“Apple Computer has selected dual-core Xeon server processors from Intel Corp. to power its next wave of high-performance professional Mac Pro desktops,” Kasper Jade reports for AppleInsider.
Jade reports, “The 64-bit chips — formerly code-named “Woodcrest” and officially unveiled by Intel last month as the Xeon 5100 series — pack a 4MB L2 cache and run at speeds of up to 3.0GHz on a 1333MHz front-side bus.”
“Though the chips are almost architecturally identical to Intel’s upcoming line of Core 2 Duo Extreme desktop processor (code-named “Conroe”), they differ in that they’ll utilize the company’s new Land Grid Array (LGA) 771 socket and also allow for multiple processor configurations,” Jade reports.
“Apple plans to take advantage of Woodcrest’s multi-processor capabilities by offering versions of its upcoming Mac Pro professional desktops that will sport two of the dual core chips, people familiar with the Mac maker’s plans have said. The new systems, which will succeed the Power Mac G5 at the forefront of the company’s product matrix, will also be available in a single processor configuration for a substantially reduced cost, those people have since revealed,” Jade reports.
“Apple chief executive Steve Jobs is expected to showcase the new computers early next month as he demonstrates Mac OS X 10.5 “Leopard” — the company’s next-generation operating system — during the annual Apple World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco, Calif.,” Jade reports.
More in the full article here.
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Related MacDailyNews articles:
PC Mag: ‘Top Ten’ list of things to know about Intel’s new Core 2 Duo processors – July 07, 2006
RUMOR: Apple to unveil ‘Mac Pro’ with new enclosure design, Intel Core 2 Duo at WWDC next month – July 03, 2006
This makes sense, if the Core 2 Duo “Conroe” cannot be used on dual configurations. I’m sure Conroe will find it’s way into the next revision of iMac, and eventually Mac mini (assuming it’s less expensive than the laptop version of Core 2 Duo).
I’m hoping upgraded iMacs get announced at wwdc – i’d like to place an order
Lordee, a 4 cpu’s running at 3 ghz with all of the modern optimizations will separate me from my money fast, assuming the price is not outrageous.
And let’s hope Apple is aiming to really optimize leopard and iwork and ilife around 2 – 4 cores to push people to upgrade. (That goes for you too adobe…)
Imagine 2xDual-core (quad) 3GHz 64bit, with 8Gb RAM, a terabyte of SATA HD and a 30″ Cinema Display, with Leopard and (maybe) dual-booting Vista, a TV tuner and PVR capability, Adobe creative suite (native), Aperture and Final Cut…
Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!!!
Can I rob a bank now to afford my dream machine?
RUMOR: there will be another rumor about the Mac Pro desktop in the near future … its that time again.
Add to that dream machine an NVIDIA Quadro FX 5500 GPU with 1GB memory…
I’m drooling!
Isn’t this obvious?
and an ultradrive (blu-ray + HD-DVD, read & write)….
There is a fever pitch a’risin’.
Good times. Good… expensive times.
MDN “taking” as in “It’s taking an awful lot of brain power to come up with something to say right now.”
I love the sound of “configuration for a substantially reduced cost”. Now I won’t have to take out that morgage to get a new desktop. Hopefully the new enclosure is smaller too. Sign me up!
Well, a little birdy told me these things are being unveiled next week.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” /> Apple wants to stay focused on Leopard at the developer’s conference this August.
@ Mike:
Given that you have a little birdy for a source, I would start a new rumor site if I were you!
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And risk getting sued? No, way!
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This is utter crap, where the heck is the major performance boost?
I’m totally upset with Apple switching to crappy Intel processors, it’s not going to sell a lot of hardware, mark my words.
Why spend more for Apple’s hardware when one can get the same performance in a cheaper Dell?
Sure Mac OS X is a fine OS, and yes it helps move hardware.
But what also moves hardware is processor performance, the big boys buy tons of hardware if they can get more performance for price.
I just can’t see Apple settling for Intel processors in their pro lines.
Ok this first issue new Mac Pro with dual cores is going to pale in comparison to the dual Quad core Kentsfield based processors Intel is releasing in January.
So I would wait and not buy this first issue Mac Pro because it’s just Apple’s way of selling what we already have performance wise in the G5’s and making a killing doing so.
Wait until the dual Quad core with BlueRay DVD’s arrive, that’s the machine to have.
If Apple thinks by having the same processors as PC’s that people just going to switch over to Mac’s they are fcking crazy.
It seems to me Apple is just waiting to dump OS X completely and become a PC vendor like Dell.
There is nothing that makes a Mac a Mac anymore, even Mac OS X TPM has been hacked and now available via bit torrent to run on any PC, including a Woodcrest based Dell.
Apple is just fscked.
To Dynamic Mesh Mouth:
I’ll have some of whatever you’re smoking. Anybody with the IQ of a rock or better could see months ago that Woodcrest was going to be inside the replacements for the G5 Power Mac. OK, you don’t see any performance difference between OSX and Windoze? You don’t see a quality difference between bargain basement generic parts assemblers and Apple? Geez! My Wintel box at work spends about 30% of it’s CPU cycles checking every file that’s opened, transferred, or written for viruses. Hello, Mr. Rock!
When this happens, it will be a milestone of sorts.
The G5 towers are the last Mac’s that will even run OS 9 “classic” software.
I guess the train HAS left the station.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” />
Mac users drool over the prospects of what Apple will release next: “Wow, what next?”
PC users groan over every delay and deleted feature of Vista: “Oh, no, what’s next?”
Someone here should not be allowed to post after midnight…
Three very important rules:
1) Don’t expose them to bright light
2) Don’t get them wet
3) And most importantly: Never, ever let them post after midnight
Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?
The more I work on my Intel iMac, the more I enjoy it. The only performance lag I’m suffering is on the Rosetta running apps (Adobe Photoshop Elements and MS Office); no problems at all with Universal apps (Mariner Write, SOHO Organizer/Notes, iLife apps). And games like Sims 2 do quite well. I admit I’m not a purist, and fairly late to the Mac scene; though I’ve been working with Macs since the mid-90s (and the first computer I ever used was my boyfriend’s Apple IIc in 1981), the first computer I owned was a clamshell iBook G3/366, bought a month before the all white iBooks were announced (proving the adage that as soon as you buy a piece of hardware, something better and cheaper will be announced).
For me, the beauty of Macs has nothing to do with the processor — it’s the OS that’s the key for me. And the Mac OS WORKS…that’s what matters…
No more G5, no more PPC…
*sniff*
Let it go.. just, let it go…
i heart mac dude, Rainy Day:
Would that be midnight Greenwich Mean Time or one of the other 23 time zones on plant earth? What about standard or daylight saving time? 0000 to 0???.
Your cryptic comments lack specificity. Please, rethink and repost, children.
forward, forward, forward…
I think Apple’s got it just about right. Offer backwards compatibility where you can, and for as long as you can, but don’t hold up new technologies for it. There are plenty of perfectly capable older macs out there to run OS9 and older apps. Personally, I can only afford to stay about 1-2 years behind the latest. This let’s me run the new stuff, avoid the buggier new equipment, and still eat regularly.