New MacPro, Xserve debut

One week before Macworld San Francisco 2008, Apple has decided to release updated versions of the Mac Pro and Xserve.

The new Mac Pro, features the following stock configuration at a price of $2,799:

  • two 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon processors with dual-independent 1600 MHz front side buses;
  • 2GB of 800 MHz DDR2 ECC fully-buffered DIMM memory, expandable up to 32GB;
  • ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT with 256MB of GDDR3 memory;
  • 320GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
  • 16x SuperDrive™ with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
  • two PCI Express 2.0 slots and two PCI Express slots;
  • Bluetooth 2.0+EDR; and
  • ships with Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse.

The new Xserve, at $2,999, features:

  • a single 64-bit 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Xeon processor with 12MB of L2 cache and a 1600 Mhz front side bus;
  • 2GB of 800 MHz DDR2 ECC FB-DIMM RAM, expandable up to 32GB;
  • a single 80GB SATA Apple Drive Module;
  • dual Gigabit Ethernet on-board;
  • internal graphics;
  • two FireWire® 800 and three USB 2.0 ports; and
  • an unlimited client license for Mac OS X Server version 10.5 Leopard.

Both machines can be customized, of course.

One has to wonder - with Macworld a week away, why release new Macs now? The only logical conclusion is that Apple has enough new products (outside today’s launches) to occupy an entire keynote. Let the speculation begin!

Posted: January 8, 2008 / Category: Apple