Monitor immediately draws the eye. And at $500, it costs considerably less than other ultrawides on the market.

On the left-hand side of his desk, standing like a monument, is the commanding Mac Pro. He uses this beast of a machine for video editing, photo editing and for his day job working for a tech startup. Aside from the base Radeon 580X, he also has two additional Radeon VII graphic cards, which may seem like overkill until you learn that he also runs three different YouTube channels.

COVID-19 forced Jeff Houle to work remotely, which was not a problem since he prefers his personalized WFH desk rather than his drab office desk. Houle is an avid collector, whether it is Disney pins (see the cork board) or old Apple products.

But when it comes to Macs, he does not just collect them. He finds unique ways to reuse them. He held on to his iBook G4 and iMac G4 (which he got at a swap meet for $10) to play old games like the original Sim and Oregon Trail — where he probably found the iBook.

When the new Mac Pro was released, Jonathan Morrison knew that meant one thing, it was time to change his setup. So he abandoned his MacBook Pro and started from scratch. He now runs a scintillating Mac Pro through a scintillating 32-inch Pro XDR Display. And because he is a Tech Youtuber, he also has the Pro Stand. He says that the Mac Pro is overkill for the stuff that he is doing but he loves how quiet it is.

Apple sells wheels for the 2019 Mac Pro for the slightly ridiculous price of $699. On Thursday, a third-party accessory maker launched a cheaper option. Well, relatively cheaper: the OWC Rover Pro wheel kit is $199.

Apple has updated its 16-inch MacBook Pro buying options by offering the new Radeon Pro 5600M mobile GPU. This joins the existing Radeon Pro 5300M and 5500M GPU options for the MacBook Pro.

Kitting out the new MacBook Pro with a AMD Radeon Pro 5600M GPU with 8GB of HBM2 memory adds $700 onto the base model MacBook Pro. According to Apple, it will improve performance by up to 75% compared to the 5500M configuration. Is that worth it? It absolutely depends on how much of a pro user you are!

Hey, big spender. Act fast and you can snag a refurbished 28-core Mac Pro — for just $43,859.

It’s totally tricked out, so it’s the most expensive Mac Pro currently in Apple’s refurb store. Grab your credit card, and it can be sitting on your desk by Wednesday!

AMD announced Wednesday the Radeon Pro VII, a high-end graphics card aimed at professional workstations, with reportedly up to 26% faster 8K image processing using Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve.

The new card will likely be available as a standalone option for those interested in using it with the Mac Pro in the future.