Apple Mac Pro MC560LL/A Reviews

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Thanks to the next-generation Quad-Core Intel Xeon “Nehalem” processors and new system architecture, the Mac Pro now delivers performance thatʼs nearly twice as fast as before.(1) Each processor features an integrated memory controller and 8MB of fully shared L3 cache. With blazing-fast 1066MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM, high-performance graphics, a redesigned interior for easier expansion, itʼs the most advanced Mac Pro ever. (1)Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction Mac Pro 8-core 2.93GHz units and shipping Mac Pro 8-core 3.2GHz units. SPEC® is a registered trademark of the Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation (SPEC); see www.spec.org for more information. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

Featuring a single quad-core Intel Xeon processor and all-new ATI graphics, the Apple Mac Pro desktop PC delivers amazing performance and expandability for the most demanding consumers and professionals. This Mac Pro (model MC560LL/A) is powered by a single hyper-threaded 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon "Nehalem" series processor with a Turbo Boost feature that automatically boosts the processor clock speed based on workload. It also features the ATI Radeon HD 5770 graphics processor with 1 GB of GDDR5 memory.

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This Mac Pro is outfitted with 1 TB of hard drive storage and 3 GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 RAM. The interior provides easy access to all components within the Mac Pro for hassle-free expansion and massive upgrade ability--up to 32 GB of RAM and four hard drive bays for up to 8 TB of storage under the hood. And while it comes standard with a 18x SuperDrive (compatible with burning DVD±R/RW and CD-R/RW discs), you can also add a second writing SuperDrive.
The Mac Pro also now features two Mini DisplayPorts and one dual-link DVI port. The additional Mini DisplayPort output allows you to connect two displays without an additional graphics card or adapter, and the dual-link DVI port supports legacy DVI-based displays up to a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels. Continuing Apple's commitment to the environment, the new Mac Pro meets Energy Star 5.0 requirements, and its enclosure is made of highly recyclable aluminum while the interior is designed to be more material-efficient.
It comes pre-loaded with Apple's Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard operating system--an operating system custom-designed for the advanced technology inside--and it also comes with the iLife suite of applications, including iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, and iTunes.

Key Specifications

• Single 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon W3530 "Westmere" processor with 8 MB of fully shared L3 cache per processor, Turbo Boost dynamic performance up to 3.06 GHz, and Hyper-Threading technology for up to 8 virtual cores.
• ATI Radeon HD 5770 graphics with 1GB of GDDR5 memory, PCI Express 2.0, and option to install two ATI Radeon HD 5770 cards (which provides support for up to six displays).
• 1 TB Serial ATA hard drive (3Gb/s; 7200 rpm) with up to 8 TB of internal storage (hard drives or solid-state drives) in bays four 3.5-inch cable-free, direct-attach drive bays.
• 3 GB of 1066MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM (three 1 GB DIMMs) with four memory slots supporting up to 16 GB of main memory
• 18x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW): 18x DVD±R, 8x DVD±R DL, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 32x CD-R/RW (one open optical drive bay for optional second SuperDrive)
• AirPort Extreme 802.11n Wi-Fi
  
  
  
  
  

  Rear ports.
• Bluetooth 2.1 + Enhanced Data Rate (EDR)
• Networking: Two independent 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet (RJ-45) interfaces with support for jumbo frames
• Expansion: Three open full-length PCI Express expansion slots (one PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot; two PCI Express 2.0 x4 slots); all slots provide mechanical support for 16-lane cards
• Four FireWire 800 ports (two on front panel, two on back panel)
• Five USB 2.0 ports (two on front panel, three on back panel) plus two additional USB 2.0 ports on included keyboard
• Video output: Two Mini DisplayPort outputs, and one dual-link DVI port
• Audio I/O: Front-panel headphone minijack and internal speaker; optical digital audio input and output TOSLINK ports; analog stereo line-level input and output minijacks
• Dimensions: 8.1 x 20.1 x 18.7 inches (WxHxD)
• Weight: 41.2 pounds
• Included Apple Wireless Keyboard and Magic Mouse

What's in the Box

Mac Pro, Apple Keyboard with numeric keypad, Magic Mouse, USB extension cable, power cord, install/restore DVDs, printed and electronic documentation

Limited Warranty And Service

The Mac Pro comes with 90 days of free telephone support and a one-year limited warranty. Purchase the AppleCare Protection Plan to extend your service and support to three years from your computer's purchase date. Only the AppleCare Protection Plan provides you with direct telephone support from Apple technical experts and the assurance that repairs will be handled by Apple-authorized technicians using genuine Apple parts.

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Expansion Made Easy

The easy-access interior of the Mac Pro feels like the well-organized workstation it is. No rat's nest of components here. You don't need to turn the system on its side or struggle to reach into awkward spaces to make changes. Just remove the side panel for instant access to everything. Slide out the processor tray to add memory. Slide out drive bays to add storage. Slide a simple bar to change up to four expansion cards at once. And with plenty of I/O ports both front and back, you'll have room for all your external devices.

