The new Mac Pro has very serious computing power. Although Apple doesn't seem to use the word workstation, the new Mac is designed as a workstation class machine.
So, it would seem the new Mac Pro is designed for those needing serious number crunching capabilities.
My long-ago background is in aerodynamics and simulations, and the needs for number crunching in these fields is severe. In days of yore, main frame computers were used for number crunching, and they were typically limited by I/O (input/output). This means they can crunch through a lot of numbers, if you can get those numbers in and out of the CPU fast enough.
I/O was often the problem, and it's a big problem with the new Mac Pro. Yes, people who need number crunching support can use clusters, but whether they are individuals, part of a small company or a large institution or a government entity, they often cannot afford to rent all the time they need on a cluster.
The plight of individuals and small companies is obvious, but even in large organizations, every penny has to be justified, whether the money is spent to buy a new Mac or buy time on a cluster.
Typical number crunching requires the fine tuning of various parameters, before the final data runs are performed. People doing this type of work prefer to do as much fine tuning at a low "resolution" on a local machine, rather than spend money on a cluster. But, even low resolution models require a serious workstation, and the hope was that the new Mac Pro would be this type of machine.
This sort of work is done by people performing computational DNA, all sorts of physics and much more. A friend is a retired mathematician, who is retired from the aerospace business after being involved in the math behind the radar mapping of the surface of Venus by the Magellan spacecraft. His extracurricular activities have included contributing to math papers that have defined computational DNA. When he bought a new iMac a few years ago, his question was where he could get a Fortran compiler …
A good example of a small company doing serious number crunching is www.realearthmodels.com. They don't use artists to build 3D models mimicking the real world. They build 3D models of the real world using scanner data, high resolution photos, and other data combined to create what they call PhotoReal models of the world, models having engineering accuracy.
Take a look at their web site, and you will see models of buildings, geological sites, and of Mount Rushmore, and Crazy Horse. Their models are used to guide the sculptors at Crazy Horse to avoid faults in the rock that could ruin the sculpture forever.
Their process for creating these models is intense. At one point in the process, they put the data together and let a specialized Windows computer crunch on the data for 4 or 5 days. Then, they tweak the data and do it again, and sometimes again. They need machines that will save a couple of hours here and there. They had hopes for the new Mac Pro.
And, this is the type of serious number crunching Apple doesn't understand. Apple understands video editing, and the artistic creation of 3D models. But, the serious number crunching these tasks require comes in spurts. The artist works hard to set up a model and apply a filter or effect, and then crunch through that effect for seconds or minutes. They try to avoid the number of times they must render an entire project.
Apple doesn't really have a feel for the many types engineers and scientists who need the machine that can run data 24 hours a day, because they are spread out, not clumped together in "Hollywood."
Several years ago, Apple had a group of three people tasked with evangelizing the Macintosh to engineers and scientists. John Martellaro was one of them, and he has stated that the evangelizing required of his group was as much inside Apple as outside. Apple no longer has such a group.
If you look at the limitations in the new Mac Pro architecture, it becomes obvious the new machine has short comings for the needs of the people mentioned in this post. Even people doing 4K video editing will find it somewhat limiting.
Go to my post "What's Wrong With the new Mac Pro" to learn about these limiting factors.
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