LOS ANGELES, Dec 12 — While Apple’s latest tower has a starting price of US$5,999, the highest-priced configuration costs a whopping US$52,599 (RM219,048).
On Tuesday, Apple’s latest desktop computer, the Mac Pro, became available for purchase. While the tower starts at a modest US$5,999, it can be configured to be worth US$52,599 — even US$53,247.98 with a trackpad plus various softwares pre-installed; however, no display is included. So, what unique elements does this configuration actually offer?
2.5GHz 28‑core Intel Xeon W processor with Turbo Boost up to 4.4GHz
This processor adds US$7,000 to the starting price. Paired with 1.5TB of memory, this component delivers creative professionals a high-performance, secure, speedy and reliable experience.
1.5TB (12x128GB) of DDR4 ECC memory
Selecting 1.5TB of memory adds US$25,000 to the tower’s grand total.
Two Radeon Pro Vega II Duo graphics cards with 2x32GB of HBM2 memory each
For US$10,800, these graphics cards can handle extremely demanding multi-GPU pro applications.
4TB SSD storage
Increasing the SSD storage, a US$1,400 upgrade, likewise increases the desktop’s performance to a “speed you will notice when you start up your Mac Pro, launch an application, open a big project, or tackle data-intensive tasks.”
Apple Afterburner card
For US$2,000, an Apple Afterburner card enhances a user’s video-editing experience thanks to greatly accelerated processing.
Stainless steel frame with wheels
A set of wheels will put back owners another US$400.
Magic Mouse 2 + Magic Trackpad 2
The trackpad that matches the Magic Mouse 2 is only available with a Mac Pro purchase. Both together cost US$149.
Final Cut Pro X and Logic Pro X
To get the Final Cut Pro X video-editing software and the Logic Pro X music production application pre-installed on the tower, customers will have to tack on an extra US$499.98.
While these specs already bring the computer to the forefront of the desktop industry, both in terms of performance and price, Apple states on the Mac Pro configuration page that more advanced configurations are on the way. A Radeon Pro W5700X graphics card with 16GB of GDDR6 memory and two Radeon Pro W5700X cards with 16GB of GDDR6 memory each are coming soon, as is 8TB of SSD storage.
Once all these components are tallied together, one must look then for a complementary display that can handle all this hardware and software. For US$5,000 to US$8,000, users can pair their Mac Pro with the Apple-approved Pro Display XDR display.
Regardless of the configuration of the Mac Pro, it’s available now. — AFP-Relaxnews
