Apple’s iMac Pro Arrives December 14, Starting at $4,999

With all the educated hardware enthusiasts around here, I find it unsettling how many know so little about workstation hardware. At least the base model iMac Pro isn't overpriced at all. Just take 2mins and price it out. No cheating and using consumer substitutes. No using gray market, non-geniune parts out of China.

Rounding the prices...
Intel Xeon W-2145 - $1100
C422 Motherboard - $350 to $500 (these are rare atm; SuperMicro and Gigabyte if you can find them).
32GB ECC RAM (4x8GB) - $450
Samsung 960 Pro 1TB - $650 (don't know what's in it, but this is consistent with past Apple designs)
AMD Vega 56 8GB - $400 (MSRP...I won't even troll about what these have been going for)
Intel X550-T1 - $300 (those MB don't have 10GbE, but the iMac does. I'll be surprised if Apple uses the cheaper AQN-107 vs the Intel solution).
LG 5k Display - $1300 (closest thing to the integrated display)

That's $4550-$4700 and we still don't have 4x TB3, case, power supply, mouse/keyboard, speakers, and OS/software. If you use good parts, it's probably more than the $4999 asking price for the iMac Pro.

I get all the reasons to hate on the iMac Pro. You can't upgrade it. You might not need/want the display. You might not want Vega. You might not want MacOS. You might not want/need the Xeon/ECC/Intel tax. Etc. However, complaining it's expensive for what it is, that's just willfully ignorant.

Edit: oh ya, and warranty/support.
 
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LuxTerra said:
With all the educated hardware enthusiasts around here, I find it unsettling how many know so little about workstation hardware. At least the base model iMac Pro isn't overpriced at all. Just take 2mins and price it out. No cheating and using consumer substitutes. No using gray market, non-geniune parts out of China.

Rounding the prices...
Intel Xeon W-2145 - $1100
C422 Motherboard - $350 to $500 (these are rare atm; SuperMicro and Gigabyte if you can find them).
32GB ECC RAM (4x8GB) - $450
Samsung 960 Pro 1TB - $650 (don't know what's in it, but this is consistent with past Apple designs)
AMD Vega 56 8GB - $400 (MSRP...I won't even troll about what these have been going for)
Intel X550-T1 - $300 (those MB don't have 10GbE, but the iMac does. I'll be surprised if Apple uses the cheaper AQN-107 vs the Intel solution).
LG 5k Display - $1300 (closest thing to the integrated display)

That's $4550-$4700 and we still don't have 4x TB3, case, power supply, mouse/keyboard, speakers, and OS/software. If you use good parts, it's probably more than the $4999 asking price for the iMac Pro.

I get all the reasons to hate on the iMac Pro. You can't upgrade it. You might not need/want the display. You might not want Vega. You might not want MacOS. You might not want/need the Xeon/ECC/Intel tax. Etc. However, complaining it's expensive for what it is, that's just willfully ignorant.

Edit: oh ya, and warranty/support.
Click to expand...

I got close to that at $5525.80 (with keyboard/mouse, power supply. etc):

SuperMicro X11SRA: 312.79 (https://www.avadirect.com/X11SRA-In...-U-2-Port-GbLAN-2-ATX-Retail/Product/11590514)
Crucial CT32G4RFD4266: 342.99 (https://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=CT426ER32G)
Intel Xeon W-2145: 1245.24 (https://www.avadirect.com/Xeon-W-21...-LGA-2066-140W-OEM-Processor/Product/11570340)
AMD Radeon Pro Vega FE 16GB: 789.89 (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1352897-REG/amd_100_506061_amd_radeon_vega.html)
Corsair Graphite Series 760T: 169.99 (https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139054)
CORSAIR HX1000: 219.99 (https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1K66463190)
Samsung 960 PRO 1TB: 614.99 (http://www.microcenter.com/product/471505/960_PRO_Series_1TB_NVMe_M2_Internal_SSD)
LG Ultrafine 27MD5KA-B: 1299.95 (https://www.cdw.com/shop/products/L...odel-for-the-Apple-SKU-HKN62LL-A/4727392.aspx)
Corsair Hydro Series H115i: 139.99 (https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181100)
Logitech MK520 2.4 GHz Wireless Keyboard and Mouse Combo - Black: 34.99 (https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126192)
Intel X550-T2: 354.99 (https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAD5G5MZ0715)

Of course, people will prefer a different case, power supply, keyboard and mouse so the price will be different. I couldn't find the Vega 56 for purchase. Also, note that Apple is buying components in bulk, so they'll be quite discounted compared to retail prices.
 
