Apple presents the new Mac Pro: A workstation with M2 Ultra and expandable hardware

Apple unveiled a redesigned version of the Mac Pro during WWDC 2023. This model, which is available as a desktop tower or rack server, marks the first Mac Pro based on the company’s own Apple Silicon technology. At the heart of the system operates the M2 Ultra, a fusion of two M2 Max chips.

High-performance components for demanding applications

The M2 Ultra allows the Mac Pro to be equipped with up to 192GB of RAM, which should be more than enough for most professional applications. Additionally, the system offers six PCIe 4.0 interfaces that can be used for additional graphics cards or expansion cards.

Various connectivity options

The rear of the system offers six Thunderbolt ports and two HDMI ports as standard. There are also two USB-A ports and two 10Gbit Ethernet ports. This variety of ports makes the Mac Pro the most versatile Mac to ship with Apple silicon, so it could appeal to specific user groups that don’t want to give up macOS.

The last Mac to switch to Apple Silicon

The Mac Pro was the last computer in Apple’s portfolio to be switched from the previously used Intel processors to Apple Silicon. Instead of the speculated “M2 Extreme”, a chip made up of two M2 Ultra and thus four M2 Max, only the M2 Ultra is used, currently Apple’s fastest chip.

M2 Ultra with up to 192GB of unified memory

The M2 Ultra features 24 CPU cores, up to 76 GPU cores and up to 192 GB of Unified Memory with a bandwidth of 800 GB/s. This performance is enough to play back 22 8K streams in ProRes. Compared to a Mac Pro with Intel CPU, video transcoding and 3D simulation can be performed at three times the speed.

No more need for Afterburner cards

According to Apple, the M2 Ultra’s integrated media engine delivers the performance of seven of the previously offered Afterburner cards for video acceleration. Users can install additional cards in a total of seven PCIe slots, six of which are free by default and one of which is occupied.

The new Mac Pro starts at 8,299 euros

The new Mac Pro is available as a tower for 8,299 euros and as a rack for 8,999 euros. With these prices, Apple remains true to its tradition of offering high-quality and high-performance products for a specific target group.