In this article we are going to look at the different options that will be available in the new cheese-grater style Mac Pro, which options would be most appropriate for a Mac Pro 7,1 Pro Tools computer and how much a new Mac Pro optimised for Pro Tools is likely to cost based on the information we have at this point.

We are going start by looking at the different processor options before moving onto RAM, storage, graphics cards, PCIe slots, the power supply, the inputs and outputs, and what will come in the box, before presenting two alternative Mac Pro 7,1 pricing packages for a possible Mac Pro 7,1 Pro Tools computer.

Processors

In our research on the processors Apple will be using for the new Mac Pro we learnt that they are brand new Intel processors that Intel announced the day after the Apple Keynote.

What was also interesting from our research is that there are 3 distinct groups of processors now…

Portable - the type of processors where power consumption is critical. But note especially in Apple ranges, so called portable processors find their way into desktop products like the Mac Mini and the iMac.

Desktop processors - these are the kind of processors we see in our desktop computers.

Server grade computers - this seems to be a relatively new grouping of processors although they have probably been around for a while, they were only of interest to people building servers. However people looking for high-performance computers are turning more and more to server-grade processors to provide the performance. However, the pricing for these is a clear step up from the Desktop grade processors and as we found in our research, it is these server grade processors that are in the new Mac Pro and the similar top end Windows machines. Check out this table…

List of Cascade Lake W-based Processors

Notes

The M suffix denotes support for up to 2TB of 2933MHz memory, though Apple has chosen to put a 1.5TB ceiling at this time for the Mac Pro 7,1.

Like the Mac Pro 5,1 old style cheese-grater, it will be possible for users to upgrade the processors, unlike some other recent Mac computers the processors in the new Mac Pro aren’t soldered onto the motherboard, instead they are what is called a ‘slotted processor’, which is good news both from a repair and upgrade perspective. So it should be possible to upgrade the processor in the new Mac Pro 7,1 computers in a similar way to how Mike’s upgraded the processors in his old style Mac Pro Cheese-grater.

RAM

32GB

Four 8GB DIMMs

48GB

Six 8GB DIMMs

96GB

Six 16GB DIMMs

192GB

Six 32GB DIMMs

384GB

Six 64GB DIMMs

768GB

Six 128GB DIMMs or 12 64GB DIMMs

1.5TB

12 128GB DIMMs

Requires 24-core or 28-core processor.

Note that the 8-core processor in the base model, operates memory at 2666MHz and the 12-core to 28-core processors operate memory at 2933MHz supporting six-channel memory with up to 140GB/s memory bandwidth.

What is interesting about the new Mac Pro design is that the memory slots are on the back side of the motherboard, which also enables Apple to get the RAM much closer to the processor, without the processor’s giant heatsink getting in the way. 

For the maximum of 1.5TB of RAM, we need 12 x 128GB DDR4 ECC memory cards. Looking at Crucial Memory, although not yet on the Crucial Memory website, there are examples of the CT128G4ZFJ426S memory module with a price of just over $2,000 per 128GB card making an eye watering $24,000 for the maximum 1.5TB.

As far as prices go for other RAM combinations, we have seen suggestions from 3rd parties (so not Apple memory prices) of four 2,666MHz 8GB modules costing $260 or 192GB costing $1,296. But the good news is because the memory on the Mac Pro 7,1 is using DIMM slots it will not be necessary to buy your extra RAM from Apple at their inflated pricing.

Storage

256GB SSD

One 256GB module

1TB SSD

Two 512GB modules

2TB SSD

Two 1TB modules

4TB SSD

Two 2TB modules

• Up to 2.6GB/s sequential read and 2.7GB/s sequential write performance.

• Storage encrypted by the Apple T2 Security Chip.

