Andrew E. Freedman is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware focusing on laptops, desktops and gaming. He also keeps up with the latest news. A lover of all things gaming and tech, his previous work has shown up in Tom's Guide, Laptop Mag, Kotaku, PCMag and Complex, among others. Follow him on Threads @FreedmanAE and BlueSky @andrewfreedman.net . You can send him tips on Signal: andrewfreedman.01 ","collapsible":{"enabled":true,"maxHeight":250,"readMoreText":"Read more","readLessText":"Read less"}}), "https://slice.vanilla.futurecdn.net/13-4-19/js/authorBio.js"); } else { console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); } Andrew E. Freedman Social Links Navigation Andrew E. Freedman is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware focusing on laptops, desktops and gaming. He also keeps up with the latest news. A lover of all things gaming and tech, his previous work has shown up in Tom's Guide, Laptop Mag, Kotaku, PCMag and Complex, among others. Follow him on Threads @FreedmanAE and BlueSky @andrewfreedman.net . You can send him tips on Signal: andrewfreedman.01
alan.campbell99 I recall at the time wondering if the Apple Silicon version could at least get around the fixed RAM config by way of a CXL RAM card or similar since it had PCI expansion options. That's probably not supported though either? Reply
kae717 was this article written by AI??? it looks like a copy & paste and a couple of paragraphs are duplicated… very lazy… Reply
Air2004 kae717 said: was this article written by AI??? it looks like a copy & paste and a couple of paragraphs are duplicated… very lazy… I was just about to say the same. Reply
bit_user alan.campbell99 said: I recall at the time wondering if the Apple Silicon version could at least get around the fixed RAM config by way of a CXL RAM card or similar since it had PCI expansion options. That's probably not supported though either? Well, if they wanted to continue the lineage, CXL might've been an option. Especially because later versions of CXL support switching and fabrics, which would've avoided any RAM expansion cards contending for valuable and scarce lanes with storage or other I/O. Ultimately, I think limited expansion options is probably what killed the Mac Pro. They probably decided against putting more lanes in the Max SoC or moving up to PCIe 6.0 / CXL 3.0. For a while, it seemed like a viable option might still be to source server silicon from someone like Ampere Computing. However, as Apple has continued to innovate in their ARM ISA implementation, I'm sure they wouldn't want a Pro that didn't support the same ISA extensions as the rest of their products. Reply
Jabberwocky79 kae717 said: was this article written by AI??? it looks like a copy & paste and a couple of paragraphs are duplicated… very lazy… Not disagreeing with your distaste for the overall quality, but it does make me chuckle every time someone asks that question. Does anyone really think that content written on any site isn't written by AI now? I'm at the point where I don't read anything with careful consideration because I assume a clanker has written it, loosely guided by a human. I skim, pick up the tidbits of information that are relevant to me, ignore the filler language, and move on. It's annoying, but that's the age we live in. Reply
8086 Apple would have sold many many more of the MAC PRO if the base price wasn't a few mortgage payments; the cost to benefit ratio just wasn't really there. Reply
JamesJones44 Once Apple moved to Apple Silicon the Mac Pro basically became a more expensive Mac Studio. Apple never really invested heavily in supporting expansion with Apple Silicon via the PCI-E slots. What they did support was pretty limited and the sales numbers likely weren't enough to entice 3rd parties to make products specifically for it. Fixed memory with the Apple Silicon versions likely was a problem for a lot of Pro buyers as well. Reply
Sippincider Apple clearly isn't abandoning pro users as a customer base Just configured a 128GB M4 Studio, and current ETA is 4-5 months . Yes there are multiple factors including Apple likely trying to manage supply-chain balance ahead of the M5 launch. But still, glad my livelihood doesn't depend on getting an BTO Studio on immediate priority. Reply
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/desktops/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/desktops/apple-discontinues-mac-pro-after-20-years-system-had-been-in-stuck-in-stasis-with-m2-ultra-since-2023#main
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