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Back in 2019, I remember wondering whether or not the $52,599 Mac Pro was fully provisioned. Sure, it was expensive, but it certainly wasn’t overkill if you had the right workload.
but how new M2 Ultra Mac Pro compare?
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M2 Ultra Mac Pro
The last in the Mac line to receive an Apple silicon upgrade, the Mac Pro offers something no other Mac can – PCIe expansion for specialized workflows.
Well, with a starting price of $6,999, the new Mac Pro is $1,000 more expensive than the Intel-based Mac Pro.
Not a good sign.
Too: All the Mac news from WWDC 2023
But here’s the weird thing. I can go pick up all the options for the new Mac Pro, and I can’t reach anywhere near the $50,000 of the old system.
In fact, a Mac Pro with a 24-core CPU/76-core GPU, 192GB of integrated RAM, 8TB of storage, a $400 wheel kit, and a Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad is only $12,348.
So why is the new Mac Pro so cheap?
Well, first of all, the older Intel-based Mac Pro could be fitted with as much as 1.5TB of DDR4 ECC RAM, which bumped the price up to $25,000 at the time. The twin Radeon Pro Vega II Duo graphics cards added another $10,000 to the price.
Oh, and there was a $7,000 upgrade to the 28-core Intel Xeon processor.
Too: comparing the best macs
Compared to all of this, those $400 wheels — and I’ve seen them, and they are mighty fine wheels — are a drop in the ocean.
The M2 Ultra Mac Pro is a more streamlined system.
There’s a $1,000 processor upgrade that adds an additional 16 GPU cores, a bump from 64GB to 192GB of integrated RAM that adds $1,600, and a bump from TB to 8TB SSD storage that’s an additional $2,200.
Oh, and wheels. They’re still a steal at $400.
Too: How to preorder Apple’s new MacBook Air, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro
Apple’s move away from Intel hasn’t only resulted in more power, it’s also tamed the system’s top-end pricing.
If you still think $12,348 isn’t expensive enough, remember that the Mac Pro can accommodate up to six Pro Display XDR units. Go for the nano-textured glass versions with stand and they’ll add around $42,000 to the bill.
