Apple’s Mac Pro is an absolutely stunning machine. It has world-beating specifications, but its cylindrical, central-blower-fan-forced design also redefines what a desktop or workstation computer looks like. If you don’t care so much about the grace and elegance of your video- or data-crunching PC, though, there’s a cheaper way.
Lifehacker has a great post on the basic specifications you should start with when you’re putting together a machine the calibre of the Mac Pro; you’ll still need to spend a lot of money, but it’ll be a lot less than Apple is willing to charge you for a top-spec tower.
Building a Mac Pro-like from scratch also gives you the flexibility to upgrade when and if you need to. You do lose all of that compact, thermally-optimised processing and graphics power, but for some buyers a saving of a couple of thousand dollars can go a long way towards an Ultra HD screen or colour-accurate display monitor.
If you prefer the real thing, stay tuned — we’ll have a full Australian review of the latest Mac Pro in the next couple of weeks. [Lifehacker]