At long last, Apple’s new, incredibly small Mac Pro is on sale. Starting December 19 (but shipping in February), you’ll be able to pick up an entry-level Mac Pro for $3000 (quad-core). The mid-range six-core model will set you back $4000. Pricing for the eight- and 12-core systems is not yet available, but a fully maxed out system — with two FirePro graphics cards and 1TB of solid-state storage — is $9600.
The new, cylindrical Mac Pro is a long-overdue update to Apple’s line of workstation-class PCs. Compared to the original Mac Pro brushed aluminium tower (pictured at the end of the story), the new model is an almost shockingly diminutive cylinder. It’s hard to appreciate just how small the Mac Pro is until you see it in real life — it is tiny. The tower, fully kitted out, weighed in the region of 40 pounds (18 kg) — the new Mac Pro is just 11 pounds (5 kg). Likewise, when it comes to other dimensions like height and length, the new Mac Pro is just 10 inches (25 cm) tall and 6.6 inches (16.7 cm) across. It is hard to believe that, in just even years, the Mac Pro’s volume has been reduced by at least 10 times.
The form factor itself is interesting, too. Almost every PC produced up until this point has been some variation of rectangular prism. From beige box PCs, to game consoles, to tablets — their width and height might change, but their cross-sections are almost always rectangular. There are various reasons for this, but it boils down to two main factors: the constituent components (most chips, hard drives, and logic boards are also rectangular), and cost (it’s relatively cheap and easy to design and fabricate a box). Apple, which prides itself on designs that are outside of the box, seemingly decided it was time for a change. Thus, the new Mac Pro is a cylinder.
The form factor itself is interesting, too. Almost every PC produced up until this point has been some variation of rectangular prism. From beige box PCs, to game consoles, to tablets — their width and height might change, but their cross-sections are almost always rectangular. There are various reasons for this, but it boils down to two main factors: the constituent components (most chips, hard drives, and logic boards are also rectangular), and cost (it’s relatively cheap and easy to design and fabricate a box). Apple, which prides itself on designs that are outside of the box, seemingly decided it was time for a change. Thus, the new Mac Pro is a cylinder.
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