The Mac Pro ships with flash storage. The entry-level model offers an 256GB SSD and is ‘configurable’ to a 1TB, 2TB, or 4TB SSD. With PCI Express NVMe solid state drive options, the new Mac Pro will offer considerably faster storage than the current Mac Pro trash can. In 2013, the NVMe-protocol SSDs, which offer throughput speeds of approximately 3,500 MBps, simply did not exist. All of which means that the 256GB, 1TB, 2TB, or 4TB of storage in the new Mac Pro will be considerably faster than the 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB options offered in its predecessor.

What is not yet clear, is whether the storage options will be user configurable or not. What we do know is that all data on Mac Pro will be protected by the Apple T2 Security Chip with its Secure Enclave coprocessor. This will encrypt storage and offer secure boot capabilities. It may be that this feature means that the storage options will not be user configurable. This will mean that you will either decide on your boot drive size when you order your Mac Pro and live with it, or have to take it to an approved Apple Service Centre to have Apple upgrade your boot drive.

If we base the cost on what Apple already charges for additional storage for the iMac Pro, the base model comes with 1TB of storage. It’s an extra $600 to upgrade that to 2TB and $2400 to upgrade to 4TB so its not unreasonable to expect the Mac Pro storage pricing to be similar.

What we do know is that third-party storage manufacturers are already announcing additional storage solutions for the new Mac Pro that were co-designed with Apple to work in the new style cheese-grater. For example, we understand that Promise Technology is planning to sell a four-bay RAID 5 chassis, the Pegasus R4i, that can fit into a Mac Pro MPX Module slot, complete with four pre-formatted 8TB 7,200 rpm SATA hard drives and will be powered by the MPX bay power header. The Pegasus J2i is a direct-attach internal storage enclosure that can host two SATA HDDs. It appears at present that the J2i will connect with SATA cables to the internal header in the new Mac Pro, with what Promise calls a "custom internal cable assembly." Both the drives and the sleds will be covered by Promise's three-year warranty.

But bear in mind that an MPX module like this would ‘cost’ you 2 PCI-e slots and so one of these would reduce the maximum number of HDX cards down to 4 cards.

Extra Storage Costs PCIe Slots

Even if you don’t go for the Promise Technology solution be aware that when considering if you want additional storage inside your Mac Pro 7,1 that it will ‘cost’ you PCI-e slots.

As an alternative, you could consider a 3rd party PCI-e card with SSDs on it which would only cost you one PCI-e slot.

Graphics

AMD Radeon Pro 580X

• 36 compute units, 2304 stream processors

• 8GB of GDDR5 memory

• Up to 5.6 teraflops single precision

• Two HDMI 2.0 ports on card

• Four DisplayPort connections routed to system to support internal Thunderbolt 3 ports

• Support for up to six 4K displays, two 5K displays, or two Pro Display XDRs

• Half-height MPX Module fits in an MPX bay and enables PCIe slot 2 for additional expansion

AMD Radeon Pro Vega II

• 64 compute units, 4096 stream processors

• 32GB of HBM2 memory with 1TB/s memory bandwidth

• Up to 14.2 teraflops single precision or 28.4 teraflops half precision

• Infinity Fabric Link connection enables two Vega II GPUs to connect at up to 84GB/s

• Four Thunderbolt 3 ports and one HDMI 2.0 port on card

• Two DisplayPort connections routed to system to support internal Thunderbolt 3 ports

• Support for up to six 4K displays, three 5K displays, or two Pro Display XDRs

• Full-height MPX Module fills an MPX bay and uses extra power and PCIe bandwidth

AMD Radeon Pro Vega II Duo

• Two Vega II GPUs, each with 64 compute units and 4096 stream processors

• 64GB of HBM2 memory (32GB per GPU), each with 1TB/s memory bandwidth

• Up to 28.4 teraflops single precision or 56.8 teraflops half precision

• Onboard Infinity Fabric Link connection connects the two Vega II GPUs at up to 84GB/s

• Four Thunderbolt 3 ports and one HDMI 2.0 port on card

• Four DisplayPort connections routed to system to support internal Thunderbolt 3 ports

• Support for up to eight 4K displays, four 5K displays, or four Pro Display XDRs

• Full-height MPX Module fills an MPX bay and uses extra power and PCIe bandwidth

The base-model 2019 Mac Pro comes with the AMD Radeon Pro 580X GPU with 8GB of video memory and will be more than capable of handling the display requirements for any Pro Tools system.

