If you’ve got an Intel-based Mac Pro, not only is your machine not dead, it actually got a new option on Tuesday. MacRumors says AMD announced the AMD Radeon PRO W6600X GPU for the machine.
Quick aside: I know people get annoyed with Apple’s naming convention for Apple Silicon - M1 Pro, M1 Max, M1 Ultra… but seriously, which is easier to grasp: M1 Ultra or Radeon PRO W6600X? I nearly fell asleep typing it each time.
Not Dead, But Not Thriving
If you’ve been considering getting an Intel-based Mac Pro, for the love of all that’s holy, do not. First of all, I’m pretty sure Apple said somewhere in there that you can trick out Mac Studio for better performance than the Mac Pro. And second, there’s an Apple Silicon Mac Pro in the works. The same MacRumors piece points out:
Apple confirmed [Tuesday] that it is working on an Apple silicon-based version of the Mac Pro that will see the company transitioning away from Intel chips and AMD graphics, but there is no word on when such a machine might launch.
Well… end of the year, right? Apple said a little less than a year-and-a-half-ago that that it would complete its transition from Intel to Apple Silicon in a couple of years. Those two years end this year, yeah? Anyway - that’s the happs on that front.