Apple is reportedly taking multiple steps back as far as the user upgradeability goes on the company’s Mac Pro. In addition to not being able to upgrade the RAM, customers will also not be able to hook up external GPUs sporting a PCIe slot. However, it is possible that Apple is locking out external GPU support because the Mac Pro’s own solution will be more than capable.
Perhaps the only thing users can upgrade on the upcoming Apple Silicon Mac Pro is the storage
After his prediction surrounding the Apple Silicon Mac Pro’s lack of upgradeable RAM, Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman now claims that the workstation expected to tout the company’s fastest SoC will also ship without external GPU support. With previous Macs sporting Intel processors, Apple gave users the ability to hook up graphic cards when they were placed in enclosures, with the connection taking place through a Thunderbolt 3 port.
Ever since the M1 lineup of Macs rolled out, Apple has dropped support for external GPUs without providing a solid reason. As far as user-upgradeability goes, only the Intel-based Mac Pro provides that facility, where customers can swap between the storage, GPUs, RAM, and even the CPU, though the latter is a lengthy process and requires a more detailed disassembly.
Gurman states that the only thing that will be upgradeable on the upcoming Mac Pro is the storage, meaning that customers will be able to save some money. However, he does not point out if the storage available to purchase will be based on the industry standard, which is the M.2 PCIe NVMe protocol, or if Apple intends to introduce its own proprietary connector with the Mac Pro launch. It appears that we will find out in the coming months.
The next Mac Pro may lack user upgradeable GPUs in addition to non-upgradeable RAM. Right now Apple Silicon Macs don’t support external GPUs and you have to use whatever configuration you buy on Apple’s website. But the Mac Pro GPU will be powerful with up to 76 cores.
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) January 26, 2023
Also, for those worried about the lack of graphics performance, Gurman states that the Apple Silicon Mac Pro’s 76-core GPU will be sufficiently powerful. However, customers will likely need to configure their way to get the 76-core GPU option as it will not be provided with the base model. With the Mac Studio offered with a 24-core GPU for the base configuration, Apple could follow the same approach, asking its customers to pay a premium to get the 76-core GPU model that will be a part of the M2 Ultra.
Since Apple stopped development work on the M2 Extreme, the M2 Ultra will be the most powerful custom silicon made by the company. Unfortunately, do not expect all of these components to be housed in a brand new chassis because, according to a previous rumor, the Mac Pro will retain the same enclosure as the one featuring Intel’s Xeon processors. This means that it will be difficult to lug it around if you want to make some adjustments to your existing workspace.
Overall, we still believe that Apple will find success with the upcoming Mac Pro, but we cannot help but wonder the kind of popularity the workstation would have garnered if there were different rumors being talked about. Regardless, we will update our readers during the official announcement, which may be held in the second half of this year, so stay tuned.
News Source: Mark Gurman
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