The Mac Pro introduced in 2019 has eight PCIe slots:
- Four double-wide slots
- Three single-wide slots
- One half-length slot preconfigured with the Apple I/O card
Following the release of Apple Thunderbolt 3 computers like the Mac Mini 2018 and the iMac Pro, we have seen some confusion about which thunderbolt expansion chassis you can use with a Thunderbolt equipped Apple computer and so we thought it would be helpful to put together a guide especially as the transition to Thunderbolt 3 has muddied the waters in this area. In this video we present an exclusive demonstration of my old Mac Pro 2009 with a PCI-e Thunderbolt card running Pro Tools with a UAD Apollo Twin interface, showing it is possible to breathe yet more life into the Mac Pro 5,1 platform. Get Thunderbolt On Your Mac Pro 5,1. This is what you will need: An empty PCI-e Slot. A copy of Windows 10.
MSI ThunderboltM3 Add-On Card. Type: PCI Express to Thunderbolt; External Ports. A prime example is the latest MacBook Pro, which, while offering great performance, lacks the PCIe expansion slots necessary to support specialty cards that connect pro video and audio inputs, transcode data, and connect to high-speed storage and networks.
Mac Pro includes one or two Radeon Pro MPX Modules that occupy slots 1-2 and slots 3-4. You can choose your MPX Modules when you order your Mac Pro or order them separately from Apple. Learn how to install PCI cards in your Mac Pro (2019).
Apple AMD Radeon MPX Modules
Apple currently has four different Mac Pro Expansion (MPX) Modules that contain AMD Radeon Pro graphics processing units (GPUs). Radeon Pro MPX Modules can use slots 1-2 and slots 3-4, and you can install one or two of each module:
- Radeon Pro 580X MPX Module: one module only
- Radeon Pro W5700X MPX Module: one or two modules
- Radeon Pro W5500X MPX Module: one or two modules
- Radeon Pro Vega II MPX Module: one or two modules
- Radeon Pro Vega II Duo MPX Module: one or two modules
You can use Radeon MPX Modules along with other third-party PCIe graphics cards. If you use Boot Camp, using a Radeon MPX Module and a third-party AMD graphics card isn't supported when your Mac is using Windows. Learn about using AMD graphics cards with Microsoft Windows on Mac Pro (2019).
Apple I/O card
Mac Pro comes with the Apple I/O card, which has two Thunderbolt 3 ports, two USB-A ports, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. The Apple I/O card comes pre-installed in slot 8 and can't be installed in another slot.
Third-party PCIe cards
You can install many different PCIe cards in your Mac Pro, such as fibre channel cards, fibre networking cards and pro video and audio interface cards. The PCIe bus on your Mac Pro provides up to 300 W auxillary power. If your PCIe card requires additional power, such as a GPU, use the Belkin Aux Power Cable.
Mac Pro supports the same GPUs that are supported by external graphics processors (eGPUs). If you use Boot Camp and want to install a NVIDIA card to use in Windows on your Mac, don't install the card in slot 2. Learn about using AMD graphics cards with Microsoft Windows on Mac Pro (2019).
Some older PCI cards might use 32-bit Option ROMs that aren't compatible with your Mac Pro. If you install a PCI card that uses 32-bit option ROMs, your Mac Pro might not start up correctly.
Thunderbolt Pci Card For Mac Pro Upgrade
Afterburner
Thunderbolt Pci Card For Mac Pro 15
Afterburner is a hardware accelerator card made by Apple. Learn more about Afterburner.
RAID cards
If you want to add additional storage, you can install a third-party RAID card, such as a SAS RAID card, or you can install the Promise Pegasus R4i 32TB RAID MPX Module in one of the two MPX bays. If you use Boot Camp on your Mac, Windows doesn't support Apple software RAID volumes.