Can I upgrade my Intel Mac Pro to M2 processor?

You cannot upgrade the processor. Also the Mac Pro is not out for sale yet. It is in pre-order. They did not announce the upgrade kit. It’s a replacement. If you want a new Mac Pro you have to pay $7000 dollars for that.

The Mac Pro is out June 13

At this writing, Apple has not announced any plans to provide Apple-silicon upgrades for ANY Intel Macs. Since Apple is the ONLY supplier of Apple-silicon system-on-a-chip, I do not expect any upgrade cards will be available.

Your only options are to buy a new Apple-silicon Mac Pro, PROVIDED you can obtain the features you desire. As Servant of Cats points out, memory size may be an issue for you.

If Apple ever did offer such an upgrade (which would require a full motherboard replacement, at the very least), you’d also lose the ability to use PCIe graphics cards and MPX graphics modules, neither of which are supported on the new Mac Pro.

Around the time that the 2019 Mac Pro came out, Apple was saying that a bug factor behind the redesign was that customers wanted the ability to install one very high-end GPU. (The 2013 Mac Pro “trash can” had twin GPUs, but was limited as to ability to accept others. And applications did not always take advantage of both of the GPUs.)

With the 2023 Mac Pro, you can have any GPU you want as long as it is the one in the M2 Ultra.

as in, you can upgrade to the new Mac Pro tower with the new M2 processor, while still using your current pereferals. (keyboard, mouse, monitor, etc.)

an intel Mac (of any flavour) uses many different chips on a "logic board".

the M1 / M2 Macs are what is called "system on a chip". the CPU, GPU, memory are all on a single chip. there is no compatibility between ANY intel Macs with M1 / M2 Macs.

The announced product is a replacement for your Mac Pro 2019 model, not an upgrade kit.

to upgrade, convert your Mac Pro 2019 to CASH (by selling it) and buy the new M2 version as a replacement.

you've been given solid advice and responses from Grant Bennet-Alder. no one here can say anything different. you will not be able to put an M1 / M2 chip into an intel Mac Pro no matter how angry that makes you. sorry.

Apple has not announced such a product.

Speculation about un-released Apple products is prohibited here.

Anyone here with accurate insider information is already under non-disclosure agreement, and simply can't say.

Hi,

Try to Trade In of your Mac Pro for purchasing new Mac Pro.

sorry, it cannot be done. period. please see the other responses to this thread. especially those from Grant Bennet-Alder.

Apple wants you to buy a new one.

So I was hoping that $30k spent in 2019 might mean at least I could use the chassis of the “old” machine to fit the new M2 processor in. Modular my ***.. it’s also so environmentally unfriendly, that thing was built to last. It seems like such a crime to consign it to history so soon.

Wait, let’s not get out of ahead of ourselves. There is information out there to the contrary. I think we’re just trying to get to the bottom of this, let’s not jump the gun and shoot it down before the subject has probably been discussed.

well, all I could add is that my iMac is also a 2019 model, very much upgraded specs. I spent a lot on it too. (although nowhere near $30K) AFAICT, Sonoma will likely be the end of the line for it. and if apple continues their policy of updating the three recent versions, support for my iMac will end in the fall of 2026. by then I'm sure I'll be craving an M.x iMac myself.

and two things for you to consider:

1. a Mac Pro can typically get at least one version newer than the last version for the same model year iMac.
2. if the Mac Pro still works for you after support ends, there is no reason that you have to stop using it.

I know that even if I do get the M.x iMac in 2026, I'll definitely keep using my "old workhorse" as I do things with it that I'm sure won't work on any future macOS.