It almost seems a shame to hide the beautiful, tubular body of the Mac Pro. Sonnet’s new xMac Pro Server ($TBD) is slated to ship in June, and that’s exactly what it does. It’s for a good reason, though — based on the company’s earlier xMac mini Server, this hardware turns the tower into a rack-mountable solution, adding expansion options, too.
One of the downsides to the redesigned Mac Pro is its lack of internal expansion, especially when it comes to PCIe card slots. xMac Pro Server adds the ability to use three full-length, full-height, single-width cards, or one double-width card and a single-width card, all connected over Thunderbolt 2 for the fastest possible speeds. There’s also room in the kit for extra hardware, such as hard drives or an optical drive.
Putting all this together in one box makes the setup portable. We’re not expecting this to be a cheap system—the Mac mini version costs almost $1,300—but in a number of settings, the cost may be well worth it.
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