Apple’s just-launched Mac Pro starts at $5,999 for the base model, but if you thought that would put a hole in your wallet, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Configure the company’s super computer to have the maximum possible components, and you’ll have to fork out $52,599 for the privilege.
Of course, it’s not like you get a so-so, average computer for your hard-earned cash. Spend over $50,000 on a Mac Pro and you’ll get a system that’ll make NASA green with envy. Let’s break down exactly what goes into such a money-hungry beast of a machine.
The first thing to configure on Apple’s website is the processor. While the Mac Pro starts off with a 3.5GHz 8-core Intel Xeon W chip, this can be upgraded all the way to a 2.5GHz 28-core Intel Core Xeon W monster of a processor. The cost of this part alone? $7,000.
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Next up is the RAM. The Mac Pro uses DDR4 ECC memory and starts with 32GB, but you can boost that to an insane 1.5TB for an equally mind-boggling $25,000. You know you’re in the big leagues when spending $25,000 on RAM is a reasonable consideration for you.
Once that’s done, it’s on to graphics. This is where the Mac Pro gets interesting. While it starts with a fairly standard AMD Radeon Pro 580X, you can actually equip it with four graphics cards thanks to the computer’s custom MPX Modules. Each one can hold a Radeon Pro Vega II Duo, which itself contains two discrete graphics cards. Max it out with two of the Duos and you get a whopping 128GB of video memory, but you have to spend $10,800 to do so. That’s over $84 per gigabyte, which is actually less than the $87 per gigabyte that the $700 Nvidia 2080 Super manages. What a bargain!
But we’re not finished there. The Mac Pro can be configured to have 4TB of SSD storage (not counting the 32TB RAID MPX Module, which isn’t yet available). That 4TB upgrade costs $1,400. Note that Apple says an 8TB option is coming soon; each of the current storage options increases in price by $400, so this may cost $1,800 when it becomes available.
One of the unique features of the Mac Pro is its Afterburner card. This speeds up workloads in apps like Final Cut Pro X and QuickTime Player X, allowing you to play back up to three streams of raw 8K video at once, for example. If you need that kind of performance boost, you’ll have to pay $2,000 for the card.
Go for all those options and your grand total is $52,599. However, that still doesn’t include a monitor. Of course, Apple’s Pro Display XDR is the perfect high-end tool for the job, and comes in at an additional $4,999 (without the Pro Stand), or $6,998 including the “nano-texture glass” and Pro Stand. When you’re spending over $50,000 on a computer, another $7,000 is small change, right?