Prototype next-gen Mac Pro detailed: redesigned, rackable, stackable

Current Mac Pros’ design deputed in the form of the Power Mac G5 in mid-2003, almost eight years ago. Since then, the Mac Pro has received processor, RAM and storage updates, but the exterior design is basically the same. So, it’s not surprisingly that Apple is now toying with the re-designed version of the Mac Pro. A Mac Pro prototype is now in testing that features a narrower (just about 5 inches wide) and shorter (about 19 inches) design. One of the reasons that Apple might be making this particular Mac Pro prototype smaller is because it is able to fit on to a standard server rack. This makes sense in that a rack-mountable Mac Pro could easily replace the gaping hole in the product line left by the discontinued Xserve. The rumor says that the new Mac Pro features stacked drives with two drives per sled for a higher storage density than is currently available. The sleds can be configured either with SSDs or conventional hard drives. New Mac Pros would also have a Thunderbolt port and perhaps even BluRay options for the Final Cut Professionals.