New Apple Mac Pros

Earlier this month, Apple unveiled the latest version of the Mac Pro desktop, which features several new technologies and design elements, including Intel’s “Nehalem” Xeon processors. Consumers have the choice of either a 2.66GHz quad-core system or 2.26 GHz eight-core system. Both models deliver unsurpassed graphics options and up to twice the performance of last year’s standard Apple Mac desktops. With that being said, anyone involved in professional digital media production work—such as video editing, 3-D graphics or advanced mathematical calculations—should take advantage of the Mac Pro’s new powerful system architecture.

Just like previous generations, the latest Mac Pro is still one of the most attractive desktops on the market, thanks to its sculpted aluminum chassis and best-in-class design. Nonetheless, there are some minor changes to the exterior that are worth mentioning. For starters, the two FireWire 400 connectors from earlier models have been replaced with backward-compatible FireWire 800 ports. The other difference is that a pair of new video ports has been added on the graphics card, which includes dual-link DVI and mini DisplayPort outputs.

Of course, inside the Apple Mac Pro is where all the major changes have been made. The interior is divided into separate compartments for the various hardware parts. The optical drive and power supply are hidden behind sliding trays that are attached directly to the motherboard. Both models feature a 640GB hard drive, five USB 2.0 ports, and an 18x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD-RW/CD-RW).

Apple has also improved the design of the tower’s memory and the expansion card slots. Now you can easily remove the CPUs memory portion of the motherboard to make any necessary upgrades or repairs to the Mac Pro desktop. The memory controller is now on-chip, delivering up to 2.4 times the bandwidth and cutting memory latency up to 40 percent. Plus, users can still purchase the Applecare Protection Plan, which gives you three years of phone service and three years of warranty coverage. All in all, they’ve made some great improvements. Even though it comes with a premium price tag, this new Apple Mac desktop just might be worth it.