What machine do you expect to be using in 2025? | MacRumors Forums

For those running a Mac Pro 4,1-5,1, what machine do you expect to be using in 2025?

I'm already saving a little money here and there for a new Mac, but I'm gonna stretch my current hardware while Security Updates are still issued. We probably can get on with Monterey until September/October 2024 without any unfortunate surprises, then a new Mac.

Mac Studio seems the more probable one and I'm making my future acquisition of peripherals based on that. A NAS is higher up on my list.

Mac Studio is probably my choice too; if the 5,1 blew up tomorrow it's likely what I'd go for. I'd be a bit concerned for the AS GPU performance in Unreal, as that's an area I'm likely to get into, but aside from that it would probably be fine.

Apple hardware tends to hold it's value, so upgrading in future is likely more about just selling the whole widget. The fact the Studio is so compact / robust would make shipping on eBay convenient.

It will depend on what Apple releases as their next 5K or higher resolution display. If that happens to be built into a 27 inch or larger iMac then I'll go with that. If that happens to be a standalone display, that's not grafted to a crappy iPhone that still isn't functioning properly after three updates, then whatever Mac Pro they have available, as long as it's expandable and not a locked down larger Mac Studio.

rpmurray said:

whatever Mac Pro they have available, as long as it's expandable and not a locked down larger Mac Studio.

Mac Pro as we know it died with 2019 Mac Pro, Apple will never release something like it again since AppleSilicon architecture does not even allow it in relation of memory upgrades. How you gonna have the same memory bandwidth with DIMMs? Install 20+ insanely expensive high end DDR5 DIMMs to have the same throughput but with 10x the power draw requirements?

Mr.Blacky said:

My current iMac M1.

Sure, I would too, though the question was aimed at people currently using an older Intel tower.

mode11 said:

Sure, I would too, though the question was aimed at people currently using an older Intel tower.

I saw a vote and I voted. F*** the rules. 😋

tsialex said:

Mac Pro as we know it died with 2019 Mac Pro, Apple will never release something like it again since AppleSilicon architecture does not even allow it in relation of memory upgrades. How you gonna have the same memory bandwidth with DIMMs? Install 20+ insanely expensive high end DDR5 DIMMs to have the same throughput but with 10x the power draw requirements?

I completely agree with the thinking here. It does seem bizarre though that Apple publicly admitted the 6,1 was a failure (very unusual for them to do so), spent a couple of years researching / developing a modern, super-expandable chassis (all whilst knowing about the coming AS transition), then announcing it with fanfare. And then not update it at all, before replacing it about 3 years later with something akin to the 6,1.

Mr.Blacky said:

I saw a vote and I voted. F*** the rules. 😋

Look out everyone, we've got a badass here!

I'll still have my 4,1. But Like now, it will be mostly for the novelty not for daily use. Likely to put my 6800XT into it full time around 2025 when I'll upgrade my PC's GPU.

The role my 4,1 was filling (a mac at my desk to supplement my primary MBP) was replaced by an m1 mini. That m1 mini might still be there in 2025 or it might be an M3 max/ultra Mac. Depends if I feel the need to upgrade my MBP or the Mac Mini first.

mode11 said:

I completely agree with the thinking here. It does seem bizarre though that Apple publicly admitted the 6,1 was a failure (very unusual for them to do so), spent a couple of years researching / developing a modern, super-expandable chassis (all whilst knowing about the coming AS transition), then announcing it with fanfare. And then not update it at all, before replacing it about 3 years later with something akin to the 6,1.

I agree with you here that it is strange to reverse course, given how expandability was the number one thing folks wanted in a pro machine.

But it's possible they will revert back fully simply because they are using completely different hardware at this point. They won't run into the 'thermal corner' issue they mentioned since AS is so much more efficient to begin with.

Though I'd truly love an expandable AS Mac Pro with PCIE slots and AMD GPU compatibility still supported, I'm not so sure what they will end up with. I guess we'll find out soon enough. I'll hold onto my 7,1 for now, but hope for the best.

mode11 said:

I completely agree with the thinking here. It does seem bizarre though that Apple publicly admitted the 6,1 was a failure (very unusual for them to do so), spent a couple of years researching / developing a modern, super-expandable chassis (all whilst knowing about the coming AS transition), then announcing it with fanfare. And then not update it at all, before replacing it about 3 years later with something akin to the 6,1.

This is the only time in all my years on these forums that I hope Alex is somehow mistaken! But I agree, also. I keep hoping Apple will come up with a fully expandable architecture based on Apple Silicon that will surprise us all and make us say, "Wow, I can't believe they did that," but right now this seems like wishful thinking. Perhaps the M3 will change our outlook.

I think the Mac Studio will be a great machine for me, but I don't expect to buy one before the 3rd generation is released. I currently have a maxed-out 2018 Intel Mac mini as my desktop (I just retired my 5,1 a few months ago). The Intel mini meets my needs for now and I'd like to give the Mac Studio ample shakedown time before investing in one.

Probably the 7,1 I have now.

I have a 5,1 still in service - mainly only for my cycling trainer pain-cave running Zwift on macOS - hoping that one keeps going. Also have a top spec 6,1 Mac Pro. The 6,1 is beautiful to look at but I worry about its GPUs - you can't just get new ones easily.

The vote needs an option for people who got a 7,1 brand new. I refused to pay huge money for a second hand one.

Depending on what the future Macs turn out to be, I might move back over to the PC workstation side.

