Macworld | Mac Product Guide: Mac Pro/Quad 2.66GHz Xeon

Mac Pro/Quad 2.66GHz Xeon

Apple completes its transition to Intel-based hardware with this Power Mac replacement that's powered by two dual-core Intel Xeon chips. Unlike its previous desktop offerings, Apple has just one standard configuration -- but there are millions of different configurations. Most notably, Mac users can select dual-core 2GHz, 2.66GHz, or 3GHz chips; they can choose between several different graphics card options; they can stock the four hard-drive bays with extra storage (up to TB); and they can max out the installed Fully Buffered Memory modules to 16GB. AirPort Express and Bluetooth wireless connectivity are options as well; there is no installed modem.

	Reviewed	Full Review

The Mac Pro gives professional Mac users more processor power, storage options, and external ports than the previous Power Mac line -- and at a better value, too. But this new system isn't for everyone: If you don't run high-end professional applications and don't need a huge amount of internal storage or access to PCI Express slots, you might find that the remarkably powerful 20-inch iMac Core Duo is a much better value.

Pros: Fast processors; good game frame-rate performance; huge memory capacity; additional ports on front and back.

Cons: Pricey, rare RAM format; limited performance gains in software not optimized for multi-core systems; non-native software (notably Adobe Creative Suite) must be translated via Rosetta; lack of a sub-$2,000 entry-level model.

Basics

Reviewed Price: $2,499

Processor: 2 dual-core 2.66GHz Intel Xeon 5100s

Information about this system on Apple's website

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Lab Tests

Speedmark 5 Score	260
Cinema 4D XL 10.5	0:28
iMovie HD 6	0:39
iTunes 7.5	0:52
Photoshop CS3	0:51
Compressor	1:19
Unreal Tournament 2004	93.5fps
Tested Configuration	Mac OS X 10.5 with 2GB of RAM

Tested Configuration	Mac OS X 10.5 with 2GB of RAM
Display	No built-in display
Processor	2 dual-core 2.66GHz Intel Xeon 5100s
Cache	4MB shared L2 per chip
Frontside Bus Speed	1.33GHz per processor
Memory	1GB of DDR2 FB-DIMM ; 16GB maximum - 667MHz
Graphics Card	Nvidia GeForce 7300GT with 256MB of GDDR2 SDRAM; Maximum resolution:1,920-by-1,200 pixels (digital), 2,048-by-1,536 pixels (analog), 2,560-by-1,600 pixels (dual-link); Port(s):1 single-link DVI and 1 dual-link DVI port
Hard Drive	250GB Serial ATA, 7,200 rpm
Optical Drive	16X SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW)
Ethernet	10/100/1000BASE-T (x2)
Wireless	AirPort Extreme slot Optional Bluetooth 2.0+EDR module
Peripheral Ports	Firewire: 2 FW 800 and 2 FW 400 ports; USB: 5 USB 2.0 ports
Audio	Inputs: Optical (Toslink), analog;Outputs: Optical (Toslink), analog, headphone
Expansion Slots	Three open full-length PCI Express expansion slots; four independent 3Gb/s Serial ATA hard drive bays
Dimensions	8.1 x 20.1 x 18.7 inches
Weight	42.4 pounds