TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATION
Quad-Core Intel Xeon E5 with 10 MB L3 cache and Turbo Boost up to 3.9 GHz
12 GB (three 4 GB modules) of 1866 MHz DDR3 ECC memory
Dual AMD FirePro D300 graphics processors with 2 GB of GDDR5 VRAM each
256 GB PCIe-based flash storage
802.11ac Wi-Fi wireless networking and Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology
Quad-Core Intel Xeon E5 with 10 MB L3 cache and Turbo Boost up to 3.9 GHz
12 GB (three 4 GB modules) of 1866 MHz DDR3 ECC memory
Dual AMD FirePro D300 graphics processors with 2 GB of GDDR5 VRAM each
256 GB PCIe-based flash storage
802.11ac Wi-Fi wireless networking and Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology
The
back side contains the power button and electrical inlet, as well as a
tidy array of ports:
3.5 mm speaker and headphone jacks
Four USB 3.0 ports
Six Thunderbolt 2 ports
Dual Gigabit Ethernet ports
HDMI 1.4 out
3.5 mm speaker and headphone jacks
Four USB 3.0 ports
Six Thunderbolt 2 ports
Dual Gigabit Ethernet ports
HDMI 1.4 out
DISASSEMBLING
PROCEDURE
With
the cylindrical cover removed,get our first peek inside the Mac Pro.
The dual graphics cards dominate the initial view. Their symmetry is broken only by the SSD cage nestled up alongside the second graphics card.
Giving the Mac Pro a little spin, find neatly positioned vertical RAM slots at either side of the I/O panel
The dual graphics cards dominate the initial view. Their symmetry is broken only by the SSD cage nestled up alongside the second graphics card.
Giving the Mac Pro a little spin, find neatly positioned vertical RAM slots at either side of the I/O panel
The
RAM in the Mac Pro Late 2013 is easily accessible and replaceable.
The
4 GB DDR3L SDRAM (three for a total of 12 GB) modules are labeled as
Elpida EBJ04EG8BFWB-JS-F.
According to Apple, the RAM in the Mac Pro is configurable to 16 GB (four 4 GB), 32 GB (four 8 GB) or 64 GB (four 16 GB)
According to Apple, the RAM in the Mac Pro is configurable to 16 GB (four 4 GB), 32 GB (four 8 GB) or 64 GB (four 16 GB)
With
a twist of a T8 screwdriver, the SSD assembly is easily removed from the
device.
For
those playing along at home, have only removed one screw, and the SSD is
out.
On board find some rather familiar friends:
Samsung S4LN053X01-8030 (ARM) Flash Controller
Samsung K9HFGY8S5C-XCK0 Flash Storage
Samsung K4P4G324EB 512 MB RAM
On board find some rather familiar friends:
Samsung S4LN053X01-8030 (ARM) Flash Controller
Samsung K9HFGY8S5C-XCK0 Flash Storage
Samsung K4P4G324EB 512 MB RAM
Regulatory
markings have been relegated to the bottom cover/air inlet, find a few
more informative tidbits:
The
Mac Pro Late 2013 is identified as model A1481 with an EMC Number of 2630 and
it's rated for 100-240 volts AC, making it a willing international travel
partner.
There can only be one fan. The Mac Pro is vented by a single fan, which pulls air from under the case, through the core, and out the top of the case
There can only be one fan. The Mac Pro is vented by a single fan, which pulls air from under the case, through the core, and out the top of the case
Popped
the plastic roof off the fan module and found a whole new stash of precision
engineering.
Snug
in a nest of antennas, the AirPort card fits onto a small adapter board that
also connects to the fan below.
Those three large screws secure the fan, with vibration-dampening rubber bumpers, like in iMacs.
Those three large screws secure the fan, with vibration-dampening rubber bumpers, like in iMacs.
The
AirPort card and find what looks to be the same configuration found in
most Apple products today:
Broadcom
BCM4360 5G Wi-Fi 3-stream 802.11ac gigabit transceiver
Broadcom BCM20702 single-chip Bluetooth 4.0 HCI solution with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) support
Skyworks SE5516 dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac WLAN front-end modules
Broadcom BCM20702 single-chip Bluetooth 4.0 HCI solution with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) support
Skyworks SE5516 dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac WLAN front-end modules
The
gold antenna array pops out, and sees all.
