The new M2 Ultra Mac Pro marks the end of the transition from Intel to Apple’s own processors. With that, the Cupertino firm no longer sells Macs with an Intel chip – almost three years since the first computers with the M1 processor were announced.
That said, M2 Ultra Mac Pro customers might wonder what they can do with the expandable PCIe slots, which is the main feature of the priciest Mac. Although it doesn’t offer upgradeable RAM, CPU, or GPU, Apple still believes this computer can be helpful for the most demanding users.
With the new Mac Pro, users can install many different PCIe cards, such as:
- Fibre channel cards
- Fiber networking cards
- Video and audio I/O cards
- Storage cards
- Ethernet cards
Apple says the PCIe slots of the M2 Ultra Mac Pro each provide up to 75W of power. The computer also provides up to 300W of AUX power through two 6-pin (75W each) and one 8-pin (150W) connector. The Cupertino firm recommends the Belkin Aux Power Cable if your PCIe card requires more power.
In addition, pro users can remove the supplied I/O card in slot 7, which contains a 3.5mm headphone jack with support for high-impedance headphones, two HDMI ports, and two USB-A ports that can be used to install another half-length, x4 PCIe card.
M2 Ultra Mac Pro and Mac Studio offer these display configurations
In addition to the PCIe cards, the M2 Ultra Mac Pro can handle several different display configurations. Apple says the Mac Pro and the Mac Studio with the Ultra chip support up to eight external displays. The Mac Pro has two port groups that each support up to four displays. An 8K at 60Hz (or 4K at 240Hz) display connected over HDMI uses the bandwidth of two displays in that port group.
Here’s what you can do:
One external display
Supports one external display in any one of these configurations:
- One display up to 6K at 60Hz (or 4K at 144Hz) over Thunderbolt
- One display up to 8K at 60Hz (or 4K at 240Hz) over HDMI
Two external displays
Supports two external displays in any one of these configurations:
- Two displays up to 6K at 60Hz (or 4K at 144Hz) over Thunderbolt
- Two displays up to 8K at 60Hz (or 4K at 240Hz) over HDMI
- One display up to 6K at 60Hz (or 4K at 144Hz) over Thunderbolt, and one display up to 8K at 60Hz (or 4K at 240Hz) over HDMI
Three external displays
Supports three external displays in any one of these configurations:
- Three displays up to 6K at 60Hz (or 4K at 144Hz) over Thunderbolt
- Two displays up to 6K at 60Hz (or 4K at 144Hz) over Thunderbolt, and one display up to 8K at 60Hz (or 4K at 240Hz) over HDMI
- Two displays up to 8K at 60Hz (or 4K at 240Hz) over HDMI, and one display up to 6K at 60Hz (or 4K at 144Hz) over Thunderbolt
Four external displays
Supports four external displays in any one of these configurations:
- Four displays up to 6K at 60Hz (or 4K at 144Hz) over Thunderbolt
- Three displays up to 6K at 60Hz (or 4K at 144Hz) over Thunderbolt in port group 1, and one display up to 8K at 60Hz (or 4K at 240Hz) over HDMI in port group 2
- Two displays up to 6K at 60Hz (or 4K at 144Hz) over Thunderbolt, and two displays up to 8K at 60Hz (or 4K at 240Hz) over HDMI
Five external displays
Supports five external displays in any one of these configurations:
- Four displays up to 6K at 60Hz (or 4K at 144Hz) over Thunderbolt in port group 1, and one display up to 60K at 60Hz (or 4K at 144Hz) over Thunderbolt in port group 2
- Four displays up to 6K at 60Hz (or 4K at 144Hz) over Thunderbolt in port group 1, and one display up to 8K at 60Hz (or 4K at 240Hz) over HDMI in port group 2
Six external displays
Supports six external displays in any one of these configurations:
- Four displays up to 6K at 60Hz (or 4K at 144Hz) over Thunderbolt in port group 1, and two displays up to 6K at 60Hz (or 4K at 144Hz) over Thunderbolt in port group 2
- Two displays up to 6K at 60Hz (or 4K at 144Hz) over Thunderbolt in port group 1, Two displays up to 6K at 60Hz (or 4K at 144Hz) over Thunderbolt in port group 2, and two displays up to 4K at 144Hz over HDMI
- Three displays up to 6K at 60Hz (or 4K at 144Hz) over Thunderbolt in port group 1, two displays up to 6K at 60Hz (or 4K at 144Hz) over Thunderbolt in port group 2, and one display up to 4K at 144Hz over HDMI in port group 2
Seven external displays
Supports seven external displays in this configuration:
- Seven displays up to 4K at 60Hz (or 4K at 144Hz) over Thunderbolt and HDMI
Eight external displays
Supports eight external displays in this configuration:
- Eight displays up to 4K at 60Hz (or 4K at 144Hz) over Thunderbolt and HDMI.
