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New iMac with 2 Thunderbolt ports = Death of MacPro?
Have a look at the new iMac specs.
You can configure an iMac with
> 3.4GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
> 2TB Serial ATA Drive + 256GB Solid State Drive
> AMD Radeon HD 6970M graphics card with 2GB of RAM
At the moment you can get Final Cut Express 4 preinstalled!
The performance page refers to improved ProRes render times in Final Cut Studio.
Once we get a few more Thunderbolt enabled devices (including maybe a PCI Express card expansion cage), maybe we'd be OK with no update to the MacPro range...
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Alexandre Gollner,
Editor, Zone 2-North West, London
alex4d on twitter, facebook, .wordpress.com + .com
Looks impressive!
Alex4D Wrote:
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> Have a look at the new iMac specs.
>
> You can configure an iMac with
> > 3.4GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
> > 2TB Serial ATA Drive + 256GB Solid State Drive
> > AMD Radeon HD 6970M graphics card with 2GB of
> RAM
>
> At the moment you can get Final Cut Express 4
> preinstalled!
>
> The performance page refers to improved ProRes
> render times in Final Cut Studio.
>
> Once we get a few more Thunderbolt enabled devices
> (including maybe a PCI Express card expansion
> cage), maybe we'd be OK with no update to the
> MacPro range...
Uh...no. iMacs are NOT good edit solutions...period. They are not even physically upgradable so how can they possibly kill the MacPro?? Can you put a Kona3 card in there? No. Not even a discussion in the "Professional" ranks...
When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.
I'm sure when Apple introduces the next new Mac Pro, it will have 2 or more Thunderbolt ports. A few new graphics card to pick from. And possibly, FCP X preinstalled.
Mac App Store apps are tied to your Apple ID so I don't think they would be able to preinstall it.
My software:
Pro Maintenance Tools - Tools to keep Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Pro X, Avid Media Composer and Adobe Premiere Pro running smoothly and fix problems when they arise
Pro Media Tools - Edit QuickTime chapters and metadata, detect gamma shifts, edit markers, watch renders and more
More tools...
That right! Forgot about the App Store thing. But anyway. I'm sure the new line of Mac Pro's are going to be butt kickers.
This is a huge deal. Matrox MXO line and Blackmagic already have thunderbolt support.... so yes, this could take a big chunk out of the Mac Pro line, even for "pros". I wouldn't be surprised to see AJA start to follow the Matrox lead on thunderbolt support either. Also let's not forget the possibility of expansion chassis for PCI-E. Sonnet has already announced them. Possibility of running a Kona in that? A Fibre card? Lots of possibilities out there and can't wait to see where it progresses and what is actually feasible.
For me, the biggest knock on the iMac has always been "expandability". As an offline system, storage was an issue as was I/O to an external monitor. Well thunderbolt changes all that. Give me a 27" imac, with an MXO2, and an external 8TB Raid 5 and I'm perfectly happy. I don't do heavy FX work. Sure I'll color correct a job here and there, but mostly I am a feature editor with very little need for making tapes, and doing heavy conversions.
Thunderbolt changes the game for me at least. I'll be able to spend less money to get equipment that will do what I want.
It certainly makes the MacPros look outdated and damn expensive considering what you get for your money with the new MacPros.
That said there has to be new MacPro updates in the not so distant future... there just has to be... i can't keep going on this machine much longer!!
iMacs and Thunderbolt tech make capture cards a BIG possibility. The new AJA IO Express will be equipped with one, as will all the MXO2 line when they get updated. Matrox has a Thunderbolt adapter for their current line. AJA and BMD promised THunderbolt options for their capture cards. There are already high speed RAID offerings from Promise that have speeds exceeding 800MB/s. And they loop through to a Thunderbolt computer monitor...so iMac to drives to monitor...dual monitors, high speed drive, capture card. Yup...
No, these new iMacs are worth taking a SERIOUS look at.
www.shanerosseditor.com
Listen to THE EDIT BAY Podcast on iTunes
[ itunes.apple.com]
Can anybody speak to whether they think a Thunderbolt PCI card for my MacPro is a possibility? I contacted Promise's Tech Support on the day they announced their Thunderbolt-enabled RAID drive to ask if they would be releasing an adapter card for it so I could add it to my MacPro. They gave me the impression that it wasn't even possible.
FCP 7.0.3, PPro CS5.5, MPro Octo 2.8, 16 gigs RAM, Matrox MXO2, Sony EX1
Intel has said no to Thunderbolt PCIe cards because the chip must be on the motherboard.
Well, first they upgraded the MacBookPro, now the iMac. So... in the usual chronology of things, it shouldn't be much longer for a new MacPro to show up plus the fact that without thunderbolt, there's no future in the current model.
Standing in line with cash in hand...
As Shane said, I/O boxes with Thunderbolts are in the making, so it certainly can be possible that the new iMacs can be viable professional edit system for certain projects. Exciting times!
Chi-Ho Lee
Film & Television Editor
Apple Certified Final Cut Pro Instructor
I would expect PCI-Express host adapters for Thunderbolt, just as they're coming out for USB 3.0, eSATA, etc.
if not for full speed, then compatiblity with older models.
- Loren
Today's FCP 7 keytip:
Nudge a Canvas layer by SUBpixels
with Command-Option with Arrow keys !
Your Final Cut Studio KeyGuide? Power Pack.
Now available at KeyGuide Central.
www.neotrondesign.com
Just to be clear, older devices can get Thunderbolt adaptors for computers with Thunderbolt.
Intel says that Thunderbolt can not be added to a non Thunderbolt computer through PCIe or Express card.
[ www.itnewswire.info]
Thunderbolt ports can?t be added to existing PCs via an expansion card; Intel says the only way to have it is to buy a system or logic board that incorporates the new Thunderbolt controller chip. That?s because the Thunderbolt chip needs direct access to both the system?s video and PCI Express architecture.
Thank you for that, Craig. That's what I was afraid of.
FCP 7.0.3, PPro CS5.5, MPro Octo 2.8, 16 gigs RAM, Matrox MXO2, Sony EX1
Dave Morrison Wrote:
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> Thank you for that, Craig. That's what I was
> afraid of.
Apple likes selling new computers. Keep in mind that it may be a bit before you see some Thunderbolt only or Thunderbolt better devices you MUST (as opposed to WANT to) jump on.
I think the people who may have the greatest need to jump are people who need MBP portable editing or those who find moving to an iMac a better solution than buying a MacPro. MacPro owners may have the least reason to jump. It seems as if Apple's computer rollout priority matches the anticipated demand with MBPs first and iMacs next.
It'll be interesting to see if MacBook and/or MacMini get Thunderbolt but one could argue there'd be little demand/need for it on those devices . . . but if Apple is pushing MacMini server solutions, who knows. Thunderbolt would certainly make sense on a server.
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