With the fan released, it looks to be powered by a Nidec brushless DC motor, model number AG720K01.
The motor controller IC is an Allegro Microsystems A5940LPT Three Phase Sensorless Sinusoidal Fan Driver.
Noticed a few cavities around the edges of the impeller filled with some sort of epoxy (on both sides). it's for fine-tuned balancing, to keep the fan running smooth and quiet.
With the fan released, it looks to be powered by a Nidec brushless DC motor, model number AG720K01.
The motor controller IC is an Allegro Microsystems A5940LPT Three Phase Sensorless Sinusoidal Fan Driver.
Noticed a few cavities around the edges of the impeller filled with some sort of epoxy (on both sides). it's for fine-tuned balancing, to keep the fan running smooth and quiet.
A
view from above: The Mac Pro utilizes a giant triangular heat sink
("Thermal Core"), shared by the dual graphics cards and CPU.
Looks
like the Mac Pro has taken some design pointers from the recent AirPort Extreme
and Time Capsule bodies: a thin, vertical design with individual boards on
separate sides.
Using spudger to pry the graphics card data connectors from their sockets. This FCI MegArray connector is the same type used for the G4 & G5 PowerPC processor daughtercards, and looks to be a fully custom way of hooking up PCI-E, with many pins in a pressed-in connector.
Using spudger to pry the graphics card data connectors from their sockets. This FCI MegArray connector is the same type used for the G4 & G5 PowerPC processor daughtercards, and looks to be a fully custom way of hooking up PCI-E, with many pins in a pressed-in connector.
With
the Mac Pro's structure dominated by the central heat sink, start by peeling
parts off.
A
clamp and four screws hold each of the dual AMD FirePro D300 graphics cards in
place.
Amidst the usual processing power and cost comparison with a similar home-built desktop PC, these graphics cards may be the key to Apple finally undercutting homebrew systems on a pure power basis.
While this stacks up fairly well for current Apple GPU offerings, the proprietary nature, and lack of an elegant external GPU option, may age this device before its time.
Amidst the usual processing power and cost comparison with a similar home-built desktop PC, these graphics cards may be the key to Apple finally undercutting homebrew systems on a pure power basis.
While this stacks up fairly well for current Apple GPU offerings, the proprietary nature, and lack of an elegant external GPU option, may age this device before its time.
The
back side of each graphics card contains:
AMD
FirePro D300 graphics processor
Elpida W2032BBBG 2 Gb (8 x 2 Gb = 16 Gb = 2 GB) GDDR5 VRAM
Intersil ISL 6336 6-Phase PWM Controller with Light Load Efficiency Enhancement and Current Monitoring
The front side has the following ICs:
Fairchild Semiconductor DD30AJ
International Rectifier IR3575 Synchronous Buck Gate Driver with integrated MOSFET and Schottky diode
Elpida W2032BBBG 2 Gb (8 x 2 Gb = 16 Gb = 2 GB) GDDR5 VRAM
Intersil ISL 6336 6-Phase PWM Controller with Light Load Efficiency Enhancement and Current Monitoring
The front side has the following ICs:
Fairchild Semiconductor DD30AJ
International Rectifier IR3575 Synchronous Buck Gate Driver with integrated MOSFET and Schottky diode
Slightly
different FirePro card.
This
GPU same make and model hails from Taiwan, unlike its Chinese-made twin.
The other important difference to note is that this card (and only this card) hosts the slot for the SSD. This seems to us like a potential opportunity for expansion—perhaps higher storage configurations make use of two of this variety, for doubling up on SSDs.
The other important difference to note is that this card (and only this card) hosts the slot for the SSD. This seems to us like a potential opportunity for expansion—perhaps higher storage configurations make use of two of this variety, for doubling up on SSDs.
A
novel disc-shaped daughterboard ties everything together at the
base of the machine. Having spudgered away the ribbon cables, flip
it over for a closer look.
Dominated
by inscrutable proprietary connectors, hope the ICs on this
interconnect board will tell us more about its purpose.
