I ’ve long been a substance abuser of the2019 Intel Mac Pro . I firm believe it is one of the best , most upgradable products Apple has ever free . And even with a new M2 Ultra - equipped Mac Pro on the market , I ’m not giving up my 2019 Mac Pro just yet .
To be absolved , I ’m not recommending that you go buy this discontinued product . mostly , most users should not consider an Intel Mac Pro — or Apple silicon Mac Pro for that matter . AMac Studio with the M2 Ultracan do what ’s needed in most key areas . The fresh - mintedMacBook Pro with an M3 Maxis an absolute operation wiz that ’s power efficient and priced right .
I merely appreciate the alone nature of the Mac Pro , much like theConcordejet was an engineering wonder and also an impractical one . I ’m also attempting to offer a bit of reassurance for live 2019 Mac Pro users who have not yet jumped on the Apple silicon freight train .
The ability to upgrade the 2019 Mac Pro is its most appealing characteristic.
2019 Mac Pro: Life after death
Do you know what will happen when the computer hardware inside your shiny new Apple Si Mac becomes superannuated and is underperform ( relatively speaking ) ? You will buy a whole new Mac .
The ability to upgrade the 2019 Mac Pro is its most appealing characteristic .
Thiago Trevisan
The ability to upgrade the 2019 Mac Pro is its most appealing characteristic.
With that in judgment , price for freshen up and used 2019 Mac Pros have expend like a rock . This Mac , which was once an unattainable beast ( remember the memes of how you canconfigure a 2019 Mac Pro to be $ 55,000 ? ) , can be bought for a fraction of its original MSRP . And the 2019 Mac Pro offers a fundamental feature not found in M - series Macs : upgradability , or , at least , a sure amount of it .
Here ’s a clearly - cut , real - world example . A few years ago , I picked up a bare - bones 2019 Mac Pro as an open - box point from a local Micro Center . come in well under its propose retail cost , I bought it mean to right away advance . It embarrassingly came with an Intel Xeon 8 - core CPU , 32 GB of RAM , and 256 GB SSD . The included AMD Radeon Pro 580x graphics card was a dashing hopes .
crop the secondary market place , it was a cinch to find a gaudy Intel Xeon 28 - core CPU . It was even easier to instal it , virtually stop up and diddle after remove a few screws . RAM was grime cheap compare to the cost Apple charge when configuring the Mac Pro . You ca n’t do anything like this for the current M2 Ultra Mac Pro , save for the SSD .
CPU upgrade: can an Apple silicon Mac do this?
There are plenty of options for the graphics card , too . rather of shell out for a dear MPX GPU module like the AMD Radeon Vega II , you could pop in a standard AMD gaming GPU . The $ 999 AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT is supported and has oodles of public presentation . You lose Thunderbolt ports and some VRAM compare to the MPX modules , but you ’re saving a boatload of hard cash .
CPU upgrade : can an Apple silicon Mac do this ?
The included 256 GB SSD did not impress , but Apple gratefully made this fully upgradable . option up to 8 TB are uncommitted and easy to swap out . Unfortunately , this proprietary SSD is still dear when bought as an acclivity – the mere fact that it is possible to upgrade is appreciated .
A user could pack the 2019 Mac Pro with GPUs to their heart’s content.
The $ 55,000 meme that floated around when the 2019 Mac Pro was unloose may be the lasting impression of this machine . But for those who are willing to get their hand dirty in the detail , you ’ll find a much friendlier motorcar that still has class of life left for a fraction of that price . And if you need more RAM , you’re able to find oneself it for cheap and pop it in . If the GPU is lack H.P. , you’re able to find a multitude of options that support the Mac Pro . How about a bevy of recess PCIe cards ? away from the current M2 Ultra Mac Pro , the 2019 Mac Pro is the only manakin that can afford you this delight .
A user could pack the 2019 Mac Pro with GPUs to their heart ’s contentedness .
The 2019 Mac Pro reality
As 2019 Mac Pro owner wait in expectation for what an Apple silicon Mac Pro would wreak , reality jump to gear up in . The M2 Ultra Mac Pro is a shadow of the Mac Pro it replaced and well be by the cheaper Mac Studio .
The 2019 Mac Pro is not a defunct token in brightness level of new Apple atomic number 14 Macs . It remains a very up to performer . If it matters , you may even treble - boot into Windows , too .
