May 26, 2020 You can use your USB-C Power Adapter and charge cable with any Thunderbolt 3 or USB-C port on your Mac or iPad Pro. If you have an Apple TV connected to your TV, projector, or other display, you can use AirPlay to wirelessly stream video to that display, or extend the desktop of your primary display. Learn about using external monitors with. Apple released its first Thunderbolt-equipped computer in early 2011 with the MacBook Pro. The first Thunderbolt peripheral devices appeared in retail stores only in late 2011, with the relatively expensive Pegasus R4 (4-drive) and Pegasus R6 (6-drive) RAID enclosures by Promise Technology aimed at the prosumer and professional market, initially offering up to 12 TB of storage, later increased to 18 TB.
The Mac Pro introduced in 2019 has eight PCIe slots:
- Four double-wide slots
- Three single-wide slots
- One half-length slot preconfigured with the Apple I/O card
Mac Pro includes one or two Radeon Pro MPX Modules that occupy slots 1-2 and slots 3-4. You can choose your MPX Modules when you order your Mac Pro or order them separately from Apple. Learn how to install PCI cards in your Mac Pro (2019).
Apple AMD Radeon MPX Modules
Apple currently has four different Mac Pro Expansion (MPX) Modules that contain AMD Radeon Pro graphics processing units (GPUs). Radeon Pro MPX Modules can use slots 1-2 and slots 3-4, and you can install one or two of each module:
- Radeon Pro 580X MPX Module: one module only
- Radeon Pro W5700X MPX Module: one or two modules
- Radeon Pro W5500X MPX Module: one or two modules
- Radeon Pro Vega II MPX Module: one or two modules
- Radeon Pro Vega II Duo MPX Module: one or two modules
You can use Radeon MPX Modules along with other third-party PCIe graphics cards. If you use Boot Camp, using a Radeon MPX Module and a third-party AMD graphics card isn't supported when your Mac is using Windows. Learn about using AMD graphics cards with Microsoft Windows on Mac Pro (2019).
Apple I/O card
Mac Pro comes with the Apple I/O card, which has two Thunderbolt 3 ports, two USB-A ports, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The Apple I/O card comes preinstalled in slot 8 and can't be installed in another slot.
Third-party PCIe cards
You can install many different PCIe cards in your Mac Pro, such as fibre channel cards, fibre networking cards, and pro video and audio interface cards. The PCIe bus on your Mac Pro provides up to 300W auxillary power. If your PCIe card requires additional power, such as a GPU, use the Belkin Aux Power Cable.
Mac Pro supports the same GPUs that are supported by external graphics processors (eGPUs). If you use Boot Camp and want to install a NVIDIA card to use in Windows on your Mac, don't install the card in slot 2. Learn about using AMD graphics cards with Microsoft Windows on Mac Pro (2019).
Some older PCI cards might use 32-bit Option ROMs that aren't compatible with your Mac Pro. If you install a PCI card that uses 32-bit option ROMs, your Mac Pro might not start up correctly.
Afterburner
Afterburner is a hardware accelerator card made by Apple. Learn more about Afterburner.
RAID cards
If you want to add additional storage, you can install a third-party RAID card, such as a SAS RAID card, or you can install the Promise Pegasus R4i 32TB RAID MPX Module in one of the two MPX bays. If you use Boot Camp on your Mac, Windows doesn't support Apple software RAID volumes.
Learn more
Thunderbolt 3 offers a connection with state-of-the-art speed and versatility. Delivering twice the bandwidth of Thunderbolt 2, it consolidates data transfer, video output, and charging into a single compact connector. And with the integration of USB-C, convenience is added to the speed of Thunderbolt to create a truly universal port.
Supports up to four 4K displays or up to two 6K displays1
Connect new and existing devices
Blackmagic eGPU and eGPU Pro. More power to every pixel.
Blackmagic Design has created two external GPUs (eGPUs) ideal for your Thunderbolt 3–enabled Mac.2 So you can have desktop-class graphics performance without giving up the portability of a notebook. Housed in an all-in-one aluminum enclosure, Blackmagic eGPUs are powerful yet quiet, charge your Mac using Thunderbolt 3, and have built-in I/O connections to drive both a Thunderbolt 3 display and VR accessories simultaneously. Choose the Blackmagic eGPU to accelerate pro apps and enjoy supersmooth gaming or the Blackmagic eGPU Pro for the ultimate workstation-class graphics performance for your pro app workflows and VR content creation.
Buy Blackmagic eGPU
Buy Blackmagic eGPU Pro
Transferring data at speeds of up to 40Gb/s, which is two times faster than Thunderbolt 2 and eight times faster than USB 3, Thunderbolt 3 delivers the fastest connection to any dock, display, or device. You can also daisy-chain up to six Thunderbolt devices through a single port without needing a hub or a switch. So connecting a storage device to your computer, and then a display to your storage device, works as it’s meant to — with powerful throughput.8
Less than one minute to copy 25,000 photos
6K resolution. 20.4 million pixels.
One remarkable cable.
Thunderbolt 3 provides twice the display bandwidth of Thunderbolt 2, enabling your Mac to support up to four 4K displays or up to two 6K displays.1 Which means that with two Thunderbolt controllers in the 16-inch MacBook Pro, you can send graphics to dual 6K displays for the perfect high-resolution photo and video editing setup. Thunderbolt 3 connects to DisplayPort displays and monitors with a cable, while supporting HDMI and VGA displays with the use of an adapter.
With Thunderbolt 3, a single USB-C port can deliver power in both directions. So a port can charge a device or, alternatively, be charged by one. And it’s capable of delivering up to 100 watts of power, so a single cable can be used to connect to a dock or display and charge your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air simultaneously.
Up to 15W for
bus-powered devices
Up to 15W for bus-powered devices
Compatible with your existing devices.
Thunderbolt 3 with USB-C technology is a truly universal connection. With the help of an adapter or cable, you can connect just about any of your devices, including your existing Thunderbolt 2 devices.
Displays
Plug into displays using HDMI, VGA, DVI, DisplayPort, or Thunderbolt.
iOS Devices
Connect to iOS devices like iPhone and iPad.
Accessories
Use peripherals compatible with USB‑A, SD, Micro‑B, and Mini‑B.
Performance
Connect external graphics processors like the Blackmagic eGPU and external hard drives for extra storage.
The Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports on MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac Pro, iMac, and Mac mini are fully compatible with your existing devices and displays. Use the chart below to find out which adapter or cable you’ll need to connect to the ports on all your favorite devices.
Macbook Pro
Shop adaptersConnect to your Thunderbolt 3–enabled Mac using
Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter
Mac Pro Price
USB-C
USB-A
Lightning
Micro-B
Mini-B
Ethernet
HDMI
Apple USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter or
USB-C to HDMI adapter
DisplayPort
VGA
Apple USB-C VGA Multiport Adapter or
USB-C to VGA adapter
SD
DVI
Get the accessories, cables, and adapters you need.
Thunderbolt For Mac Pro Pci Software
Equipped with Thunderbolt 3, your Mac is ready to connect to a broad ecosystem of devices.
Thunderbolt For Mac Pro Pci Upgrade
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