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Just a couple of weeks ago, Apple confirmed it is discontinuing the iconic Mac Pro line of desktop computers. Apple Silicon is efficient enough to deliver similar performance in a smaller chassis, such as the Mac Studio, which will likely become Apple's premier desktop solution going forward. However, that doesn't stop enthusiasts from hunting down bargain-bin deals on older Mac Pro models, and sometimes you get two for the price of one.
Over on the r/macpro subreddit, u/blank_reg got their hands on an unusual 2010 Mac Pro at a garage sale. The owner told them something was rattling, or rather rolling around in there, only for the buyer to find a 2013 Mac Pro just sitting inside. The tower was gutted, with no internal components beyond a power supply and front-panel connectors, likely to make room for the trash-can Mac Pro.
OP didn't say how much he paid for this bundle package, or whether the other Mac Pro even works. From the looks of it, we can deduce that the owner was probably using the 2010 chassis as an enclosure for the 2013 Mac Pro, allowing them to easily mount expansion items that would be otherwise impossible inside that circular chassis. The tower is still empty, though, so perhaps they took them out before reselling it.
You may like Apple discontinues Mac Pro after 20 years — system had been stuck in stasis with M2 Ultra since 2023 Retro Apple Mac mod implements thermal printer floppy swap Tiny Mac look-a-like alarm clock transformed to run real Mac software These Mac Pro models are legendary in their own ways; many would argue that the 2010 Mac Pro represented the peak of modularity in Apple's desktop ecosystem. It gave users the ability to upgrade pretty much everything: CPU, GPU, RAM, storage, and is even compatible with modern AMD cards with some tweaks. It was the complete opposite of the closed-off approach usually associated with Apple devices.
The 2013 Mac Pro that followed essentially reset everything and prioritized aesthetics over flexibility. It was small, quiet, and had excellent graphical performance for the time, but thermals were somewhat poor. Dual GPUs also fell out of style as software support for them ended on mainstream workstations. Apple didn't update this Mac Pro for the next 6 years, and when they finally released a new model in 2019, it just went back to the old cheese-grater design that worked.
In u/blank_reg's case, the 2010 Mac Pro has no internals but a case, while the 2013 Mac Pro it houses has internals but doesn't have a case. For anyone that doesn't know, the trash-can Mac Pro can't run without its case on… unless you hold a magnet near its power button. That trips up the chassis sensor, which might explain why this skinned Mac Pro is sitting inside a giant metal carcass of its predecessor.
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Key considerations
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- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
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Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/desktops/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/desktops/garage-sale-haul-finds-2013-trash-can-mac-pro-nestled-inside-2010-mac-pro-enclosure-mac-pro-inception-still-needs-some-work-to-get-running#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
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