New Clovertown chip an option for Apple's 8-core Mac Pro

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
A new Xeon processor that quietly began shipping from Intel Corp. this month could find its way into a model of Apple Computer's forthcoming 8-core professional desktop systems.



The new 2.0GHz quad-core "Clovertown" chip has been officially dubbed the Xeon E5335 by Intel, filling the gap between the chipmaker's existing 2.33 GHz Xeon E5345 and 1.86 GHz Xeon E5320 offerings.



Although the chip had not been expected until February, Intel said it bumped up the release following some "customer demand" to have the product ready for IT purchases in January.



Like the 2.33GHz Xeon E5345 and the 2.66GHz Xeon E5355 introduced last month, the latest member of the Clovertown family features 8MB of L2 cache and operates on a 1333MHz front-side bus -- making it drop-in compatible with Apple's existing Mac Pro professional desktop architecture.



Despite its slower clock speed, the 2.0GHz E5335 offers one striking advantage over its swifter cousins; it will cost only $690 per chip in lots of 1000, compared to the $851 for the 2.33GHz model and a whopping $1172 for the 2.66GHz variant.



The $690 price point is identical to that of Intel's previous generation 2.66GHz dual-core Xeon "Woodcrest" chip, which Apple elected to use for the standard $2499 configuration of its Mac Pro workstations that began shipping just a few months ago.



Through its online store, the Mac maker also allows shoppers to scale the speed of the Mac Pro. Customers can save $300 by dropping down to two 2.0GHz dual-core Woddcrest chips or fork over an extra $800 for two 3.0GHz models.



Intel's latest edition to the Clovertown family is significant in that it could finally help push Apple's first 8-core Mac systems to market.



People familiar with the subject have said the Cupertino, Calif.-based company holds plans to release of new version of its Mac Pro desktop that will pack two quad-core Xeon chips for a total of 8-cores of raw processing power.



Although development of those systems reportedly wrapped up several months ago, Apple has yet commission their release.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 81
    -df-df Posts: 136member
    Wowee Kazowee!!!!!
  • Reply 2 of 81
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    ...only $690 per chip in lots of $1000, compared...



    I'm guessing that's supposed to be "in lots of 1000"
  • Reply 3 of 81
    It seems as if the Ghz war has ended, it's all about cores and cache these days. It also looks like Intel's product pipeline is progressing very rapidly, I miss the PowerPC's...at lest when we got something new it was exciting
  • Reply 4 of 81
    feynmanfeynman Posts: 1,087member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ThinkExpensive View Post


    It seems as if the Ghz war has ended, it's all about cores and cache these days. It also looks like Intel's product pipeline is progressing very rapidly, I miss the PowerPC's...at lest when we got something new it was exciting



    And the next Intel processor, dubbed Peachtree will be 1.0 GHz and will have 16 cores
  • Reply 5 of 81
    My only question is: Has Adobe optimized PS 10 to take advantage of all the new chip cores that are being developed?
  • Reply 6 of 81
    gugygugy Posts: 794member
    NICE!



    My PM Quad G5 soon on ebay!
  • Reply 7 of 81
    boogabooga Posts: 1,082member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hohlecow View Post


    I'm guessing that's supposed to be "in lots of 1000"



    One pound of these chips also weigh only half a pound.
  • Reply 8 of 81
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Customer's can save $300...



    It's bad enough when some clueless forum poster makes this egregious error, but now it's creeping into news articles? GG, AI.
  • Reply 9 of 81
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Does anyone recall what the current Xeons in the Mac Pros cost per chip?
  • Reply 10 of 81
    It will never stop... ;-)
  • Reply 11 of 81
    kolchakkolchak Posts: 1,398member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    Does anyone recall what the current Xeons in the Mac Pros cost per chip?



    It's in the article. "The $690 price point is identical to that of Intel's previous generation 2.66GHz dual-core Xeon 'Woodcrest' chip, which Apple elected to use for the standard $2499 configuration of its Mac Pro workstations that began shipping just a few months ago."
  • Reply 12 of 81
    onlookeronlooker Posts: 5,252member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Kolchak View Post


    It's in the article. "The $690 price point is identical to that of Intel's previous generation 2.66GHz dual-core Xeon 'Woodcrest' chip, which Apple elected to use for the standard $2499 configuration of its Mac Pro workstations that began shipping just a few months ago."