OP, you need to add an option for: Brand New Mac Pro 7,1

final model Intel Mac Pro, or Intel Mini with eGPU.

I'll never buy another (desktop) mac with non-upgradable graphics (and RAM), unless Apple makes it cheaper to buy, and equal performance in 3D tasks, to a retail GPU.

I voted Apple Silicon Mac Pro.

After all the corporate mea culpas about the 6,1, they wouldn't just give us a higher performing, non-expandable version of the Studio, would they?

Still checking the eBay 7,1 listings on a daily basis just to be safe.

If everything goes as planned, M3 Studio and M3 Macbook Air. The latter only if my current '16 Retina Macbook can hold out, as it currently can't display colors properly anymore, otherwise an M2 MBA. The Studio will be an upgrade from my 2011 iMac. Hopefully a good 5k2k display with 120+hz is available by then, to match the Studio.

I expect I will keep one of my 5,1 machines and sell the other (spare) one as a server upgrade for the 3,1 my client is now using (still serves an office of 20 staff). Then i'll keep the first 5,1 as a spare when I find a 7,1 to take its place. After the 8,1 Mx mac pro is released, and someone is realistic enough to sell their 7,1 for about 1/4 what they paid for it. Failing that, any stopgap computing tasks for either my uses or the server role at work will be filled by an M2 mac mini with lots of TB4/USB-c drives hanging off it !

Not interested in M chip Mac anything because you cant upgrade CPU/GPU/Memory/ or SSD unless external. You cant Run another operating systems either.

Apple care with any M chip machine will have to be a must, because any failure will mean a complete new board with original config which after apple care run's out will be expensive to replace or repair, if you can repair.

The only upgrade path is a new M based machine after initial purchase.

For me it will be the 7.1 with hopefully a 7900xt supported and a TB-5 PCIe card some time next year. and a possible upgrade from 16 core to 28 core CPU. when thats finally dead in the water it will be a PC based replacement.

Didn't vote since I'm slightly ahead of the curve here and bought a used Mac Pro 7.1 a while back. Picked up another Pro Vega II for $1000 a week ago.

Every time I open up this Mac Pro I strongly wish that more people could experience owning this Mac—or a modern version of similar build quality and finish. ❤️ It just makes me happy that there is a company willing to build a computer like this.

Sometimes the stars all line up and you feel you're in this positive spiral where success brings success. With the Mac Pro, well, that ain't so. For the longest time, Apple was little more than a glorified case maker, wrapping other companies' components up as neatly as possible. Everyone loved to buy a skeleton Mac Pro and upgrade it via this or that PC-components vendor. But there's nothing for Apple in that.

Everyone loves the idea of an upgradable computer. But the truth of the matter is that often enough, once next-gen hardware comes around there's a new CPU tray, new memory module format, new hard disk interface... and you need to replace an awful lot of the computer anyway.

I don't think Apple's new "buy it, use it, buy a new one" is much of a deal-breaker in terms of long-term upgradability, but it's a shame that you can't buy a cheap Mac—and get your foot in the door—and then upgrade memory and SSDs over a couple of months within the same generation of tech.

My current Mac Pro's upgrade path sees a 28-core CPU soonish, and long term maybe 2x Dual W6800X if they show up used at good prices after Apples' transition. Right now two of those cards is a $10k upgrade. I'll wait until I get both for $3-4k.

But much of that hinges on how Apple solves the GPU conundrum. The way Silicon is structured now is you need to keep adding CPU to beef up GPU. In video and 3D there is a need for dedicated GPU grunt and I hope Apple can show us some nice ideas on this front relatively soon. While I don't believe in "eGPUs" being part of the main CPU-GPU loop in a new Mac Pro, I wouldn't rule out the concept of 'accelerator cards' for dedicated tasks like ray tracing.

The new Mac Pro will be expandable, but I'm thinking it will not be "heart and lungs (CPU/GPU)", but extensions like audio interfaces, network cards and other "special functionality". The Silicon Mac Pro's modularity will be less 'beef it up' and more 'extend its functionality'.

But hey, a next-gen Mac Studio and a new MiniLED 32" Liquid Retina XDR Display will be a super nice, affordable (not meaning dirt-cheap) Mac/Apple solution. 👍🏻

I dont think I will bother 'maxing out" the ram or the cpu of my 7,1 when I get one .... just some modest upgrades and of course a bunch of ssds for storage. If you are really serious about cpu performance then even an M2 or M3 mac mini will probably kill the 7,1 by 2024, but if you need a versatile platform with lots of storage and boot OS options (win10, win11, bigsur, monterey, ventura) then the 7,1 with 10+ TB of storage will be great !

tsialex said:

Mac Pro as we know it died with 2019 Mac Pro, Apple will never release something like it again since AppleSilicon architecture does not even allow it in relation of memory upgrades. How you gonna have the same memory bandwidth with DIMMs? Install 20+ insanely expensive high end DDR5 DIMMs to have the same throughput but with 10x the power draw requirements?

You are assuming that the Apple SoC used in the upcoming Mac Pro will be similar to the M1 or M2?

Pro users won't go for that, we want PCI-E slots and upgradable memory, Apple learned it's mistakes with the 2013 Mac Pro. Tho the Mac Studio maybe Apple's way of testing the waters on never releasing the Apple SoC Mac Pro.

Pro towers like the 2019 Mac Pro don't sell in large numbers, Apple may just cut us loose.