TheOne5 said:
Also, note that Apple is buying components in bulk, so they'll be quite discounted compared to retail prices.
Click to expand...
Yes, I don't doubt that OEMs can build such a machine cheaper...obviously, Apple wouldn't charge less than it builds them for. However, average users on the forum can't.
 
viper1152012 said:
8 core starting at 4,999 is ridiculous. They have an 18 core with 4tb ssd, 2 frontiers and 128gb or ram.... Like 19,999 .... I don't care if its for "wealthy Apple fans" a rip off is a rip off...
I can justify a laptop and even the trashcan but this is just people paying an idiot tax.
Click to expand...

Using Windows is the ultimate idiot tax.
 
In regards to the pricing, I agree with others in this case about the challenges of building like for like at a lower price. However, the few people I've known over the years that have ever bought one of these only bought one. They loved it, used it for a while, but never believed the price justified for what they thought they needed it for and thus never got another. Inevitably they moved on or back to PC afterwards. Bottom line is that these are intended for professional purposes(regardless of if they truly are the best choice) and not consumers-hence that price tier.

In regards to Apple ditching Macs, I believe it's more likely the Macbook lines. The performance gap between them and Ipads are getting smaller every year. It'd be a natural progression the same way that the Iphone pretty much eliminated the Ipod.
 
Dekar12 said:
Impressive screen, except for the ugly huge bezel around it.

Also, still overpriced for the hardware, and why is everything called magic?

https://www.statista.com/statistics/382260/segments-share-revenue-of-apple/

If the costs were reasonable there could be more growth potential there, but maybe they figure mac fans will buy a mac regardless of the cost, so why not rip them off.
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Whoops my bad, didnt realize this was the pro edition. I thought this was a regular iMac. Prolly not overpriced all that much then.
 
I'm actually surprised at the full configuration's final price: 13,427.00 sans software (we're a Premiere shop so Final Cut Pro is useless to us)

  • 2.3GHz 18-core Intel Xeon W processor, Turbo Boost up to 4.3GHz
  • 128GB 2666MHz DDR4 ECC memory
  • 4TB SSD
  • Radeon Pro Vega 64 with 16GB of HBM2 memory
  • Magic Mouse 2 + Magic Trackpad 2 - Space Gray
  • VESA Mount Adapter Kit for iMac Pro - Space Gray
  • Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad - US English - Space Gray
 
To bad the black accessories only come with the Pro. Those would have been something to look into.
 
PC World (and others) estimated the fully tricked out price to be close to 17000. When I placed a budget request for it I thought PC World estimated too high and asked for it at 15000. Turns out even that was too high. For once, the Apple Tax doesn't seem to be as high as anticipated.
 
thejokker said:
Ok... so you can build it yourself for $3,500. It's "non-upgradeable" meaning when you do need an upgrade you will be starting over from the beginning whereas if you built it yourself you would only need to change some of the parts out to keep it top of the line. It's a PC for someone without PC skills... I'm the director of IT at a smallish corporation and we build all of our computers in-house. We have saved a lot of money and have nearly zero hardware related issues because the PC's get built right from the beginning.
Click to expand...

You aren't the typical case then. Any larger enterprise is deploying workstations and never touching them again unless something goes wrong. If something does go wrong the workstation is sent back to vendor/manufacturer for repair. The workstations aren't touched otherwise until their warranty expires and the entire thing is replaced again.

Doing system builds and full hardware/component lifecycle for a small business is possible, but as you scale up in size it becomes an issue of hiring enough competent folks to make this happen. Eventually you reach a point where you're better off just spending more off the bat on the workstation/warranty itself rather then hiring the manpower to deal with tens of thousands of custom PCs.
 
Algrim said:
PC World (and others) estimated the fully tricked out price to be close to 17000. When I placed a budget request for it I thought PC World estimated too high and asked for it at 15000. Turns out even that was too high. For once, the Apple Tax doesn't seem to be as high as anticipated.
Click to expand...