For real graphics power users, likely to be people using the Mac Pro for high-end video editing and production, The Radeon Pro Vega II GPU will be a special MPX Module, which comes with its own Thunderbolt connection and a maximum power consumption of 500 watts per sled. Each MPX Module has a large heat sink and doesn't contain any extra fans, to help to keep noise down. Instead there are three giant fans behind the Mac Pro's front grille designed to keep the entire interior cool, including the GPU modules, all of which mean that Apple are claiming that the new Mac Pro will be quieter than the iMac Pro.

Each MPX Module can be configured with one or two Radeon Pro Vega II GPUs, and each Mac Pro can hold up to two MPX Modules. With two GPUs in an MPX Module, there is a special graphics option that Apple calls a "Radeon Pro Vega II Duo," which is an Apple exclusive dual-GPU Radeon. All of this means, assuming you have the budget, that it will be possible to buy a Mac Pro with four discrete GPUs with a combined 256 graphics compute units and 128GB of video memory. As to cost, with regard to the graphics cards there is very little to go on. We have seen one site use the price of a pro grade Nvidia Quadro RTX 6000, which costs around $6300 and then go onto suggest that Apple’s AMD solution could cost at least $12,000 for the whole quad-GPU package.

PCI-e Slots

Why PCIe 3?

Although many other areas in the new Mac Pro 7,1 are cutting edge, Apple has chosen to stick with tried and tested technology when it comes to the PCIe slots. Apple is using PCIe 3 rather than the recently announced PCIe 4. ‘Gen 4’, will offer double the bandwidth of PCIe 3.0, which would make it an attractive proposition for professional users needing as much performance as possible, but the problem is that it is not something Apple could easily add into the Mac Pro. The problem is that the only processor chips which support PCIe 4.0 are AMD processors and Apple does not use AMD processors.

Apple’s current processor supplier, Intel has yet to announce a specific processor that will include PCIe 4.0 support. We understand that an upcoming Intel product called ‘Ice Lake’ will offer PCIe 4.0, however Xeon processors in that line aren't scheduled to start shipping until the first half of 2020, far too late for inclusion in the 2019 Mac Pro release.

There are even views being expressed that taking into consideration the time it takes to design a new system and upgrades, Apple may even want to wait until 2021 before it makes any PCIe changes. We understand that the replacement for ‘Ice Lake’ will be ‘Sapphire Rapids’, which is tipped to include support for PCIe 5.0, and it is being suggested that could be a much better solution for a subsequent performance-focused Mac. We will have to wait and see.

Back to reality, here are the details of the PCIe slot options for the 2019 Mac Pro…

Two MPX Modules or up to four PCI Express card slots.

Each MPX bay provides:

• x16 gen 3 bandwidth for graphics

• x8 gen 3 bandwidth for Thunderbolt

• DisplayPort video routing

• Up to 500W power for an MPX Module

• Alternatively, each MPX bay can support:

  • One full-length, double-wide x16 gen 3 slot and one full-length, double-wide x8 gen 3 slot (MPX bay 1)

  • Or two full-length, double-wide x16 gen 3 slots (MPX bay 2)

• Up to 300W auxiliary power via two 8-pin connectors

Three full-length PCI Express gen 3 slots

• One x16 slot; two x8 slots

• 75W auxiliary power available

One half-length x4 PCI Express gen 3 slot with Apple I/O card installed

• See Connectivity Section below for more details

What Does This Mean For Pro Tools Users?

