Apple iMac Pro (2017) vs Apple Mac Pro (Late 2013)
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| AppleiMac Pro (2017) | AppleMac Pro (Late 2013) | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | December 2017 | December 2013 |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | Intel Xeon W-2140B, Intel Xeon W-2150B, Intel Xeon W-2170B or Intel Xeon W-2191B | Intel Xeon E5-1620 v2, Intel Xeon E5-1650 v2, Intel Xeon E5-1680 v2 or Intel Xeon E5-2697 v2 |
| CPU cores | 8, 10, 14 or 18 | 4, 6, 8 or 12 |
| CPU threads | – | 8, 12, 16 or 24 |
| Graphics | Radeon Pro Vega 56 (8 GB HBM2), Radeon Pro Vega 64 (16 GB HBM2) or Radeon Pro Vega 64X (16 GB HBM2) | Dual AMD FirePro D300 (2 GB GDDR5 each), Dual AMD FirePro D500 (3 GB GDDR5 each) or Dual AMD FirePro D700 (6 GB GDDR5 each) |
| Memory | 32 GB, 64 GB, 128 GB or 256 GB (better) | 12 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB |
| Storage | 1 TB to 4 TB (better) | 256 GB to 1 TB |
| CPU | Xeon W at 3.2 GHz with 8 cores (Turbo Boost 4.2 GHz), 3.0 GHz with 10 cores (4.5 GHz), 2.5 GHz with 14 cores (4.3 GHz) or 2.3 GHz with 18 cores (4.3 GHz). Exact W-B CPU identities follow Geekbench. The 8/10-core versions launched first; Macworld reports later January 2018 availability for 14/18-core options. Apple changed the standard configuration to 10 cores in August 2020. | 3.7 GHz quad-core, 3.5 GHz six-core, 3.0 GHz eight-core or 2.7 GHz twelve-core Intel Xeon E5. Exact identities are E5-1620 v2, E5-1650 v2, E5-1680 v2 and E5-2697 v2, cross-checked against Geekbench device records and Ars hardware testing; Intel specifications supply thread counts and maximum Turbo frequencies. |
| GPU | Radeon Pro Vega 56 with 8 GB HBM2, optionally Vega 64 or Vega 64X with 16 GB HBM2. Vega 64X is a later option included in Apple’s current specification sheet, absent from the launch reviews. | Dual AMD FirePro D300 with 2 GB GDDR5 per GPU, D500 with 3 GB per GPU, or D700 with 6 GB per GPU. Memory is specified separately for each GPU, rather than pooled. All graphics options are available by upgrading the original quad-core base configuration. |
| Memory type | Quad-channel 2666 MHz DDR4 ECC; 32 GB standard, configurable to 64/128/256 GB. The current maker sheet includes the later 256 GB option; launch reviews cover up to 128 GB. No user-accessible memory door. | Four user-accessible slots for 1866 MHz DDR3 ECC memory; 12 GB (three 4 GB modules), 16 GB (four 4 GB), 32 GB (four 8 GB) or 64 GB (four 16 GB) |
| Storage type | 1 TB SSD, configurable to 2 or 4 TB | PCIe-based SSD; 256 GB, 512 GB or 1 TB. No internal hard-drive bays or optical drive. |
| Expansion slots | – | No internal PCIe card slots; peripherals and compatible external expansion chassis connect through Thunderbolt |
| Display | ||
| Screen size | 27″ | None built in |
| Resolution | 5120 × 2880 | – |
| Panel | IPS LCD | – |
| Brightness | 500 nits | – |
| Display type | LED-backlit Retina 5K display; IPS panel confirmed by EveryMac. Native refresh rate omitted because Apple does not publish it in the specification sheet. | – |
| Display features | Wide colour (P3); supports one billion colours | – |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | 4 × Thunderbolt 3, 4 × USB-A, SD card slot, Ethernet, headphone jack | 4 × USB-A, 6 × Thunderbolt 2, 2 × Ethernet, HDMI, headphone jack |
| Ethernet | 10 Gb/s (better) | 1 Gb/s |
| External displays | Up to 4 | Up to 6 (better) |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11ac | 802.11ac |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 | 4.0 |
| Camera | 1080p FaceTime HD | – |
| Back ports | Four USB-A ports; four Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports with DisplayPort 1.2, Thunderbolt up to 40 Gb/s and USB 3.1 Gen 2 up to 10 Gb/s; UHS-II SDXC, Nbase-T Ethernet supporting 1/2.5/5/10Gb and 3.5 mm headphone jack. Thunderbolt 2, HDMI, DVI and VGA require adapters. | Four USB 3 USB-A ports, six Thunderbolt 2 ports, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, HDMI 1.4 Ultra HD, 3.5 mm headphone jack with headset support, and a separate combined optical digital audio output/analogue line-out minijack. Thunderbolt ports are divided across three controllers, as explained in Macworld and Ars reviews. |
| External displays | Two 5120 × 2880 displays at 60 Hz with one billion colours, four 3840 × 2160 displays at 60 Hz with one billion colours, or four 4096 × 2304 displays at 60 Hz with millions of colours, alongside the built-in display | Apple's current support specifications allow six Thunderbolt displays or three dual-cable 5K displays. The launch announcement specified support for three 4K displays; the later 5K statement should not be read as launch-day capability. |
| Speakers | Stereo speakers | Built-in speaker; HDMI supports multichannel audio output |
| Microphones | Four microphones; supports Hey Siri | – |
| Keyboard and mouse | Space grey Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad and Magic Mouse 2; optional space grey Magic Trackpad 2 | Keyboard, mouse and display sold separately |
| Design and power | ||
| Type | All-in-one | Compact |
| Weight | 9.7 kg | 5 kg (better) |
| Width × depth × height | 650 × 203 × 516 mm | 167 × 167 × 251 mm |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Size and weight detail | Dimensions include the stand; weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process. Optional VESA mount adapter kit. | Cylindrical enclosure; 251 mm high and 167 mm in diameter, with 5 kg weight from Apple's Japanese specification sheet. Weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process. |
| Power supply | 100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz, single phase | 100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz, single phase; maximum continuous power 450 W |
| Noise | – | Apple's overview reports 12 dBA operator-position sound pressure at idle, while the acoustic table reports 14 dB at idle and 14.5 dB during wireless web. These are conflicting maker statements; no single noise value is selected. |
| Materials | Recyclable aluminium enclosure; arsenic-free glass and mercury-free LED backlight | Highly recyclable enclosure; BFR-free and PVC-free, with regional exceptions for the power lead |
| In the box | iMac Pro, space grey Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad, space grey Magic Mouse 2, Lightning to USB cable and power lead | Mac Pro and power lead. Launched with OS X Mavericks; the current support page describes the later macOS Mojave release. Original standard configurations were quad-core with 12 GB memory and D300 graphics, and six-core with 16 GB and D500. The current support sheet also lists an eight-core standard configuration with 16 GB and D700. Configurations below include independent processor, memory, graphics and storage upgrades of the original quad-core base, so 12 GB or D300 with a higher-core processor represents a customised base model. |
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