Apple introduces new Mac Pro topping out at 3.2GHz
Ahead of next week's Macworld conference, Apple on Tuesday introduced the new Mac Pro with eight processor cores and a new system architecture that delivers up to twice the performance of its predecessor.
As was anticipated in October by AppleInsider, the new Mac Pro combines two of Intel?s new 45 nanometer Quad-Core "Harpertown" Xeon processors running up to 3.2 GHz, powerful new graphics and up to 4TB of internal storage to offer the ideal system for creative professionals, 3D digital content creators and scientists. The standard 8-core configuration starts at just $2,799.
?The new Mac Pro is the fastest Mac we?ve ever made,? said Philip Schiller, Apple?s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. ?With 3.2 GHz 8-core Xeon processing, a 1600 MHz front side bus and 800 MHz memory, the new Mac Pro uses the fastest Intel Xeon architecture on the market.?
Inside the new Mac Pro is the latest Penryn-based Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5400 series processors based on state-of-the-art 45nm Intel Core microarchitecture running up to 3.2 GHz, each with 12MB of L2 cache per processor for breakthrough performance and power efficiency. With a new high-bandwidth hardware architecture, dual-independent 1600 MHz front side buses and up to 32GB of 800 MHz DDR2 ECC FB-DIMM memory, the new Mac Pro achieves a 61 percent increase in memory throughput, Apple says.
Every Mac Pro comes standard with the ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT graphics card with 256MB of video memory. Each Mac Pro also includes a new PCI Express 2.0 graphics slot that delivers up to double the bandwidth compared to the previous generation, and supports the latest generation of graphics cards from NVIDIA, such as the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT with 512MB of video memory, or NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 with 1.5GB of video memory and a 3-D stereo port for stereo-in-a-window applications. With support for up to four graphics cards, the new Mac Pro can drive up to eight 30-inch displays at once for advanced visualization and large display walls.
Continuing its tradition as Apple's most expandable Mac ever, the Mac Pro featuring four internal hard drive bays with direct-attach, cable-free installation of four 1TB Serial ATA hard drives, totaling 4TB of internal storage and support for two SuperDrives. With optional 15000 rpm SAS drives that can deliver up to 250MB/s of RAID 5 disk I/O performance, the Mac Pro is ideal for film and video editors. Combined with SATA or SAS drives, using an optional Mac Pro RAID card offers the ultimate data protection and disk I/O performance on the Mac Pro. The Mac Pro is easily and conveniently accessible in front and back so users can connect external devices with five USB 2.0, two FireWire® 400, two FireWire 800, optical and analog audio in and out, dual Gigabit Ethernet ports and a headphone jack.
Every Mac Pro also ships with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, the new ultra-thin aluminum Apple Keyboard, and the Apple Mighty Mouse.
Pricing & Availability
The new Mac Pro is shipping today and will be available through the Apple Store, Apple?s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.
The standard 8-core Mac Pro, with a suggested retail price of $2,799 (US), includes:
two 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon processors with dual-independent 1600 MHz front side buses2GB of 800 MHz DDR2 ECC fully-buffered DIMM memory, expandable up to 32GBATI Radeon HD 2600 XT with 256MB of GDDR3 memory320GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive running at 7200 rpm16x SuperDrive? with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)two PCI Express 2.0 slots and two PCI Express slotsBluetooth 2.0+EDR; andships with Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse.
In addition to the standard configuration, the Mac Pro offers numerous build-to-order options including: one 2.8 GHz, two 3.0 GHz, or two 3.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon processors; up to 32GB of 800 MHz DDR2 fully-buffered ECC memory; up to four 1TB Serial ATA hard drives running at 7200 rpm or up to four 300GB SAS drives running at 15000 rpm; Mac Pro RAID card; up to two 16x SuperDrives with double-layer support; NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT or NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 graphics cards; AirPort Extreme 802.11n; Apple USB Modem; Apple wireless Aluminum Keyboard; Apple wireless Mighty Mouse; and Mac OS X Server Leopard.
