In the 1990s, $9,600 could buy you a new Hyundai. These days, that’s how much it’ll cost you to soup up Apple’s new revamped Mac Pro with all of the top components available.
There are two default Mac Pro configurations available. The first, which costs $2,999, includes an Intel Xeon E5 3.7GHz quad-core processor, 12GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD and graphics card duo consisting of two AMD FirePro D300 GPUs, each with 2GB of RAM. The other default Mac Pro, which will run you $3,999, ships with an Intel Xeon E5 3.5GHz six-core CPU, 16GB of RAM, 256GB SSD and dual AMD FirePro D500 graphics cards, each sporting 3GB of RAM for a total of 6GB. However, these are just default configurations, with multiple component options to choose from. So what happens if you try to soup up the Mac Pro to run on all of the top components available? Be warned: You might experience some price tag shock.
Upgrading the Mac Pro’s CPU to an Intel Xeon E5 2.7GHz 12-core processor tacks on an extra $3,500 to the price of the desktop if you’re working from the $2,999 model’s page, and $3,000 if your starting point is the $3,999 config. Bumping the system memory to 64GB adds an additional $1,300 to the price of the $2,999 model, and $1,200 to the cost of the $3,999 Mac Pro. Trading in the 256GB SSD found in both the $2,999 and $3,999 Mac Pro for a 1TB SSD drives the cost of the rig up by another $800. Finally, opting for the top graphics options – a pair of AMD FirePro D700 cards with 6GB of RAM each – shoots the price of the Mac Pro upward by $1,000 for the $2,999 version and by $600 for the $3,999 setup.
All in all, the top of the line new Mac Pro configuration, which includes an Intel Xeon E5 2.7GHz 12-core CPU, 64GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and dual AMD FirePro D700 cards with 6GB of RAM each costs a whopping $9,599.
Do you think that’s too much or is the cost justified? What’s the most you would pay for a Mac Pro and why? Sound off in the comments below.
