Apple Mac Pro line overhauled with 12 processing cores, arriving in August for $4,999
By Vlad Savov 
posted July 27th 2010 8:34AM
posted July 27th 2010 8:34AM
Perhaps the most welcome upgrade is on the graphical front, where the Radeon HD 5770 takes up the mantle of default GPU, with additional options for a pair of such cards or a step up to a 1GB HD 5870 alternative if you're keen on maxing out those frame rates. Memory isn't neglected either, with choices ranging all the way up to 32GB of RAM, 4TB of conventional HDD storage, or an array of four 512GB SSDs -- though you're probably better off not asking how much that last one will set you back. The comprehensive specs can be found in the full press release after the break.
Apple Unveils New Mac Pro With Up to 12 Processing Cores
CUPERTINO, California-July 27, 2010-Apple® today unveiled a new Mac® Pro line with up to 12 processing cores and up to 50 percent greater performance than the previous generation.* Featuring the latest quad-core and 6-core Intel Xeon processors, all-new ATI graphics and the option for up to four 512GB solid state drives (SSD), the new Mac Pro continues to deliver amazing performance and expandability for the most demanding consumers and professionals.
"The new Mac Pro is the most powerful and configurable Mac we've ever made," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "With up to 12 cores, the new Mac Pro outperforms our previous top-of-the-line system by up to 50 percent, and with over a billion possible configurations, our customers can create exactly the system they want."
At the heart of the new Mac Pro's performance are next generation quad-core and 6-core Intel Xeon processors running at speeds up to 3.33 GHz. These multi-core processors use a single die design so each core can share up to 12MB L3 cache to improve efficiency while increasing processing speed. These systems feature an integrated memory controller for faster memory bandwidth and reduced memory latency; Turbo Boost to dynamically boost processor speeds up to 3.6 GHz; and Hyper-Threading to create up to 24 virtual cores. The Mac Pro now comes with the ATI Radeon HD 5770 graphics processor with 1GB of memory and customers can configure-to-order the even faster ATI Radeon HD 5870 with 1GB of memory.
For the first time, Mac Pro customers have the option to order a 512GB SSD for the ultimate in reliability and lightning fast performance. With the ability to install up to four SSD drives in the system's internal drive bays, the new Mac Pro can provide ultra high-speed disk bandwidth and random disk performance, two times faster than the average performance of a standard disk drive.** Mac Pro also now features two Mini DisplayPorts and one dual-link DVI port. The additional Mini DisplayPort output allows customers to connect two LED Cinema Displays without an additional graphics card or adapter and the dual-link DVI port supports legacy DVI-based displays up to a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels.
Every Mac Pro comes with Apple's innovative Magic Mouse and customers can also order Apple's new Magic Trackpad as an option. The Magic Trackpad brings the intuitive Multi-Touch™ gestures of Mac notebook trackpads to the desktop. With its glass surface, the wireless Magic Trackpad allows users to scroll smoothly up and down a page with inertial scrolling, pinch to zoom in and out, rotate an image with their fingertips and swipe three fingers to flip through a collection of web pages or photos. The Magic Trackpad can be configured to support single button or two button commands and supports tap-to-click as well as a physical click. Magic Trackpad is available separately for $69.
Continuing Apple's commitment to the environment, Apple's desktop lineup is a leader in green design. The Mac Pro meets stringent Energy Star 5.0 requirements and achieves EPEAT Gold status.*** The Mac Pro enclosure is made of highly recyclable aluminum and the interior is designed to be more material-efficient. The Mac Pro uses PVC-free internal cables and components and contains no brominated flame retardants. The new Apple Battery Charger provides a convenient and environmentally friendly way to always have a fresh set of batteries for your Magic Trackpad, Magic Mouse and Wireless Keyboard. The Apple Battery Charger is available as an option for $29 and comes with six long shelf life rechargeable batteries.
