The iMac Pro is the most powerful computer Apple has designed to date, and you can order one today starting at $4,999. That’s the base model with an 8-core Intel Xeon W processor, so we priced out a fully loaded 18-core model. You’ll need a pretty big wallet because it’ll set you back more that $13,000.
For $4,999 you get a 3.2 GHz 8-core Intel Xeon W processor with turbo boost up to 4.2 GHz, Radeon Pro Vega 56 with 8 GB RAM, 32 GB 2666MHz ECC RAM, 1 TB SSD, and Magic Mouse 2. Here’s what happens when you upgrade to a top of the line 18-core version:
- 2.3 GHz 18-core Intel Xeon W processor with 4.3 GHz turbo boost: $2,400
- 128 GB 2666 MHz DDR4 ECC RAM: $2,400
- 4 TB SSD: $2,800
- Radeon Pro Vega 64 graphics with 16 GB HBM2 RAM: $600
- Magic Mouse 2 plus Magic Trackpad 2 (Space Gray): $149
That brings the total cost for a fully loaded iMac Pro to $13,348, not including tax or AppleCare+.
Odds are Apple’s prices for extra RAM and a bigger SSD will have some potential buyers wishing they could open up the computer and install upgrades themselves. This isn’t a user serviceable Mac, and just like Apple’s laptops, what’s inside is set in stone: no after-purchase upgrades.
Still, if you have $13,348 sitting around and you’re looking for a powerhouse Mac that’s even more powerful than the 8-core and 10-core models available now, this just might be the ticket. That’s assuming, of course, you can wait a month or so because the 18-core model doesn’t ship for 6-8 weeks.
This is the first I’ve read that it is completely off limits to upgrades. I realize that all iMacs are technically not user serviceable, but what makes something like RAM not upgradable at all? The right person with the right tools would never be able upgrade RAM? Is it soldered onto the motherboard? RAM is all I would realistically ever upgrade. That’s the only thing I’ve ever changed in my 2008 Mac Pro, which needs to be replaced ASAP. I can’t wait for the future Mac Pro. I have a feeling that’s a year off yet.
Apple needs to fire every millennial it has hired and bring back all of the people they retired. This is a bad, bad joke, all of it. I was around for Scully, and never at that point did Apple ever become a company I wanted to wash my hands of. I used to defend them against people that said they made overpriced toys for kids, that gets harder and harder with every passing year under Tim Cook. The sauce Jobs left them with has been used up to the last fiery drop.