The actual hardware swap was easy, taking no more than five minutes to complete in both cases. The OWC 128 RAM kit, however, couldn’t have been easier. Replacing a CPU, however, is a little more complex.Īdding a new OWC Aura Pro X2 to this MacPro (Late 2013) should have been straightforward, but as none of the Apple firmware updates had been applied through OS upgrades, it proved to be a bit of a challenge. It should make the apps run faster and give an added boost to some of the new OWC hardware already added, mainly the RAM and SSD.
The CPU upgrade will hopefully boost the overall performance further. The MacPro (Late 2013) went from only running one or two power-hungry applications at a time to happily running Premiere Pro and Photoshop without issue. While not showing a huge performance difference when it came to benchmarks, the RAM upgrade showed a huge real-world performance boost. Our test machine is a standard 6-core, and upgrading the hard drive and RAM has already boosted the real-world speed. The performance difference with each CPU model was quite a leap, and while RAM and storage will give the machine a boost, the CPU is the real driving force behind the processing. The same basic model was on sale for six years, which has to be a testament to just how good these machines were.
To purchase the OWC 12-Core CPU for Mac Pro (Late 2013) please check out /item/OWC/DIDMP13X2697/ As with the previous generation of MacPro, Apple included enterprise-level processors in their machines which partly explained the price, $6499 in October 2013, and longevity of the machines. When the Mac Pro (Late 2013), or Mac Pro 6,1, launched, it hit the streets with several CPU options, 4, 6, 8 and 12-Core, all Intel Xenon chips, with each upgrade commanding a huge additional expense for the purchaser. It’s essentially the part of the computer that does the computing it’s also one of the smallest and most expensive components. A computer’s CPU is a component that’s somewhat shrouded in mystery, especially when it comes to Apple.