Pro Desktop · The Aluminum Age · 2010
Mac Pro (2010)
The last of the great tower Mac Pros: up to 12 cores, four hard-drive bays and effortless expansion. Apple then let it stagnate for three years before the radical rethink.
Offered up to twelve Xeon cores in the classic tower.
Mac Pro (2013, "Trash Can") (2013)
Mac Pro (2010): key facts
When was the Mac Pro (2010) released?
The Mac Pro (2010) arrived on August 9, 2010. Apple discontinued it in 2013.
How much did the Mac Pro (2010) cost?
The Mac Pro (2010) launched at $2,499 in 2010, about $3,674 in today’s money (approximate, US CPI).
What specs stand out?
Key specs: Intel Xeon (Westmere) at 2.80 GHz, 3 GB RAM, 976.6 GB storage, External display.
Why does the Mac Pro (2010) matter?
Offered up to twelve Xeon cores in the classic tower.
Full specifications
| CPU | Intel Xeon (Westmere) · 2.80 GHz |
|---|---|
| Cores | 12 |
| Memory (RAM) | 3 GB (up to 64 GB) |
| Storage | 976.6 GB |
| Display | External |
| GPU | ATI Radeon HD 5770 |
| Ports | USB 2.0, FireWire 800, Ethernet, PCIe |
| Weight | 18.1 kg |
| Dimensions | Aluminium "cheese-grater" tower |
| Operating system | Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard |
| Released | August 9, 2010 |
| Discontinued | 2013 |
| Launch price | $2,499 |
How the Mac Pro (2010) compares to today
A 16 GB Apple Silicon MacBook Pro has about 5.3× more memory than this device shipped with.
At 2.80 GHz, the clock is roughly 1.1× slower than a single performance core of a 16 GB Apple Silicon MacBook Pro, and that is before counting cores, width and IPC.
This held about 250,000 modern phone photos, a respectable library even today.
Launched at $2,499 in 2010, about $3,674 in today’s money (approx., US CPI).
Method note: clock comparisons use frequency only; price conversions use US CPI.
Sources
Specs checked against Apple technical specifications archive, EveryMac, Mactracker, Wikimedia Commons image credits.
Did you know?
Pros loved it so much they kept buying it long after it went stale.
Related Pro Desktop models
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Last updated: 2026-08-11