Rumor: Mac Pro Intel 6-core i7 this month
Apple's top-of-the-line Mac Pro hasn't been updated since the Quad-Core model received support for 16GB RAM in September of '09. The last major revision introduced the Nehalem Xeon 3500 Processor last March. Today, HardMac is reporting that the Core i7-980X and Core i7-970 processors could arrive this month.
HardMac notes that the chips are due to become available in March. If, they suggest, Apple still has a tight partnership with Intel, they could have exclusivity in the days or weeks before the official March release. Note that Apple was the first to use the Nehalem Xeon thanks to just such an arrangement.
Details of Intel's Core i7-980X Processor leaked in December. Code-named "Gulftown" the 32nm, six-core i7-980X will be labeled as the i7x ("Extreme Edition"), not the i9 as many expected. It will be the first dual-socket, six-core processor from Intel. With 6 cores and 12 threads, a dual-configured, i7-980X Mac Pro will sport 12 physical cores and 24 logical cores. Expect a top frequency of 3.33GHz.
In other words, don't replace your old Mac Pro just yet.
[Via AppleInsider]
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Apple's top-of-the-line Mac Pro hasn't been updated since the Quad-Core model received support for 16GB RAM in September of '09. The last...
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What's the point? You could just OC a cheap i7-920 to 4GHz for $289. This one only goes to 3.33GHz and will probably cost at least $1,000.
February 02 2010 at 4:23 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyAnyone have any educated guesses how soon i9-based CPUs might come out after the i7? I don't follow this closely enough to know but I need to get a new puppy this year and want to buy at the top of the curve. i9s in 2010 sometime?
February 02 2010 at 1:36 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyThere is no i9 intel product. I suggest you move on instead of waiting around for one.
February 02 2010 at 2:15 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyYou'd rather have crappy Intel integrated graphics then?
February 02 2010 at 1:12 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyThe Mac Pro needs a new case. How long can you milk one design for anyway, Ive?
7 years? Had the same design since the g5 came out. Its way past time for a cosmetic update. Apple needs to pay attention to all their pro lines. The macbook pros blur the line to much to were the base models are not pro machines.
February 02 2010 at 1:16 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Replyits about time! the 27 inch imac quad core was too close in functionality and performance to the base mac pro (and you don't have to buy a screen).
February 02 2010 at 12:21 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplySo comments still work in the Apple section of Engadget, but not the main part. Surely there is no bias at AOL for Apple. No none at all.
February 02 2010 at 12:06 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyActually, this is not a part of the Engadget blog and is its own entity.
February 02 2010 at 12:51 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyUh, this is another blog entirely. Yes, it's owned and operated by the Aol Tech group, but it's not part of the Engadget "family" of blogs (which would be Classic, Mobile, & HD).
February 02 2010 at 1:26 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyHow about MacBook Pros???
February 02 2010 at 11:53 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyFFS, it's an i7 not a Xeon. The Mac Pros will get the Xeon counterpart to this. In future, could TUAW try to find sources that actually know at least the *basic* history of these machines before putting out this garbage?
February 02 2010 at 11:27 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyThis.
I'll link to this article too just to hammer home the point, here the author refers to a Cat5e cable as an RJ45 cable.. sigh..
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/01/16/the-bearextender-n3-expands-your-wi-fi-network/
TUAW has a lot of bloggers who don't have the required knowledge to be writing for a tech related blog imo.
@Chris
Actually, IT techs at several companies and corporations (myself included) have been referring to Cat X cables as RJ45 cables for quite some time, as a shortcut term for a networking cable that uses an RJ45 connector, regardless of whether it's Cat5, 5e, or 6.
Well, I guess they're getting ready for Aperture 3 by announcing a platform that will give reasonable performance....
Sorry, please forgive my cynicism...just weary of beachballs.
david
They wont use this TUAW...
The will use the equivalent Xeon part instead..
Or do you think they will change the Mac-Pro to a non Workstation machine at this point? I don't think they will.
From what I've read the 6 core chip is a Xeon.
February 02 2010 at 11:16 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyYou obviously haven't read the article then... I suggest that as a good starting point.
February 02 2010 at 11:52 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyHot Apps on TUAW
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