iMAC PRO

Earlier this year, Apple announced that the current Mac Pro was dead. Well, it didn’t phrase it that way, but it admitted the direction of the super-small workstation hadn’t worked out, and that it was listening to what people wanted from a true pro-level rig instead (an expandable computer with huge processor power and big graphics power). But it also said that any new Mac Pro is years off. So in December 2017, we’re getting another new pro desktop to tide us over. And it’s a beast. 5K HITS $5K+ The iMac Pro is the same shape as a 27-inch 5K iMac (including the latest generation of super-clear and sharp 5K screen, which is brighter than before), but includes between eight and 18 cores of cutting-edge Intel processor power, AMD Vega graphics tech so advanced it hasn’t actually fully been unveiled yet, and up to 128GB of top-tier error-correcting RAM.

There are four Thunderbolt 3 ports on the back for connecting super-high-speed peripherals (including up to two more 5K displays for a ridiculous 44-millionpixel desktop, if you want – and who doesn’t?), and even a 10-gigabit Ethernet port, for the first time on a Mac. Oh, and it comes in black. Seriously, this thing can be configured to be almost comedically powerful, though you’ll absolutely pay for that power: it starts at US$4,999 (expect AU$ price to be closer to $8K), but that’s with the eight-core processor. 18-core Intel Xeon workstation processors cost around $4,600 alone, so if you also go for the optional 4TB of crazy-fast (3GB/s) flash storage, and top out the RAM and the graphics card options… well, some estimates put the possible maximum cost at $17k. APPLE BITES BACK

It’s really not made for most of us, but if you’re the kind of person who renders VR worlds or needs to crack ASIO, all in a package that fits on the average Ikea desk, this is one hell of an exciting machine. Who are we kidding; this is one hell of an...