The Radeon PRO W6000X series consists of semi-custom models for Apple. While the 32GB models of the Radeon PRO W6800X with 3840 stream processors and the Radeon PRO W6900X with 5120 stream processors are “boringly expected”, the Radeon PRO W6800X Duo is much more interesting.
Card equipped with a pair of GPUs Navi 21 with a total of 7680 stream-processors (2 × 3840), 512bit bus (2 × 256), 64GB memory (2 × 32 GB), 256MB Infinity Cache (2 × 128 MB) and 400W TDP recalls a time when AMD and before it ATi equipped the top models of some generations of gaming graphics cards with a pair of GPUs. While in the gaming segment such a solution required very intensive support from the drivers (and optimally also from the application), in the field of professional graphics (and in computer accelerators) the situation is much simpler and dual solutions have something to offer.
As for the implementation for Apple, we see at the top left the so-called MPX connector, which is capable of supplying the card up to 475 watts of power, to the right of it a classic PCIe × 16, which can supply the card up to 75 watts. Among the output connectors (right) there is a Thunderbolt 3 supporting a transmission speed of 40Gb / s. The two GPUs are then connected by Infinity Fabric Link, achieving up to 5x higher transfer speeds than PCIe would be able to offer.
All three new features are available in the Mac Pro configurator. All three can be installed individually or in pairs. However, it is very surprising that Apple charges significantly less for the dual 64GB Radeon PRO W6800X Duo with 7680 stream processors than for the single-chip 32GB Radeon PRO W6900X. As a standard, the price of the set includes the Radeon PRO 580X (8GB), which can be replaced during configuration by various cards, including the following new products for the prices listed below (surcharges):
- 1× Radeon PRO W6800X: $2400
- 2 × Radeon PRO W6800X: $ 5200 (which means, among other things, that the Radeon PRO 580X costs $ 400)
- 1× Radeon PRO W6900X: $5600
- 2× Radeon PRO W6900X: $11600
- 1× Radeon PRO W6800X Duo: $4600
- 2× Radeon PRO W6800X Duo: $9600
If Apple does not have a typo in the price of the card in the configurator, then the dual W6800X seems to be more advantageous than the single-chip W6900X.
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