Mac Pro 2019 Teardown

– It may not have the high-end specs that are gifted to some of those YouTube tech giants, but this base model Mac Pro still comes with a price tag that’ll make your Apple Card sweat a little—coming in at a solid six grand. What do you get for that? Well, let’s break it down:

– Like the previous Mac Pro, this one is still ‘Assembled in the USA,’ with the magic happening in a Texas facility. And true to the Texas motto, everything’s bigger—including this new Mac Pro.

– An 8-core Intel Xeon processor that’s got 24.5 MB of L3 cache and can turbo up to a speedy 4.0 GHz.

– 32 GB of DDR4 ECC Memory, with four 8 GB modules running at 2666 MHz, so it’s built for performance.

– The AMD Radeon Pro 580X with 8 GB of GDDR5 VRAM, ready to handle whatever graphics you throw at it.

– 256 GB PCIe flash storage—because who wants to wait for data?

– Of course, you get 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0 to keep you connected, no matter what.

– From the side, the Mac Pro is all about that signature Apple look. Big, bold Apple logo? Check. Sleek, sturdy stainless steel? Check. Smooth, finely crafted aluminum panels? Check.

– From above, you can spot two more USB-C ports and a subtle power LED sitting just to the left of the power button.

– We’ve already seen the Mac Pro’s main handles, but what’s this bonus one up top? Let’s check it out.

– Ports are great and all, but the real excitement lies behind that sleek black exterior: eight PCIe slots, offering more upgrade potential than we’ve seen from Apple in ages.

– Could this be the magic button to open up the Mac Pro? Nah, it’s not that simple.

– Before we start disassembling, we decided to send our Mac Pro over to the folks at Creative Electron for a quick X-ray scan.

– It turns out, this Mac Pro is so massive it didn’t quite fit into the X-ray cabinet—but it’s looking pretty similar to a tower PC so far.

– So far, so good!

– Even though this new Mac Pro might look like a cheese grater, it’s definitely not designed for that! Just a friendly reminder from your pals at Salvation Repair: we often wonder why nobody sends us review units!

– Let’s dive in and open up the case! We’ve brought a whole toolbox for this teardown, but so far, our fingers are doing all the heavy lifting.

– Look at those handy dots! They let us know this handle is ready to rotate with ease.

– Just like Johann Schmidt gracefully handling the Tesseract, a simple twist and pull on this third handle reveals all the hidden treasures beneath.

– The housing slides right off—no fancy screws or sticky residue to worry about!

– Take a look inside and you’ll spot the locking mechanism, which might ring a bell…

– Zoom in and you’ll notice pogo pins hiding under the power button, lining up perfectly with…

– …matching contacts inside the housing. When you pull off the housing, those connections cut out, shutting off power. Pretty slick!

– No need to stress about the dark cluster of modules inside the case. Just grab the first switch you see and get started. The cool part is the diagram on the inside of the RAM covers—it’s like a map showing which DIMM slots to fill with different memory sizes. Once you remove the first memory cover, you’ll see two of the four RAM sticks that came with your base setup. There’s still plenty of space—up to eight more sticks—to upgrade if you want. Best of all, you don’t need any tools for this—if you’ve got opposable thumbs, you’re good to go. Ready to upgrade? If you need a hand, you can always schedule a repair.

– Each foot is secured with just a single screw—though these screws are tucked away deep in the slots of the space frame pillars, making them a bit tricky to reach. We’re using a 4 mm hex key and a Mako driver for that little extra oomph.

– Since we didn’t spring for the $400 wheel upgrade, it’s a relief to know we can swap out the wheels without making a trek to the Apple store.

– The I/O boards are held in place with Phillips head thumbscrews that you can loosen and tighten by hand—no fancy tools needed. Our trusty Manta Driver Kit can make this even easier. All PCIe cards are secured with a single switch (see step 2). Flip this switch to release a rail with little hooks that hold everything in place—one switch to free them all, another to lock them back in. If you need help, you can always schedule a repair.

– Module mania! The I/O board, video card, and power supply all make their grand exit from the same side of the case.

– Last but not least, the power supply is the final module that’s a breeze to remove. It’s secured with just a single T8 Torx screw.

