Apple said to be testing multiple Mac Pro configurations including one with 48 CPU cores

[Shawn Knight]

In a nutshell: The next version of Apple's high-end Mac Pro is expected to be the first to feature Apple Silicon. Apple insider Mark Gurman believes the Mac Pro could be offered with multiple chip options that are at least two to four times as powerful as the M2 Max and has affectionately dubbed them the M2 Ultra and M2 Extreme. These chips are said to feature 24 and 48 CPU cores, respectively, alongside 76 and 152 graphics cores, and up to 256 gigabytes of system memory.

Gurman claims the 24 CPU core variant with 192GB of RAM is being actively tested within Apple's walls. Sources say the system is running macOS Ventura 13.3.

In related Mac news, Gurman has been told that new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros will arrive with M2 Pro and M2 Max configuration options. The latter will feature 12 CPU cores (eight performance cores and four efficiency cores) alongside 38 GPU cores and can be paired with up to 64GB of RAM.

An updated Mac mini will have access to the same M2 chip used in the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro. That chip is comprised of eight CPU cores (four performance cores and four efficiency cores) and up to a 10-core GPU. Apple has also reportedly tested a variant with an M2 Pro that would increase core counts.

The first Apple Silicon Mac Pro isn't expected to launch until 2023. Potential pricing wasn't mentioned but the line historically hasn't been cheap. The existing Mac Pro tower starts from $5,999 and jumps to $6,499 if you want a rack version.

For reference, the current-gen 14-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,999 while the 16-inch model starts at $2,499. The Mac mini, meanwhile, starts at $699 which includes a M1 chip, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. For an additional $200, Apple will double the storage capacity to 512GB.

Apple has historically launched new Macs in November, January and in the spring. If that holds true, we could see the first wave of new hardware debut real soon.

Image credit: 9to5Mac

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/96424-apple-testing-multiple-mac-pro-configurations-including-one.html

 

[umbala]

Awesome news. They're only charging like 3x what the actual hardware is worth. I guess inflation means the Apple tax gets bumped too.

"Mac Pro tower starts from $5,999" It *starts* at $6k, meaning that's the lowest end model. That is hilarious. I'm guessing the top end model will be like what, $15-20k? I've been building PCs for 20+ years and no one has ever ordered one beyond $5k and that would be considered super high end.

Basically, the lowest end Mac Pro is more expensive than the highest end PC you can build yourself. But people will buy this pile of poop, because hey it's Apple!

 

[nodfor]

Do they still use the cheese trimmer design? Awesome

 

[donnieD]

Awesome news. They're only charging like 3x what the actual hardware is worth. I guess inflation means the Apple tax gets bumped too.

"Mac Pro tower starts from $5,999" It *starts* at $6k, meaning that's the lowest end model. That is hilarious. I'm guessing the top end model will be like what, $15-20k? I've been building PCs for 20+ years and no one has ever ordered one beyond $5k and that would be considered super high end.

Basically, the lowest end Mac Pro is more expensive than the highest end PC you can build yourself. But people will buy this pile of poop, because hey it's Apple!

In theory, you can get to 6k+ in PC build, 2 x RTX4090 (not sure if those can work in pairs or triplets), Ryzen 9 7950, DDR5, nice case and a huge 1.5KW PSU.....but that would probably on par to 30k Apple Pro, if not better performing

 

[Greggs]

256GB RAM is far more than I would ever need, but don't some people who use high end "Pro" machines sometimes need upwards of 1TB? I believe the current Mac Pro supports up to 1.5TB RAM. 256GB seems a big difference and if it's still SoC RAM will probably cost more than 1.5TB DRAM.