Tool-less PCI

When it's time to upgrade, a quick slide of the retention bar frees up the four expansion card slots for easy access. Thanks to a thumbscrew PCI bracket, you can swap out cards without any tools. All four slots are PCI Express 2.0 for incredible performance. And since the graphics slot in the Mac Pro is double-wide, your graphics card won't cover an adjacent slot.

Slide-in Storage

The Mac Pro comes with four 3.5-inch drive bays for an enormous amount of internal storage--up to 8 TB. For faster access to your data, you can also configure your Mac Pro with up to four solid-state drives. The bays are direct-attach and cable free, so it's easy to add or remove drives. Just attach the drive carrier to a drive and slide the drive into place. There are no connectors or cables to contend with. Lock the drives with the side door latch, and you're done.

Snap-in Memory

Install more memory in your Mac Pro in a snap. Literally. The easy-access interior lets you slide out the processor tray in one smooth motion, then simply snap new memory into place. You don't have to dig around inside the computer or wrestle with wires or cables. This single-processor Mac Pro offers four slots that support up to 16 GB of DDR3 ECC SDRAM.

The Greenest Mac Pro Yet

Even though the new Mac Pro is the fastest Mac ever, it is also highly energy efficient. Energy-efficient hardware components work hand in hand with Mac OS X to create a system that can dynamically adjust power consumption to reduce the overall energy used. For instance, the CPU architecture allows individual cores to go into a low-power state to reduce energy consumption when they are not needed. The graphics card does the same, reducing power draw when not running graphics-intensive applications. The result is a smart and energy-efficient system that is not only as fast as possible when you need it, but also throttles down power use when it's not needed.
The Mac Pro meets the stringent low power requirements set by the EPA, giving it ENERGY STAR qualification. ENERGY STAR 5.0 sets significantly higher efficiency limits for power supplies and aggressive limits for the computer's typical annual power consumption.

Pre-Loaded with Mac OS X Snow Leopard and iLife

Every Mac comes with Mac OS X Snow Leopard, the world's most advanced operating system, and iLife, Apple's innovative suite of applications for managing photos, making movies and creating and learning to play music. Snow Leopard builds on a decade of OS X innovation and success with hundreds of refinements, new core technologies and out of the box support for Microsoft Exchange. iLife features iPhoto, to easily organize and manage photos; iMovie with powerful easy-to-use new features such as Precision Editor, video stabilization and advanced drag and drop; and GarageBand which introduces a whole new way to help you learn to play piano and guitar.

Installed software

• Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard (includes Time Machine, Quick Look, Spaces, Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat, Safari, Address Book, QuickTime, iCal, DVD Player, Photo Booth, Front Row, Xcode Developer Tools)
• iLife (includes iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, iWeb, iDVD)

Technical Details

- One 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon ?Nehalem? processor
- 3GB (three 1GB) memory
- 1TB hard drive
- 18x double-layer SuperDrive
- ATI Radeon HD 5770 with 1GB GDDR5

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"Another triumph for Apple" 2010-09-21
By I miss W (USA - Greatest Theme Park on EARTH!)
I just replaced my five-year-old Dual 2.7 GHz PowerMac G5 with the Apple 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Mac Pro and what an improvement! The new Mac is at least three times faster doing processing tasks (exporting a movie from QuickTime, for example) than the old unit, and it's SILENT. Photoshop is a lot speedier and so is Quark (although the lengthy delay in startup hasn't changed--dang you Quark!). I've pushed it hard (transferring files from the old Mac while exporting a movie from QT, listening to iTunes, and working in Photoshop) without hearing the fans speed up even once! I have three 1-TB drives installed in the enclosure with one bay free, plus six 2-TB external drives hooked up via a Kensington USB Hub and file transfers happen reliably and quickly.

Tasks such as installing hard disks can be tedious on less well designed computers, but not on the Mac Pro! Fit and finish are perfect and the hardware shows the usual attention to detail for which Apple is renowned. For instance, to install a new disk drive in one of the four drive bays: simply lift the locking lever on the rear of the case and take the cover off, thereby exposing the bays. Remove one, attach it to the new drive and tighten the four captive fasteners, then slide it back into the Mac Pro enclosure--elapsed time less than a minute! Installing RAM and PCI Express cards is equally simple.

I'm not much for gaming but I do like playing Unreal Tournament 2003 online. There's not a native Intel version of UT2003, so it runs using the Rosetta translator, but the ATI Radeon HD 5770 graphics processor and Nahalem processors handle the load with barely a hiccup--there is a slight reduction in frame rates (noticeable but not annoyingly so).

In retrospect, I'd have bumped the RAM up from 3 GB, but that's easily fixed with the 4 GB RAM Kit. That's the closest I can come to a regret with this computer.

There's been some little controversy over the last year as to whether the Mac Pro is worth the price premium over iMacs because they've been closing the performance gap. For me it was no contest: I needed as much internal disk storage as I could get, plus the flexibility to add RAM and monitors as needed was a crucial factor. The iMac is a great computer, but I'm happy with my Mac Pro.

I highly recommend this machine!



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