Apple has announced a new Mac Pro. It's their high-end productive machine. It will be available starting from August 2010. It can be purchased as a 4-core, 8-core or 12-core setup (12-core combines both). It has the following specifications, according to Apple: CPU (8 core version) 2x Intel Xeon E5620 “Westmere” 2.4 GHz 12 MB L3 Cache for each CPU Up to 2.66 Ghz Hyper-Threading for 16 virtual cores CPU (quad-core version) Intel Xeon W3530 “Nehalem” 2.8 GHz 8 MB L3 Cache Up to 3.06 GHz Hyper-Threading for 8 virtual cores Integrated memory Controller 128-bit SSE4 SIMD engine 64-bit data paths and registers Graphics ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB GDDR5 memory, PCI-Express 2.0, 2x Mini DisplayPort, 1x dual-link DVI. ATI Radeon HD 5870 1 GB GDDR5 memory, PCI-Express 2.0, 2x Mini DisplayPort, 1x dual-link DVI. Option for two HD 5770 cards Up to six displays can be connected Resolution up to 2560x1600 RAM (8/12 core setup) For 2.4 GHz systems: 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM For 2.66 GHz and 2.93 GHz systems: 1333 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM 8 memory slots (4 per CPU) up to 32 GB using 1GB, 2 GB or 4GB DIMMs RAM (quad-core setup) For 2.8 GHz and 3.2 GHz systems: 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM For 3.33 GHz systems: 1333MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM 4 memory slots up to 16 GB supporting 1GB, 2 GB and 4 GB DIMMS Storage Up to 8 TB of stoage. Using either or both: 1 TB or 2 TB hard drives, SATA 3Gbit/s, 7200 rpm, 32 MB cache 512 GB SSD drives, SATA 3Gbit/s Optional RAID card with 512 MB cache and 72 hour battery backup Optical One or two 18x SuperDrives Connections 4 FireWire 800 ports (2 front, 2 rear) 5 USB 2.0 ports (2 front, 3 rear) Front-Panel audio and internal speaker Digital input/output TOSLINK ports Analog stereo line-level input/output Multichannel audio through Mini DisplayPort Communications Built-in WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n Bluetooth 2.1+ EDR Two Gibabit ethernet ports PCI Express One PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot Two PCI Express 2.0 x4 slots All slots support 16-lane cards. 300W combined maximum output Pricing Quad-Core starting at $2499 8 core starting at $3499 12 core starting at $4999
dam, every year the Mac Pro prices have gone up since I bought mine, anyway considering selling my Mac Pro to get the 27" iMac.
THe only reason why I don't want an iMac is because I need to crawl over my desk to press the power button on the back of the screen. But they're getting more expensive all the time, especially the new Mac Mini.
The price is pretty much explainable. Apple is doing a great job on the upgrades, I could not complain. I like the iMacs that came out too. The thing is, you can only get the the i5s and i7s on the 27" screen.
I noticed that Macmall.com is now selling the 12 cores. Who would need 12 cores, holly molly! It's called the Westmere!