The SSD issue alone is a single point lost, IMO

If the SSDs fail you cannot repair it, replace it, or do anything other than return it. That’s two points in my book, but I still bought one.

Absolutely not. Proprietary SSD that’s linked to the T2 security chip, so not only do you HAVE to buy the new SSD from Apple if you want/need to change it out, but you also have to have the repair done by an Apple technician because of the security chip. Should’ve lost multiple points for that. 7/10 would be a fair score.

I agree and second this request

I agree and third this request. This teardown is great but I was hoping to see more details around CPU, CPU cooling, and PSU.

May the fourth be with you.

Most likely. Just like how previous Mac Pros can boot from NVMe, either internally (2010 Mac Pro, 2013 Mac Pro), or externally (2013 Mac Pro via Thunderbolt).

Being that the W-3275 maxes out at 1TB of RAM, it can be assumed that Apple already uses the W-3275M to reach 1.5TB of RAM. One will need to test the 28-core with 256GB and 128GB RAM modules to verify that the Mac Pro (2019) supports 2TB on the W-3275M, W-3265M and W-3245M.

https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/...

Pretty sure the heatsink is on the PEX 8796 PCIe switch, not the C621 PCH. That PCIe switch is a beast—typical power = 18.6 W!

Only by Apple or an authorized service provider.

It is physically replaceable, but my understanding is this can only be done by an authorized service provider. Not yet sure if that is a technical limitation. I would love to see more detail on this.

Does it accept exactly the same flash boards as the iMac Pro, or are these a new version?

What happens if you take a unit with the default 256 GB drive (as we see above, comprised of one board) and add another 256 GB board?

What if you take a unit with two boards and remove one board? At a minimum, it would require reformatting, since half the data would be gone, but does it work after formatting?

Can you run two boards of different capacities (256 GB and 512 GB, for example)? This can probably only be answered after the question about adding a second board to a unit which shipped with only one.

The Mac Pro’s “SSD” can be changed, but they are not standard off-the-shelf M.2 SSDs. At a base level, off-the-shelf SSDs contain flash chips and a controller chip. The Mac Pro “SSD”s have memory chips but no controller—the T2 chip on the motherboard handles all that. The recent iMac Pro also use these controller-less SSDs. We plan to do some parts swapping and testing at some point!

Hi Colin,

You are right! The front blower channels air into the PSU module, which also has a side port that is directly connected to the blower fan.

Yeah that shot is missing many parts.

Really?

I read that they will still use PCIe3 in their website. So, are the slots PCIe 4 compatible?

The mux/switch supports PCI3 Gen4 does not necessarily mean the platform is using PCIe Gen4.

What’s more, Intel CPUs currently does not support PCIe Gen4 at all.

The Xeon platform used is limited to PCI-E 3.0

Hey David!

The RAM and PCIe slots are indeed on opposite sides of the motherboard—you can’t access them from the same side when the case is removed.

We don’t because we don’t have a dual socket model.

There is no dual-socket model of the Mac Pro (2019). The Xeon W-32xx platform is 1S only.

Oh wait, you’re correct. My mind was stuck in the 2012 cheesegrater design.

Hey Jeff!

Apple's primary options are the 32TB RAID MPX module, which would connect via PCIe. You can also purchase the internal storage enclosure (with 8TB hard drive), which allows you to mount two standard drives and connects to the internal SATA ports. Finally, you can use external drives.

Apple is adding the 28MB L2$ and 38.5MB L3$ together for 66.5MB total. It’s a little goofy.

Ah, is that it? If they’re going to do hyjinx like that they should be listing which cache level, as Intels ARK doesn’t’ do that.

I guess a lot of systems from various manufacturers have proprietary PSUs and motherboards, whereas apart from Apple most of them use standard SSDs which are widely available from third-party suppliers.

But from repairability viewpoint this is bad because the standard parts (CPU and RAM) are the parts that are least likely to fail, whereas the parts that might fail (motherboard, power supply, etc) most are all proprietary and difficult or impossible to get.

They provided a link to the iMac Pro teardown, where they describe the following: “Unlike a standard SSD, which has the controller logic onboard, these raw flash modules only have an interface buffer—the PCIe/NVMe controller lies elsewhere.” I believe the controller is part of the Apple T2 chip.

