Apple has revealed three new graphics cards for the Mac Pro, replacing the system’s current GPU configurations, the AMD Vega II MPX modules. According to Apple, the latest graphics cards dramatically increase the Mac Pro’s performance. This is great news for Mac Pro editors working in GPU-heavy applications like Octane X, DaVinci Resolve or Final Cut Pro.
Based on the Radeon Pro W6000-Series GPU, the three new cards are the Radeon Pro W6800X MPX module, Radeon Pro W6800X Duo MPX module and the Radeon Pro W6900X MPX module. Let’s take a look at what they have to offer.
All three cards boost the Apple Mac Pro’s performance
After testing out the cards for themselves, Apple confidently claims the cards deliver “huge gains” when working on professional apps. If you’re working in Octane X, Apple says the cards increase the Mac Pro’s speed in the application by 84 percent. Apple also says you’ll experience a 26% increase in frame rate when doing real-time 3D interaction in Maxon Cinema 4D and a 23% boost in performance when using DaVinci Resolve.
Since the Mac Pro supports two MPX modules, it can house two W6800X Duo cards. These cards grant the Mac Pro 60 teraflops of graphics performance and 128 GB of memory. The GPUs also Infinity Fabric Link, allowing up to 4 GPUs, or two Due modules, to connect at 84GB/s per link in each direction. This is five times faster than the PCIe bus.
Also, the Radeon Pro W6000-series MPX modules have four extra Thunderbolt 3 ports and an HDMI 2 port. This allows you to add more graphics and more connectivity with up to 12 Thunderbolt 3 ports.
Pricing and availability
The new graphics cards will take the place of the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II MPX and AMD Radeon Pro Vega II Duo MPX modules in the Mac Pro’s configuration options. However, they are still available as a standalone kit. Users can also upgrade their Macs with the new cards if they would like.
