The anandtech Mac Pro is an Apple high-end desktop computer. It's a powerful workstation capable of running professional applications at a very affordable price. It also has a beautiful appearance.
It has a modern, sleek look and feels very solid. It is also quiet which is important in a professional workspace.
It's also very attractive, which is something not many desktops can claim. That is why I am so excited about getting one to review.
This is a quick tour of the system
Anandtech's mac pro features a single CPU board that is behind the IO panel. It has a single LGA 2011 socket, which supports Intel's latest Ivy Bridge EP Xeon processors. This makes it easy to upgrade down the road, as long as you have a good memory upgrade kit and a decent motherboard with PCIe slots.
The optional sledadapter allows for SSDs to be installed in the internal hard drive bays. This adapter can also be used on mid-2010 Mac Pros. You can also purchase a hardware RAID-card, though it isn't necessary for most users.
You can easily upgrade the system's memory, too, as it comes with 16GB of DDR3 RAM. Apple's FB DIMM memory modules are subject to special heatsinks in order to maintain a consistent temperature.
The anandtech pro's other major component is the GPU. This new chip has a dual-GPU. One is for high-end computation work, and the other is for high-resolution media. This design, which a lot of people are going to love, allows for the best possible performance gains for the current GPU architectures and gives Apple a huge opportunity for future-proofing its product line.
Six-core Mac Pros now run as fast as three-core machines. With the latest Xeons, a twelve core Mac Pro runs faster than a ninecore unit. That's great news for users who are working with heavy workloads, but it doesn't provide any meaningful boosts in lighter, threaded applications like importing photos into Lightroom or playing back video.
Users who are looking for a more affordable solution will likely find it better suited for them. For example, anandtech Mac Mini is more affordable that the anandtech Mac Pro.
Anandtech's Mac mini is a great option for users who don’t need a top-end workstation but do require a compact desktop. Although not quite as powerful it does have a great screen and is extremely quiet.
The anandtechmac pro is definitely a higher-end model than the old one and has a great look and feel. I'm not sure that the overall design and functionality of the new anandtech mac pro is a perfect match for all professional uses, but it is very good for what it does.
The new Mac Pro design is an important part of this. It strives to be small while still providing high-end functionality. Although I don't know if this was ever the goal, it is clear that Apple is committed to form factor evolution and the Mac Pro is a major step in that direction.