As was anticipated in October by AppleInsider, the new Mac Pro combines two of Intel?s new 45 nanometer Quad-Core "Harpertown" Xeon processors running up to 3.2 GHz, powerful new graphics and up to 4TB of internal storage to offer the ideal system for creative professionals, 3D digital content creators and scientists. The standard 8-core configuration starts at just $2,799.
?The new Mac Pro is the fastest Mac we?ve ever made,? said Philip Schiller, Apple?s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. ?With 3.2 GHz 8-core Xeon processing, a 1600 MHz front side bus and 800 MHz memory, the new Mac Pro uses the fastest Intel Xeon architecture on the market.?
Inside the new Mac Pro is the latest Penryn-based Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5400 series processors based on state-of-the-art 45nm Intel Core microarchitecture running up to 3.2 GHz, each with 12MB of L2 cache per processor for breakthrough performance and power efficiency. With a new high-bandwidth hardware architecture, dual-independent 1600 MHz front side buses and up to 32GB of 800 MHz DDR2 ECC FB-DIMM memory, the new Mac Pro achieves a 61 percent increase in memory throughput, Apple says.
Every Mac Pro comes standard with the ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT graphics card with 256MB of video memory. Each Mac Pro also includes a new PCI Express 2.0 graphics slot that delivers up to double the bandwidth compared to the previous generation, and supports the latest generation of graphics cards from NVIDIA, such as the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT with 512MB of video memory, or NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 with 1.5GB of video memory and a 3-D stereo port for stereo-in-a-window applications. With support for up to four graphics cards, the new Mac Pro can drive up to eight 30-inch displays at once for advanced visualization and large display walls.
Continuing its tradition as Apple's most expandable Mac ever, the Mac Pro featuring four internal hard drive bays with direct-attach, cable-free installation of four 1TB Serial ATA hard drives, totaling 4TB of internal storage and support for two SuperDrives. With optional 15000 rpm SAS drives that can deliver up to 250MB/s of RAID 5 disk I/O performance, the Mac Pro is ideal for film and video editors. Combined with SATA or SAS drives, using an optional Mac Pro RAID card offers the ultimate data protection and disk I/O performance on the Mac Pro. The Mac Pro is easily and conveniently accessible in front and back so users can connect external devices with five USB 2.0, two FireWire® 400, two FireWire 800, optical and analog audio in and out, dual Gigabit Ethernet ports and a headphone jack.
Every Mac Pro also ships with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, the new ultra-thin aluminum Apple Keyboard, and the Apple Mighty Mouse.
Pricing & Availability
The new Mac Pro is shipping today and will be available through the Apple Store, Apple?s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.
The standard 8-core Mac Pro, with a suggested retail price of $2,799 (US), includes:
two 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon processors with dual-independent 1600 MHz front side buses2GB of 800 MHz DDR2 ECC fully-buffered DIMM memory, expandable up to 32GBATI Radeon HD 2600 XT with 256MB of GDDR3 memory320GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive running at 7200 rpm16x SuperDrive? with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)two PCI Express 2.0 slots and two PCI Express slotsBluetooth 2.0+EDR; andships with Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse.
In addition to the standard configuration, the Mac Pro offers numerous build-to-order options including: one 2.8 GHz, two 3.0 GHz, or two 3.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon processors; up to 32GB of 800 MHz DDR2 fully-buffered ECC memory; up to four 1TB Serial ATA hard drives running at 7200 rpm or up to four 300GB SAS drives running at 15000 rpm; Mac Pro RAID card; up to two 16x SuperDrives with double-layer support; NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT or NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 graphics cards; AirPort Extreme 802.11n; Apple USB Modem; Apple wireless Aluminum Keyboard; Apple wireless Mighty Mouse; and Mac OS X Server Leopard.
Comments
- Xidius
Price increased to $2800. Enough room between consumer and pro to fit in a mid-range tower or otherwise-desktop mac.
