apple news/media reports
08/07/2006, 1:10pm, EDT
Monday, August 7th
Apple's Mac Pro replaces Power Mac [images]
Apple today replaced its Power Mac line of pro desktop systems with the Mac Pro that boasts an all dual core Intel Woodcrest 64-bit CPU running at up to 3GHz with 4MB of L2 cache, as well as a 128-bit vector engine. The new Mac Pro is 1.6 to 2.1 times faster than the Power Mac G5 Quad, according to Apple, with an average real-world speed increase of 200 percent for everyday apps. The Mac Pro provides space for four hard disks because it requires less cooling than the G5-based Power Mac, offering a total possible storage capacity of 2TB. The pro system features a second optical drive, four PCI Express slots, and a double-wide graphics slot. The case design remains similar to the G5 Power Mac, with the exception of the second slot. The inside of the new Mac has been entirely redone, according to Apple, and a base configuration will ship for $2,499 (2.6GHz/256MB/SuperDrive). The company is offering "millions" of other configurations via BTO, ranging up to a dual dual-core 3GHz with 16GB of memory, 2TB of storage, and ATI Graphics x1900 or Nvidia FX4500 video capability. [Images included]
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In any case, I'm glad to see some nice fast chips in these things. I just hope they ship right away.
Gee, I hope they start defaulting these things with 1GB of RAM.
And what's next? Replaceable graphic cards on the iMacs and minis? PCI slots on them? Machines you can easily open and customize? Nah, didn't think so.
You can downgrade to two dual-core 2 GHz processors and save $300. You can jump to a 160 GB drive and save $75 more. This drops the entry-level price of a Mac Pro to $2124. With an EDU discount you can get one for under two grand: $1962. Cool.
Fred
Well, not quite. You could downgrade the others if you wanted (don't get a superdrive, that kind of thing). However, considering that Apple just has one config and works off of that, you'd kinda hope that they let you downgrade.
Of course, the so-called "low-end" is apparently now $125 more then before.
Well, if you're saving nickels for a "Pro" mac, you do have to save for a really long time. Luckily Apple hasn't had a pro machine worth upgrading to for several years, huh?