I’m expecting RAID-0, fast and efficient, but no redundancy.

No, there are two slots for the proprietary modules that contain the NAND flash packages, but only one SSD controller (the T2 chip) located on the logic board. However, all SSDs use controllers that support multiple channels which can connect to multiple NAND packages containing multiple dies in order to leverage parallelism and increase performance. That’s one of the reasons they’re so dang fast.

With that T2 chip inside they can block any product from working, any moment after an update… goodluck with that. See whats happening with the new iPhones…!

There are four 8-pin and one 6-pin PCIe AUX power headers on the board to the left of the PCIe slots for use with non-MPX cards.

You would need something like this, or third party alternative for 1/3 of the cost: https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HMUJ2...

The connectors look very standard so it shouldn’t cost much to make, but in typical Apple fashion the officially sanctioned kit’s price is set to unapologetically profitable level.

Not without an adapter that no-one has invented yet. The second set of pins has four DisplayPort outputs from the 580X and it contains PCIe auxiliary power (takes the place of 6 pin or 8 pin power connectors). It seems like an adapter wouldn’t be too difficult to make to deliver power and extract the DisplayPort outputs (otherwise the card can only connect two HDMI 2.0 displays).

Those pins on the Vega II have only two DisplayPort outputs. They also have two PCIe 3.0 x4 links for the Thunderbolt controllers in the MPX module.

Those pins on the Vega II Duo are the same as with the Vega II but have four DisplayPort outputs like the 580X.

Probably. You may need to enable external booting if you want to boot from it.

Probably. You just need to add power cables.

https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HMUJ2...

Your Thunderbolt ports won’t be able to connect a Thunderbolt display though. Not unless someone makes an adapter that can pipe up to four DisplayPort signals from the GPU into the extended MPX slot connector.

You can buy an enclosure (comes with an 8TB drive):

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/rec...

Or you can try to make one yourself (but I’m not sure where you would get power from).

There is an MPX RAID module available from Promise.

And there are also 2 internal SATA 6Gb/s ports and what looks to be a Molex Micro-Fit 3.0, dual-row, 10-pin, vertical power header. Third party drive cages and cable kits are a little thin on the ground here at launch time (basically just the Promise Pegasus J2i), but I imagine iFixit, OWC, and other vendors will be all over it before too long.

Pick up a cheap internal 2 port PCIe SATA card, along with the two included internal SATA and get better (SATA III 6Gbps) top end speed than your existing cMP SATA II ports (assuming your drives saturate the bus), and roll your own drive cage or wait for less expensive third party solutions, or pay a crazy high price for the Promise 32TB RAID MPX module. plenty of good hardware RAID 0 cards for small change will let you stripe four or more HDD for even better speeds. Here’s the power connector you need for your own cable, if you can’t wait for third party makers. ( https://www.molex.com/molex/products/dat... )

Better necessarily implies different. Apple sought to build a better SSD, and in many ways they did. If you don’t want to leverage the increased security, excellent performance, and higher capacity options that the T2 enables, you don’t have to use it. Buy the base 256 GB model and just treat it as a recovery drive. This box has 8 standard PCIe Gen3 slots, 2 standard SATA 6Gb/s ports, and an internal USB 3.0 Type-A port. You can use any bog standard M.2, HHHL PCIe, 2.5” or 3.5” SATA, or USB drive you like as an internal boot drive.

The T2 based SSDs provide an excellent user experience and have demonstrated high reliability. If you need to replace one or want to upgrade, you’ll need to contact Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider. There are 506 Apple store locations worldwide and more than 1800 AASPs in the US alone.

There’s valuing repairability, and then there’s prioritizing it above all else. I think iFixit’s assessment in this case was reasonably balanced.

Welcome to the comment thread, to the apple employee who replied to me.

Honestly, you think quoting the number of Apple stores that exist in the US is a valid rebuttal to a clear example of anti-self-repair gatekeeping by Apple? Get lost with that. What are you even doing on this website?

No, 2x SATA 6Gb/s. You can always add a SAS host adapter card though.

Thank you! good x-mas and present!

