Desktop Reviews

• Two dual core 2.66 GHz Dual Core Intel Xeon processors, 1.33 GHz per processor bus
• 1 GB RAM expandable up to 16 GB, 250 GB hard drive, 16x Double Layer SuperDrive
• NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT with 256 MB of GDDR2 SDRAM graphics
• Two FireWire ports, two FireWire 400 ports, five USB 2.0 ports, and two USB 1.1 on keyboard
• Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard, iLife ‘08, Comic Life, Omni Outliner, Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac Test Drive, iWork 08 30 day trial, FileMaker Pro 3.5 trial

Increase your productivity with the 1st Apple Mac Pro model MA356LL/A desktop PC, which is the 1st Apple desktop to be powered by the 64 bit dual core Intel Xeon processor. But the Mac Pro offers more power by combining two dual core 2.66 GHz Xeon processors, creating an unbelievably powerful quad core workstation that can handle the more intensive graphics generating. Its redesigned industrial style enclosure offers improved functionality with a cable free installation procedure and big upgrade ability up to 16 GB of 667 MHz RAM and four hard drive bays for up to two TB that’s terabytes of storage under the hood. And while it comes standard with a 16x SuperDrive compatible with burning DVD±R/RW and CD R/RW discs, you may also add a second writing SuperDrive.

Also, the Mac Pro MA356LL/A features a 250 GB hard drive, one GB of installed RAM, and the NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT graphics card with 256 MB of video RAM, both FireWire 400 and slots, and optical audio input and output. The Mac Pro also will include a DVI to VGA adapter and an Apple keyboard and Mighty Mouse.

Preloaded with Leopard, you will enjoy improved productivity and a clutter free desktop thanks to the redesigned 3D Dock with Stacks.

Preloaded with Leopard and iLife ‘08
The biggest Mac OS X upgrade ever, the Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard operating system features over 300 new features, including:

• Time Machine, an effortless way to automatically back up everything on a Mac
• A redesigned Finder that lets users quickly browse and share files between many Macs
• Quick Look, a new way to instantly see files without opening an application
• Spaces, an intuitive new feature used to create groups of applications and instantly switch between them
• A brand new desktop with Stacks, a new way to easily access files from the Dock
• Major improvements to Mail and iChat

Leopard’s new desktop will include the redesigned 3D Dock with Stacks, a new way to manage files for fast and easy access with just one click. Leopard automatically places web, email and other downloads in a Downloads stack to preserve a clutter free desktop, and you may be able to instantly fan the contents of this and other Stacks into an elegant arc right from the Dock. The updated Finder will include Cover Flow and a new sidebar with a considerably simplified way to search for, browse and copy content from any PC or Mac on a local network.

Time Machine allows you to easily back up all of the data on your Mac, find lost files and restore all of the software on their Mac. With just a one click setup, Time Machine automatically keeps an up to date copy of everything on the Mac. In the event a file is lost, you may be able to search back through time to find deleted files, applications, photos and other digital media , then instantly restore the file.

The MacBook Air also comes with the iLife ‘08 suite of applications that make it simple to live the digital life. Use iPhoto to share complete high res photo albums with anybody who’s got an email address. Record your songs and podcasts with GarageBand. Break into indie filmmaking with iMovie and iDVD. Then take all the stuff you made on your Mac and share it on the Web in one click with iWeb.

Processor
Depending on Intel’s next generation Core micro architecture, the two 2.66 GHz 64 bit dual core Intel Xeon processors add both high performance and power efficiency. Augmenting the speed delivered by the processors, the system architecture features 1.33 GHz dual independent front side buses that maximize the performance of the dual core, dual processor system and deliver maximum processor bandwidth of up to 21.3 GB/s. It also offers an improved SSE3 vector engine. Able of delivering 128 bit vector computations in a single cycle, the SSE3 vector engine accelerates data manipulation by at the same time applying a single instruction to many data ideal for transforming big sets of data, like applying a filter to a picture or generating a video effect.