Using an image above from the WWDC demos, working up from the top we start with…

• Slots 1 to 3 - three 3 full-length PCI Express gen 3 slots

  • Slot 1 - Avid HDX card 1

  • Slot 2 - Avid HDX card 2

  • Slot 3 - Avid HDX card 3

• Slots 4 to 7 - full-length, double-wide x16 gen 3 slots in the MPX Module section

  • Slot 4 - Avid HDX card 4

  • Slot 5 - Avid HDX card 5

  • Slot 6 - Avid HDX card 6

  • Slot 7 - AMD Radeon Pro 580X graphics card

• Slot 8 - One half-length x4 PCI Express gen 3 slot with Apple I/O card installed

There is more about Pro Tools configurations and pricing below.

Power

Although the power supply headline rating is 1.4 kilowatts, looking at the specs Apple say that the maximum continuous power is 1280W at 108–125V or 220–240V reducing to 1180W at 100–107V.

When it comes to auxiliary power for the PCI-e slots Apple say that there is up to 500W power for an MPX Module or or for each MPX bay that there is up to 300W auxiliary power via two 8-pin connectors. Moving onto the 3 PCI-e slots outside the MPX modules Apple states that there is an additional 75W auxiliary power available, although it is not clear whether that is per slot or across all the 3 slots.

Looking at the image to the right, you can see double sockets for each of the MPX slots and then at the top one smaller socket covering the last 4 slots, and we assume that this is how the Pro Tools HDX cards will get their auxiliary power. At least we know from the Pro Tools demo at WWDC that it is possible to power all 6 HDX cards but presumably they will need special cables with connectors for the Apple motherboard.

Connectivity

I/O card installed in the half-length x4 PCI Express slot with:

• Two USB 3 ports - Support for USB-A (up to 5Gb/s)

• Two Thunderbolt 3 ports

  • Support for Thunderbolt 3 (up to 40Gb/s)

  • Support for USB-C (up to 10Gb/s)

  • Support for DisplayPort

• Two 10Gb Ethernet ports:

  • Support for 10Gb Ethernet performance over copper cabling

  • Support for Nbase-T industry standard: 1Gb, 2.5Gb, 5Gb, and 10Gb Ethernet link speeds using RJ-45 connectors

Additional Connections

• Two Thunderbolt 3 ports on the top of the tower enclosure

  • Support for Thunderbolt 3 (up to 40Gb/s)

  • Support for USB-C (up to 10Gb/s)

  • Support for DisplayPort

Audio

• Built-in speaker

• 3.5 mm headphone jack with headset support

The stock configuration comes with one I/O card installed in the half-length PCI Express slot; the card supplies two USB 3.0 Type-A ports and two Thunderbolt 3 ports. You can see what is on the back panel of this Apple I/O module in the image above.

If you look closely at the images Apple has released there is an internal connectivity panel to the right of the processor that appears to consist of a locking switch, a USB port, two SATA ports, and a separate connector, although it currently not clear what these are for, except for one interesting application that will please Pro users, especially those working in education.

Somewhere For An iLok

The USB port could be used for security dongles, such as iLoks. By placing a USB port inside the case, this makes an iLok harder to remove without first removing the cover, extending the time it would take for an unauthorised person taking the valuable iLok and so reducing the chance of the dongle going missing.

The locking switch may be a physical lock, used to retain components in place securely. although it’s not clear yet what the lock switch actually does, it seems unlikely that the switch could be used to secure data on a drive, for example, as it is too easy to access the switch by removing the enclosure. We wonder whether it might be a locking bar to retain the PCIe cards in place.

As for other connectivity, at the bottom of the chassis next to the power supply, the 2019 Mac Pro has two Ethernet ports, which are each capable of up to 10Gbps transfer rates, while the top of the tower enclosure has two more Thunderbolt 3 ports.

What Will Come In The Box

There has been some speculation as to whether the Mac Pro would come with a keyboard and mouse. According to Apple’s own Mac Pro Technical Specifications pages the new Mac Pro will come with a Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad, Magic Mouse 2 as well as a USB-C to Lightning Cable (1 m) and Power cord (2 m), so that’s another thing that won’t need to be added to the price.

