Vratislav Holub There are still a lot of questions hanging over the arrival of the Mac Pro with a chip from the Apple Silicon family. When Apple presented the entire project, it mentioned a rather important piece of information - that the complete transition from Intel processors to its own solution will take place within two years. That's roughly what happened, except for the aforementioned Mac Pro, which is supposed to be the most powerful Apple computer ever. Unfortunately, we are still waiting for his arrival.
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But as it seems, Apple is working intensively on it and its introduction could theoretically be around the corner. In this article, we will therefore summarize all the latest information that is known so far about the expected Mac Pro. New details about the possible chipset and its performance have recently leaked, according to which Apple plans to come up with the most powerful Apple Silicon computer ever, which should easily exceed the capabilities of the Mac Studio (with the M1 Ultra chip) and handle even the most demanding tasks. So let's take a closer look at the expected Mac Pro.
Performance
In the case of a model like the Mac Pro, its performance is undoubtedly the most important. As we mentioned above, the Mac Pro is aimed at the most demanding professionals who need lightning-fast performance for their work. It is therefore not surprising that the price of the current generation with Intel processors can climb up to almost 1,5 million crowns. Mac Pro (2019) offers in the best configuration a 28-core Intel Xeon 2,5 GHz CPU (Turbo Boost up to 4,4 GHz), 1,5 TB of DDR4 RAM and two Radeon Pro W6800X Duo graphics cards, each of which it has 64 GB of its own memory.
Mac Pro (2019)
Together with the new generation of Mac Pro, the brand new M2 Extreme chip should also arrive, which will take the role of the best and most powerful chipset from the Apple Silicon family so far. But the question is how it will fare in terms of performance. Some sources point out that Apple should bet on the same approach as with the first generation of its chips - each more advanced version practically doubles the capabilities of the previous solution. Thanks to this, the M2 Extreme could climb to truly unprecedented heights, offering a 48-core CPU (with 32 powerful cores), a 160-core GPU and up to 384 GB of unified memory. At least this follows from the leaks and speculations about the new generation M2 chips. At the same time, the question is whether the Mac Pro will be available in two configurations, not only with the M2 Extreme chip, but also with the M2 Ultra. According to the same prediction, the M2 Ultra chipset should bring a 24-core CPU, 80-core GPU and up to 192 GB of unified memory.
Some sources also speculate whether the M2 Extreme chipset will be built on the new 3nm manufacturing process. This change could theoretically help him significantly in terms of performance and thus move him a few more steps forward. However, we will probably have to wait for the arrival of Apple Silicon chips with a 3nm manufacturing process.
Design
Interesting discussions also concern the possible design. In 2019, Apple introduced the Mac Pro in the form of a classic desktop computer in an aluminum body, which received a rather funny name almost immediately after its introduction. It began to be nicknamed the grater, because its front and back strongly resemble it, although it primarily serves for better heat dissipation and therefore ensures flawless operation in terms of cooling. It is precisely because of the transition to Apple Silicon's own solution that the question is whether the Mac Pro will come in the same body, or whether it will, on the contrary, receive a redesign.
Why the current Mac Pro is so big is clear to practically everyone - the computer needs enough space to cool its components. But Apple Silicon chips built on the ARM architecture are significantly more economical compared to classic processors, which makes it easier to cool them down. Therefore, Apple fans are speculating whether we will not see a complete redesign and the arrival of the Mac Pro in a new body. The portal svetapple.sk previously reported on such a possibility, which came up with the perfect concept of a scaled-down Mac Pro with Apple Silicon.
Modularity
The so-called modularity is also a big unknown. It is precisely on it that the Mac Pro is more or less based, and it is quite possible that it will become the center of disputes between the users themselves. With the current generation of Mac Pro, the user can change some components at will and retroactively and gradually improve his computer. However, such a thing is impossible in the case of computers with Apple Silicon. In such a case, Apple uses SoC (System on a Chip), or system on a chip, where all components are part of a single chip. Thanks to the use of this architecture, Apple computers achieve significantly better efficiency, but on the other hand, it also brings with it certain pitfalls. In this case, it is logically impossible to change the GPU or the unified memory.
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Availability and price
Although, of course, no one knows the official date of the presentation yet, the speculation speaks about this quite clearly - the Mac Pro with M2 Extreme should apply for a word already in 2023. However, it is necessary to approach such information with caution. This term has already been moved several times. First, it was expected that the unveiling would take place this year. However, this was abandoned very quickly, and today it is not until next year. As for the price, there hasn't been a single mention of it yet. So it will be interesting to see how different the price of the Mac Pro will actually be. As we mentioned above, the current generation in the top row will cost you almost 1,5 million crowns.
