The anandtech mac pro is a high-end desktop computer from Apple. It is a powerful and affordable workstation that can run demanding professional applications. It also has a beautiful appearance.
The chassis has a very sleek, modern look and feels very sturdy. It is also very quiet, which is important when you are using it as a professional workstation.
Additionally, it is very visually pleasing. This is something that many other desktops don't have. That's why I am so excited to get my hands on one for this review.
Here's a quick overview 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. An optional hardware RAID card can be purchased, although most users won't need it.
You can also easily upgrade the system's RAM with its 16GB DDR3 memory. However, Apple's FB-DIMM memory modules require special heatsinks to maintain a consistent temperature.
The anandtech pro's other major component is the GPU. The new chip features a dual-GPU, with one dedicated to high-end compute work and the other 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.
The latest Xeons make a six-core Mac Pro as fast and a three-core Mac Pro as fast. A twelve-core Mac Pro model, with the new GPU is even faster than a 9-core one. It's great news if you work with heavy workloads. However, it doesn't give any noticeable boosts to lighter threaded applications such as importing photos to Lightroom or playing back videos.
Those users will likely find that a more affordable option will be better suited for their needs. The anandtech Mac min is, for instance, much more affordable then the anandtech Mac pros.
For that reason, the anandtech mac mini is a good choice for users who don't need a high-end workstation, but who do need a compact desktop. While it's not as powerful as the mac mini, it has a high-resolution screen that is extremely quiet.
The anandtech mac pro is definitely a step up from the previous model and has a very nice look and feel to it. The new anandtechmac pro's overall design is not ideal for professional use. However, it is very well-designed for its purpose.
A big part of this is the design of the new Mac Pro, which aims to be as small as possible while still providing high-end performance and functionality. While it's unclear if this was ever Apple's goal, it's clear that Apple has a solid commitment to form factors evolution. The Mac Pro is an important step in that direction.