- Xidius
That's a good point, there has been so much rumour over a tablet or slim macbook recently that the mid-range tower has been forgotten, and there is definitely still a place for it in Apple's line up.
There is no future for user-serviced PCs.
Soon we'll all be using iPhone, iTVs and iFridges.
And just like Phones, TVs and Fridges before, these devices will come out of a box, work instantly and get replaced in a multi-year cycle.
If Apple ever had plans to make a medium tower, it was 10 years ago.
Times have changed. Lets move on.
Great Choice for nVidia BTO:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/quadro_..._features.html
List of features gives one pause to think regarding Cinema Display options, if they choose to expand their capabilities combined with such a GPU.
I doubt it, but the OS can handle it.
I didn't expect FW3200. I don't expect BluRay as a BTO until Fall 08 and the dust has settled a bit more.
I still don't expect to see advances in GPUs until Vista SP1 is out.
Thinking outloud about the changes made and whether I am going to pull the trigger now:
The new graphics cards are not bad. Would love to be able to afford the workstation card but...$$$ 8800GT might be a good compromise.
FSB 1333->1600, memory 667->800mhz (dunno if it matters with latency)
Per processor cache 4mb->12mb
+SSE4
Overall ~12% performance bump over previous well equipped Mac Pro? Can't wait for some hard data. Have to justify that the $6k is worth it to the wife compared to the $2k for a 24" iMac.
Price increased to $2800. Enough room between consumer and pro to fit in a mid-range tower or otherwise-desktop mac.
That's for the 2x2.8Ghz model. The single CPU 2.8Ghz would be the new cheap option.
Finally! Now I will wait until MacWorld only to see if there will be new displays, but I will be ordering a new Mac Pro within 8 days.
Thank you Apple for making me a poorer and happier man.
And on a more sober note: Should we read anything into this:
Each Mac Pro also includes a new PCI Express 2.0 graphics slot that delivers up to double the bandwidth compared to the previous generation, and supports the latest generation of graphics cards from NVIDIA...
Is it implying that we will be able to change out video cards in the future?
I'm glad that they did this today, so they can save other more exciting things for macworld
That's exactly right.
They had to release pro updates. They simply had to.
But by doing it a week early, they could concentrate on what Macworld has primarily become (to the dismay of us old-timers), a consumer show.
This will leave more time for new products, and the mention of updated older ones.
Hopefully, this means there will be time for more than one new product, which is assumed to be the ultralight.
I had decided that if Apple went to Express 2 this time, I would get the machine now (though I was hoping for a new case, eSATA port, etc, as well).
Also the range of graphics cards.
But, now I don't know what to think. It's not like Apple to go halfway with a new bus. I guess we'll see more when the store is back online shortly.
What aren't first options: BluRay, Firewire 3200 and expanded ATi to include say the 3800 series.
Great Choice for nVidia BTO:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/quadro_..._features.html
List of features gives one pause to think regarding Cinema Display options, if they choose to expand their capabilities combined with such a GPU.
I doubt it, but the OS can handle it.
I didn't expect FW3200. I don't expect BluRay as a BTO until Fall 08 and the dust has settled a bit more.
I still don't expect to see advances in GPUs until Vista SP1 is out.
We may see BD sooner rather than later. The word is now out that Paramount may switch to BD. Supposedly, there is an opt-out clause in the contract with Toshiba, that if Warner moves exclusively to BD (they are the biggest), then Paramount, and I also assume Dreamworks, can move over as well.
If this is true, then bye bye HD-DVD. There is no way Universal would stay by themselves as exclusively HD-DVD.
I don't care about FW3200. eSATA is the only way to go for high speed external drives.
http://store.apple.com/AsiaApple/Web...6No1fI1h7fE4tx
It seems there must be something coming between the iMac and the Pro; the price jump is just too much (from 159,000 for the iMac, from 349,000 for the Pro).