Intel Mac Pro vs. Mac Studio: Red Raw 6k video file export
Yes , the public presentation chart above is cherry - picked , but it still shows that a high - end 2019 Mac Pro can still perform well in the right workflow . Of course , your milage may motley depending on your work flow and use pillow slip . If GPU - centric workflows such as R3D Raw are your bread and butter , there is no deny that powerful GPUs like the AMD Radeon Pro W6800x in the 2019 Mac Pro still outclass Apple atomic number 14 . The gap is dwindle with each Modern M - serial release and becoming more niche as workflow are optimized for Apple silicon . Apple silicon Macs also have a terms and efficiency advantage . If your workflow involves ProRes or other consumer codecs , the 2019 Mac Pro gets left behind very quickly . The now ancient Intel 28 - core Xeon is no match for the raw Apple silicon chips in many workflow .
carrying into action is not an area that the 2019 Intel Mac Pro will have many advantages in , compared to much cheaper Macs available today . The key here is that live simple machine can be upgrade over sentence to at least improve performance against itself , without need an entirely Modern machine .
GPU - reliant codecs help make the 2019 Mac Pro still relevant .
GPU-reliant codecs help make the 2019 Mac Pro still relevant.
The storage advantage
Do you know why some people can justify the Apple Mac Pro with M2 Ultra over the much cheaper Mac Studio ? Internal elaboration and power to cram it with monumental storage . The same holds true for those still obtain on to the 2019 Mac Pro .
One of my least favorite experience with the Mac Studio is the unbelievable amount of external hard drives and cable’s length that cluttered the workspace . Many of these outside unit have fans , negating the haphazardness vantage of the Mac Studio .
The Mac Studio may be small , but it can get littered with external devices .
The Mac Studio may be small, but it can get cluttered with external devices.
Storage is no job internally for the 2019 Mac Pro , with giant sum of money easy packed in . you may gibe a Pegasus Promise R4i 32 TB maraud regalia MPX module for endless patronage . PCIe NVME cards allow you to slap in as many drive as your heart desire . All this while being quiet and neatly hold within the 2019 Mac Pro itself .
This fact is a vast plus for many users who prize a swell workspace , with everything relegated to its own enclosed space . The Mac Studio , the nearest competitor to the Mac Pro , does not offer this convenience .
SSD upgrades in the 2019 Mac Pro ? No problem .
SSD upgrades in the 2019 Mac Pro? No problem.
Superficially , the 2019 Mac Pro is also a arresting body of work of art and engine room workmanship . The ingenious internal layout and grave beauty of the exterior remain unmatched in both the Apple and PC space .
The 2019 Mac Pro has its drawbacks
The continued existence of the 2019 Mac Pro is not without its obvious drawback . After waxing poetic about its efficaciousness alongside New Macs , the time has come to face some rough reality .
Apple typically affords a reasonably farsighted life of macOS updates to its various machine . As the 2019 Mac Pro age , there will come a time when it is no longer supported , much like late Mac Pros . If the running average is seven years , then the time get out of expected support is running out .
The inclusion of Apple silicon - specific software program tweaks has already pass , with the older Intel Xeon platform not being capable to take advantage of many modern feeler .
Apple’s Afterburner had its time for ProRes rendering, but it’s outclassed now.
Apple ’s Afterburner had its time for ProRes rendition , but it ’s outclass now .
Unless you fall down into a specific work flow or require inner expansion , the new Apple silicon Macs pulverise the 2019 Mac Pro in most performance metrics .
The Apple Afterburner card was an expensive add - on to the 2019 Mac Pro , forebode ProRes quickening . While it never really took off , it quickly was outclassed by Apple silicon in this area .
The 2019 Mac Pro’s desgin is so iconic that Apple kept it for the M2 Ultra Mac Pro.
Another primal factor with new Apple Si Macs that is hard to ignore is their awe-inspiring power efficiency . The 2019 Mac Pro , coupled with an Intel Xeon 28 - core CPU and AMD Radeon Pro W6800x Duo MPX mental faculty , is a exponent hogget . you could finger the residual heat while using it , giving its 1,400 - watt power supply a workout .
While the 2019 Mac Pro is still quiet , there is no doubtfulness that a likewise performing Apple silicon Mac is more attractive when it sip top executive at a fraction of the pace .
The 2019 Mac Pro ’s desgin is so iconic that Apple keep it for the M2 Ultra Mac Pro .
The 2019 Mac Pro still has life left
Apple silicon is impressive and the future , so the 2019 Mac Pro deserves its dwindling destiny . That does not mean that enthusiasts ca n’t expend it as a jumping-off point to endless hardware upgrades on the cheap . Existing users can extract some more biography out of their Mac Pro .
It also have in mind that shinynew Macsare not yet wholly involve that 2019 Mac Pro users elevate . It is getting perilously tight , but the big ol’ cheese grater Mac Pro still has a few year of life left in it .
