Apple Mac Pro
Last Updated: Tuesday 8th of January 2008
Replaces PowerMac G5, PowerMac G4, PowerMac G3.
Update Overdue
Update expected any day
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Current cycle: 8 Months
Shortest cycle: 3 Months 2 Weeks 6 Days
Average cycle: 6 Months 2 Weeks
Longest cycle: 9 Months 2 Weeks 4 Days
Recent Mac Pro rumors...
Sunday 10th of August 2008
Intel Core i7 Processor Mac Pros and Xserves on the way?
Intel Nehalem chips have been slated to go into Mac Pro type workstations since the codename was revealed in Intel's roadmap two years ago. Now those chips, and by extension, those workstations are a lot closer to fruition. That's because Intel has officially revealed the branding for the next wave of high end processors according to C|Net. Next stop product launch...which is looking like late 2008 (unless you are MaximumPC) Intel's description of i7: Dynamic scalability, managed cores, threads, cache, interfaces, and power for energy-efficient performance on demand. Design and performance scalability for server, workstation, PC, and mobile demands with support for 2-8+ cores and up to 16+ threads with simultaneous multi-threading (SMT), and scalable cache sizes, system interconnects, and integrated memory controllers. Simultaneous multi-threading brings high-performance applications into mainstream computing with 1-16+ threads optimized for a new generation multi-core processor architecture. Scalable shared memory of Intel QuickPath technology features memory distributed to each processor with integrated memory controllers and high-speed point-to-point interconnects to unleash the performance of next-generation Intel® multi-core processors. Multi-level shared cache improves performance and efficiency by reducing latency to frequently used data. We expect to see these by Macworld 2009 in Xserves and Mac Pros..more from C|Net: Currently known by the code name Nehalem, the desktop Core i7 processors are slated to ship in the fourth quarter and will be based on a new microarchitecture that will have faster chip-to-chip communication and be better at doing multiple tasks simultaneously--what Intel calls hyper-threading, among other improvements. The Core i7 processors will also be Intel's first processors to put all four cores on one piece of silicon. (Something that Advanced Micro Devices has already achieved with its Phenom and Opteron processors.) Core i7 chips are expected to have a special appeal to enthusiast gamers because of the increased performance that typically comes with a new Intel microarchitecture. Content creation will also be a target market, Intel said. Versions, due later, will be targeted at the server market and, after that, the mobile space, where certain versions will integrate a graphics engine onto the same piece of silicon as the processor.

July 24th 2008
New 324 Node Mac Pro Cluster In The Works At Va Tech

July 24th 2008
Virginia Tech's Mac Pro supercomputer to crack 29 teraflops

July 3rd 2008
Challenges ahead as Apple and Best Buy expand Mac program

June 28th 2008
Overclocking Tool for the Mac Pro

June 28th 2008
Third-party tool allows Mac Pro overclocking
Mac Pro Pricing analysis...
01/0208/0201/0306/0311/0306/0410/0404/0510/0508/0604/0701/08Now
Highest Price Lowest Price Average Price
Today $2,799 $2,799 $2,799
Tuesday 8th of January 2008 $2,799 $2,799 $2,799
Wednesday 4th of April 2007 $2,499 $2,499 $2,499
Monday 7th of August 2006 $2,499 $2,499 $2,499
Wednesday 19th of October 2005 $3,299 $1,999 $2,649
Wednesday 27th of April 2005 $2,999 $1,499 $2,249
Monday 18th of October 2004 $2,999 $1,499 $2,249
Monday 28th of June 2004 $2,999 $1,999 $2,499
Tuesday 18th of November 2003 $2,999 $1,799 $2,399
Monday 23rd of June 2003 $2,999 $1,999 $2,499
Tuesday 7th of January 2003 $2,699 $1,499 $2,099
Tuesday 13th of August 2002 $3,299 $1,699 $2,499
Monday 28th of January 2002 $3,899 $1,599 $2,749
Currently available Mac Pro models...
Two 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon, 2GB RAM - $2,799.00
Released: 8 Months, 2 Weeks, 6 Days Ago
Mac Pro Product notes...
Quad-Core Intel Xeon up to 3.2GHz
The new Mac Pro features the latest Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5400 series processors based on 45nm Intel Core (Penryn) microarchitecture running up to 3.2 GHz, each with 12MB of L2 cache per processor. According to Apple, the 1600 MHz front side bus and 800 MHz DDR2 ECC FB-DIMM memory achives a 61 percent increase in memory throughput.

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

PCI Express expansion
two PCI Express 2.0 slots and two PCI Express slots;

Up to 32GB RAM
Add up to 32GB of 800MHz DDR2 fully buffered ECC memory.

Quad Core: Up to 3.2GHz
Suggested configuration:
- 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(TM) 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.