Apple Introduces New Mac Pro

[Jimmy 2004]

Apple today introduced the new Mac Pro with eight processor cores and a new system architecture that delivers up to twice the performance of its predecessor. The new Mac Pro combines two of Intel's new 45 nanometer Quad-Core 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."

The new Mac Pro features the latest 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.

Every Mac Pro comes standard with the ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT graphics card with 256MB of video memory. The Mac Pro 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.

The Mac Pro is the most expandable Mac ever, 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 includes Leopard , the sixth major release of the world's most advanced operating system. Leopard is packed with more than 300 new features and introduces a brand new desktop with Stacks, a new way to easily access files from the Dock; a redesigned Finder that lets users quickly browse and share files between multiple Macs; Quick Look, a new way to instantly see files without opening an application; Spaces, an intuitive new feature used to create groups of applications and instantly switch between them; and Time Machine , an effortless way to automatically back up everything on a Mac. Featuring an improved scheduler and other multi-core technology, Leopard is a perfect companion to the Mac Pro, making applications faster and helping application developers take advantage of multi-core systems.

The new ultra-thin aluminum Apple Keyboard now ships with every Mac Pro and built-in Bluetooth 2.0 makes it easy to reduce cable clutter with the optional Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple Wireless Mouse.

Pricing & Availability
The new Mac Pro is shipping today and will be available through the Apple Store (www.apple.com), 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 buses;
• 2GB of 800 MHz DDR2 ECC fully-buffered DIMM memory, expandable up to 32GB;
• ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT with 256MB of GDDR3 memory;
• 320GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
• 16x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
• two PCI Express 2.0 slots and two PCI Express slots;
• Bluetooth 2.0+EDR; and
• ships 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. Complete build-to-order options and pricing are available at http://www.apple.com/macpro.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[pt]

apple never heard of firegl or quadro lines did they...

 

[Namslas90]

apple never heard of firegl or quadro lines did they...

...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. Complete build-to-order options and pricing are available at www.apple.com/macpro.

Source: Apple

 

[snuif09]

id prefer windows has more games

 

[Ripper3]

pt, read closer: Quadro FX 5600 graphics cards
Before people say "why isn't it standard?", just remember, it costs about as much as a house.
Oh, and I don't think they've ever used FireGL cards, at least, don't remember them, but they've had Quadros for quite a while.
For the standard cards, they've always used low-to-mid ATi or Nvidias, all depending on which is the best performance/cost ratio, which the 8600 might be, compared to the 7300, and especially the HD 2600 that's to be used now, although the higher end cards they choose are always good cards. 6800 Ultra, or X800XT back in '05. X1900XT last year, and now the 8800GT, which is a great choice, of course.

EDIT:

id prefer windows has more games

I wouldn't mind a Mac Pro, they're powerful, for sure, and can run Windows too, while Mac OS X is a well made OS. The games available for OS X are actually the games I probably play most, like BF2/2142, CoD2, and WoW, among others.

 

[Ravenas]

God, if I won the lottery this would be the first thing I buy (fully loaded).

 

[TUngsten]

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 buses;
• 2GB of 800 MHz DDR2 ECC fully-buffered DIMM memory, expandable up to 32GB;
• ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT with 256MB of GDDR3 memory;
• 320GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
• 16x SuperDrive™ with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
• two PCI Express 2.0 slots and two PCI Express slots;
• Bluetooth 2.0+EDR; and
• ships with Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse.

I hate to say it, but this is hardly worth $2799
As MACs get more and more PC-like, I fear they will lose their identity altogether. Really, all Macs have now to differentiate themselves from the rest is the OS. The hardware is the same.

I love the cases though - are they using Lian-Li or a is it a knockoff?

 

[Ravenas]

I hate to say it, but this is hardly worth $2799
As MACs get more and more PC-like, I fear they will lose their identity altogether. Really, all Macs have now to differentiate themselves from the rest is the OS. The hardware is the same.

Explain to me why that isn't worth it.

 

[TUngsten]

God, if I won the lottery this would be the first thing I buy (fully loaded).

I just priced that out for you:

$21,827 + s/h
monitor included!

 

[King Wookie]

I use both Mac and PC. Mac for work, where reliabilty is essential, and PC. for gaming.
Saying which, one of these with the 8800GT would be a pleasant gaming experience. Thanks to bootcamp, they now run XP or Vista natively.

Points to remember, they are not a good platform for modding or overclocking, and their monitors are too expensive.

Gotta love the design work though.

 

[Ravenas]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117155
x2 = 1137$ (and those arn't even 2.8 xeon, they are 2.66)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146725
=94.99$

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102700
=$96.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136074
=$79.99

I would say 40-50$ on the drive.

An extremely nice motherboard, very expensive.

Blue tooth built in.

Apple keyboard and mouse will run you about 100$ dollars.

Custom case. All aluminum

OS, software suite... Very much worth it.

 

[Ravenas]

I just priced that out for you:

$21,827 + s/h
monitor included!

Again lol...If I won the lottery, it would be the first thing I buy. But instead of their monitor, I would hook it up to a 70in LCD.

