The reviewer, MKBHD, shares his experience with the 2020 Apple Mac Pro, highlighting its exceptional build quality, modularity, and performance. He notes that the computer is "over-engineered" with a focus on aesthetics and noise reduction, featuring a unique cheese-grater design and a sophisticated fan control system.
The reviewer praises the Mac Pro's performance, stating that it has been excellent for his workflow as a Final Cut Pro editor. However, he acknowledges that the computer is not invincible and can still struggle with demanding tasks, such as playing back 8K Redcode RAW footage.
He also discusses the Apple Afterburner card, a $2,000 PCI decoder card that accelerates ProRes and ProRes RAW playback. Although he doesn't edit in ProRes, he sees potential for the card to be reprogrammed to support other codecs, such as Redcode RAW.
The reviewer concludes that the Mac Pro is a premium product that takes no shortcuts, with a focus on build quality and performance. While it may not be necessary for most people, he appreciates that Apple made a computer that caters to his specific needs. He wishes Apple would make more affordable, modular desktop towers, but is happy with his Mac Pro and looks forward to it lasting him a decade.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The 2020 Mac Pro is the newest, highest-end Mac ever made, and also the most expensive.
2. The Mac Pro is a modular tower computer with a cheese grater design.
3. The Mac Pro is designed to be passively air-cooled with three huge blowers and heat pipes.
4. The Mac Pro has no liquid cooling and no fans on internal components.
5. The Mac Pro's chassis is designed to allow for maximum airflow to cool components.
6. The Mac Pro's fans spin at slightly different rates to reduce noise.
7. Apple's fan controller modulates the speed of each fan to minimize noise.
8. The Mac Pro has no exposed cables inside the computer.
9. The Mac Pro uses a single Phillips head screwdriver for most adjustments.
10. The Mac Pro has a sliding PCI slot lock and labeled parts for easy disassembly.
11. The Mac Pro's MPX modules are passively air-cooled and have no fans.
12. The Mac Pro's MPX modules are thicker than normal parts due to large heat sinks.
13. The reviewer's Mac Pro specs include 768GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD.
14. The Mac Pro's performance is excellent, especially for workflows that require high processing power.
15. The Mac Pro is not invincible and can still be slowed down by demanding tasks such as editing 8K video.
16. Apple made a $2,000 PCI decoder card called the Afterburner card, which decodes ProRes and ProRes RAW video.
17. The Afterburner card is reprogrammable and can potentially be used to accelerate other codecs.
18. The reviewer uses a maxed-out Mac Pro, which cost over $40,000.
19. The Mac Pro's build quality is exceptional, with metal buttons and carefully considered design elements.
20. Apple does not make a more affordable, modular desktop tower, which is a downside for some users.