Apple unveils quad-core 64-bit Mac Pro desktops

[AppleInsider]

At its World Wide Developers Conference on Monday, Apple Computer unveiled the new Mac Pro, a quad Xeon, 64-bit desktop workstation featuring two new Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors running up to 3.0 GHz and a new system architecture that delivers up to twice the performance of the Power Mac G5 Quad.

With advanced performance, greater expansion, higher performance graphics options and unprecedented customization, the newly designed Mac Pro is the ideal system for the most demanding user. The introduction of the Mac Pro marks the completion of a rapid transition for Apple, with the entire Mac family now using Intel's latest processors.

"Apple has successfully completed the transition to using Intel processors in just seven months--210 days to be exact," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "And what better product to complete it with than the new Mac Pro, the workstation Mac users have been dreaming about."

The new Mac Pro features the new Dual-Core Intel Xeon 5100 series processor based on the revolutionary Intel Core microarchitecture, delivering significantly improved performance and power efficiency. The new professional desktops are up to twice as fast as the Power Mac G5 Quad running industry standard benchmarks and features two Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors running up to 3.0 GHz, each with 4MB of shared L2 cache and independent 1.33 GHz front-side buses. With 667 MHz DDR2 fully-buffered memory, the Mac Pro also boasts a 256-bit wide memory architecture for amazing bandwidth.

With more than 4.9 million possible configurations, the Mac Pro delivers new levels of customization to meet even the most demanding performance, expansion and storage needs:

The newly redesigned Mac Pro features an all new, direct attach storage solution for cable free, snap in installation of up to four 500GB Serial ATA hard drives for a total of 2TB of internal storage--the most ever on a Mac--and support for two optical drives to simultaneously read and/or write to CDs and DVDs.



Every Mac Pro includes three full-length PCI Express expansion slots and one double-wide PCI Express graphics slot to support high-powered, double-wide graphics cards without sacrificing multiple slots. Providing quick and convenient access to connect the most popular external devices, the front panel of the Mac Pro includes a FireWire 800 port, a FireWire 400 port and two USB 2.0 ports with additional FireWire 800, FireWire 400 and three USB 2.0 ports on the back panel.

Mac Pro also includes dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, optical digital input and output, analog audio input and output, and optional built-in support for AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR.

Every Mac Pro comes standard with the NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT with 256MB of video memory, providing built-in support for dual-displays and Apple's 30-inch Cinema HD Display. The ATI Radeon X1900 XT and the NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500, both with 512MB of video memory, are available as build to order options and provide built-in support for up to two 30-inch Apple Cinema HD Displays. The Quadro FX 4500 also includes a stereo 3D port to connect goggles for stereo-in-a-window applications and is ideal for the most demanding animation, special effects and scientific visualization applications.



The Mac Pro supports up to four PCI Express graphics cards to drive up to eight displays at once for advanced visualization and large display walls.

Pricing & Availability

The Mac Pro is shipping today with the standard prebuilt configuration, including two 2.66 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors and priced at $2,499 (US), through the Apple Store, Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.

The Mac Pro, with a suggested retail price of $2,499 (US), includes:

two 2.66 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors;
1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 fully-buffered ECC memory expandable up to 16GB;
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT with 256MB of GDDR2 SDRAM;
250GB Serial ATA (3Gb/s) hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
16x SuperDrive™ with double-layer support (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
four PCI Express slots: one double-wide graphics slot and three full-length expansion slots; and
ships with Mighty Mouse and Apple Keyboard.

In addition to the standard configuration, the Mac Pro offers more than 4.9 million build-to-order options including: two 2.0 GHz or 3.0 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors; up to 16GB of 667 MHz DDR2 fully-buffered ECC memory; up to four 500GB Serial ATA hard drives running at 7200 rpm; up to two 16x SuperDrives with double-layer support; ATI Radeon X1900 XT and NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 graphics cards, both with 512MB of GDDR3 SDRAM; AirPort Extreme module, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR module; Apple USB Modem; Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple wireless Mighty Mouse; Mac OS X Server Tiger; Apple Xsan; and Apple Fibre Channel PCI Express Card.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[BenRoethig]

Amazing workstation. Simply amazing.

