Archive notice: This article was originally published on January 8, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
“The new Mac Pro is the fastest Mac we have ever created,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing. “With 3.2 GHz eight-core Xeon processors, a 1600 MHz front-side bus and 800 MHz memory, the Mac Pro uses the fastest Intel Xeon architecture on the market.”
The new Mac Pro features the latest Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5400 processors based on Intel’s latest 45 nm Core microarchitecture, with up to 3.2 GHz and 12 MB of L2 cache per processor for maximum performance and energy efficiency. With its new high-bandwidth hardware architecture, two independent 1600 MHz front-side buses and up to 32 GB 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 an ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT graphics card with 256 MB of video memory. The Mac Pro has a new PCI Express 2.0 graphics slot that provides twice the bandwidth of the predecessor model and supports the newest generation of NVIDIA graphics cards, such as the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT with 512 MB of video memory or the NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 with 1.5 GB of video memory, as well as a 3D stereo connection for corresponding applications. With support for up to four graphics cards, the new Mac Pro can drive up to eight 30-inch displays simultaneously, making it suitable for demanding visualisations and large display walls.
The Mac Pro offers extensive expansion options, including four internal drive bays for cable-free installation of four 1 TB ATA hard drives for up to 4 TB of internal storage, and supports two SuperDrive optical drives. With optional 15,000 rpm SAS drives delivering up to 250 MB/s RAID 5 I/O performance, the Mac Pro is ideal for film and video editing. Combined with SATA or SAS drives via an optional Mac Pro RAID card, it offers maximum data security and hard-drive I/O performance. The Mac Pro is easily accessible from front and rear and features five USB 2.0 ports, two FireWire 400 ports, two FireWire 800 ports, optical and analogue audio inputs and outputs, two Gigabit Ethernet ports and a headphone jack for connecting peripherals.
The new ultra-thin aluminium Apple Keyboard is now included with every Mac Pro. Bluetooth 2.0 and the optional Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple Wireless Mouse help reduce desktop cable clutter.
Prices & availability
The new Mac Pro is shipping immediately. The standard eight-core Mac Pro for €2,499 including VAT includes:
- two 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon processors with two independent 1600 MHz front-side buses;
- 2 GB of 800 MHz DDR2 ECC DIMM memory, expandable to 32 GB;
- ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT with 256 MB GDDR3 memory;
- 320 GB Serial ATA 3GB/s hard drive at 7200 rpm;
- 16x SuperDrive with DL support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
- two PCI Express 2.0 and two PCI Express slots;
- Bluetooth 2.0+EDR; and
- Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse.
