The I/O isn't that far off, really, as both TB3 and NVMe are likely to be run off the PCH, which IIRC has 30 lanes. If Intel sticks with their standard HSIO setup (which is unlikely to change) ~6 of these will be locked to USB (though Intel is likely to implement PCIe 3.2 support which might take away a few more), leaving ~24 PCIe lanes. This clearly won't have SATA ports, so that won't use up any, but there'll definitely be Ethernet and a 10GbE option, which takes away another 4 lanes minimum, leaving us with ~18. That's ... still not enough. But I'd be reasonably willing to bet the expansion slots would be more divided, likely x16/x8/x8, with the remaining x8 used for NVMe storage directly off the CPU, meaning 18 lanes off the PCH is sufficient for the TB3 ports.i mean the way this has so much internal expansion is great, but the specs themselves kinda smells of wishlist to me ._.
also counting PCIe lanes
we can rearrange a few specs with "redriving a 4.0 lane into two 3.0 lanes", but that adds complexity and demands more signal integrity of the system as a whole. i'd not guess like this untill i see a server system that does this to a lot of lanes
- x48 or x40: main/GPU (three x16 slots, or possibly x16/x16/x8 again)
- x16: 4 double-thunderbolt controllers (so total 8 ports)
- x8: two PCIe connections for NVMe
Yeah, if this is supposed to have three double-wide slots, they've got some trouble with that rear design.Yeah, I'm going to say it's a fake. Those PCI slots don't look right at all.
where did you get that? ._.
So much wrong here...?
where did you get that? ._.
EDIT: I'm calling it. it's a render
Agreed. Even if they went to some pretty significant lengths to make it look "real"/believable (the "dust" on the booklet is a nice touch), the grain is far too even across the image for an actual photo, and as mentioned above, holding the booklet open like that - even with some sort of wire or other tool - would create a shadow. And yes, that could be removed in post, but if they did that they'd also remove the dust. Besides, the black bakcground is far too even for even a studio photo. Oh, not to mention that a photo like this would be taken in an extremely brightly lit studio with multiple flashes at as low ISO as possible - there wouldn't be noticeable noise/grain in the image, let alone this much. And I very much doubt Apple would add noise to their product images for aesthetic reasons.where did you get that? ._.
EDIT: I'm calling it. it's a render
Or, you know, we could apply Ockham's razor and call a prop desk a prop desk and not some multi-year product design foreshadowing easter-egg. Apple likes square-ish designs with rounded corners and dark greys. It stands to reason that they'd use this aesthetic for an on-stage demo table so that it would blend in when not in use. We have zero idea how their design language will evolve until they have ARM hardware (and software!) even remotely powerful enough to challenge X86-based solutions. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.This was from the October 2018 event where they announced the Space Grey Mac mini & the 3rd gen iPad Pros...
Note the cube-shaped object on the right side of the image, this was used as a sort of standing desk for demos...
I think it is a larger-than-life scale model of a forthcoming Mac Pro...
NOT the forthcoming modular Mac Pro, but a contender for an ARM-based Mac Pro...?
Imagine the Mac mini, 7.7" W x 7.7" D... Now make a similar chassis, but make it 7.7" H as well...
Same proprietary PSU, same horizontal footprint, but taller & more power...
I/O along lower rear of chassis, rear exhaust above the I/O...
I/O is eight TB3 / USB-C ports, dual 10Gb Ethernet ports, & a 3.5mm headphone jack...
Backplane vertically oriented at the front of the chassis, four vertically oriented daughtercards mounted 90 degrees to backplane...
Each daughtercard has four ARM APUs, 64GB RAM, & 2TB SSD...
Total of sixteen APUs, 256GB RAM, & 8TB SSD for a fully loaded chassis...
* * * FURTHER THOUGHTS * * *
Rather than the PSU along one side & the backplane along the front, Apple could do PSU to the bottom & backplane (horizontally oriented) above that, daughtercards till at 90 degrees to backplane & vertically oriented... Rear I/O is still to lower back of chassis...
Air intake would be from all four sides, with a single 180mm x 25mm exhaust fan up top...
The all four sides intake is accomplished by an open framework underchassis & a HomePod-esque outer covering...
;^p
Note the cube-shaped object on the right side of the image, this was used as a sort of standing desk for demos...
probably the same desk ._.
Or, you know, we could apply Ockham's razor and call a prop desk a prop desk and not some multi-year product design foreshadowing easter-egg. Apple likes square-ish designs with rounded corners and dark greys. It stands to reason that they'd use this aesthetic for an on-stage demo table so that it would blend in when not in use. We have zero idea how their design language will evolve until they have ARM hardware (and software!) even remotely powerful enough to challenge X86-based solutions. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
i'd say wait for WWDC, but even so the rumors point only to Apple still being undecided on whether to introduce any detail on the MMP ._.