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The CPU and RAM are socketed and it has standard expansion slots. I don’t know about the SSD. Of course, the big question is the drivers etc. Also, you will be missing out on some of the more fancy features (like internal TB port rerouting or cooling system integration) if you don’t use Apple-made GPUs for example
Apple SSDs are not M.2 but just NAND blades, same as iMac Pro, with the SSD controller in the T2/T3. In theory, you can get bigger ones later.
You can install standard M.2 SSDs exactly like you install in a MP5,1 today, MP7,1 has a lot of PCIe slots =)
You can replace the CPU & the RAM...
If there is a Mac driver for it, you can put just about any PCIe card into it...
Yes, the Apple MPX modules & Apple-approved third-party MPX modules will be the optimal choice for using the PCIe slots in regards to integrating best with the system & cooling, but they are not required...
I mean, except for that bare bones kit; you know, the one that comes with an 8C/16T Skylake-SP CPU, 32GB RAM, 256GB SSD (single NAND module), & RX 580 GPU...
Sweet spot just might be:
12C/24T Cascade Lake-SP (?) Xeon CPU
96GB DDR4 RAM (6 @ 16GB 2933 DIMMs)
1TB SSD (2 @ 512GB NAND modules)
Afterburner card
Radeon Pro Vega II Duo GPU MPX module
Promise 32TB R4i RAID MPX module
Pro Display XDR with nano-etched matte screen option
Pro Display XDR monitor stand
Magic Keyboard with numeric keypad
Magic Mouse 2
Mac Pro wheels
US$20K...?
AFAIK from all documentation that I read on T2, Intel CPU is not managed by the T2/T3, just storage/camera/audio.
as @tsialex says the T2 chip does not do anything with the CPU, on the iMac Pro at least, it hangs off the chipsets PCIe lanes anyway
(its also worth noting a few people have upgraded the CPU in their iMac Pros without any issues AFAIK
)That will be a good news. If all CPU, GPU, RAM, storage are self upgradable (I mean via PCIe slots or the SATA ports, but not replace the original one), then this 7,1 is really the modern version of cMP.
I was in the studio yesterday, either the staff had no clue, or they were incorrect in saying that the CPU wasn’t readily user upgradeable. They did say that if it were upgradeable, that it would be an Apple only or AASP option, which is fair. The engineers I spoke to there said that it wasn’t designed with the CPU being replaceable in mind.
GPU is upgradeable and SSD is upgradeable.
I note that on the iMac Pro, you could replace the CPU, but you break the VOID sticker if you remove it from the socket.
The AR breakdown shows that the CPU looks socketed, so they may follow the same path here.
GPU is upgradeable and SSD is upgradeable.
I note that on the iMac Pro, you could replace the CPU, but you break the VOID sticker if you remove it from the socket.
The AR breakdown shows that the CPU looks socketed, so they may follow the same path here.