What all the differences between the "2019" Mac Pro and the "Late 2013" Cylinder Mac Pro models replaced?

Perhaps a better question would be what do the "Late 2013" Cylinder and "2019" Tower Mac Pro models actually have in common? The short answer would be... not much.

After three years with no updates to the "Late 2013" Cylinder Mac Pro, and essentially an apology from the company, Apple promised to work on "completely rethinking the Mac Pro" and the "2019" Mac Pro is the result of this effort.

As documented by EveryMac.com, there are five "Late 2013" Cylinder Mac Pro models -- the Mac Pro "Quad Core" 3.7, "Six Core" 3.5, "Eight Core" 3.0, and "Twelve Core" 2.7 -- and five "2019" Tower Mac Pro models -- the Mac Pro "Eight Core" 3.5, "12-Core" 3.3, "16-Core" 3.2, "24-Core" 2.7, and "28-Core" 2.5 -- but this Q&A primarily addresses collective differences for relative simplicity.

Photo Credit: Apple, Inc. (Left: 2013 Cylinder; Right: 2019 Tower)

Ideological Differences

It is obvious with even a brief glance at the two Macs side-by-side that they look very different from one another.

The "Late 2013" Mac Pro, with its small cylinder case and limited internal expansion apart from memory and storage -- but many high speed ports for external expansion -- was intentionally "radical" and intended to be a "reimagined" Mac for professional users. As EveryMac.com noted when it was released, it had little in common with previous Mac Pro models and was instead more of a turbo charged Mac mini or Power Mac G4 Cube than an actual Mac Pro descendant.

The "2019" Mac Pro represents Apple's public acceptance that professionals have work to do, are not that interested in anything radical, and earlier Mac Pro designs were better. Accordingly, the "2019" Mac Pro is Apple's return to a properly expandable, professional Mac. In fact, with twelve RAM slots and eight PCIe slots, you have to go back not just to the tower Mac Pro models of 2012, but all the way back to the Power Mac 9600/350 in 1997 to find a Mac with roughly equivalent expansion capabilities.

External & Connectivity Differences

The "Late 2013" Mac Pro uses a small glossy dark gray cylinder case that is only 9.9 inches tall and 6.6 inches in diameter and weighs just 11 pounds. By contrast, the "2019" Mac Pro is silver colored and a comparatively large 20.8 inches tall, 8.58 inches wide, and 17.7 inches deep. It weighs just under 40 pounds.

The "Late 2013" Mac Pro has four USB 3.0 ports, six Thunderbolt 2 ports, dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, an HDMI 1.4 UltraHD port, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.0.

As you would expect from any system shipped six years later, the "2019" Mac Pro has much more advanced connectivity, although comparatively fewer ports. It has two USB 3 ports, four Thunderbolt 3 ports, two 10Gb Ethernet ports, two HDMI 2.0 ports (on the video card if only one is installed), a 3.5 mm headphone jack, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 5.0.

Identification Differences

There is no mistaking the "Late 2013" and "2019" Mac Pro models for one another. However, specific identifiers may be helpful in the future.

The "Late 2013" Mac Pro models can be collectively identified by design, but also externally by the A1481 Model Number listed along the outer edge of the bottom metal plate as well as the also external 2630 EMC Number. In software, the "Late 2013" Mac Pro models can be collectively identified by the MacPro6,1 Model Identifier.

The "2019" Mac Pro models in tower cases can be collectively identified by the A1991 Model Number and 3203 EMC Number and those in rack-mountable cases can be collectively identified by the A2304 Model Number and 3413 EMC Number. In software, they also all can be collectively identified by the MacPro7,1 Model Identifier.

EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Lookup feature additionally can identify the "Late 2013" and "2019" Mac Pro models by their serial numbers.

More information about specific identifiers is provided in EveryMac.com's extensive Mac Identification section.

Internal Differences

Other than Intel Xeon processors (of significantly different generations), the "Late 2013" and "2019" Mac Pro lines have little in common internally.

Photo Credit: Apple, Inc. (Opened: Left: 2013 Cylinder; Right: 2019 Tower)

The small "Late 2013" Mac Pro models have an "Ivy Bridge-EP" Xeon processor, four DDR3 ECC SDRAM (PC3-15000) compatible RAM slots, two default AMD FirePro D300 or D500 graphics processors, and a single "blade" PCIe-based SSD. It does not have traditional drive bays or PCIe expansion slots at all.

The much larger "2019" Mac Pro models, on the other hand, have "Cascade Lake" Intel Xeon W processors, twelve DDR4 ECC SDRAM (PC21300 or PC23400) compatible RAM slots, a variety of graphic card options, and one or dual proprietary SSDs. It does not have traditional drive bays, either, but it has eight PCIe slots that open the door to a wide variety of internal expansion options.

macOS Support Differences

As you would expect for two Macs shipped six years apart, macOS support is quite different.

