Apple updates Mac Pro graphics options with AMD RDNA 2 cards
Apple today updated the graphics card options for its Mac Pro workstation computer. The company has introduced AMD’s latest generation RDNA 2 based graphics cards, replacing the previous Vega II offerings.
The Mac Pro will now offer users a choice of either a Radeon Pro W6900X, a Radeon Pro W6800X, or a Radeon Pro 6800X Duo in addition to the existing 580X, W5500X, and W5700X options.
The Radeon Pro W6900X is the flagship single GPU option. Based on the Radeon RX 6900XT gaming GPU, the Radeon Pro W6900X features the same 80 compute units, 5120 stream processors, and a slightly lower 2171MHz boost clock speed. However, one big difference is that the Radeon Pro W6900X has 32GB of GDDR6 memory, twice that of the RX 6900XT.
The Radeon Pro W6900X is a $5600 extra option while configuring or $6000 when purchased separately.
Next is the Radeon Pro W6800X, which is based on the Radeon RX 6800. It has the same 60 compute units and 3840 stream processors with a slightly lower 2087MHz boost clock speed. The Radeon Pro W6800X also comes with 32GB of GDDR6 memory.
The Radeon Pro W6800X is a $2400 option while configuring or $2800 if purchased separately.
Lastly, there’s the Radeon Pro W6800X Duo. This truly impressive card features two W6800X GPU on the same board, with each having 32GB of GDDR6 for a total of 64GB video memory. AMD’s Infinity Fabric Link connects the two GPU to each other with a bandwidth of 84GB/s in each direction.
The Radeon Pro W6800X Duo is $4600 while configuring and $5000 when purchased separately.
Apple allows installing two of each of the above mentioned graphics cards inside the Mac Pro. This means you can have two W6900X, two W6800X, and even two W6800X Duo inside the same system.
All of these cards use Apple’s proprietary MPX Module form factor. Each has four Thunderbolt 3 ports and one HDMI 2.0 port on the back and can also additionally support the two Thunderbolt 3 ports on top of the Mac Pro.
The W6900X and W6800X support up to six 4K displays, three 5K displays, or three 6K Pro Display XDR. The W6900X Duo supports eight 4K displays, four 5K displays, or six 6K Pro Display XDR.
Aside from the Mac Pro stuff, Apple now is also selling its new Magic Keyboard with Touch ID that debuted with the new 2021 iMac separately.
If you have a Mac running the new M1 processor (MacBook Air 2020, MacBook Pro 2020, Mac mini 2020, iMac 2021), then you can use this keyboard with your computer with its built-in fingerprint sensor.
It comes in two versions, with and without the numeric keypad for $179 and $149, respectively.
