Designer Pierre Cerveau has come up with an interesting concept design as a development from the conventional Mac Mini, to fit between the Mac Mini and the Mac Pro.
The Mac Evo is a concept for an Apple desktop computer that is intended by Pierre as a viable alternative for Apple Mac users in the creative sectors who need powerful systems for productivity, media creation or gaming, without the need for a large tower. Let’s face it any of us are still using PCI-e cards like the Pro Tools HDX cards are never going to get an Apple with PCI-e slots, however modular the 2019 Mac Pro ends up being.
The Mac Evo also aims to address the increasing difficulty Mac users face when upgrading their systems, as every new generation relies more and more on proprietary components and soldered, non replaceable, chips.
Finally, Pierre wanted to introduce water-cooling to a Mac as a way to avoid any form of thermal throttling to offer greater speed by lowering the temperature of the processor, whilst keeping the system as compact as possible.
As we saw with the latest MacBook Pro, the Intel chips Apple uses in its OS X computers often have to be throttled down to keep them from overheating and Pierre suggests that liquid cooling is one solution to this.
Mac Evo Key Features
Liquid Radia water cooling system: a revolutionary liquid cooling system for both the CPU and GPU, that relies on a Radial Radiator for maximum cooling efficiency in a confined space. His concept is literally built around cooling the processor. Pierre explains…
“In the center, a centrifugal fan pulls fresh air from the bottom and exhausts it to the sides through the radiator fins,”
Apparently he calls it the Liquid Radia system because it uses a radial radiator.
Mac Evo Would Be Upgradeable
CPU (standard desktop socket)
GPU (MXM Type 3 format)
RAM (DDR4 SO-DIMMs)
Storage (M.2 + SATA)
Classic Beige and G4LACTIC Clear colorways for all the hipsters out there.
Now just to clarify, Pierre is a designer and these are his own ideas and not leaks from Apple. He is also by his own admission not an engineer.
“I have no idea what real world cooling efficiency Liquid Radia would have and I imagine producing a circular radiator would be quite the manufacturing challenge. I liked the idea however and thought it would be interesting to put it out there.”
As a designer he has the luxury of not having to take the challenges of manufacturing his design into consideration but does appreciate the constraints of the real world…
“While I designed the internals of the system to be ‘pretty’, an actual production model would probably never use that much machined aluminium as the overall cost would be prohibitive. I would expect to see much more plastic and cast metal if this concept were to ever become reality.”
Finally he considers his choice of GPU…
“I know that the future of the MXM format for GPUs is far from assured. However I do like this format as it is compact and can supports architectures powerful enough for most users.”
What We Think Of This Design
This concept design from Pierre has a lot going for. Its modular and parts can be easily upgraded. I especially like the back panel with HDMI, 4 Thunderbolt, 2 USB and an Ethernet port, but the best part is the slots to take 2.5” SSDs.
As to pricing, Pierre doesn’t make any suggestions but by positioning it between the Mac Mini and the Mac Pro it would have to cost between $1100 and $3000 for the base model.
What Do You Think?
Would this concept work for you? Would you buy it for your DAW if Apple made it? Do share your thoughts and observations in the comments below.
Acknowledgments
All images and designs are by Pierre Cerveau