Filed under: Hardware, Xserve, Apple, Mac Pro
Mac Pro gets a speed bump, Xserve has new storage options
After the introduction of the new 27" Intel Core i7 iMac in October, a lot of us in the Mac world were puzzled by the lack of a new higher-end Mac Pro. After all, the Mac Pro has traditionally been the most powerful Mac with the highest level of expandability. This morning, Apple quietly announced a speed bump for the Mac Pro, as well as new storage options for both the Mac Pro and the Xserve. For the quad-core Mac Pro (but not the eight-core model), you can now order a 3.33 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon "Nehalem" processor. This is an amazing CPU, with 8 MB of fully shared L3 cache, Hyper-Threading technology, an integrated memory controller, and Turbo Boost for short bursts of speed up to 3.6 GHz.
Now that prices have come down a bit on 2 TB hard drives, Apple has made them a configure-to-order option for Mac Pro and Xserve systems. Using high-performance 7200 RPM SATA drives with 32 MB of cache and a potential throughput of 3 Gb/s, the Mac Pro can now have a total storage capacity of 8 TB, while the Xserve can max out at 6 TB of storage.
The new options are available immediately from the online Apple Store.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Michael Bushnell said 12:27PM on 12-04-2009
If I ever won the lottery, I would have one of these fully maxed out.
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Tony Ward said 12:42PM on 12-04-2009
So I went to the store and priced it..... that'll be $13,999.90 with two Cinema Displays, pre-installs and AppleCare. =)
Rob said 12:37PM on 12-04-2009
I thought Apple publicly stated that the lineup was set for the holidays. I looks like they lied. A product change just before XMAS!! Go figure..
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brian said 4:30PM on 12-04-2009
Um, no, they very much did NOT lie--in fact, this is EXACTLY what some people expected because of how Apple wanted things to be worded.
From http://www.tuaw.com/2009/10/27/phil-schiller-holiday-lineup-in-place/ :
``Gizmodo notes that they originally stated, "No more Apple products this year," but they subsequently received a call from Apple asking... them to use the language, "The holiday lineup is set." Conspiracy theorists will say that means there could be new stuff still in the pipe...''
So since XServes and Mac Pros aren't typically gift items, the possibility of new ones is EXACTLY what many people read into Apple's request that Giz not use the phrase "No more Apple products this year."
delphinus87 said 6:09PM on 12-04-2009
I'd take a Mac Pro for christmas gift...
Dani Reader said 3:03PM on 12-07-2009
a change to a massively high end workstation for christmas no less... somehow i doubt that mommy will be buying little jimmy one of these for the holidays. Besides, it would suck if they didnt make any changes, since the iMac has a core i7....
Joanna D said 12:45PM on 12-04-2009
When are they going to give us better graphics cards?
My LED Cinema Display doesn't connect to anything which isn't sold by Apple and I'd really like something more powerful than the 4870 I have now.
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Dani Reader said 3:06PM on 12-07-2009
http://store.apple.com/uk/product/TW387ZM/A?fnode=MTY1NDA5OQ&mco=MTA4MzU2MDA
this is about 30% faster on a good day than your graphics card.
Christian said 1:28PM on 12-04-2009
Details of this story are incorrect: The entire Mac Pro line now has Nehalem processors, including the 8-core model
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TallestSkil said 3:48PM on 12-04-2009
We have always had Nehalem in the eight-core (Gainestown) models. This update does not apply to them.
Jeff said 1:37PM on 12-04-2009
I can see the Xeon's in the dual processor (8-core) Mac Pro. But I just don't get why they use the Xeon's for the single processor (4-core) Mac Pro's. The Xeon's are ungodly expensive. Throw an i7 in the entry level Mac Pro and sell it for $1800. Just as fast and more affordable.
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bnaro said 3:53PM on 12-04-2009
No no no, the i7 does not equal dual Xeons. And I'm fairly sure you can't have dual i7s on one motherboard.
bnaro said 3:59PM on 12-04-2009
ugh, nevermind...I had no idea they actually dropped the dual processor on the low end Mac Pros. I can't stand how inconsistent the mac pro models are.
Daniel said 3:50PM on 12-04-2009
While it may be the fastest Nehalem yet the Power7 cpu easily outperforms it. It never made sense to me why Apple didn't stay with Power on Mac Pro and Xserve.
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Skoalbandit said 4:41PM on 12-04-2009
Oh why oh why can't apple make a mini tower. One processor, graphic card, and room for a couple hard drives for under 2k.
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Jordan said 8:00PM on 12-04-2009
Because that would be...logical.
Joseph said 8:06PM on 12-04-2009
refurb mac pro?
rob3liss said 11:35AM on 12-05-2009
So is the new quad core faster the 8 core models?
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nole92 said 1:47PM on 12-05-2009
For a quick breakdown of the MacBook features, go to http://www.topfivecomputers.com/
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hillary knox said 2:19PM on 12-06-2009
So, let me get this straight...
You can pay an additional $1200 (over the base MacPro) for a only a single 3.33 processor, or you can pay an additional $800 for a second processor & double the RAM? Is it just me, or at those prices is getting an 8-core over a 3.33 a no-brainer?
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