It’s not going to be that hard, just at this moment, choices are limited, but I fully expect commercial solutions will start arriving soon now that the whole of the aftermarket beyond Promise has access to the machine. If you’re desperate to add larger SSD storage now, you have several choices; the Promise J2i and R4i will provide power and standard 3.5” drive bays, wherein you can install 2.5” SSD with adapters. Next you can choose PCIe NVMe adapters/controllers, with 1 to 4 slots (starting at $20 and up to $500-$800; storage not included), allowing you to install way faster SSD storage than Apple is providing, for far less money. Or you can do what I’m going to do at first, which is to install my RocketRAID 840A (16ch SAS/SATA) and hang my 12 2.5” SSD on a homemade bracket in the upper bay where the J2i is meant to go, giving me 20TB of faster-than-OEM storage. Only other thing I have to do is add a 12v-5v adapter to power the drives, assuming I can’t just hack the existing 10-pin SATA power connector.

Found the connector for the SATA power header ( https://www.molex.com/molex/products/dat... )

No. Hard drive slots would look ugly and some people don’t need them, so Apple left them out. The only two options currently are:

“Promise Pegasus R4i 32TB RAID MPX Module for Mac Pro”

“Promise Pegasus J2i 8TB Internal Storage Enclosure for Mac Pro”

You can buy a PCIe card to add NVMe drives.

Only the J2i has the Mac Pro SATA power cable that you would need for other SATA drives - or maybe you could combine one of the cables from the “Belkin AUX Power Cable Kit for Mac Pro” with some kind of 12V to SATA power adapter (12V 5V 3.3V) - or maybe the proprietary Mac Pro power connector for the SATA power cable has a standard connector and you can make your own cable?

Maybe other options will exist in the future for cables and drive bays.

Here’s the connector you need to create a 12v/5v/3.3v power cable for SATA drives ( https://www.molex.com/molex/products/dat...); make your own drive cage or wait for the aftermarket to offer something more useful and less costly than the J2i. I’m building my own for twelve 2.5” SSD for an RR840A RAID 0 adapter..

Check the History (under Options, top right corner of the web page). Was information about Thunderbolt, WiFi, Bluetooth ever added? I don’t think so. It probably should have though.

There is a picture of the Thunderbolt controller for the top Thunderbolt ports. It’s clear enough to read the part number.

Absolutely cuts power. You can “fool” the pins and controller, however, to temporarily fire the beast sans cover. Not advised for long at all though.

If there are Thunderbolt 3 header connections, then they must be in the I/O card slot and the MPX module slot.

They seem to be located on the upper daughter board hosting the power ON/OFF relay and pogo pins; probably not going to be super easy to do much beyond disconnecting the antennae. Unfortunately, no one has yet posted an image of both sides of said card, so we just don’t know if the Broadcom chip is soldered or on an M.2-style adapter. However, there may be a special build SKU for government and corporate where WiFi/BT would not be allowed, so possibly one could swap out the whole daughter card for one sans those components.

What does a non-proprietary 6 pin or 8 pin PCIe power connector look like? As for as I know, only the GPU end of the cable is non-proprietary. PSU manufacturers use different pinouts for the PSU end of the cable even if the connectors are the same. Even PSUs from the same manufacturer can have different pin outs for the PCIe power cables.

That has not been my experience at all. MOBO headers and PSU 6 and 8 pin outputs are wired according to standards, just as are SATA/PATA/USB etc.. If a given PSU or MOBO manufacturer decided to swap pins around at the board level, when you installed a universal 8-8 or 8-6 or 6-8 connector, you could fry whatever component you attached it to.

e.g., this commonly available cable (an absolute ripoff at $12 because it lists as being specific to Mac Pro) is plug and play on *any* MOBO or PSU with standard 8 or mini-6 pin headers: ( https://www.amazon.com/COMeap-Express-Vi... )

More typical is two for $8 (and most often even less than that): ( https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-2-P... )

So, yeah, the Belkin pack is nicely black, probably the right length and of good quality, but if I only need one, I’m getting royally shafted.

I’m not sure you’ve shown non-proprietary-ness yet.

