The cool cats at iFixit have completed and posted their full teardown of the long-awaited 5K iMac Pro and discovered the following nifty features and components:
– The iMac Pro features a massive dual fan cooler to help keep the CPU and GPU cool. The computer is also notably quiet, even when performing intensive operations that would send a standard cooling fan into overdrive.
– The lack of a full sized desktop hard drive allows for additional space inside the iMac pro for additional components.
– The 5K iMac lacks an external RAM door, which made for easy RAM upgrades on previous model iMacs.
– The rear air vent is about 80% larger to increase cooling capability. There is also a dual-port air intake near the bottom of the machine beneath the revamped I/O.
– The 5K iMac Pro uses standard 288-pin RAM sticks, which are technically user-replaceable, but are much more difficult to access. Apple advises users to consult an authorized repair technician for these upgrades.
– The 5K iMac maxes out at 128GB of RAM and features four RAM slots.
– The 5K iMac base model uses two 512GB SSD units configured in a striped RAID setup, allowing for 1TB of flash storage.
– As expected the GPU is soldered onto the logic board, meaning it’s non-upgradeable. The CPU itself is not soldered down, meaning it may be able to be upgradable. iFixit has noted that the CPU appears to be custom silicon provided by Intel, instead of an off-the-shelf Intel Xeon W class chip.
– Apple has incorporated an Intel Xeon W-2140B inside the base model iMac Pro, which is likely an underclocked version of its W-2145 for heat management reasons.
– Other features include a 2x Thunderbolt 3 controller from Intel (1 controller per two ports), and a Genesys Logic SD 4.0 memory card controller, which handles work from the faster USH-II memory card reader.
– Other custom Apple chips include the Apple T2, and what appears to be the A10 Fusion coprocessor, the Apple 338S00268. The T2 handles SMC functions, ISP for the FaceTime Camera, audio control, and more. It also controls aspects of hardware encryption, which introduces some interesting new hardware restore options that are presently exclusive to the iMac Pro.
– The 5K iMac Pro features the same 5K display found in the 2017 5K iMac. As such, there are no screen enhancements for the iMac Pro.