Because Intel intended this dual core Xeon to be more economical, it consumes less power than alike workstation level processors, so your system fans do not have to work as hard to keep them cool. Working with Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard, it also continues the tradition of enabling 64 bit computation. Ideal for scientific applications, the 64 bit Intel Xeon processors can express the extreme precision needed for floating point mathematics and to express integers up to 18 billion billion.

Hard Drive
The 250 GB Serial ATA hard drive is plenty big and fast with a move rate of three GB per second for most home users, but the Mac Pro gives four SATA hard drive bays, each on own independent channel. This enables you to load it up with four 500 GB hard drives for up to two TB of data storage. Using Mac OS X, you may be able to stripe two, three, or all four of those drives in a RAID zero array to increase performance and create a big volume for video editing, or create a RAID one array for instant backups as you work of photos or another digital media.

Memory
While this Mac Pro comes loaded with just one GB of 667 MHz DDR2 RAM which is satisfactory you can add up to a total of 16 GB of 667 MHz DDR2 fully buffered Error Correcting Code ECC memory. And with its 256 bit wide memory architecture, the Mac Pro offers 2x the width of the memory architecture in the Power Mac G5. It comes with two memory riser cards, each with four fully buffered DIMM slots for a total of eight DIMM slots.

Optical Drive
If you enjoy having one 16x SuperDrive at your disposal, think how more productive you may be with two. Imagine backing up your data to two dual layer DVDs now. Or exporting Aperture projects to one DVD, while importing music from a CD into your iTunes library. The installed SuperDrive is matched with writing to DVD R/RW, DVD+R/RW, DVD+R DL dual layer, and CD R/RW media. It’ll burn DVD R discs at up to 16x, DVD+R DL at 6x, and CD R/RWs at up to 24x.

Graphics
The NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT graphics card gives excellent all around performance for creative applications. It comes with one dual link DVI and one single link DVI port, allowing you to connect one 30 inch Apple theater HD Display to the dual link DVI port and one 20 inch or 23 inch theater Display to the single link DVI port. And thanks to the new double wide PCI Express graphics slot, the Mac Pro gives room for three extra PCI Express expansion cards and up to eight concurrent displays with matched optional video card.

Mac Pro Connections

Expansion and Connectivity
Install PCI Express cards like video catch, audio DSP, fibre channel, or extra graphics cards into the three full length PCI Express expansion slots. A newly intended PCI bracket with prisoner thumb screws lets tool less installation and elimination of cards. It will include the following connectivity and audio options:

• Two FireWire ports one on front panel, one on back panel
• Two FireWire 400 ports one on front panel, one on back panel
• Five USB 2.0 ports two on front panel, three on back panel
• Two USB 1.1 ports on included keyboard
• Front panel headset minijack and speaker
• Optical audio input and output Toslink ports
• Analog stereo line level input and output minijacks

Dimensions
It measures 20.1 x 8.1 x 18.7 inches, and weighs 42.4 pounds.

Dimensions
Mac Pro MA356LL/A, Apple keyboard, Apple Mighty Mouse, USB keyboard extension cable, DVI to VGA adapter, power cord, install/restore DVDs, printed and electronic documentation.

Meet Mac Pro, Apple’s new desktop computer geared for the business and graphics professional. Mac Pro not only completes the Mac transition to Intel processors but delivers advanced performance, workstation graphics, and up to 4.9 million possible configurations. Ushering in a new era of remaining performance ? And completing the Mac transition to Intel processors simultaneously ? The new Mac Pro introduces the 64 bit Dual Core Intel Xeon ?Woodcrest? Processor to the Mac lineup. At 2.66GHz, it is a state of the art processor that ? From day one ? Makes the Mac Pro one of the faster desktop computers on the planet.
No matter what the format ? DV, SD, HDV, HD, or film ? The Mac Pro gives film and video professionals the freedom and power to create studio quality and award winning projects. Groundbreaking tools for the Mac platform ? Like Logic Pro, Logic Express, Soundtrack Pro, Digidesign Pro Tools, MOTU Digital Performer, and Steinberg Cubase SX and Nuendo ? Supply composers and sound designers with a money of software for capturing every inspiration.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 21st, 2008 at 9:00 am and is filed under Desktops. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.