 

[TUngsten]

Explain to me why that isn't worth it.

2600xt $130
2gb ram ~$90
320gb HD ~$90
16xDVD ~$50 (overestimate)
keys_mouse $100 (gross overestimate)
total: $460 give or take a few (and these are retail prices)

does that mean the case, mobo, cablage, and 2x 2.8gz Xeon chips are worth $2339?

I just think this minimum setup is ~$1000 overpriced. All options maxed out for $21k? That's absurd.

edit: damn you, beat me to it!

 

[Ravenas]

2600xt $130
2gb ram ~$90
320gb HD ~$90
16xDVD ~$50 (overestimate)
keys_mouse $100 (gross overestimate)
total: $460 give or take a few (and these are retail prices)

does that mean the case, mobo, cablage, and 2x 2.8gz Xeon chips are worth $2339?

I just think this minimum setup is ~$1000 overpriced. All options maxed out for $21k? That's absurd.

Yes, but you have to take into account this isn't something I built and put my work into. This is Apple building us a very nice computer and us paying for it. The type of person who buys that computer is a person who probably doesn't care that much about money (because they have alot of it). Hence me saying, if I won the lottery I would get it. Untill then, I will build my own machines.

 

[jocksteeluk]

Apple always lets themselves down by coupling a monster system with a midrange card on.

 

[btarunr]

With the hardware differences narrowed between the PC and the Mac, the only ones to remain are the system built and the OS......why would one buy a Mac when for that price you get a decent gaming PC that does lot more than what a Mac does? It all boils down to what all you can accomplish using the machine, a machine can never be bigger than a user, the user is, and for what the user pays if the machine doesn't give back, there are better alternatives. Flaunt value is the only thing that's keeping Macs apart and even that is narrowing down with PC makers like Sony (Vaio), Alienware, etc coming up with machines with the same oomph

 

[Ravenas]

With the hardware differences narrowed between the PC and the Mac, the only ones to remain are the system built and the OS......why would one buy a Mac when for that price you get a decent gaming PC that does lot more than what a Mac does? It all boils down to what all you can accomplish using the machine, a machine can never be bigger than a user, the user is, and for what the user pays if the machine doesn't give back, there are better alternatives. Flaunt value is the only thing that's keeping Macs apart and even that is narrowing down with PC makers like Sony (Vaio), Alienware, etc coming up with machines with the same oomph

The two OSes are very different that's why, I use Mac for everything but gaming and Windows for games only.

@jock: I think the only reason Apple doesn't go towards the hardcore graphics cards is because Apple is just starting to open up to the gaming community.

 

[Disparia]

It's alright I suppose... I wouldn't like being locked into that case though, even though it has double the hard drive and optical bays as previous Mac Pros (the generation before last).

 

[pepsi71ocean]

nice rig but the gfx card would be an upgrade, unfortunately i think my video editing rig could keep up if swiched os systems.

 

[mdm-adph]

@jock: I think the only reason Apple doesn't go towards the hardcore graphics cards is because Apple is just starting to open up to the gaming community.

Graphic cards are used for a lot more than gaming, you know. I guarantee you Apple's decision to go with such a low-end card for stock stems more from their desire to make money (have you seen the price of the graphic card upgrade?).

 

[Ravenas]

Graphic cards are used for a lot more than gaming, you know. I guarantee you Apple's decision to go with such a low-end card for stock stems more from their desire to make money (have you seen the price of the graphic card upgrade?).

Yes, but you can upgrade these machines if you're a serious photoshop user (or something of that nature). Many companies buy their machines in bulk after talking to Apple and getting what they want out of the machine. On the graphics side, for the average consumer, that's really all one needs. However, when it comes to people like us (techpowerup users), we are hardware enthusiasts who care more about having more than just the average (I'm not sterotyping everyone on this forum, but I'm sure that generalization is somewhat accurate).

 

[Wile E]

2600xt $130
2gb ram ~$90
320gb HD ~$90
16xDVD ~$50 (overestimate)
keys_mouse $100 (gross overestimate)
total: $460 give or take a few (and these are retail prices)

does that mean the case, mobo, cablage, and 2x 2.8gz Xeon chips are worth $2339?

I just think this minimum setup is ~$1000 overpriced. All options maxed out for $21k? That's absurd.

This is a server based platform. Build a Windows server of these specs, and the Mac is a very good value. You also have to include software to do what this will do out of the box.

Mobo for this= about $500
The CPUs (2.8GHz Quad)x2 = roughly $1500

That alone is almost $2000.

 

[Ravenas]

Serious server users know about Xserve. This computer is not a server without Xserve, and with Xserve this computer is one hell of a server.

 

[Wile E]

Mac Pros been inline with Dell/HP pricing. People who use servers arent as easily swayed by the argument, "it just works".

But content producers are. And besides, you've proven my point that these prices are reasonable for what you get. Those servers from HP and Dell also don't come with the software abilities out of the box. You still have to buy additional programs to do what the Mac Pro can do as soon as you plug it in and fire it up.