2023-06-06 11:00:00
When no one expected it, the long-awaited complete transition from Macs to Apple Silicon finally came. This status was only possible thanks to the update of the Mac Prowhich was the last Apple computer to still feature only Intel processors and now features the powerful M2 Ultra.
As it now carries a chip with another architecture (ARM, instead of x86), the newest Mac Pro has some even glaring differences in terms of numbers compared to the model that preceded it, launched in 2019.
This does not necessarily mean that such differences are as observable in terms of performance, as issues such as efficiency and memory management vary from architecture to architecture.
Without further ado, let’s see what changed from the penultimate Mac Pro released to the newest model?
design and dimensions
As with the first generations of other computers migrated to Apple Silicon (with the exception of the iMac), the Mac Pro maintains the visual standard of the previous model unchanged — including, with the possibilities of configuration in the tower format (vertical) and rack (horizontal).
The dimensions of the new computer also remain unchanged: the tower model is 52.9 cm high, 21.8 cm wide and 45 cm deep, while the rack model is 22.02 cm high, 48.2 cm wide and 53.95 cm deep.
The real difference, therefore, is inside the new computer, which now weighs 16.86 kg in the tower model (it was 18 kg) and 17.21 kg in the model. rack (The previous model weighed 17.6 kg).
Processing
Speaking of the guts of the new Mac Pro, let’s look at what really makes it another product: the replacement of processors in the line Intel Xeon W by the M2 Ultra. I advance: it took away some of the versatility in terms of computer settings.
While before it was possible to choose options with 8, 12, 16, 24 and 28 cores, now we are limited to one system on chip (SoC) with 24 cores — 16 of them for performance and 8 for efficiency.
The configuration difference in terms of processing in the new Mac Pro is in the number of GPU cores — which can be 60 or 76. In both cases, the Neural Engine It has 32 cores.
The Intel-powered Mac Pro’s GPU options were also more versatile, with configurations ranging from the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X to the mighty AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo.
Even with the smaller numbers compared to the predecessor model, the Mac Pro with the M2 Ultra is up to 3x faster than the most powerful model with Intel – a result of the miracles provided by the ARM architecture.
memory and storage
With the architecture change, the Mac Pro’s unified memory options are now limited to 64GB, 128GB and 192GB. The model with Intel had configurations of 32GB, 48GB, 96GB, 192GB, 384GB, 168GB and an incredible 1.5TB of RAM.
In terms of pre-installed storage, there are 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, and 8TB SSD options. They are practically the same as the Mac Pro with Intel, which also allowed you to configure the computer with a 512GB SSD.
connectivity
Depending on the configuration selected, the Mac Pro with Intel supported connection of 12 4K displays, 6 5K displays, or 6 Pro Display XDRs. On the new Mac Pro, you can connect it to 8 4K displays, 6 6K displays, or 3 8K displays.
The port configuration was also different. If before there were up to 12 Thunderbolt 3 ports (depending on the configuration) and 3 USB-A ports, now the computer has 8 Thunderbolt 4 ports, 3 USB-A ports and 2 HDMI ports.
Another novelty concerns the slots for PCI Express expansion, which were eight and now are seven — with one of them already occupied by the Apple I/O card. the six slots support the Gen 4 standard — which is 2x faster than the previous generation.
This allows for up to 3x faster video transcoding and 3D simulations, as well as playback of up to 24 feeds 4K camera feeds, which can be encoded to ProRes in real time — when used with six graphics cards.
Although it is the first computer with Apple Silicon to have the technology and it is, in fact, more powerful, there is still an important limitation on the Mac Pro with M2 Ultra: there is no support, for example, for dedicated video cards like the Radeon Pro like observed the AppleInsider.
As with the previous model, there is a 3.5mm headphone output, but now with support for high-impedance headphones. The HDMI ports, in turn, now support multichannel audio output.
Finally, the Mac Pro now supports the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and has also evolved its wireless connectivity by adding support for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.
Price
Another small change has come to the pricing of the new Mac Pro, which now retails at a starting price of R$75 mil in the tower model (against R$76,495 before) and R$80 mil not model rack (ante R$81.883).
The difference even occurs when we assemble the machine at its maximum settings. While in models with Intel we reached values that were close to R$500 thousand, it is now possible to mount a Mac Pro rack with everything you are entitled to (including the infamous wheels and software like Final Cut Pro) for, at the most, “just ” R$132,134!
Of course, this value can still increase if you choose to expand your computer’s storage with one of the SSD kits released especially for them by Apple.
Anyone out there already thinking about getting one? ????
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