Other World Computing on Tuesday announced a new turnkey upgrade program for late-2013 Mac Pros that offers replacement Intel Xeon CPUs and cheaper memory options not available directly from Apple.





After confirming in December that Apple's newly redesigned Mac Pro incorporates a socketed CPU, OWC is now taking advantage of the aftermarket replacement opportunity with its Turnkey Upgrade Program.

Instead of purchasing a new CPU outright, customers send their existing Mac Pros to OWC, which swaps out the old chip for one of four upgrade options. The process is akin to a trade-in program. Four Intel Xeon E5 options are available, including a 2.6GHz 8-Core model and a 3.0GHz 10-Core chip not sold by Apple.

OWC's CPU pricing (including trade-in of old processor):

Intel Xeon E5-2650 v2 8-Core 2.6GHz with 20MB Cache — $1498

Intel Xeon E5-2667 v2 8-Core 3.3GHz with 25MB Cache — $2448

Intel Xeon E5-2690 v2 10-Core 3.0GHz with 25MB Cache — $2396

Intel Xeon E5-2697 v2 12-Core 2.7GHz with 30MB Cache — $2978

The company noted all configurations, which are 25 percent to 45 percent faster than base factory processors, have been tested and meet or surpass Apple's thermal standards. They are also up to 31 percent cheaper than upgrading through the Apple Store at time of purchase.