I ended up with 24 processor
cores per machine, dual 32GB
graphics cards in each, 4TB of
ultra–fast storage in both, and
slightly diļerent RAM (768GB in
the Mac Pro, 512GB in the HP).
The result? The Mac Pro cost
$29,599, while the HP was $31,700.
More money, yet less RAM.
I often explain to people that
Macs aren’t actually that expensive
when compared to truly equivalent
products. It’s just that Apple only
makes premium stuļ. There will
always be something cheaper with
the same specs that’s bigger and
heavier, or worse specs that’s as
well-designed... but when you
really match like for like, Macs are
pretty averagely priced (except for
the storage).
Here’s the thing: when you’re
buying something like the
upper-tier Mac Pros for work,
you’re not looking at the cost
listed next to the “Buy now”
button. \ou’re looking at that cost
subtracted from the money it will
save your business by being two,
three, four times as fast as what
you have now. Is the saving bigger
than the cost? Then great!
I think the bigger issue for a lot
of people is that Apple isn’t
making the machine they’d really
like, and their ire is aimed at the
Mac Pro because it’s the latestmachine released that continues to
not be this desired Mac.
A less extreme Apple tower,
running Mac Mini–level processors
but with the kind of expandability
oļered by the Mac Pro, is what’s
really desired. People would
absolutely pay a premium in that
case — one of these for around
$2,500 would be massively
expensive compared to a PC at
the same level, but at half the
price of the Mac Pro’s base
version, it would be an oasis in
the desert.
But I hoped for this same thing
when the 2013 Mac Pro came out,
and the oasis remains a mirage.
So while I join people in being
frustrated that what we’re hoping
for never gets any closer, let’s at
least celebrate that Apple did make
the product another sector of Mac
fans want, even if it isn’t for us.A
S I WRITE this, the Mac Pro
has just gone on sale, so we
can see for the Ľrst time the
scale of what it costs if you
want to really give it the beans. Or,
well, given how it looks, maybe
I should say give it the cheese...
Inevitably, this has resulted in
plenty of people losing their minds
because Apple sells a $52,
computer, quoting the price of a
fully loaded Mac Pro and pretending
the huge cost of 1.5TB of RAM
means anything to 99% of people.
With everyone implying that
Apple is once again overcharging
(which, to be fair, we all know it
does for extra storage and RAM
in its machines), I made a real
comparison against an HP
workstation designed for the
same kind of work. I wanted both
machines to have as close specs
as possible, as high as possible.MATT BOLTON would like to add perspective
to the controversy over the Mac Pro’s price...
then direct the anger to where it’s earned
THE SHIFT
>>> Matt is the editor of Future’s flagship technology magazine T3 and has been charting changes at Apple since his student days.
He’s skeptical of tech industry hyperbole, but still gets warm and fuzzy on hearing “one more thing”.Image rights: Apple, Inc.
Admittedly, $400 for a pair of wheels is a bit
pricey. For that money you could buy an
electric scooter to wheel it around on.Remember when non–pros used to buy
Power Macs just because they liked the
expandability? Good ol’ days.maclife.com MAR 2020 11