Mac Pro Teardowns Show Off Surprisingly Repairable Powerhouse

Now that the first shipments of Apple's brand-new Mac Pro have started reaching customers, you know what that means: Teardown goodness.

Apple started taking orders for its revamped Mac Pro on Dec. 19, with a range of configuration options. Early reviews for the built-in-the-USA professional workstation are very positive, with the industrial design and raw power inside drawing accolades.

That's great and all, but how upgradable and repairable is the machine? For years, the Mac Pro line has remained one of the rare Apple products that allows the user to actively upgrade and switch out components. Some professional users worried that switching from the large, expandable workstation case to a small, cylindrical powerhouse would hamper its expandability.

If the teardowns from iFixit and Mac shop Other World Computing (OWC) are anything to go by, the new Mac Pro is a bit more modular than one might initially expect.

In fact, iFixit gives the Mac Pro a Repairability Score of 8/10 (10 being the easiest to repair), which makes it one of the most repairable Apple products in years. Not only does Apple eschew its normal routine of proprietary screws - going for the standard Torx variety instead - iFixit says that many components can be replaced independently.

The iFixit teardown also confirms what OWC first showed off last week - the Mac Pro CPU is user-replaceable. RAM upgrades are incredibly easy to perform, so buyers can likely save some money in their configurations by upgrading after purchase. Even the Mac Pro's single fan is easy to remove and replace.

The only real knock that iFixit gives the new Mac Pro is when it comes to internal storage. The nature of SSD design means that we'll need to wait for third parties to come out with compatible aftermarket PCIe storage modules. Luckily, this is something the folks at OWC have experience creating. It's also worth noting that the additional storage can be added via the copious amount of Thunderbolt 2 and USB 3 ports on the device itself.

Now, keep in mind that just because the Mac Pro is easy for users to tinker with does not mean that this is a machine that can accept most standard off-the-shelf parts. The RAM and CPU are standard workstation-class PC fare, but if you want to replace a graphics card or the logic board, that's still going to need an Apple-specific part. (This was also largely the case for the previous Mac Pro, at least in order to effectively use components of OS X.)

Still, it's worth celebrating the modularity of the new Mac Pro, insofar as it should make repairs or aftermarket upgrades feasible.

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.Photo: Thumbnail: iFixit, Mashable Composite; iFixit

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