I think Steve has done a great job on his MacBook Pro rack design, but I do wonder about the advantage the MBP has over the Mac Pro for their workload.
It may be that the GPUs of the Mac Pro don't matter to them, which would reduce the value proposition of those systems by a fair amount. The MBP also has an advantage in that it was just updated, and the current Mac Pro is a bit older. That advantage is hopefully just temporary, but it is pretty likely that the MBP will continue to receive more frequent updates in the future.
You can definitely squeeze more systems into a rack with the MBP, but my preference would still be to go with the Mac Pro:
No batteries on your datacenter floor
No power bricks
Better airflow
No screen burning electricity (although this is minimal)
The batteries particularly worry me. They're a potential fire hazard, and over time you'll need to replace them (even though they don't matter) before they expand and deform the system chassis. They also make power outlet control over a system annoying, since you'll have to wait for hours after the outlet is cycled off and the battery has discharged to cycle the outlet back on.
I think Steve has done a great job on his MacBook Pro rack design, but I do wonder about the advantage the MBP has over the Mac Pro for their workload.
It may be that the GPUs of the Mac Pro don't matter to them, which would reduce the value proposition of those systems by a fair amount. The MBP also has an advantage in that it was just updated, and the current Mac Pro is a bit older. That advantage is hopefully just temporary, but it is pretty likely that the MBP will continue to receive more frequent updates in the future.
You can definitely squeeze more systems into a rack with the MBP, but my preference would still be to go with the Mac Pro:
The batteries particularly worry me. They're a potential fire hazard, and over time you'll need to replace them (even though they don't matter) before they expand and deform the system chassis. They also make power outlet control over a system annoying, since you'll have to wait for hours after the outlet is cycled off and the battery has discharged to cycle the outlet back on.