Apple announces its radical new Mac Pro will be available starting tomorrow

Mac Pro (2013 model, two-up, front, back)

Apple has announced this morning that its radical new pro desktop, the beautifully cylindrically shaped Mac Pro, will be available starting tomorrow, Thursday, December 19.

The dream desktop for creative pros packs in enough oomph to drive up to three external displays, each at whopping 4K resolution, courtesy of dual AMD FirePro graphics chips with up to 6GB of VRAM.

It also includes the latest Intel Xeon E5 processors, up to 64GB of RAM and up to 1TB of PCI Express solid state storage…

Apple will be offering the new Mac Pro in two basic configurations: the entry-level $2,999 model and the more powerful $3,999 variant, with extensive build-to-order options available for the demanding types who wish to customize their system.

The $2,999 will buy you a Mac Pro with a 3.7GHz quad-core Xeon processor, 12GB of RAM, dual FirePro D300 graphics and a 256GB SSD. The pricier $3,999 model includes a faster six-core Intel processor, dual FirePro D500s graphics and 16GB of RAM.

Configure-to-order options include an eight or twelve-core Intel Xeon E5 chips, AMD FirePro D700 GPUs with 6GB of dedicated memory, up to 64GB of memory and up to 1TB of PCIe-based flash storage, configurable at the online Apple Store. Graphics-wise, the new Mac Pro is up to eight times faster compared to the previous generation.

And of course, each system comes equipped with the new Thunderbolt 2 I/O (each with up to 20Gbps of bandwidth per device), USB 3 ports, Gigabit Ethernet and Wi-Fi and ships with Apple’s latest OS X Mavericks operating system. All told, the machine supports up to 36 high-performance peripherals, Apple said.

They cutting-edge desktop is being assembled in the United States, here’s Apple’s video.

To create the Mac Pro’s aluminum enclosure – 9.9-inches tall and one-eighth the volume of the previous generation – Apple had to develop an entirely new manufacturing techniques, including a process known as deep drawing, which essentially takes cues from the similar deep draw stamping process used to make everyday objects like toilet brush canisters.

Here’s the press release:

Apple today announced the all-new Mac Pro® will be available to order starting Thursday, December 19. Redesigned from the inside out, the all-new Mac Pro features the latest Intel Xeon processors, dual workstation-class GPUs, PCIe-based flash storage and ultra-fast ECC memory.

Designed around an innovative unified thermal core, the all-new Mac Pro packs unprecedented performance into an aluminum enclosure that is just 9.9-inches tall and one-eighth the volume of the previous generation. Mac Pro features 4-core, 6-core, 8-core or 12-core Intel Xeon processors running at Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.9 GHz and two workstation-class AMD FirePro GPUs that deliver up to eight times the graphics performance of the previous generation Mac Pro.* PCIe-based flash storage delivers sequential read speeds up to 10 times faster than conventional desktop hard drives, and ECC DDR3 gives the new Mac Pro up to 60GBps of memory bandwidth for seamlessly editing full-resolution 4K video while simultaneously rendering effects in the background. With an incredible six Thunderbolt 2 ports, each with up to 20Gbps of bandwidth per device, the new Mac Pro completely redefines desktop expandability with support for up to 36 high-performance peripherals, including the latest 4K displays.

Pricing & Availability

The Mac Pro is available with a 3.7 GHz quad-core Intel Xeon E5 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.9 GHz, dual AMD FirePro D300 GPUs with 2GB of VRAM each, 12GB of memory, and 256GB of PCIe-based flash storage starting at $2,999 (US); and with a 3.5 GHz 6-core Intel Xeon E5 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.9 GHz, dual AMD FirePro D500 GPUs with 3GB of VRAM each, 16GB of memory, and 256GB of PCIe-based flash storage starting at $3,999 (US). Configure-to-order options include faster 8-core or 12-core Intel Xeon E5 processors, AMD FirePro D700 GPUs with 6GB of VRAM, up to 64GB of memory, and up to 1TB of PCIe-based flash storage. Additional technical specifications, configure-to-order options and accessories are available online at www.apple.com/mac-pro.

The all-new Mac Pro will be available to order starting Thursday, December 19 through the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers.

*Testing conducted by Apple in October 2013 using preproduction Mac Pro 12-core 2.7 GHz units with 1TB flash storage and AMD FirePro D700 graphics, and shipping Mac Pro 12-core 3.06 GHz units with 512GB SSD and ATI Radeon HD 5870 graphics.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.

Who’s getting a Mac Pro?