Desktop Mac Revamp Roundup

By
Alfon
Published: July 27, 2010Posted in: PC NewsTags: , , , ,

After an onslaught of rumors, the new Macs are finally in. The refresh appears to be mostly hardware updates with no aesthetic changes to the outside:

Mac Pro– The newest addition will be the dual-CPU 12-core Xeon option that will be available this Fall.

The new quad-core Mac Pro, with a suggested retail price of $2,499 (US), includes:

  • one 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon W3530 processor with 8MB of fully-shared L3 cache;
  • 3GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM memory, expandable up to 16GB;
  • ATI Radeon HD 5770 with 1GB of GDDR5 memory;
  • two Mini DisplayPorts and one DVI (dual-link) port (adapters sold separately);
  • 1TB Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
  • 18x SuperDrive® with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
  • four PCI Express 2.0 slots;
  • five USB 2.0 ports and four FireWire® 800 ports;
  • AirPort Extreme® 802.11n;
  • Bluetooth 2.1+EDR; and
  • Apple Keyboard with numerical keypad and Magic Mouse.

The new 8-core Mac Pro, with a suggested retail price of $3,499 (US), includes:

  • two 2.4 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon E5620 processors with 12MB of fully-shared L3 cache per processor;
  • 6GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM memory, expandable up to 32GB;
  • ATI Radeon HD 5770 with 1GB of GDDR5 memory;
  • two Mini DisplayPorts and one DVI (dual-link) port (adapters sold separately);
  • 1TB Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
  • 18x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
  • four PCI Express 2.0 slots;
  • five USB 2.0 ports and four FireWire 800 ports;
  • AirPort Extreme 802.11n;
  • Bluetooth 2.1+EDR; and
  • Apple Keyboard with numerical keypad and Magic Mouse.

There is currently no press release for the specifications of the 12-core version, but I’ve managed to gather it up from Apple’s website and the configuration is similar to the 8-core version:

12-Core Standard Configuration

  • Two 2.66 GHz Six-Core Intel Xeon Westmere with 12MB of fully-shared L3 cache per processor;
  • 6GB of 1333 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM memory, expandable up to 32GB;
  • ATI Radeon HD 5770 with 1GB of GDDR5 memory;
  • Two Mini DisplayPorts and one DVI (dual-link) port (adapters sold separately);
  • 1TB Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
  • 18x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
  • Four PCI Express 2.0 slots;
  • Five USB 2.0 ports and four FireWire 800 ports;
  • AirPort Extreme 802.11n;
  • Bluetooth 2.1+EDR; and
  • Apple Keyboard with numerical keypad and Magic Mouse.

Starting Price: $5,000

iMac – The popular all-in-one gets some decent upgrades on the inside as well.

The new 21.5-inch 3.06 GHz Intel Core i3 iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,199 (US), includes:

  • 21.5-inch 1920 x 1080 LED-backlit display;
  • 3.06 GHz Intel Core i3 processor with 4MB shared L3 cache;
  • 4GB 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;
  • ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics with 256MB GDDR3 SDRAM;
  • 500GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
  • slot-load 8x SuperDrive® with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
  • Mini DisplayPort for audio and video output (adapters sold separately);
  • AirPort Extreme® 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
  • iSight® video camera;
  • Gigabit Ethernet;
  • four USB 2.0 ports;
  • one SDXC SD card slot;
  • one FireWire® 800 port;
  • built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
  • Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.

Configure-to-order options include up to 8GB of RAM.
The new 21.5-inch 3.2 GHz Intel Core i3 iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,499 (US), includes:

  • 21.5-inch 1920 x 1080 LED-backlit display;
  • 3.20 GHz Intel Core i3 processor with 4MB shared L3 cache;
  • 4GB 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;
  • ATI Radeon HD 5670 discrete graphics with 512MB GDDR3;
  • 1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
  • slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
  • Mini DisplayPort for audio and video output (adapters sold separately);
  • AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
  • iSight video camera;
  • Gigabit Ethernet;
  • four USB 2.0 ports;
  • one FireWire 800 port;
  • one SDXC SD card slot;
  • built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
  • Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.

Configure-to-order options include a faster 3.6 GHz Core i5 processor, 2TB hard drive and up to 8GB of RAM.

The new 27-inch 3.2 GHz Intel Core i3 iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,699 (US), includes:

  • 27-inch 2560 x 1440 LED-backlit display;
  • 3.20 GHz Intel Core i3 processor with 4MB shared L3 cache;
  • 4GB 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;
  • ATI Radeon HD 5670 discrete graphics with 512MB GDDR3;
  • 1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
  • slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
  • Mini DisplayPort for audio and video input and output (adapters sold separately);
  • AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
  • iSight video camera;
  • Gigabit Ethernet;
  • four USB 2.0 ports;
  • one FireWire 800 port;
  • one SDXC SD card slot;
  • built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
  • Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.

Configure-to-order options include a 3.6 GHz Core i5 processor, 2TB hard drive, 256GB solid state drive (SSD) and up to 16GB of RAM.

The new 27-inch 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,999 (US), includes:

  • 27-inch 2560 x 1440 LED-backlit display;
  • 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 processor with 8MB shared L3 cache;
  • 4GB 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;
  • ATI Radeon HD 5750 discrete graphics with 1GB GDDR5;
  • 1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
  • slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
  • Mini DisplayPort for audio and video input and output (adapters sold separately);
  • AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
  • iSight video camera;
  • Gigabit Ethernet;
  • four USB 2.0 ports;
  • one FireWire 800 port;
  • one SDXC SD card slot;
  • built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
  • Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.

Configure-to-order options include a 2.93 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 processor, a 2TB hard drive, 256GB solid state drive (SSD) and up to 16GB of RAM.

I think it should be noted to the dismay (and perhaps ridicule) of fellow gamers that the standard GPU for these expensive pieces of aluminum is the Radeon 5770.

While Apple does allow upgrades to the more potent Radeon 5870, it seems a bit underwhelming for a system that costs thousands.

Source:
Apple