– Update Teardown: Let’s take a fun peek at this custom AMD Radeon Pro 580X video card module: When you lift the release latch, it engages two rollers on the flip side, which simultaneously releases the card and gently pushes it away from the motherboard. Unlike the module itself, the silicon inside doesn’t come out with a clever lever! A few sneaky screws are hiding under a big sticker on top of the cooling fins, and we have to carefully disengage the lever mechanism before we can finally pull out the card. For your effort, you’ll be rewarded with the following highlights: The main event! AMD’s Radeon Pro 580X, an iteration of their Pro 500 series for Macs, built on their 14 nm Polaris architecture, featuring 36 compute units. Two rows of Micron GDDR5 VRAM, totaling 8 GB. Two MegaChips MCDP2920 chips, probably similar to their MCDP2900 DisplayPort 1.4 to HDMI 2.0 converter. An International Rectifier IR35217 buck controller (similar to the IR35211) and NXP’s L6524 I/O expander. If you need help, you can always schedule a repair.

– Look at that! Lifting off the blower fan housing uncovers the itty-bitty SSD.

– A modular SSD is always a win, but this one is tied to the T2 chip, so swapping it yourself isn’t happening.

– Still, you’ve got plenty of other storage options up your sleeve, so all is not lost!

– The three-fan setup pops out as a single unit. It’s fastened with six screws and connects to the logic board via spring contacts—no tricky cables to wrestle with!

– These three tower fans draw cool air in through those iconic cheese-grater holes up front, push it over the logic board and heat sinks, and then the blower fan sweeps out the hot air at the back.

– Some fun tidbits about this design:

– Most tower PCs have individual fans for the CPU and GPU, plus front and rear case fans. The Mac Pro keeps it simple with just front and rear fans, which are supposed to keep everything cool—even when things get intense.

– Usually, towers have a filter to catch dust and debris pulled in by the fans. Apple’s engineers say this one doesn’t need it, but we’ll see how much dust builds up over time.

– Ah, look at this little guy! A tiny module tucked between two sets of DIMM slots—it’s probably the speaker.

– Now that we’ve cleared most of the clutter, let’s focus on the heart of the operation: the CPU. It’s currently hiding under a massive heat sink, locked in place by some sneaky T15 Torx Plus screws.

– Since there isn’t a dedicated guide for swapping the CPU, we’re going off-script. Unscrew the heat sink bracket from the back of the logic board to free both the bracket and the CPU (Intel Xeon W-3223) from the LGA 3647 socket.

– The power button is connected to some nifty pogo pins, but it’s the breakout board that does most of the heavy lifting with physical cables. No worries though, it comes out without a hitch, clearing the way to the logic board.

– Now, it’s time to slide the logic board out from its cozy little home.

– This board is massive—it’s like something straight out of an Xbox, not the old 2013 Mac Pro. Definitely gives off those tower PC vibes!

– Our base model might look a little minimal, but don’t be fooled—there’s still a lot of silicon packed onto this big board:

– 2x aQuantia AQtion AQC107-B1-C multi-gig ethernet controllers

– 2x Diodes Incorporated PI3DBS16 PCIe Thunderbolt 3 signal muxes

– Pericom (now part of Diodes Incorporated) P17C9X PCIe packet switch

– TPS 51980A TI 921 A57R buck converter

– PLX Technology PEX8798-AB80B1 G 1907 CB007158 TA1BAN—most likely a PCIe switch

– 3x Primarion (now Infineon) PXE1610CDN, which are probably PMICs

– Flip over to Side B and let’s see what treasures we’ve got:

– Apple APL1027 339S00606 T2 coprocessor

– Apple 338S00342-A0 (most likely the Apple PMIC)

– Intel C621 Chipset

– Six Diodes Incorporated PI3DBS16 PCIe Thunderbolt 3 Signal Multiplexers

– Ten Diodes Incorporated PI3EQX8904 PCIe ReDrivers

– Two Diodes Incorporated PI3PCIE3242A PCIe switches and two PI3PCIE3442A PCIe switches from Diodes Incorporated

– NXP L6524 general purpose I/O expander

– This repair guide walks you through the process of working on the new Mac Pro, highlighting its repair-friendly design features like modular components, standard screws, and helpful diagrams directly on the device. While Apple has improved accessibility, some parts like the proprietary SSD still require special attention, and certain manuals may suggest contacting an authorized service provider—though many repairs can be done at home. Keep in mind that repairability is improving, making this one of the most approachable Apple devices to service in recent years. Follow each step carefully, and if you encounter challenges, remember you can always schedule a repair with Salvation Repair for assistance.