The
logic board, dual graphics cards, and I/O port board all connect to this single
board.
Wrangling
all that data requires a small posse of ICs.
Intel BD82C602J Platform Controller Hub
Renesas R4F2113NLG H8S/2113 16-Bit Microcontroller
ICS 932SQL435AL 3817528F
Texas Instruments LM393 Dual Differential Comparator
MXIC 25L6406E 64M-BIT CMOS Serial Flash
The back of the daughterboard features the same 980 YFC LM4FS1BH System Management Controller found in the Mid 2013 MacBook Air refreshes.
Intel BD82C602J Platform Controller Hub
Renesas R4F2113NLG H8S/2113 16-Bit Microcontroller
ICS 932SQL435AL 3817528F
Texas Instruments LM393 Dual Differential Comparator
MXIC 25L6406E 64M-BIT CMOS Serial Flash
The back of the daughterboard features the same 980 YFC LM4FS1BH System Management Controller found in the Mid 2013 MacBook Air refreshes.
Pulling
up a black cover grille, discover where Apple hid the power supply: it's
sandwiched between the I/O panel and the logic board.
The
power supply's connecting cables are cleverly conceived, but a bit tricky to
remove. Our handy Torx driver is helpful here and with that, the I/O board
and power supply peel away as a unit.
The
logic board is the next logical step. The CPU is the last to go, left clinging
to the side of the heat sink via a thin smear of thermal paste.
After
teasing it away with a spudger, decipher its markings: Quad-Core Intel
Xeon E5-1620 v2 with 10 MB L3 cache, clocked at 3.7 GHz, Turbo Boost up
to 3.9 GHz.
The
ICs on the rear of the logic board:
LGA
2011 (Socket R) CPU socket
Microchip EMC1428 8-Channel Temperature Sensor Monitor
International Rectifier IR3575 Synchronous Buck Gate Driver with integrated MOSFET and Schottky diode
NXP PA9517A Level Translating I2C-Bus Repeater
Texas Instruments 58872D
The front side of the logic board: Intersil ISL 6367 Hybrid Digital Dual PWM Controller
Microchip EMC1428 8-Channel Temperature Sensor Monitor
International Rectifier IR3575 Synchronous Buck Gate Driver with integrated MOSFET and Schottky diode
NXP PA9517A Level Translating I2C-Bus Repeater
Texas Instruments 58872D
The front side of the logic board: Intersil ISL 6367 Hybrid Digital Dual PWM Controller
Port
board,
Notable ICs on the back of the port board:
Broadcom BCM57762 Gigabit Ethernet Controller
Intel DSL5520 Thunderbolt 2 Controller
Fresco Logic FL1100 4-port USB 3.0 Host Controller
Parade PS8401A HDMI Jitter Cleaning Repeater
Delta 8904C-F
Notable ICs on the back of the port board:
Broadcom BCM57762 Gigabit Ethernet Controller
Intel DSL5520 Thunderbolt 2 Controller
Fresco Logic FL1100 4-port USB 3.0 Host Controller
Parade PS8401A HDMI Jitter Cleaning Repeater
Delta 8904C-F
The
front side of the port board: PLX Technology PEX8723 PCI Express Switch
Intel DSL5520 Thunderbolt 2 Controller Cirrus 4208-CRZ Audio Codec
Intersil 14AIRZ F335QV
Texas Instruments 58888D
Texas Instruments 58872D
Also along for the ride is a standard BR2032 CMOS battery
Intel DSL5520 Thunderbolt 2 Controller Cirrus 4208-CRZ Audio Codec
Intersil 14AIRZ F335QV
Texas Instruments 58888D
Texas Instruments 58872D
Also along for the ride is a standard BR2032 CMOS battery
With
a rated output of 12.1 Volts and 37.2 Amps, looking at a 450 Watt power supply.
The power supply has no dedicated cooling, and relies on the main system
fan to keep cool allowing the Mac Pro to idle at a whisper-quiet 12 dBA.
With
the I/O panel cover up, spot one last trio of unidentified ICs, labeled as
follows:
Two
M430 V380 H 39K CX88 G4
One M430 V380 H 39K CX7S G4
One M430 V380 H 39K CX7S G4