Every Mac also comes with Mac OS® X Snow Leopard®, the world's most advanced operating system, and iLife®, Apple's innovative suite of applications for managing photos, making movies and creating and learning to play music. Snow Leopard builds on a decade of OS X innovation and success with hundreds of refinements, core technologies and out of the box support for Microsoft Exchange. iLife features iPhoto®, with breakthrough ways to organize and manage your photos by who appears in them and where they were taken; iMovie® with powerful easy-to-use features such as Precision Editor, video stabilization and advanced drag and drop; and GarageBand® which offers a whole new way to help you learn to play piano and guitar.
Optional Apple professional applications include Aperture®, Final Cut® Express, Final Cut Studio®, Logic® Express and Logic Studio®.
Pricing & Availability
The new Mac Pro will be available in August through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.
The new quad-core Mac Pro, with a suggested retail price of $2,499 (US), includes:
one 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon W3530 processor with 8MB of fully-shared L3 cache;
3GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM memory, expandable up to 16GB;
ATI Radeon HD 5770 with 1GB of GDDR5 memory;
two Mini DisplayPorts and one DVI (dual-link) port (adapters sold separately);
1TB Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
18x SuperDrive® with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
four PCI Express 2.0 slots;
five USB 2.0 ports and four FireWire® 800 ports;
AirPort Extreme® 802.11n;
Bluetooth 2.1+EDR; and
Apple Keyboard with numerical keypad and Magic Mouse.
The new 8-core Mac Pro, with a suggested retail price of $3,499 (US), includes:
two 2.4 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon E5620 processors with 12MB of fully-shared L3 cache per processor;
6GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM memory, expandable up to 32GB;
ATI Radeon HD 5770 with 1GB of GDDR5 memory;
two Mini DisplayPorts and one DVI (dual-link) port (adapters sold separately);
1TB Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
18x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
four PCI Express 2.0 slots;
five USB 2.0 ports and four FireWire 800 ports;
AirPort Extreme 802.11n;
Bluetooth 2.1+EDR; and
Apple Keyboard with numerical keypad and Magic Mouse.
Configure-to-order options include:
one 3.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon W3565 processor for the quad-core Mac Pro;
one 3.33 GHz 6-core Intel Xeon W3680 processor for the quad-core Mac Pro;
two 2.66 GHz 6-core Intel Xeon X5650 processors (12-cores) for the 8-core Mac Pro;
two 2.93 GHz 6-core Intel Xeon X5670 processors (12-cores) for the 8-core Mac Pro;
two ATI Radeon HD 5770 cards with 1GB of GDDR5 memory;
one ATI Radeon HD 5870 card with 1GB of GDDR5 memory;
up to 16GB of DDR3 ECC SDRAM memory for the quad-core Mac Pro;
up to 32GB of DDR3 ECC SDRAM memory for the 8-core Mac Pro;
up to four 512GB solid state drives (SSD); or
up to four 1TB or 2TB Serial ATA hard drives running at 7200 rpm;
Mac Pro RAID card;
dual-channel or quad-channel 4Gb Fibre Channel card; and
up to two 18x SuperDrives with double-layer support.
Accessories include: Magic Trackpad, Apple Battery Charger, wired Apple Mouse, wireless Apple Keyboard, Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter, Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (for 30-inch DVI display), Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter, the AppleCare® Protection Plan; and pre-installed copies of Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server; iWork®, Logic Express 9, Final Cut Express 4 and Aperture 3. Complete options and accessories are available at www.apple.com/macpro.
*Testing conducted by Apple in July 2010 using preproduction Mac Pro 12-core 2.93 GHz units and shipping Mac Pro 8-core 2.93 GHz units, all configured with 6GB of RAM. Based on render performance of Maxwell Render 2.0.3 using Benchwell's sculpture.mxs. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.
**Testing conducted by Apple in July 2010 using preproduction Mac Pro 12-core 2.93 GHz units configured with 6GB of RAM, 1TB 7200-rpm hard disk drive and 512GB solid-state drive. Testing conducted using Iometer 2006.07.27 with a 30-second ramp-up, 5-minute run duration, 128KB request size, 8 outstanding IOs, and 150GB test file. Average rotational media performance calculated by creating the test file on the outer, middle and inner sectors of the drive and averaging the results from all three measurements. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.
