Are new Mac Pros in our future? The initial Mac OS X 10.7.3 Beta build was released to developers recently, and some developers have noticed traces of new video drivers for an upcoming AMD graphics card. A series of function names referencing the codename “Tahiti” are present in the drivers. “Tahiti” is the codename for AMD’s upcoming 28nm desktop graphics cards which are due in January 2012.
MacRumors reports:
The new Tahiti series should end up with Radeon HD 7xxx branding and as it will come in XT and PRO flavours. It’s kind of safe to assume that Radeon HD 7970, codename Tahiti XT will be the fastest single chip card from AMD while the Radeon HD 7950 will be codename for the Tahiti PRO product.
MacRumors also notes that MacGadget.de has pointed out that this must be in place for the Mac Pro, as it’s the only Mac that still uses Desktop-class graphics cards (translated):
The presence of these drivers suggests that Apple will release the aforementioned graphics chip with the next-generation Mac Pro. The Mac Pro is the only Mac-series, which are used in desktop graphics chips. In all other Macs GPU Mobile versions can be found.
Apple could be including this support for existing models of the Mac Pro, but Apple usually doesn’t work along those lines. They typically introduce new graphics card support with each new product revision.
The presence of these drivers does not prove Apple is working on a new Mac Pro. Previous rumors have suggested Apple has a new version of the Mac Pro ready to go, but they’re not sure if they’re going to release it. The rumor stated:
The consensus among sales executives for the Cupertino-based company was that the Mac Pro’s days — at least in its current form — were inevitably numbered. In particular, internal discussions were said to focus around the fact that sales of the high-end workstations to both consumers and enterprises have dropped off so considerably that the Mac Pro is no longer a particularly profitable operation for Apple.
The Mac Pro was last updated by Apple more than 15 months ago in July, 2010.