A key question for the Mac Pro has been answered — and it’s not good news - Digital Trends

We’ve heard a batch of perchance atrocious quality astir the upcoming Apple silicon Mac Pro successful caller weeks, but determination has ever been 1 looming, unanswered question. Now, that question mightiness person an answer.

Writing connected Twitter, Bloomberg writer Mark Gurman has alleged that the adjacent Mac Pro mightiness deficiency a user-upgradable graphics option. In immoderate ways that’s unsurprising, but it has large implications for the already-precarious authorities of modularity successful the device.

Brittany Hose-Small/AFP via Getty Images

In the existent Mac Pro, users tin configure it with 1 of 10 antithetic graphics cards. Those cards tin beryllium swapped retired and replaced astatine immoderate clip acknowledgment to Apple’s strategy of MPX Modules, with assorted choices that slot into ports connected the Mac Pro’s motherboard.

However, Apple silicon poses a large occupation to this strategy due to the fact that each of Apple’s chips is what’s known arsenic a system-on-a-chip. In layman’s terms, that means the CPU, representation and GPU are each integrated into the spot itself.

While that keeps things simpler and vastly improves representation speeds crossed the spot (thanks to Apple’s unified representation system), it means it’s intolerable to upgrade those idiosyncratic components erstwhile you’ve bought the computer.

As Gurman points out, “Apple Silicon Macs don’t enactment outer GPUs and you person to usage immoderate configuration you bargain connected Apple’s website.” That could beryllium a immense stroke to the modularity of the system.

Will pro users beryllium satisfied?

When Apple introduced the caller Mac Pro successful 2019, modularity was a cardinal diagnostic of the computer. Indeed, the nonrecreational assemblage the Mac Pro is aimed astatine needs to beryllium capable to upgrade their devices arsenic their workloads alteration and go much demanding, and Apple recognized that successful the signifier of the MPX Module system, which offered everything from graphics cards to RAID retention arrays.

Without upgradeable graphics, the modularity of the aboriginal Mac Pro could beryllium severely hindered. If the instrumentality cannot support up with challenging tasks similar video rendering wherever almighty graphics cards are vital, it volition beryllium acold little charismatic to its people audience.

Gurman notes that retention volition proceed to beryllium user-upgradeable successful the adjacent Mac Pro, truthful it appears that MPX Modules volition not vanish completely. But a modular strategy that lacks changeable GPU options volition apt suffer immoderate of its luster.

It besides brings the Mac Pro much person to the Mac Studio, which Apple besides touted arsenic a modular machine yet has acold less elements that tin beryllium changed by the idiosyncratic aft purchase. According to Gurman, the main payment the Apple silicon Mac Pro volition person implicit the Mac Studio volition beryllium “performance from much cooling,” arsenic good arsenic the M2 Ultra chip that volition beryllium outfitted into the Mac Pro.

Whether that improved cooling and show volition beryllium capable to placate high-end users successful the lack of upgradeable graphics options remains to beryllium seen. Recent rumors assertion Apple volition unveil the caller Mac Pro astatine a special event this spring, truthful we’ll person to spot what promises the institution makes — and whether the Mac Pro tin unrecorded up to them.

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