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iFixit teardown praises new Mac Pro for repairability, upgradability

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Following a quick look from Other World Computing last week, iFixit has published its teardown of the new Mac Pro.

Unlike any other Apple product iFixit has reviewed this year, the firm gives high praise to the repairability of the Mac Pro. The system uses no proprietary screws and RAM is accessible without the need for any tools.  Add in the socketed, upgradable CPU originally found in the earlier teardown, the Mac Pro is the most repairable computer in Apple’s lineup by far.

Interestingly, although the GPU’s are similar one of the cards is also the host for the SSD.

The other important difference to note is that this card (and only this card) hosts the slot for the SSD. This seems to us like a potential opportunity for expansion—perhaps higher storage configurations make use of two of this variety, for doubling up on SSDs?

Whilst it is mostly a glowing review of the machine’s accessible design, iFixit is disappointed with the lack of internal expandability for storage, as fast (through Thunderbolt) external storage alternatives remain costly. 

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Comments

  1. mazorama.de - 10 years ago

    The things I upgraded in the old Mac Pros were GPUs and storage. Proprietary graphics card connector, proprietary SSD connector. Well then, how can they praise it for upgradability?

    • aeronperyton - 10 years ago

      Because 3rd parties will rush to make aftermarket upgrades for it. If someone is willing to spend $5,000 on a computer then they’re willing to spend $500 on a new hard drive or $1,000 on a new graphics card.

      • mazorama.de - 10 years ago

        Not so sure about that. Take a look at what’s available for the Retina Macbook Pro in terms of SSD upgrades…

    • Tallest Skil - 10 years ago

      Because you don’t have a clue what you’re talking about or what this Mac Pro is designed to be.

      • mazorama.de - 10 years ago

        Would you care to elaborate?

      • silas681 - 10 years ago

        How many forums are you going to get banned from before you realise that your offensive, ignorant comments are not appreciated by people with an IQ above 100?

      • Tallest Skil - 10 years ago

        I’d say zero. How many accounts are you going to have to make before you realize that you’re an imbecile?

        Either shut up and go away or deal with it.

    • Gregory Wright - 10 years ago

      Before reaching the comments I was about to say yippee, the whiners have nothing to whine about. But, I guess there will always be at least one.

      • mazorama.de - 10 years ago

        And there will always be at least one who offends others in the comments section. I think the new Mac Pro is a very good machine. Woah, didn’t expect that, did you? It’s just not upgradeable.

  2. Tallest Skil - 10 years ago

    Screw iFixit.

  3. ikir - 10 years ago

    I want one… sigh

  4. bwulfe - 10 years ago

    Upgradable or not; I doubt there will be much of a third party market outside of RAM (and possibly SSD) in the foreseeable future. Despite the initial heavy demand and back-order status; this still remains a niche market machine. As someone who has one of these on order; I would be heavily concerned about what upgrades Apple might decide are valid excuses to void the manufacturer’s warranty (plus AppleCare extended warranty). Considering economies of scale; it’s hard to imagine 3rd party upgrades being much less than those from Apple (With exception of RAM / SSD). Unlike the cheese-grater MacPro; Apple is not supplying customers with industry standard expansion ports (PCIe) that invite internal upgrades and modifications. Three years from now; when everyone’s AppleCare warranties begin to expire; there may be a market for third party upgrades to the graphics and CPU; but I don’t foresee a viable market developing in the short-term.

  5. Lee Saenz - 10 years ago

    In looking to purchase a new Mac, this computer scares me a bit. The reason is because last time I bought a Power Mac G5 for $3,500, they discontinued PPC processors a month later. I don’t want to be stuck in the same boat with this computer..which is having a computer that is not compatible with anything and that I cannot upgrade.

    The fact that these parts are all interchangeable is cool, but that doesn’t make this machine upgradable like the article suggests. What WILL make it upgradable is when third party manufacturers start making inexpensive parts for it which has never happened in the history of Apple. So we will see what happens there.

    The current situation with my iMac is that I cannot upgrade the video card because you just can’t. It makes it a waste of a perfectly good computer that has made itself obsolete because of ONE piece of hardware. It’s a shame because the G5 and iMac are great computers. So, I am hesitant to purchase this computer because I just don’t think the upgradability is there in this computer that is different from every computer on the planet. How upgradable could it possibly be right now?

Author

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Benjamin Mayo

Benjamin develops iOS apps professionally and covers Apple news and rumors for 9to5Mac. Listen to Benjamin, every week, on the Happy Hour podcast. Check out his personal blog. Message Benjamin over email or Twitter.