First you linked a cable for a Power Mac or Mac Pro which is Apple specific. Maybe you want the 2019 Mac Pro to have connectors like the classic Mac Pro? But maybe the classic Mac Pro’s connectors were not enough for 8 pin PCIe power (150W each). Possibly the onboard 6 pin connector of the 2019 Mac Pro is the same as the classic Mac Pro.

Then you linked a PCIe extension cable which is only for extending PCIe power cables. Maybe you want the 2019 Mac Pro to have male PCIe power connectors on the motherboard instead of the female connectors.

Yes, it’s annoying that the Belkin package comes with cables you don’t need. But it’s like any modular PSU you might buy for a PC build.

I linked to the Mac Pro mini-6-8 pin to prove a point that Mac-labeled parts are automatically overpriced. I’m sorry I linked to the second in a hurry and didn’t select the correct board-header option; they are in the same ballpark price. Generally you seem to be deliberately obstinate to the larger point that no one should have to pay $67 for two, let alone just one (usable) cable. It is no problem to find good quality 18/16g cables capable of over 300w, or you just build one if you buy the header connectors blank. If it matters to you, add black braid cable sheath for $0.50. If the connector on the MOBO isn’t proprietary, I promise you I won’t be paying $67 gouge tax to install a video card. But, hey, thanks for obfuscating the actual question with your opinion.

To that end, does anyone have a factual answer to my question? Are the PCIe headers on 2019 MP proprietary? Or do they accept any available molex header connectors for custom builds? I just need a good image of the headers (1/2, 3/4, 5/6), pls/thx!

For anyone else playing along, if you look closely at the only image of the board-end of the Belkin cables, the fifth cable looks pretty much like a mini-6 to 6 (probably for MOBO header 5/6), & the other five look like a mini-8 to 6/8, which may or may not be proprietary. It won’t be impossible to hack whatever is required once pinouts are verified, but it would be nice to use standard parts.

FWIW, hopefully it’s this brand new part number in the Molex MiniFit Jr. line: ( https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Mol... ); the MiniFit 6 has been available for years. Even if the keys are different, they can be modified as long as the overall profile is correct. The voltage on the pinouts will be easy enough to verify once a fit is achieved.

For those still playing along, OWC Kindly acknowledged a request for more details with a detailed image of the power headers (in the comments), along with other gorgeous component shots in the article itself) ( https://blog.macsales.com/57077-owc-tear... )

It’s looking very good for a simple install using the above-linked mini-8 Molex connector, so screw Belkin. I’ve ordered and will report here confirmation of a fit.

Link spam robot denied my post confirming that the OWC teardown page and comment thread has images confirming it looks to be a mini-8 Molex connector on MOBO headers 1/2 & 3/4, and that the mini-6 Molex definitely fits header 5/6. Excellent news, so screw Belkin. I have ordered mine and will confirm fit here later.

It has 12V and 5V but no 3.3V. I don’t think there’s any way to know Watts except to load the system up until it stops. Hopefully it powers off before something melts. At least you shouldn’t exceed the amps allowed by the individual wires connected to the 10 pin connector.

No, you can’t remove the handles, which are part of the frame; but you can remove the feet, and perhaps replace them with something shallow, yet safe. OWC has a better teardown showing how to remove them.

HTH

F

Sorry for the misinformation; it is indeed possible to remove the handles in the same manner as the feet.

No, no glue at all; like most metals, seams of aluminum can be easily welded using heat. Aluminum is typically bonded using electrical current, rather than open flame or ignition of high-heat mediums (such as magnesium) also using electrical current. The two surfaces are pressed together, and an extremely high current flow is generated across them at given points, creating a sufficiently high enough temperature to melt at the point(s) of contact, most directly in line with the electrical current supply points. Then the electrical current is cut, and the liquefied metals quickly cool and leave behind a now-hardened molten weld point, that is generally quite permanent and only an equal or greater amount of heat can separate. HTH

Also do the Fans and PSU have part numbers? Are they both replaceable? Any dimensions or pictures for both?

Thanks for your time and great work to the team for all your work.

If you click on the images of this step, you can view large photos of the fans. Both the front array and blower fans are made by Nidec, and the model numbers are printed on the label.

You can see the power supply module in the 3rd picture of this step. It connects to the motherboard via what looks to be a proprietary socket. There no other connectors from the power supply—all power is routed through the motherboard.