“Better known by its code name Woodcrest, the Xeon 5100 series provides the brains for Apple’s new Mac Pro towers. Although it shares a name with Intel’s longstanding server-centric CPU, the 5100s are different beasts from their Netburst predecessors. They are built on the same Core architecture as Merom (Core 2 Duo) laptop CPUs and the just-released desktop CPU Conroe (also Core 2 Duo),” Eric Bangeman reports for Ars Technica.

“Apple is using three Xeons across the Mac Pro line: the 5130 (2.0GHz), 5150 (2.66GHz), and the 5160 (3.0GHz). The default configuration for the Mac Pro uses Van Halen’s favorite CPU, the Xeon 5150, with the 5130 and 5160 available as build-to-order options for $300 less and $800 more, respectively. Since the machine being reviewed has the 5150, I’ll just touch on that processor. However, the CPUs are identical except for the speed. A detailed look at the Xeon architecture is outside the scope of this review, but we can hit a few of the highlights of the 5150,” Bangeman reports.

Bangeman reports, “Although the Mac Pro uses the same enclosure as the Power Macintosh G5, Apple has made some small changes on the outside and bigger ones on the inside. More ports in the front means it’s easier to plug and unplug devices, and additional USB 2.0 ports means fewer hubs. I do miss the modem, since I’ve been using my G5 to receive faxes.”

Bangeman reports, “The interior layout is a big win for Apple. Four drive bays is adequate for a pro tower, although support for something little better than 7200rpm SATA would have been nice. It’s also great having room for a second optical drive. Adding a second DVD burner, extra hard drives, and RAM are all very straightforward and simple operations. The layout of the interior is very well done and everything is easy to get to. Putting the graphics card in a double wide slot so that it doesn’t block another PCIe slot is another smooth choice.”

“In terms of performance, it’s good news—with a caveat. While the fully-buffered memory, the screaming-fast Xeon 5150s, and the 1333MHz FSB are all great, Apple’s video card choice is most definitely not. It’s like having a can of Schlitz with filet mignon, or having an oompah band play Oktoberfest at Carnegie Hall. It doesn’t fit, and it detracts from the overall experience. The ATI Radeon X1900XT offered as a build-to-order option would have been a fantastic choice, but given Apple’s desire for a $2,499 price tag and high margins, that was not an option. Still, one of the GeForce 7600s would have been a more appropriate choice,” Bangeman reports.

“A pair of x16 PCIe slots would have been nice as well. Unfortunately, Intel doesn’t have a Xeon chipset capable of support that at this point. Perhaps down the road,” Bangeman reports. “Despite that, the Mac Pro is a very solid graphics or video editing workstation. When all the major ‘pro’ applications have made the transition to Universal Binaries, the PowerPC years will be little more than a memory.”

Full comprehensive review (as usual) – a must read for those considering purchasing Apple’s Mac Pro here.

Related MacDailyNews articles:
Apple Mac Pro Quad-core Xeon easily beats Power Mac G5 Quad – August 11, 2006
Benchmark duel: Apple Mac Pro vs. Power Mac G5 – August 10, 2006