A Rebuttal to Ben Brooks: the Mac Pro Experience
Ben Brooks weighed in on the Mac Pro in his most recent blog post, and why it is a very “un-Mac-like experience for end users”.
He makes some excellent points on The Mac Experience. There’s no denying that Apple is focusing on the consumer market heavily these days. Pro users seem to be an after thought, as it represents a “niche” market.
While I largely agree with his article on Apple’s direction with the Mac, I have to take rebuttal to his assertion that Mac Pro is a noisy machine.
In his words:
I never could play video games on it, because the sound drowned out the TV in the next room — with the door closed.
Maybe his Mac Pro was noisy, but in practically every Mac Pro I’ve worked on (both at work and at home), it’s always run silent.
To be fair: Earlier Macs, particularly the PowerMac G5 models, were notorious for fan noise. But in my experience, the Mac Pro is just as quiet as an iMac.
Despite their lackluster sales, I strongly believe that there is a market for the Mac Pro. I can site numerous creative professionals and developers who continue to rely on these work beasts for heavy lifting.
There are three big advantages with the Mac Pro in the Apple line-up, as I see it. They are:
- It’s expandable
- It’s powerful
- It’s flexible
I still use my early 2008 Mac Pro, and see no need to upgrade. This machine is still just as fast as it was when it was new, which is possibly the main reason why Apple may not like having the Mac Pro in its line-up.
The Mac Pro’s flexibility is absolutely important to me. I can connect any DVI display to my Mac Pro – and I’m not limited to Apple’s uber-glossy Cinema Display. (Aside: I despise Apple’s decision to stick with the glossy display. The reflectivity, even in a dark room, is noticeable to the point of distraction.)
That being said, what I would really like to see from Apple is a smaller “mini-tower” configuration of the Mac Pro. My dream Mac Pro would include the following:
- two full PCI slots
- 2 Thunderbolt, 6 USB3 and 2 Firewire800 ports
- four drive bays
Like Ben, I don’t think Apple will discontinue the Mac Pro anytime soon. There is a market for the machine, and those who need its capabilities and power will not settle for anything else.
–Krishna
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Tell me what you think!
grahamf
November 8, 2011 at 4:27 pmHow hard would it be for a third party to create a mini tower with PCI expansion ports with firewire and SATA connections that connects to yoiur current computer via Thunderbolt?
GJB
November 9, 2011 at 8:43 amMy hoped for next Mac purchase would be a Mac Pro or something equivalent if they did that. The iMac just doesn’t work for me as I’m using multiple computers hooked up to a KVM. The iMac just won’t fit. And the Mac Mini isn’t powerful enough.
I do have a first gen Intel iMac that I did use for gaming before I built a PC. The PC I built is quieter than the iMac. I had to increase the fan speed on the iMac to keep it cool enough as it did run way too warm. (Replace a failed hard drive who’s like cause of failure was heat related.)
If Apple drops the Mac Pro, I guess I start looking at building a Hackintosh. Not something I really want to do after dealing with drivers for my PC, but I’d feel I’d have no choice anymore if I wanted a Mac that fit my setup.
Krishna
November 9, 2011 at 10:36 amIf Apple does indeed abandon the Mac Pro, I will most probably go the Hackintosh route as well.