On Tuesday, Apple took the wraps off its long-awaited Mac Pro refresh, but totally copped everyone’s high by announcing that the new desktop models wouldn’t be available until August. As it turns out, you may be able to at least place an order for …
Make movies, edit photos, and create music on the Apple Mac Pro A1186 desktop computer. This computer features two 2x Quad-Core Xeon 3.0 GHz processors. Detailed Spec: Aluminum Case Style Intel Quad Core x 2 CPU 3.0 Ghz, Quad Core Xeon x 2 – Processor 4096 MB Ram 250 GB Hard Drive 256 MB Geforce [...]
Definitely ready for a refresh, the Mac Pro is rumored to be getting Intel’s forthcoming “Gulftown” Core i7-980X processor in early 2010.
That’s the word on the street from AppleInsider, courtesy of leaking information relayed by Hardmac, the English-language version of French Apple site MacBidouille. Instead of getting new processors under the Core i9 name, the Mac Pro will supposedly adopt a 32nm, six-core processor code-named “Gulftown.”
The Intel “Gulftown” processor falls under the i7 “Extreme Edition” category, starting with the i7-980X. According to the alleged roadmap from Intel, the i7-980X clocks in at 3.33 GHz and is expected in March, 2010. Since Apple has historically had exclusive agreements to be the first to carry some new processors, it’s expected that the new Mac Pro will debut around that time.
Prior rumors about a new Mac Pro suggested that Apple has been testing a new Xeon chip based on the Gulftown architecture. The upgraded processor is said to feature more horsepower with lower power consumption and will be Intel’s first dual-socket, six-core processor.
The new 32 nanometer chips feature 12 MB of L3 cache and six cores with 12 threads for each CPU. Since Apple traditionally doubles the processors for its high-end workstations, AppleInsider suggests that the new Mac Pro could arrive in the first quarter of 2010 with a total of 12 cores and 24 threads.
Earlier this month, Apple rolled out a modest upgrade to its existing Mac Pro with a 2.93 GHz, eight-core version, which still featured the older Nehalem Xeon processor.
According to The Unofficial Apple Weblog and Hardmac, a fascinating new rumor has surfaced — a future Mac Pro, expected in early 2010, will sport dual Intel Xeon Core i9 "Gulftown" CPUs. PCLab shows test results of the CPU at about 50% faster than the current quad-core Xeon processor. The site has a detailed review of the new CPU, but pulled it when Intel asked them to remove the data.
Hardmac’s sources say the future Mac Pro will eventually offer 12 physical and 24 logical cores, making more than enough power for any task. The only issue now is ensuring the applications take advantage of the new power.
