Apple Australia is offering what must be pretty close to the most powerful desktop PC on the planet: a version of its Mac Pro tower model with two 3GHz Xeon “Clovertown” quad-core processors from Intel.
Apple Australia is offering what must be pretty close to the most powerful desktop PC on the planet: a version of its Mac Pro tower model with two 3GHz Xeon “Clovertown” quad-core processors from Intel.
That means the Pro effectively has eight microprocessor engines: double the number in existing Mac Pro models and more than any other brand-name PC as far as CDN can ascertain.
Not many software programs can spread across eight engines, but certain tasks such as 3D modelling should benefit immensely.
“We considered this to be a platform for software developers to prepare new versions of their applications in the future,” an Apple US spokeswoman, said.
The more basic Mac Pro, with two dual-core Woodcrest Xeons (four engines in all) is still available, starting at $3999. Stepping up to the dual
quad-core model will set you back $6428 rrp, before you start adding memory (you can specify up to 16 gigabytes, along with up to three terabytes of hard disk storage).
Apple Oz has also announced price cuts of $250-400 on its flat-panel Cinema Displays. A 20in screen, previously $1150, now goes for $899; a 23in drops from $1599 to $1399; and the flagship 30in monster is down from $3199 to $2798. – David Frith