The problem is, the Apple Tax is never nearly as high as it's made out to be. It's like PCs vs Consoles. The console user only bases their price on the actual console, saying that the TV is already included elsewhere, and bases the PC price on assuming the purchaser needs to buy a new mouse, keyboard, monitor, house to hold the computer, and kitchen sink to go along with the house.

Now, granted, a person might not need the mouse and keyboard for a new Apple, but that's another issue.
 
Algrim said:
I'm actually surprised at the full configuration's final price: 13,427.00 sans software (we're a Premiere shop so Final Cut Pro is useless to us)

  • 2.3GHz 18-core Intel Xeon W processor, Turbo Boost up to 4.3GHz
  • 128GB 2666MHz DDR4 ECC memory
  • 4TB SSD
  • Radeon Pro Vega 64 with 16GB of HBM2 memory
  • Magic Mouse 2 + Magic Trackpad 2 - Space Gray
  • VESA Mount Adapter Kit for iMac Pro - Space Gray
  • Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad - US English - Space Gray
Click to expand...
It's equivalent to their competitors, but still too expensive once you option it. Each option is basically 2x the delta cost of building it yourself. This is true in the computer markets in general, but especially true for servers/workstations. I understand that there's overhead stocking parts few customers will order, warranty/support costs, etc. so the cost of each upgrade should be more than purchasing it myself. It's just that 2x is a lot.

The base model is a good deal if it's what you want/need, but the options are so expensive that building it yourself becomes a cheaper option. Now is the time to correctly complain that an optioned iMac Pro is more expensive!

Edit: The options costing 2x should not be a surprise. It's status quo in the workstation market.
 
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Mchart said:
You aren't the typical case then. Any larger enterprise is deploying workstations and never touching them again unless something goes wrong. If something does go wrong the workstation is sent back to vendor/manufacturer for repair. The workstations aren't touched otherwise until their warranty expires and the entire thing is replaced again.

Doing system builds and full hardware/component lifecycle for a small business is possible, but as you scale up in size it becomes an issue of hiring enough competent folks to make this happen. Eventually you reach a point where you're better off just spending more off the bat on the workstation/warranty itself rather then hiring the manpower to deal with tens of thousands of custom PCs.
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Exactly!

In anything over a small professional environment, skilled humans are much more expensive than hardware. I've built workstations for my brother (engineering firm), but it's typically one or two machines every three years. Really small shop, ya, it can work...especially since I do it for free just to play with some cool hardware. Now, my brother does any support for the machines, I just plan/build them...I'm way too expensive to be building/supporting custom PCs to make it worth anyones time!
 
LuxTerra said:
The base model is a good deal if it's what you want/need, but the options are so expensive that building it yourself becomes a cheaper option. Now is the time to correctly complain that an optioned iMac Pro is more expensive!
Click to expand...

I build my home machines all the time. With the exception of two laptops I've never owned a prebuilt machine. My job, on the other hand, has 30000 employees scattered across the world and a build your own computer doesn't fly with corporate standards and is therefore not an option.

Considering that this computer is eventually going to be in a tiny room in an RV with two other primary workstations because we're going to be taking care of a sick relative I'm glad that I can get an 18c/36t machine in such a small package.

Roll your own is great, but sometimes you have to deal with the deck that was dealt instead of what you wanted.

Not to mention that a single three hour video production that the machine will do will pay for the entire cost of the machine...
 
They price it high enough that it's almost like they don't want you to buy it. :eek:
 
86 5.0L said:
They price it high enough that it's almost like they don't want you to buy it. :eek:
Click to expand...

Read something about it being $13,000 fully loaded! =)

Hell my first car wasn't even that much!
 
$13k for the highest spec'ed iMac Pro. (Vega 64, 18 core, 128GB RAM and 4TB SSD)

Problem is, they are charging $2800 for SSD upgrade to 4TB.

Even a brand new 850 EVO 4TB (which is more expensive than contemporary SSD available here) doesn't cost $2000 on its own, let alone the cost difference between it and a 1TB.

Doesn't sound like a NVMe SSD either.
 
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I'd rather have 1080ti SLI than a single Vega 64 powering a 5k display.
 
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