***EPEAT is an independent organization that helps customers compare the environmental performance of notebooks and desktops. Products meeting all of the 23 required criteria and at least 75 percent of the optional criteria are recognized as EPEAT Gold products. The EPEAT program was conceived by the US EPA and is based on IEEE 1680 standard for Environmental Assessment of Personal Computer Products. For more information visit www.epeat.net.
Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple is reinventing the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.
12 core wtf... that's one hell of a machine
@DeviantmacG
Took them long enough to put it out.
BEAST.
@DeviantmacG
8-cores starting at only $4999!
@Aaquibn
Meant 12. GET AN EDITING FEATURE ENGADGET!
@DeviantmacG NO Nvidia means no Cuda and no OpenCL. ATI is sleeping on the job of OpenCL support.
@DeviantmacG
WTF, why include a mid-range GPU with such powerful CPUs, I just don't get it!
They should have at least gone for 5870.....
@TheCake
Because Mac Pros computers are normally used for rendering graphics....and rendering does not require any graphics card, whole job is done directly on the CPU.
@Aaquibn
You think they accept dismembered appendages as down payment? I keed, I keed.
@TheCake You can get a 5870...
@TheCake You don't get macs then.
@DeviantmacG Where's the 5970?
@MySchizoBuddy "NO Nvidia means no Cuda and no OpenCL. ATI is sleeping on the job of OpenCL support."
No nVidia does indeed mean no CUDA (not usable on OS X anyhow). However AMD (the company that makes ATI branded video cards) has supported OpenCL on any Radeon 4xxx series card or above on OS X. Thus, every new Mac today still supports OpenCL, just like every Mac last year did.
@DeviantmacG sure you'll have a power outage every time you turn that baby on... but that's still a awesome rig.
@MySchizoBuddy Huh? OpenCL Support for R800 has been in the Stream SDK since last year.
@DeviantmacG
Overpriced as usual.
@ufinc You've got to remember with Apple you're getting enclosures that took a lot of engineering dollars to develop. Unlike their competitors whom usually just grab a standard chassis and throw some plastic around it.
@ufinc
Not really overpriced... this is not something for the average consumer. If you're buying this, your intentions are to make money off of it by doing high end graphics like 3D Rendering projects and so on.
Maybe something like this trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7Nf-m6WGl4
One word: Epic
@Plazmic Flame If you really wanted an intense workstation, Dell makes some pretty sick rigs. Dual Tesla C1060's for some real GPU computation. Obviously not for gaming, but still pretty sick. Throw in dual xeon 5680's and you can do some intense computation to say the least.
@mixit Server-class Dell workstations aren't exactly cheap either. We bought some last month for over $2K each—and they were pretty basic quad cores.
@DeviantmacG
Please review the 12 core 24 thread hellbeast!
Ooh, and now the GPU has a gig of video RAM. That will make video professionals/animators/whatnot very happy, the last models choices were pathetic. Either a GPU with not enough video memory, or a far more expensive Quadro.
Its too bad IBM isn't in the personal computer (well, this is a workstation but you get the point) market...Look at the power7, up to 4 chips per module, upto 8 cores per chip, 4 SMT threads per core, at 3.8GHz for the octacore and 4.1 for the quads, so in a dual module system like the Mac Pro you would have 256 (!!!) threads, and thats not even bearing in mind that the Power7 has a higher IPC....what a beast that would have been!
@Nitesh welcome to my world, I regularly use one of the top 10 supercomputers in the world to run my calculations. Currently have access to in excess of 15,000 cores :)
Although surely there is very little these days desktop wise that will use 256 threads.....
@gambiting And there is a perfect example of people that would settle for less. If someone is going to spend that amount of money I would include a really good GPU. Since Apple know its fanboys will worship it no matter what they do, they do this, and alot of people.
I was trying to make a point here, I couldn't.
