New Mac Pro
Wow. The Mac Pro legacy continues. At the default configuration, which starts at $2,799 it includes the following:
- Two 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon (8-core)
- 2GB (2 x 1GB) of RAM
- 320GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
- ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB (Two dual-link DVI)
- One 16x SuperDrive
- Two independent 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet (RJ-45) interfaces
- Bluetooth 2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) up to 3Mb/s
- One PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot
- Two PCI Express x4 slots
- Two FireWire 800 ports, two FireWire 400 ports, five USB 2.0 ports
The Mac Pro includes Intel’s newest Penryn 45nm Quad-Core Xeon processors, which can be upgraded to 3.2 GHz. Main memory can be expanded to 32 GB (which I believe did not change from the last model) and it supports and internal hard drive expansion of up to 4 TB. Apple claims that this is the “fastest Mac ever” and that it delivers “up to twice the performance of its predecessor”. Also more good news, it is available today!
Personally, I am excited about the raw power that this machine has, from the graphics it includes to the new Intel chipset, it is amazing what is packed in the new Mac Pro. Other highlights include the shear expandability, and five USB ports (I have run out on my laptop), and excellent design of the machine. I would have liked to see integrated Blue-Ray or HD-DVD (even though this is not likely) support. There were several rumors that this might occur and I really thought that the next upgrade would include this.