Editor’s Note: The article, “Mac Pro PCI Express Slots”, featured in the last issue of Tech Tails was incorrectly attributed to Kyle S. Sorry about that, folks! This week, he offers some notes and corrections to the article that ran.
I want to take some time to make a few corrections to last issue’s Mac Pro article that I noticed and some that several customers have emailed to me. First: Thunderbolt displays won’t work with the 2008/2010 Mac Pros. The display requires a machine with a Thunderbolt port, and the display mentioned in the article was an Apple Cinema Display, which is the predecessor to the Thunderbolt display. Cinema Displays feature Mini DisplayPort monitor. I have actually had a similar repair to the one mentioned in the article, but it’s been a while since then, and the details are probably too fuzzy to write about at this point!
Mac Pros circa 2008 have two logic boards rather than a singular main board; one is called the Backplane, and the second is called the Processor Board. The Backplane holds the hard drives, the PCI-E cards, memory and all inputs that you can connect externally. The Processor Board is exactly that, a board that connects to the Backplane that houses the processor(s) and the required heat sinks. Some models from different years vary, some have individual facing boards that house the memory apart from the Backplane, and come to think of it, I believe most have individual boards that house the memory except for a few of the oldest models.
The Mac Pro is described as the workhorse of the Mac lineup and is due for improvement to keep up with its smaller counterparts. The new model is more cylindrical with a rounded top that flattens out, rather then conical. It is a very interesting design, completely compact in comparison to the previous model which allowed for a lot of customization and upgrades. This new model is essentially built to work. From what I can tell, you need to connect any hardware you want to add via the external connections on the machine, i.e. through the Thunderbolt port or USB ports. These will start shipping in December, and I’m excited to put them to the test.
Have thoughts about the new Mac Pros? Email me or come in to the S. Burlington location (I haven’t yet been to our Key West store!).