The "Late 2013" Mac Pro models first shipped with OS X 10.9 "Mavericks" whereas the "2019" Mac Pro first shipped with macOS Catalina (10.15). Both lines are compatible with the current version of macOS Big Sur (macOS 11).

Comparison Chart

All of the major differences between the "Late 2013" and "2019" Mac Pro models -- processors, architecture, configuration, connectivity, expansion, macOS support, identifiers, and price -- are summarized below:

	"Late 2013" Mac Pro	"2019" Mac Pro
Xeon Processors:	4-Core E5-1620v2 6-Core E5-1650v2 8-Core E5-1680v2 12-Core E5-2697v2	8-Core W-3223 12-Core W-3235 16-Core W-3245 24-Core W-3265M 28-Core W-3275M
Std. RAM:	12 GB 16 GB	32 GB
Max. RAM:	64 GB	768 MB, 1.5 TB
Actual Max. RAM:	128 GB	1 TB, 1.5 TB
RAM Type:	1866 MHz DDR3 (PC3-15000)	2666/2933 MHz DDR4 (PC21300/PC23400)
RAM Slots:	4	12
Video Options:	AMD FirePro D300 x2 AMD FirePro D500 x2 AMD FirePro D700 x2	Radeon Pro 580X Radeon Pro W5500X Radeon Pro W5700X Radeon Pro Vega II Radeon Pro Vega II Duo
Standard VRAM:	2 GB, 3 GB	8, 16, 32 GB
Standard SSD:	256 GB	256 GB
Expansion Slots:	None	8 PCIe
USB Ports:	4 (USB 3)	2 (USB 3)
Thunderbolt Ports:	6 Thunderbolt 2	4 Thunderbolt 3
HDMI:	1 HDMI (1.4 UltraHD)	2 HDMI 2.0
Ethernet:	Gigabit x2	10Gb x 2
Wi-Fi:	802.11ac	802.11ac
Bluetooth:	Bluetooth 4.0	Bluetooth 5.0
Original OS X:	Mavericks (10.9)	Catalina (10.15)
Maximum OS X:	Current	Current
Model Number:	A1481	A1991/A2304
EMC Number:	2630	3203/3413
Model Identifier:	MacPro6,1	MacPro7,1
Case Color:	Dark Gray	Silver
Dimensions (In):	9.9 x 6.6	20.8 x 8.58 x 17.7
Weight (Lbs):	11 lbs.	39.7 lbs.
Intro. Price (US):	US$2999 US$3999	US$5999+
Intro. Price (UK):	£2499 £3299	£5499+
Intro. Price (CA):	C$3099 C$4099	C$7499+
Intro. Price (AU):	A$3999 A$5299	A$9999+
Intro. Price (SG):	S$4288 S$5688	S$8699+

For introductory pricing in dozens of other countries, see the "Global Prices" on the specs page for each Mac as well as the "By Global Original Prices" section of EveryMac.com.

Comparison Summary

Ultimately, the "Late 2013" Cylinder Mac Pro and "2019" Tower Mac Pro thankfully have little in common. The "2019" Mac Pro is powerful and expandable and although it is far from cheap, for those who appreciate upgrades and who are not on a tight budget, it is a great Mac.

EveryMac.com looks forward to the possibility of additional professional systems -- desktop and notebook, ideally -- in the future that offer a return to upgrade potential, as well.

In the US, site sponsor Adorama sells new Mac Pro models with free shipping. Other World Computing sells used and refurb Mac Pro models at bargain prices with free shipping, as well. On the other hand, if you need to sell a Mac Pro, A+ BBB-rated Cash for Your Mac will buy your older one with an instant quote and prompt payment.

Permalink | Report an Error/Typo | Sign Up for Site Update Notices

<< Mac Pro No Optical Drive (2019+) Q&A (Main) | All Mac Q&As

---

Established in 1996, EveryMac.com has been created by experts with decades of experience with Apple hardware. EveryMac.com includes, and always has included, original research incorporating detailed, hands-on inspection of packaging, computers, and devices as well as extensive real-world use. All information is provided in good faith, but no website or person is perfect. Accordingly, EveryMac.com is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind whatsoever. EveryMac.com, and the authors thereof, shall not be held responsible or liable, under any circumstances, for any damages resulting from the use or inability to use the information within. For complete disclaimer and copyright information please read and understand the Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy before using EveryMac.com. Copying, scraping, or use of any content without expressed permission is not allowed, although links to any page are welcomed and appreciated.