[TenoBell]

The Mac Pro is now in the current hardware section.

Its label has Intel Xeon. Who would have ever thought.

Two optical drives and four HDD sounds great. Four 750GB HD is 3 TB of storage. But Apple did not mention the ability of RAID configuration.

The DIMM slot slide out trays are a great idea.

Five USB 2 ports, two firewire 400, and two firewire 800. For those of you accusing Apple of abandoning firewire. Dual Gigabit ethernet.

A pretty solid machine, I still feel Apple should offer a lower cost desktop model however.

[benzene]

Originally Posted by TenoBell

A pretty solid machine, I still feel Apple should offer a lower cost desktop model however.

Drop to the 2.00GHz, 160GB drive, and you're almost at $2000, and yet you still have an incredibly powerful machine.

[BenRoethig]

Originally Posted by benzene

Drop to the 2.00GHz, 160GB drive, and you're almost at $2000, and yet you still have an incredibly powerful machine.

Way too powerful. No consumer needs Dual dual core Xeons or expensive FB-DIMMS. The Mac Pro is a workstation, not a consumer desktop by any stretch of the imagination.

However, drop the Xeons for the Core 2 Duo range, 5000 series chipset for P965, FB-DIMMS for 4 standard DDR2 slots, x8 PCI express for x1, and less powerful power supply but keep the case and Apple would have a wonderful prosumer machine that could easily start near $1000.

[kim kap sol]

Ordered!!!

[mjteix]

Originally Posted by BenRoethig

Way too powerful. No consumer needs Dual dual core Xeons or expensive FB-DIMMS. The Mac Pro is a workstation, not a consumer desktop by any stretch of the imagination.

However, drop the Xeons for the Core 2 Duo range, 5000 series chipset for P965, FB-DIMMS for 4 standard DDR2 slots, x8 PCI express for x1, and less powerful power supply but keep the case and Apple would have a wonderful prosumer machine that could easily start near $1000.

I like the one model-multiple configurations approach. I hope we will have something equivalent for a Conroe-based Mac in the near future: based model 2.66GHz for $1499, 2.93GHz for $1999 and 2.13GHz for $1199 (all in a smaller case than the current Mac Pro).
...
I was looking at Intel's price list and I found something odd in Apple's Mac Pro offering, according to the bulk price of CPUs ($316 for 2GHz, $455 for 2.33GHz, $690 for 2.66GHz and $851 for 3GHz), the premium for going from 2.66 to 3.00 should be a small $322, and to go down from 2.66 to 2.00 should be $748. But if you take the 2.33GHz as the center model, now the premium to go 3.00 is $792 and to go down to 2.00 is in fact $278, I found this numbers more real, than the ones on the Apple Store.
Can it be a mistake in the Apple Store?
A late change without updating the premium prices?
Or did Apple get a really nice price on quantities of 2.66GHz chips and standard prices on other speeds?

[fuyutsuki]

3 G H z A T L A S T ! !

Originally Posted by BenRoethig

Way too powerful. No consumer needs Dual dual core Xeons or expensive FB-DIMMS. The Mac Pro is a workstation, not a consumer desktop by any stretch of the imagination.

However, drop the Xeons for the Core 2 Duo range, 5000 series chipset for P965, FB-DIMMS for 4 standard DDR2 slots, x8 PCI express for x1, and less powerful power supply but keep the case and Apple would have a wonderful prosumer machine that could easily start near $1000.

Yeah. The Mac Pro is in a word - spectacular. Yet in another word the problem that causes for Apple's overall lineup is - stretch.

I'm as pleased as punch with the new machine when it comes to prestige and the true top users out there ... I'm also quite surprised at just what a workstation it is without a low end model for said prosumers.

