Who does Apple think they are?

[ZacMelendez]

So my dad was looking to buy a new MacBook Pro, and I was looking around the site and came across the Mac Pro. I was configuring some setups, when I created the "God PC". The 12 core, 64 GB DDR3, Dual GPU, and 1 tb of storage. When I saw the price tag, I thought, "Okay. That seems reasonable." But then I fooled around in PCPartPicker, and created the most overkill PC ever. 22 Core Intel Xeon, 128 Gb of DDR4, Dual GTX 1080s, and 1 tb of SSDs. I also included a 4K monitor, a mechanical keyboard and gaming mouse. Only to see that the price was 8500. How can Apple justify the price for the computers they sell when people can build and/or find people to build something of this caliber for them?

[Speshul_]

Because people will always think that if something is more expensive it is better

[SSL]

Generally this is a beaten, dead horse, but I should point out that the 1080 is not a workstation graphics card.

[tt2468]

2 minutes ago, SSL said:

Generally this is a beaten, dead horse, but I should point out that the 1080 is not a workstation graphics card.

It still performs better than anything apple can provide. In all categories.

[Sunshine1868]

You also realize that you get OS X/macOS with the mac...right? You get an operating system that is bespoke to that hardware ensuring everything works flawlessly.

 

case in point: the "editing on an ultraportable laptop" videos... Linus said it couldn't be done, and then somebody came back (TLD? I can't remember) came back and showed it was possible on the 12" Macbook...

 

Hardware isn't everything; a big chevy truck has a 6.2L V8, while a Formula 1 car has a 1.6l v6... which is faster?

[TheHogSmasher]

2 minutes ago, tt2468 said:

It still performs better than anything apple can provide. In all categories.

That doesn't change the fact that Apple is using FirePro's, not gaming cards.

[SSL]

1 minute ago, tt2468 said:

It still performs better than anything apple can provide. In all categories.

 

Workstation cards exist for a reason, so no. Double precision compute performance and driver optimizations come to mind.

[PlayStation 2]

2 minutes ago, TheHogSmasher said:

That doesn't change the fact that Apple is using FirePro's, not gaming cards.

You're not gonna buy a Mac Pro just for fucking gaming.

[Sunshine1868]

The Mac Pro is not meant for gaming; it is meant for serious, hardcore video/data editing. As silly as it sounds, Mac is in the business of catering to Professionals, not enthusiast gamers. those professionals just happen to be professional photo/video editors looking for the best workflow and experience.

[TetraSky]

14 minutes ago, Speshul_ said:

Because people will always think that if something is more expensive it is better

This ^

I offered to someone that I would format their PC and just install windows and drivers.. Something very simple that anyone with a basic understand of a computer can do, for just $20 for my time on it.
They went elsewhere, paid $100, got the same service, had a bunch of unnecessary bloat like itunes installed(they didn't have any idevice) and half the drivers weren't even installed too., they thought the service would be "better".. Because apparently formatting a PC can be done a few dozen ways and for $20, it's the worst possible way right? I hate people...

[SSL]

2 minutes ago, Sunshine1868 said:

The Mac Pro is not meant for gaming; it is meant for serious, hardcore video/data editing. As silly as it sounds, Mac is in the business of catering to Professionals, not enthusiast gamers. those professionals just happen to be professional photo/video editors looking for the best workflow and experience.

 

Actually, Apple has been gradually abandoning professionals both in terms of software and hardware. But the point still stands.

[TheHogSmasher]

3 minutes ago, Dan Castellaneta said:

You're not gonna buy a Mac Pro just for fucking gaming.

I never said that you where. Also have some respect when replying.

[Sunshine1868]

1 minute ago, TetraSky said:

This ^

~snip~

slow down... that idea of "expensive=better" may apply to some people, but not all... the vast majority of people buying Mac Pros have SERIOUSLY weighed their options and know what they are paying for. And there ARE people buying the 12k outfitted machine; those people are serious professionals who need that performance in their workflow...performance that Mac can deliver reliably and comfortably.

[PlayStation 2]

1 minute ago, TheHogSmasher said:

I never said that you where. Also have some respect when replying.

But that's what you're implying. If you're implying something stupid, I'm not really gonna care what tone I reply to. That literally goes for everyone.

[Sunshine1868]

2 minutes ago, SSL said:

 

Actually, Apple has been gradually abandoning professionals both in terms of software and hardware. But the point still stands.

I know; as a photographer, I lost Aperture and felt that cut very deeply... but, like you said, the point still stands: the Mac Pro and other ~Pro line of machines are meant as professional workstations, not "gaming rigs"

[TetraSky]

2 minutes ago, Sunshine1868 said:

slow down... that idea of "expensive=better" may apply to some people, but not all... the vast majority of people buying Mac Pros have SERIOUSLY weighed their options and know what they are paying for. And there ARE people buying the 12k outfitted machine; those people are serious professionals who need that performance in their workflow...performance that Mac can deliver reliably and comfortably.