Is It Over Priced?

Here are two tweets we have come across suggesting that if you go down a credible route that a Windows machine with similar specs is a similar price.

Pricing ultimately, like beauty is in the eye of the beholder. For many the 2019 Mac Pro will be outside their budget, but there are other more cost effective solutions to consider. For those that need this level of performance, they can make a decision as to whether the new Mac Pro will present value for money.

What Will The Mac Pro Cost For a Sensible Pro Tools Rig?

There have been figures of anywhere from $35,000 to $50,000 being quoted out on the internet for a fully loaded top end 2019 Mac Pro, but for Pro Tools, we won’t need the Afterburner accelerator module or the Radeon Pro Vega II GPU special MPX modules with the mega heatsinks. All we will need is the stock AMD Radeon Pro 580X graphics card. So let’s see what a sensibly specced 2019 Mac Pro ready for a Pro Tools HDX system would come out at price wise, based on what we currently know.

For this exercise, as others have done, we will start our costings with the only price we have from Apple, the price of the new Mac Pro base model. We know that the base model will be an 8-core Intel Xeon 3.5GHz model, with 32GB RAM, 256GB SSD, and Radeon Pro 580X graphics card, presumably with the Apple I/O module, a Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad, a Magic Mouse 2 and power cable for the price of $5,999. For a Pro Tools computer, what we will need to do is take the base model add some storage, memory and upgrade the processor and we are good to go.

Two Options - Basic & Superior

Below are two options for a Mac Pro 7,1 Pro Tools computer. We have used the published price of the base model of $5,999 and then added component pricing to that to arrive at a price estimate for our two options.

The processor upgrades are based on the Intel pricing. Apple, of course, may inflate these prices when the announce their build-to-order pricing in the autumn but to help get a ballpark price we have used Intel’s pricing for now. For the basic model we have selected the 12-core processor and for the Superior option we have gone for the 16-core processor. As you can see from the processor table above, once you go above 16 cores the processor price jumps up significantly.

For RAM we have chosen 96GB for the basic option and 192GB for the Superior option. We have taken the prices from the Crucial memory US website.

For the startup drive storage, we have based it on the Apple pricing from the current iMac Pro pricing on Apple’s US website.

For media storage we have chosen an OWC Tempo PCI-e card that supports 2 x 2.5” SSDs. For the Basic option we have selected two 1TB OWC Mercury Extreme SSDs and for the Superior option we have selected two 2TB OWC Mercury Extreme SSDs. These are just for an example. We are aware that there are plenty of options out there. You could consider the Promise Technology four-bay RAID 5 chassis- Pegasus R4i but that is a RAID array of spinning rust drives, which seems a backward step in our view and it would also take up 2 PCIe slots and reduce the number of HDX cards you could have in your Mac Pro.

The graphics card we have selected is the AMD Radeon Pro 580X that is included in the base model from Apple.

Based on these examples our Basic option comes in under $10K and our Superior option is priced at getting on for $13K, which for what you are getting isn’t as expensive as we feared.

Next we look at the price of Pro Tools, for those who don’t have Avid hardware already. For our basic option we have gone for an HDX 3 Pro Tools system, with a Core system, 2 additional HDX cards and an Avid MTRX Base model interface with MADI and Pro Mon. For the Superior option we have chosen an HDX 5 system, because if you go for the suggested PCI-e card with SSD drives in one of the PCI-e slots there are only enough slots left for an HDX 5 system. These Pro Tools prices are based on the published prices on the RSPE Audio Solutions website.

What is interesting is that in both cases the price for a Pro Tools system is roughly twice the price of the Mac Pro you will need to put it in.

What Do You Think?

There you have it, for us this isn’t as expensive as we feared, especially when you consider that this configuration with up to 6 HDX cards would be equivalent to 2 Pro Tools computers, each with an HDX 3 system in it, surely this is actually pretty reasonable, for those who need a high end Pro Tools computer?

Do share your thoughts in the comments below.