Hey, I expected a new case style too but clearly we've got to wait until the 2nd rev of everything for those, bar the sweet sweet MacBook.

So, could this spell a new middle range of headless Mac? The legendary mid-range headless advanced switcher / tinker box? Yeah, well, maybe. I wouldn't count on it but this has really moved the Pro bar ...

Incidentally: AirPort still a BTO!? Bummer. And those FB-DIMM's, though mandated by Intel's design decisions with the Woodcrest are expensive buggers. Upping the RAM in this machine is not only "not for the fainthearted" but downright audacious!

Anyway, count me impressed. So want to see the benchmarks of the 3GHz one.

[Apparatus]

LAME

• $2,499 standard price of Mac Pro ($2,299 for Education)

——$2,124 is the lowest you can configure the Mac Pro ($1,962 for Education)

———To get it that low, you have to drop the processors from 2.66GHz to 2GHz and and the hard drive from 250GB to 160GB

• Airport Extreme & Bluetooth 2.0 still not standard

• Weak graphics card standard (GeForce 7300, ugh)

[alternativepiano]

If they arlready have the chips, how come they havent gone to core 2 duo yet? And when do you think they will?

[BenRoethig]

Originally Posted by mjteix

I like the one model-multiple configurations approach. I hope we will have something equivalent for a Conroe-based Mac in the near future: based model 2.66GHz for $1499, 2.93GHz for $1999 and 2.13GHz for $1199 (all in a smaller case than the current Mac Pro).

I like it as well.

Make an E6600 with a 256mb GeForce 7600GS, 1gb of DDR2 Ram, and a 250gb harddrive the base model for $1499. From there you'll be able to downgrade to the E6300/6400 or upgrade to the E6700 or the x6800. BTO videocard choices would be between a 128mb Geforce 7300GS, 256 or 512MB 7600GT, or a 512mb 7900. The front drive bay would be removed for a card reader.

[dutch pear]

Originally Posted by alternativepiano

If they arlready have the chips, how come they havent gone to core 2 duo yet? And when do you think they will?

Because these processors are BETTER than core 2 duo???

[BenRoethig]

Originally Posted by Apparatus

LAME

• $2,499 standard price of Mac Pro ($2,299 for Education)

——$2,124 is the lowest you can configure the Mac Pro ($1,962 for Education)

———To get it that low, you have to drop the processors from 2.66GHz to 2GHz and and the hard drive from 250GB to 160GB

• Airport Extreme & Bluetooth 2.0 still not standard

• Weak graphics card standard (GeForce 7300, ugh)

For publishing tasks, the 7300GT is more than good enough. The graphic pros are going to get something high end anyway. I'm not really sure the clients for these kinds are machine are going need airport or bluetooth though. They are more likely to have a hardwired highspeed network.

[backtomac]

Originally Posted by alternativepiano

If they arlready have the chips, how come they havent gone to core 2 duo yet? And when do you think they will?

Woodcrest is core 2 architechture.

[backtomac]

I think this improves the odds that iMac will get Conroe upgrade when these chips are more readily available. No way the iMac will get to close in performance to the Mac Pro with their dual processor Xeons.

[BenRoethig]

Originally Posted by backtomac

I think this improves the odds that iMac will get Conroe upgrade when these chips are more readily available. No way the iMac will get to close in performance to the Mac Pro with their dual processor Xeons.

iMac is going merom. It's a mid range consumer machine, not prosumer. Conroe would require another redesign and make a louder and hotter running system. Merom is plenty fast and would use the existing hardware.

[Feynman]

I am very impressed with these machines but what happens when someone walks into an Apple Store asking for a 3.0 GHz machine?

Will they be made exclusively at the Apple Stores only?

Will Apple become like Dell and require people to Build To Order on their online store?

[Placebo]

Only thing that miffs me is that the RAM is 667 versus 800 but whatever, the rest is great!

