Apple's big Mac Pro desktop computers are getting a hefty upgrade today in the form of three new graphics modules sporting beefy AMD Radeon cards.
This is big news for anyone who relies on a Mac Pro for computationally-intensive work, because the new GPU options are significantly more powerful than the AMD Vega II cards being replaced. The new Radeon cards are also a significant expense: the price tag on these upgraded GPU modules ranges from $2,400 all the way up to $11,600, and that's on top of the Mac Pro's base asking price of $5,999. So while the ongoing chip shortage and GPU scarcity may have you hungry for a new graphics card, Apple's new offerings probably aren't worth the price of admission.
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However, if you're a graphics card nerd, this is exciting stuff because the new Mac Pro modules utilize AMD's Radeon Pro W6000 series workstation GPUs, which were just released in June.
Specifically, Apple customers can now order Mac Pro graphics modules packing new Radeon Pro W6800X or Radeon Pro W6900X cards, each with 32 GB of DDR6 RAM. There's also a third option, the Radeon Pro W6800X Duo, which pairs two Pro W6800X GPUs in the same module (bridged by AMD's Infinity Fabric Link tech) for extra power. If you really want to go all out, you can order a pair of the W6800X Duo modules (a $9,600 upgrade) and all four AMD cards will work together (via Infinity Fabric Link) to churn out high-res assets or support multiple 4K displays.
According to Apple, these new Mac Pro GPU options will deliver as much as 84% faster performance when using Octane X rendering software, and up to a 23% boost in performance when using Blackmagic's DaVinci Resolve editing suite.
These new Radeon Pro W6000 series workstation GPU options are available to purchase right now via Apple's website, either as configuration options on a new Mac Pro or as expansion modules for one you already own.