You're comparing sheeples to actual professionals here. I don't think these professionals are the "majority" here. Though apple has been abandoning the pros for a while now.

[Sunshine1868]

2 minutes ago, TetraSky said:

You're comparing sheeples to actual professionals here. I don't think these professionals are the "majority" here.

Though I agree there are people who buy Apple machines as a status thing, you have to remember that there are people who buy them as a professional tool. 

the VAST majority of "sheeple" you speak of spend the $1k on a macbook... meanwhile the VAST - DEFINITELY 100% of people buying the top-end Mac Pro are DEFINITELY professionals.

[PlayStation 2]

1 minute ago, TheHogSmasher said:

I never said apple should throw two 1080's in a mac pro. 

I wasn't implying two.

What I was saying is that Apple didn't use gaming cards for a reason.

[manikyath]

apple is apple, their prices are what they are, if you dont like that apple is not for you.

 

apple is for people who purposely buy into an ecosystem, specificly an ecosystem where things are made easy by tossing dollar bills at someone to fix it. beyond that the mac pro is as much a "fashion statement" as it is a mean little workstation.

 

also, the engineering required to put this stuff in such a TINY formfactor is worth something as well

Edited June 29, 2016 by Godlygamer23
Clean up.

[TheHogSmasher]

1 hour ago, manikyath said:

apple is apple, their prices are what they are, if you dont like that apple is not for you.

 

apple is for people who purposely buy into an ecosystem, specificly an ecosystem where things are made easy by tossing dollar bills at someone to fix it. beyond that the mac pro is as much a "fashion statement" as it is a mean little workstation.

 

also, the engineering required to put this stuff in such a TINY formfactor is worth something as well

most of the people here are gamers who think Apple is overpriced for what it is. They don't understand these are FirePro's and a Xeon with ECC. It's not a gaming computer, it's a workstation. Comparing it to a regular gaming computer wont do justice.

Edited June 29, 2016 by Godlygamer23
Clean up.

[manikyath]

1 minute ago, TheHogSmasher said:

most of the people here are gamers who think Apple is overpriced for what it is. They don't understand these are FirePro's and a Xeon with ECC. It's not a gaming computer, it's a workstation. Comparing it to a regular gaming computer wont do justice.

i'm not saying their prices make sense, but OP is a flippin idiot as well.

 

that said, last time i went to a photographer he was using an iMac, and upon me asking about it he promptly told me it was his worst purchase ever, and that even his shitbook from HP did better than that thing, and he mostly just got it for the (honestly gorgeous) display.

 

times have changed tho. it comes down to mostly just a choice. and the people who tend to make the choice for a mac pro dont have the option of going custom, and their alternative is some UGLY ass box from HP.

[TheHogSmasher]

1 minute ago, manikyath said:

i'm not saying their prices make sense, but OP is a flippin idiot as well.

 

that said, last time i went to a photographer he was using an iMac, and upon me asking about it he promptly told me it was his worst purchase ever, and that even his shitbook from HP did better than that thing, and he mostly just got it for the (honestly gorgeous) display.

 

times have changed tho. it comes down to mostly just a choice. and the people who tend to make the choice for a mac pro dont have the option of going custom, and their alternative is some UGLY ass box from HP.

The mac pro pricing makes sense, the rest of them don't. Especially not the mac mini.

[manikyath]

1 minute ago, TheHogSmasher said:

The mac pro pricing makes sense, the rest of them don't. Especially not the mac mini.

there's some pretty impressive holes in their pricing scheme, especially the ram. buying the exact same sticks as the ram that's in there is significantly cheaper than buying the ram upgrade from apple directly, to the point where it's worth paying someone to push the sticks in.

 

but yeah... if you're a photographer that has no time for custom builds you wont exactly put this thing in your shop will you?

[bob345]

I'd like to see someone attempt to make a pc comparable to the mac pro in the same form factor. Now THAT would be an achievement.

[TheHogSmasher]

1 minute ago, manikyath said:

there's some pretty impressive holes in their pricing scheme, especially the ram. buying the exact same sticks as the ram that's in there is significantly cheaper than buying the ram upgrade from apple directly, to the point where it's worth paying someone to push the sticks in.

 

but yeah... if you're a photographer that has no time for custom builds you wont exactly put this thing in your shop will you?

Yea, the upgrades are a rip off. The base price is understandable though.

 

As for why people buy it, Apple just has a better ecosystem for media creation especially with Metal.