Apple’s original Mac Pro, introduced 19 years ago, still hasn’t reached its 20-year milestone. However, despite its age and limited upgrade options, the tower form factor remains popular even today. Initially, Apple faced thermal constraints and performance limitations with the ‘trash can’ form factor Mac Pro, leading them to revert to a tower chassis that supported Intel’s Xeon processors. More recently, Apple has equipped the Mac Pro with their own M2 Ultra chip.

The first Mac Pro marked the beginning of Apple’s transition from PowerPC to Intel processors. Introduced on August 7, 2006, during WWDC, it featured an unibody aluminum chassis and used Intel Xeon 5100-series ‘Woodcrest’ CPUs. Each CPU had two cores running at 2.6 GHz and supported 64-bit architecture. The Mac Pro could boast a 4-core/8-thread configuration, offering exceptional multi-core performance. It came with 16GB of DDR2 ECC memory in eight slots, operating at 667 MHz.

The Mac Pro also offered extensive expansion options, including up to four 3.5-inch SATA drive bays and one 5.25-inch bay for Apple’s SuperDrive. A significant surprise was the inclusion of an NVIDIA GeForce 7300 with 256 MB of VRAM—easily upgradable. The case featured perforated holes, giving it a ‘cheese grater’ moniker, which is still used in newer models.

While efficient Apple Silicon makes modern tower cases seem overkill, the Mac Pro remains costly to produce due to precise milling and increased raw materials. Currently, only the Mac Studio supports the M3 Ultra chip. Whether future updates will continue for the Mac Pro is uncertain, but its place in both technology history and hearts is secure.

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When was the first Mac Pro introduced?

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A. August 7, 2006 B. June 7, 2005 C. July 8, 2006 D. September 9, 2006

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