“Intel today unveiled its full lineup of ‘Purley’ Xeon processors, most of which have already launched or are launching soon, but none of the chips in the lineup appear to be appropriate for Apple’s upcoming iMac Pro at the high end,” Juli Clover reports for MacRumors.
“When the iMac Pro was announced, Apple said it would use Intel’s Xeon processors, with 8, 10, and 18 core chips available as optional configurations with up to 42MB cache and maximum Turbo Boost up to 4.5GHz,” Clover reports. “[The Purley chips revealed today] max out at 4.2GHz Turbo Boost, so at least some of the processors Apple plans to use are not yet available from Intel.”
“In late June, Pike’s Universum dug up firmware files from the macOS High Sierra beta suggesting the iMac Pro will use Intel’s server-class LGA3647 socket rather than the desktop-class LGA2066 socket, pointing towards the use of server-grade ‘Purley’ Skylake-SP processors,” Clover reports. “Those same firmware files suggest the new iMac Pro will feature a Secure Enclave with an ARM coprocessor like the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, but it’s unclear what that functionality will be used for. Touch ID is, however, a possibility.”
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MacDailyNews Take: Whatever it ends up packing, Apple’s iMac Pro is going to be an absolute monster!