Macs, and in particular the Mac Pro absolutely DO NOT use "The Same Hardware" as PCs.
Your post is misleading. Some may interpret it as meaning Macs use standard PC parts. They do not. For better or worse, nearly all Mac Pro (and iMac, Mini) parts are highly Proprietary.
The CPUs, GPUs, hard drives, RAM, etc are all available for PCs as well. The logic board is custom, so is PSU but you can get equivalent for PC (with similar ports, wattage jadajada). Older iMacs like mine uses a custom CPU but it isn't that special, just a model between mobility and desktop chip so the only difference is the TDP. I can walk in store and build a similar machine to Mac Pro, with pretty much the same parts.
The system architecture may be similar to PCs. The "Hardware" is not.
The only hardware that can easily be swapped between a Mac Pro and a PC are:
Hard Drives.
Optical Drives.
CPUs can be swapped if they are suitable for Mac Pro. You can also flash certain PC GPUs to work in Mac Pro.
The XEON CPUs can be swapped with other, SERVER XEON CPUs, but not consumer-level "PC" ones.
Likewise, the ECC memory can be swapped with ECC from a different source, (certainly not from most PCs) but some models of Mac Pro need a very specific memory Heatsink for proper cooling.
As far as I know, you can put normal CPU to single-CPU Mac Pro but the UP version (the same chip as normal but with ECC support) costs the same anyway. In dual-CPU MP that's not possible as non-Xeons have single QPI and thus do not support multiple CPU configurations. You can also use non-ECC memory I think but then ECC will be disabled. The heatsinks are pretty specific though.
The Power Supply, Logic Board, even the cooling fans and case architecture are very, very Apple-specific proprietary parts that cannot easily be replaced with standard PC parts or even standard Server parts.
Those are the only custom parts in Mac Pro, others are pretty normal (the GPU is the same you can buy for PC but has some custom EFI and drivers etc)
Most of Apple's components are engineered to a high standard for a specific machine and purpose. Very few "Generic, Standard" parts are used in any modern Mac.
CPUs, GPUs, RAM, HDs.... All are parts I can get from the nearest computer store.
"Last the same or longer as a PC depending on Luck" is open to debate, but when was the last time you looked inside a PC and saw anything but the cheapest available standard parts and poor attention to details like cooling and wire routing?
Last time was yesterday when I was at work, building a PC. Apple doesn't use any higher grade parts than PCs. Of course 400$ Acer will have worse parts than 2000$ Mac Pro but if you get a custom PC, you get even better quality, let alone warranty. The thermal paste Apple uses is the cheapest crap available, people who have reapplied that have gotten like 20c temperature drops. The quality in PCs varies a lot, you can't say all of them have bad cooling and wiring.
Yes, Apple does obtain parts from the same vendors as other companies, (particularly Foxconn) but the parts are Apple-specific. Also, higher grade components such as high-quality Capacitors are frequently used.
Again, compared to what? Yes, the 400$ Acer might have worse stuff but if you compare a PC with similar price tag as Mac has, you are getting good quality, especially if you build one on your own.
I'd place my bet on the Mac Pro out-lasting anything else I can think of.
When it does fail, unlike a PC, repair options are few.
Much easier to fix something on a PC as you can use any part that is compatible. If you mobo fails, you can grab a new one from the nearest store for 100$. If Mac Pro's mobo fails, you have to hunt one from eBay and pay ~400$. Most PC components come with 3-5 year warranty, Mac Pro comes with 1-year, that's already one great benefit.
Sorry if I sound a bit harsh. But Macs are NOT PCs. Sharing a CPU and Chipset doesn't mean they're the same.
They share almost everything but the design. What would have to be the same so you would think they are the same? They use the same technology, equivalent parts thus they are the same. The software is the biggest difference between them.
The stuff inside Macs are what you can find from PCs, nothing special. They aren't any higher quality, infact, you have a lot more options when choosing a PC i.e. not limited to one logic board with limited ports, you can jump for an EVGA board with 7 PCIe slots. As I said, the quality varies. Macs are above the normal quality of OEM PCs IMO but still not the ultimate high-end.
I prefer Macs but in the end, they are just PCs with fancy case and OS
😉