[Joe_the_dragon]

Originally Posted by Apparatus

LAME

• $2,499 standard price of Mac Pro ($2,299 for Education)

——$2,124 is the lowest you can configure the Mac Pro ($1,962 for Education)

———To get it that low, you have to drop the processors from 2.66GHz to 2GHz and and the hard drive from 250GB to 160GB

• Airport Extreme & Bluetooth 2.0 still not standard

• Weak graphics card standard (GeForce 7300, ugh)

- no sli or cross fire support as well

[wilco]

Originally Posted by Apparatus

LAME

• $2,499 standard price of Mac Pro ($2,299 for Education)

——$2,124 is the lowest you can configure the Mac Pro ($1,962 for Education)

———To get it that low, you have to drop the processors from 2.66GHz to 2GHz and and the hard drive from 250GB to 160GB

• Airport Extreme & Bluetooth 2.0 still not standard

• Weak graphics card standard (GeForce 7300, ugh)

So, you're going to post the exact same thing on every mac site?

[backtomac]

Originally Posted by BenRoethig

iMac is going merom. It's a mid range consumer machine, not prosumer. Conroe would require another redesign and make a louder and hotter running system. Merom is plenty fast and would use the existing hardware.

I hope you're wrong. Yes the iMac would require a redesign but better now than later. If Merom replaces Core duo, only a modest improvement in performance could be expected. Anand had a very thorough comparisson of merom to yonah and only modest speed improvement was seen. Conroe clocks higher and has a faster FSB (which Anand thought hampered meroms performance). I'm not saying that a Merom iMac would be a bad machine but that a Conroe iMac would be much better and able to grow over the next year or so until the core 2 replacement arrives in 2008(?).

[MovieCutter]

This puppy went on a diet...lost 20lbs!!!

Can't wait for my 3Gz+Ati X1900 Mac Pro to arrive!!!

[Kuku]

I've ordered from HP and dell on similar specs with a pretty deep discount...and I can tell you.

Apple is giving you a lot of bang for a buck.

[meelash]

Originally Posted by kim kap sol

Ordered!!!

Congrats to all the early adopters.

This is a sweeet machine. What more can be said?

[smalM]

Originally Posted by Placebo

Only thing that miffs me is that the RAM is 667 versus 800

No faster FB-DIMMS available. And RAM bandwidth is 21GB/s - that should do it even for you...

[ChevalierMalFet]

Looks like Crucial already has FBDIMMs on their site for the new Mac Pros; I didn't see a link yet on RAMSeeker or OWC, but I'm sure others will follow suit shortly. at $160 a GB, $640 is sure a heck of a lot better a price than the $1,100 Apple is asking for 4GB in their "configurator." And Crucial tends to be a bit higher than some of the other third party folks, so my guess is we'll be close to $100 a GB again fairly quickly.

[billspreston]

Will these be in Apple retail stores today and if so, can the configuration be changed at that time in the store?

Edit: Changing wireless options from default to Both Bluetooth 2.0+EDR and AirPort Extreme makes the estimated ship go from 1-3 days, to 2-4 weeks??

[marzetta7]

In a few words...this machine truly rocks.

[BenRoethig]

Originally Posted by backtomac

I hope you're wrong. Yes the iMac would require a redesign but better now than later. If Merom replaces Core duo, only a modest improvement in performance could be expected. Anand had a very thorough comparisson of merom to yonah and only modest speed improvement was seen. Conroe clocks higher and has a faster FSB (which Anand thought hampered meroms performance). I'm not saying that a Merom iMac would be a bad machine but that a Conroe iMac would be much better and able to grow over the next year or so until the core 2 replacement arrives in 2008(?).

If you want something to grow, an AIO isn't exactly the right fit. It's right if you want powerful, but uncomplicated and elegant. Believe me, OSX will take advantage of merom a lot better than windows.

[TenoBell]

Way too powerful. No consumer needs Dual dual core Xeons or expensive FB-DIMMS.

