Xserve gets a performance boost

Astute readers noticed some Apple store downtime earlier this morning. While I was hoping for something soaked in Unicorn tears, I guess I'll settle for a drool-worthy Xserve update.

The rumors were right on target, and the new Xserve sports Intel's "Nehalem" Xeon processor (just like the recent Mac Pro refresh), which Apple is touting as offering "twice the performance" when compared to last year's model.*

* There is always an asterisk in these types of comparison so please read the fine print before taking any marketing slogans as gospel.

The new Xserve systems look really hot. Check out these specs for the $2999US base model:

• a single 2.26 GHz Quad-Core Xeon 5500 series processor with 8MB of fully shared L3 cache
• 3GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC RAM
• a single 160GB 7200 rpm SATA Apple Drive Module
• dual Gigabit Ethernet on-board
• two PCI Express 2.0 x16 expansion slots
• NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 256 MB with Mini DisplayPort output
• two FireWire® 800 and three USB 2.0 ports

And of course, the requisite unlimited client license for Mac OS X Server version 10.5 Leopard.

If the standard offerings aren't powerful enough, the Xserve can be customized to include two Quad-Core Xeon's running at 2.26, 2.66 or 2.93 GHz. An 8-core 2.26 Xserve configure like the base system runs $3599US.

The new Xserve also offers an optional 128-GB SSD boot drive, as well as options for RAID cards, and dual or quad channel 4Gb Fibre channel cards.

This generation of chipsets is more energy efficient and Apple is touting the newest Xserve as the "greenest ever."

The new Xserve is available now at Apple.com and at your local Apple store or authorized dealer.


Share