    It'll be 6 months in January. And I think every Mac has been updated since.
  • Reply 13 of 81
    e1618978e1618978 Posts: 6,075member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    Does anyone recall what the current Xeons in the Mac Pros cost per chip?



    At launch, the prices were:



    3GHz $850, 2.66 GHz $700, 2.33GHz $470, 2.0GHz $330, 1.83GHz $270 and 1.6GHz $230.



    http://www.theinquirer.org/default.aspx?article=29510



    So I imagine that the new processor lineup will be like this:



    o Two 2.0 GHz dual core [subtract $299]

    o Two 2.66 GHz dual core

    o Two 2.0 GHz quad core

    o Two 3.0 GHz dual core [add $799]

    o Two 2.33 GHz quad core [add $799]

    o Two 2.66 GHz quad core [add $1999] (i.e. just low enough to make it not worth while to buy the 2.0GHz and swap processors)
  • Reply 14 of 81
    haggarhaggar Posts: 1,568member
    Do the XServes use the same CPUs as the Mac Pro? If so, then why does upgrading CPUs on the XServe cost so much more compared to the Mac Pro? On Apple's web site, going from a 2 Ghz Mac Pro to 2.66 Ghz is an extra $300 while the same upgrade for the XServe is $800. Upgrading a Mac Pro from 2.66 Ghz to 3 Ghz is an extra $800, but the same upgrade for the XServe is an extra $1000.
  • Reply 15 of 81
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by e1618978 View Post


    At launch, the prices were:



    3GHz $850, 2.66 GHz $700, 2.33GHz $470, 2.0GHz $330, 1.83GHz $270 and 1.6GHz $230.



    http://www.theinquirer.org/default.aspx?article=29510



    So I imagine that the new processor lineup will be like this:



    o Two 2.0 GHz dual core [subtract $299]

    o Two 2.66 GHz dual core

    o Two 2.0 GHz quad core

    o Two 3.0 GHz dual core [add $799]

    o Two 2.33 GHz quad core [add $799]

    o Two 2.66 GHz quad core [add $1999] (i.e. just low enough to make it not worth while to buy the 2.0GHz and swap processors)



    The price seems about right. I don't think the intended user would want to swap chips right away, if ever at all. If the user breaks anything while swapping chips, then they are on their own as far as warranty goes.
  • Reply 16 of 81
    I personally rather have the 4 faster chips then the 8 slower chips. But then again I need to see some stats comparing the two.



    Hell I am just one freaking core (my 360 is more powerful then my computer and I use my computer more ) So I will take just about any amount of cores over, well 1.
  • Reply 17 of 81
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by reallynotnick View Post


    I personally rather have the 4 faster chips then the 8 slower chips. But then again I need to see some stats comparing the two.



    Hell I am just one freaking core (my 360 is more powerful then my computer and I use my computer more ) So I will take just about any amount of cores over, well 1.



    It depends on what you're doing. Right now, I'd rather have 8 slower chips since Xcode compiling is fully multithreading. Two - three years out, when Photoshop and other higher end apps have better multithreading, more cores will win hands down over faster cores.
  • Reply 18 of 81
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by reallynotnick View Post


    I personally rather have the 4 faster chips then the 8 slower chips. But then again I need to see some stats comparing the two...



    Your wish is granted, courtesy of the SRSuperDuperNeverWrong AnalystInstitute patented RumorScooper(TM):





    (Image below, Link is http://creativebits.org/8_core_mac_pro )







    Because of drop-in compatibility of Clovertown into Woodcrest sockets, you get tha 8-core MacPro that benches like a BEAST in PhotoshopCS3, or at least, according to that site.
  • Reply 19 of 81
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by drazztikka View Post


    It will never stop... ;-)



    It needs to start for the Mac Mini 8) -- They're still on Core Duo (Yonah) 1st gen Intel Core. Time for update...!!!11!!
  • Reply 20 of 81
    gugygugy Posts: 794member
    Nice sunilraman,



    Can't wait to get one.

    I hope After Effects 8 will come right after CS3.

    Oh my.
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