I agree. This is the perfect time for a Conroe based Cube.

[TenoBell]

no sli or cross fire support as well

Part of me feels Apple should not leave itself out of SLI and Crossfire. But I've read articles that said neither necessarily deliver 2X the performance and at certain times actually lower frame rates. Which would not make them worth the space they take up or the power they need.

[hmurchison]

Originally Posted by TenoBell

Part of me feels Apple should not leave itself out of SLI and Crossfire. But I've read articles that said neither necessarily deliver 2X the performance and at certain times actually lower frame rates. Which would not make them worth the space they take up or the power they need.

I'm worried about the stability of SLI and Crossfire. I have a hard time thinking that a Quadro 5500 isn't going to meet just about everyones needs for visualizing CAD/CAM and DCC markets. I think in a couple of years there will be huge advances in GPU technology that reduce the power consumption, making multiple boards more feasible.

[backtomac]

Originally Posted by BenRoethig

If you want something to grow, an AIO isn't exactly the right fit.

I'm not trying to just start an argument with you, but why? Why shouldn't the iMac grow in processing power over the next year or so (until the core 2 replacement comes)? Merom will basically be unchanged over it's lifespan unless Intel changes course. It will peak at 2.3 ghz and offers little over the current core duo. Yes Santa Rosa will come and help a little but really, can you just sit still with the iMac as it is today for the next 1-2 years.

If conroe doesn't go in iMac where does it go? I guess Apple could intro a prosumer headless desktop but a lot of people are turning blue waiting for this. Apple isn't obligated to use Conroe but doesn't it make sense given that Conroe is probably the best chip for the money that Intel has?

[mcloki]

These are really nice machines. But the nicest thing is that they are going to get updated in a consistent manner. Intel will keep coming out with the chips and there will be price drops regularly. No big deal was made that finally, the desktop is at 3.0Ghz. The lack of Bluetooth and Wireless isn't a concern, since these desktops, for the most part, will be hooked up to networks. And if you need Bluetooth, you'd buy it. All in all, good machines, though I'll wait till I have a little more money and I'll let some other person break in these new machines.
Disappointed that no new monitors were introduced.

[Sybaritic]

Serious candy. It's been a long time coming, but now it's here.

[trevorM]

I want one!

I also think that in contrast to my Dual G5 it will be MUCH quieter!!!

[Foo Fighter]

This is a totally trivial off-the-wall question, but does this removable side-panel sport the Apple logo as well or it is clean of any branding?

[ghiangelo]

i just went to Dell.com and was able to do an across the board workstation comparison with a fully loaded Dell Precision an a new fully loaded Mac Pro and, yes, the Dell was substantially more $$$... and the Dell looks sucky to boot.

hmm...

yes Apple has produced the nicest PC ever!

-ghi

[jbcaro]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

In addition to the standard configuration, the Mac Pro offers more than 4.9 million build-to-order options including...

Well, maybe not that many options. Possibly that many different configurations if you take all of the things you can click on in the BTO screen into account.

jbcaro

[Foo Fighter]

Apple did indeed create a good overall value proposition with the new Mac Pro, in fact I ordered one for myself (huzzah!). But part of me is still bothered by the fact that Apple has, yet again, raised the entry barrier to its pro line. One upon a time, back in ye olden days, PowerMacs started out at around $1,500. Then the entry price jumped to $1,600. Then $1,700. Then $1,800. Lately it has topped out right at $2,000. Today that price is now $2,500.

Now I won't argue that the new Mac Pro isn't good overall value, but you cannot deny that a rather obvious gulf exists between the consumer desktop segment and Apple's Pro line. And it's a pretty damn big one. From anecdotal evidence I can tell you that a vast untapped market of PC users who want a standard non-integrated desktop exists. A $2,500 Mac Pro isn't going to lure them. Apple needs a standalone machine in the sub-grand space.

This topic has probably been beaten to death already, but I feel that it needs repeating if only to help grow Apple's market.