Apple unveils new Mac Pro, XServe

In an unexpected move a week before the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco, Apple unveiled their new Mac Pro line and the new XServes. While performance may be outstanding, your wallet will feel the pain.

Apple hasn’t upgraded the baseline Mac Pro since its introduction in mid-2006. They added the 8-core configuration in spring 2007 (and it wasn’t cheap), but the baseline configuration remained unchanged. This was the ire of many professionals who depend on an Apple workstation to get them through the day. While other companies like Dell would adjust their prices for the fluctuating market (lowering the price when Intel cuts their prices, when the DRAM market tanked and RAM became very cheap, etc), Apple would remain steadfast in their prices. So what may have been competitive with Dell upon the launch of the product would, by the middle and end of the product cycle, be uncompetitive and overpriced.

The new Mac Pros are offered at speeds of 2.8GHz, 3.0Ghz and 3.2Ghz processors with the faster 1600MHz Front Side Bus (the last Mac Pro to have a FSB, as the new Nehalem processors with CSI will debut at the end of this year or early next year). They come standard with 2GB of RAM, two sticks of 1GB 800MHz FB-DIMMs, a 320GB HD, ATi Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB and a Superdrive (no high-definition reader or burner yet). Options of multiple ATi cards is possible, along with upgrading to a single nVidia 8800GT 512MB or a nVidia Quadro 5600 1.5GB.

The new XServe offers the same 2.8Ghz and 3.0GHz processors (no 3.2GHz, most likely due to heat issues) with a single 2.8GHz quad core processor starting at $2,999 and 8-core configurations available at higher prices. The default configuration is 2GB of RAM and an 80GB SATA HD. The XServe also supports two PCI-Express 2.0 slots, one x16 and one x8, the second slot doubling as a PCI-X slot if needed.

So today Apple refreshes the product and gives us a not so pleasant surprise – an price increase. Previously the cheapest Mac Pro was a 2.0Ghz 4-core workstation for $2199, and while it wouldn’t hit a home run in terms of performance, it was still a reasonable configuration and price. Today, Apple ups the basic configuration of the 8-core Mac to $2,799. However, to the delight of enthusiasts like myself, Apple is also offering a single 4-core processor (leaving the other socket vacant) for $2,299, and when upgraded to a 8800GT video card the price is $2,499.

So why the price jump? What’s changed that requires the huge price increase over the previous Mac Pro models? A few factors. First is the rumor that Apple bought most of the first batch of 1600MHz FSB processors, a pretty penny they would have had to pay as well, as the price of these processors by themselves start at over $800 plus any premium Apple may have had to pay to secure the chips. The previously mentioned 2.0GHz dual core chip was selling for approximately $200.

Second, Apple’s line-up now includes a high-end iMac – the 24″ 2.8Ghz dual core iMac which occupies the $2,299 price point. So those in the market to spend just over $2,000 have the option of the iMac or a MacBook Pro, while the new Mac Pro’s sit “above” those product lines in terms of pricing. Which leads me to my next point, in terms of relative performance, the 8-core Mac Pro is a leap ahead as long as your software can take advantage of all 8 threads the system offers (Final Cut Pro and Maya is the only ones that I know of that should take advantage of up to 8 cores for modeling/rendering).

As for myself, buying a Mac Pro is still an option – an expensive option, but still an option. Especially if I can swing an educational discount (the $2,499 option mentioned above is $2,329 with the discount). Though I will wait to see if Apple announces their new thin MacBook next week, as I’d rather spend my money on that.