July 3 - 10:25pm EDT   Power Mac G5 and Mac Pro gamers have a new high-performance disk system available to them, through HighPoint Technologies' RocketRAID 2640x4, a 4x PCI-E SAS hard drive RAID system. The system offers users 56-percent increased performance over 10,000 RPM SATA drives, with 128MB per-second transfer speeds, offering users lower average latency and lower read/write seek times. The RocketRAID 2640x4 sells for $165 from HighPoint's website. [full story]

June 28 - 4:10pm EDT   ZDNet has announced what it says is the first tool for overclocking the Mac Pro. Windows options for overclocking are prevalent, but none have been available for the Mac Pro, according to ZDNet. It claims that the new software, called ZDNet Clock, is capable of speed increases of 15 to 20 percent, and most computers with 2.8GHz chips should be able to meet or exceed 3.2 GHz. The version 1.0 software supports Intel processors on a Mac Pro or Xserve and requires Max OS X 10.5; it is available for download now, free of charge. [full story]

June 24 - 3:30pm EDT   Newer Technology has announced its first eSATA Extender Cable, which is compatible with all Mac Pro models. The cable connects to the two unused internal Mac Pro SATA ports and replicates them in a PCI slot, allowing users to use two external eSATA connections. The cable is engineered as a "Perfect Fit Solution" enabling six total SATA drives to access the motherboard. NewerTech's eSATA Extender Cable costs $25 and is available now. [full story]

June 16 - 11:45pm EDT   Sonnet Technologies on Tuesday unveiled the eSATA Extender Cable for Mac Pro computers, a product designed to connect up to two external SATA drives to unused SATA ports on the machine. Sonnet claims that the cable connects to two hidden SATA connectors that sit underneath a fan module, and extends them to the rear of the unit, securely held in place by a PCI slot cover. The eSATA Extender cable will ship soon for $30, and will be available from Sonnet's website. [full story]

June 16 - 9:55pm EDT  Since the debut of the new iPhone 3G members of the Macnn forums have been discussing their likes and dislikes of this redesigned, lower priced model. It seams that Apple did not live up to its expectations for some. One user states that they would have liked to see things like a better camera or stereo Bluetooth. Another user expresses a dislike for the service provider that has been selected (AT&T), an opinion that echoed across the board. One member said they were "satisfied" with the upgrades, another was impressed and plans on buying one soon, but most of the existing iPhone owners didn't see any reason to invest in the new model based on these upgrades alone. [full story]

June 12 - 5:00pm EDT   AMD made a late announcement on Thursday expanding its Radeon for Mac lineup. The ATI-branded Radeon HD 3870 for Mac & PC is AMD's first 3000-series card for Macs and also one of the first to explicitly support more than one platform: users can install the card now in either a Mac Pro tower or a Windows PC and swap it to the other platform later, including for Boot Camp. As a new-generation part, the new chipset has twice as much performance per watt as the outgoing Radeon HD 2900 XT, the company claims. [full story]

June 10 - 4:00am EDT   HP's performance label Voodoo PC today launched a complete overhaul of tis designs with systems that directly challenge the design aesthetics of the MacBook Air and the Mac Pro. The Envy 133 notebook joins both the Air and the ThinkPad X300 in the newer class of ultra-thin but still fast portables: the use of an LED-backlit screen and a carbon fiber chassis help the Envy measure 0.7 inches thick at every point while weighing under 3.4 pounds. A new generation of Intel's notebook platform helps reach these dimensions while still supplying speed, the company says. Voodoo's design is also the third after those from Apple and ASUS to sport a multi-touch trackpad with ... [full story]

May 30 - 8:55pm EDT   MaxUpgrades on Friday unveiled the MaxConnect SAS/SATA Link for Mac Pro, a new PCI Express-based RAID solution that uses the existing internal drives on quad- and eight-core Mac Pro systems. The card connects to the internal drives, allowing users to use several RAID configurations, including 0, 1, 5, and 6. In addition, the device offers full HBA and RAID Control support. MaxUpgrades is offering the device for $230 direct from its website. [full story]

May 15 - 6:55pm EDT   HighPoint Technologies recently announced a new firmware update to the RocketRAID 3522 SATA hardware RAID controller, which will support booting to Mac OS X on Apple Mac Pro and Xserve models released from (2006 through 2008). The RocketRAID 3522 is a PCI-Express x8 external hardware RAID controller with Intel IOP 341 (800MHz) RAID engine and will support up to 8 SATA hard drives. [full story]

April 29 - 2:40pm EDT   AMD's Radeon HD 3870 will become available in a Mac version during May, a report suggests. Citing a "reliable source," the report claims that AMD's mid-range video card will "definitely" ship in Mac form before June, sold as a retail upgrade for owners of current and older Mac Pro desktops. The card should have 512MB of DDR4 RAM, and remain compatible with Windows XP and Vista on dual-boot systems; users are expected, however, to be unable to take advantage of CrossFire SLI modes under Mac OS X. [full story]

April 28 - 4:15pm EDT   The 3.06GHz processor and fellow chips in Apple's new iMacs are part of a special run of Intel's existing technology rather than an early introduction of Centrino 2 technology, Intel has confirmed with Electronista. Although the processors match the same core clock rates and 1,066MHz system bus speeds as those for the upcoming platform, the processors are now known to be unlisted speed grades that include special support for the faster bus speeds (up from 800MHz). [full story]

April 17 - 3:00pm EDT   Computer and flash memory maker Corsair announced today the addition of high-density 2GB and 4GB DIMM kits to its Mac Memory line. Each new kit features two sticks of either 1GB or 2GB fully buffered 667MHz memory made to work in Mac Pro desktop computers. Previously, Corsair offered only 1GB, 2GB kit, 2GB and 4GB kits for the MacBook, MacBook Pro and Intel-chipped iMacs. The laptop memory chips were launched last month. [full story]

April 15 - 3:15pm EDT   The long-awaited NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT upgrade for Mac Pros has been released. The graphics card features 512MB of dedicated GDDR3 memory, uses the PCI Express interface, and includes two dual-link DVI ports, and is capable of driving up to two 30-inch Apple Cinema HD Displays. It requires a Mac Pro (bus speed 1.33GHz) with PCI-Express. The card is priced at $280 and can be purchased as a standalone, user-installable item or as a build-to-order option for Early 2008 Mac Pros through the online Apple Store. Controversy ensued when Apple introduced this upgrade card as an option available exclusively to newly purchased Mac Pros in January. At the time, users presented ... [full story]

April 10 - 4:30pm EDT   Kingston today announced availability of 800MHz DDR2 fully buffered DIMMS, designed to fit in the new Mac Pro and Xserve computers, in 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB capacities. The memory comes in paired sets, which ultimately allow for 25.6GB per second transfer speeds when the Mac Pro is fully outfitted. As with all Kingston memory, each chip features a lifetime warranty. Kingston is selling the memory modules starting at $180 for the 2GB chips. [full story]

April 9 - 7:00pm EDT   HighPoint Technologies has announced that the RocketRAID 3522 now supports booting Mac OS X on Apple Mac Pro (2006-2007) models. The RocketRAID 3522 has a dual mini-SAS interface that supports up to eight external direct connect SATA hard drives. Some of the new features available in the RocketRAID 3522 include selectable RAID block sizes for application tuning. Advance RAID level 0,1,5,6 and new RAID 3 support. Upgradable firmware support via the HighPoint web GUI and 32-bit EFI boot capability with Mac Pro 2006-2007 models. Booting support for Mac Pro 2008 models will be coming soon and requires an firmware upgrade through the HighPoint web management GUI. [full story]