@drakino CUDA is usable on OSX. Without Nvidia you can no longer use GPU for Matlab. Accelera Jacket and CULA (based on CUDA) both depend on Nvidia cards. There is no support for ATI cards in any of the mainstream libraries for matlab.
The new Mac Pro. With up to 12 cores of processing power, it's the fastest Mac ever... until we release the next one... then forget what we just said... we might have been bloviating about how fast the Mac is.... wait, no I didn't mean it Steve, I swear, I didn't mean it! don't hurt me! oh NOoooooooes!
@gambiting that's actually wrong! Saying that all graphic rendering is done by the CPU is not correct. What is correct to say is that Apple can put out a gimmick like this out with a mid-class video card is a thing of the past. Apple still believe in the misconception that a powerful computer is only driven by CPU's. You can do a lot of picture maybe, if you are one of the few that is working on 20Gb poster or lithography. If you're doing 3D imaging design good luck with a graphics card like that. Let's not forget that 3D is the shiz right now.
@Plazmic Flame You was right that was EPIC wow
@TheCake
Because Mac Pros are not gaming machines. Does that answer your question?
@DeviantmacG can it run windows 7? i would like a 12 core while streaming flash content and gaming that would be nice
@angelusp It's aimed at people who aren't paying their own money for it.
@gambiting nuh uhh. nearly all high end graphics software is using the gpu as well now.
@DeviantmacG Maximum PC just put out their September issue with their Dream Machine 2010. They used two Xeon CPUs, giving their system 24 cores.
@DeviantmacG
Wow...I think it is safe to say it is a mini-super computer.
@ufinc Not really... my 12 core HP workstation costs about $1k MORE.
And OMFG its fast.
@TheCake
Jobs says you don't need high end graphics cards
@TheCake
12 cores will scream, but it sure will be pumping out some serious heat and fan noise knowing from previous Macs.
@DeviantmacG
that's one hell of a business write-off
@DeviantmacG Umm Just FYI, Intel doesn't make 12 core Xeon chips... Apple is playing with words, the best Xeon chip has 6 cores and 12 threads....and so 12 logical cores....
Needs more cores.
@DeviantmacG
Looking forward to some Lightwave benchmarks of this new version.
@DeviantmacG
I don't get it.
@DeviantmacG
What about Blu-Ray.....
@Matt314 Dual CPU Motherboard. 4 Core CPU x 2 = 8 cores
6 Core CPU x 2 = 12 cores! TADA
BREAKING!!! I do not understand why there are all these breaking stories. Can someone explain? Seriously
@JXCGunrunna It has been 400+ days since the last MacPro refresh.
@JXCGunrunna I don't understand all of these complaints from people like you. Seriously if you don't like it then STFU! No one is forcing you to visit this site.
@JXCGunrunna
First you must confess that you don't know what 'breaking' actually means. Then you'll be at peace
@XChrisX
I love this site. I hate that I want to see gadget news (including apple news since they make gadgets too) and the front page is flooded with what could be all in one article. Hell this comment alone is probably as long as all the thoughtful writing Vlad put into the 4 (and counting) BREAKING stories.
I could see the magic pad getting its own story since it is a new product and not more of the same with new hardware but I dont understand the need for "OMG IT IS AN i3"
Also, if you dont like these comments, do not read them.
@Wesscoast
And as I am typing he was adding actual content to the article instead of just inserting Apple's press release.
@JXCGunrunna
No you're just bitching for the sake of bitching.
If you don't like then don't read the damn article idiot. If you don't like Engadget (which you clearly don't) then go to a different freaking website and stop complaining. Cuz NO ONE CARES (least of all the writers).
You guys keep complaining yet they have not (nor should they change for you pathetic Apple Haters)
Go to another website or exclude Apple news. It's not that difficult. And no one will miss your trolling of the writers....
@JXCGunrunna
"Also, if you dont like these comments, do not read them."
Rest assured that I'm voting down your comments so that I don't have to read them. Other commenters have pretty much expressed what I think of your point.