Mac Pro Gets 8 Cores, Costs up to $16,000
The Mac Pro has been updated to 8-core Intel Xeon chips — and can cost up to $16,000.
The new machines, available immediately, can be configured with several different chip combinations, from two Dual-Core Intel Xeons to two Quad-Core Intel Xeons. The top of the line runs two Quad-Core Intel Xeon “Clovertown†processors running at 3.0GHz.
The monsters can be configured in every way imaginable, and have options for four internal hard drives and four video cards. But pricing is not for the feint of heart.
The entry level model — which has two dual-core processors — starts at $2,500 for the base configuration.
The top-end beast starts at $4,000, and that’s with only $1 Gbyte of RAM.
Bump the RAM to 2GBytes and the internal drive to 500Gbytes, and the price jumps to $4,500 — this should be considered the base price.
Add a pair of 30-inch high-def monitors, and it costs $8,200.
A model with all the bells and whistles (16Gbytes of RAM, 4x750Gbyte drives, 4 graphic cards, two displays, airport+bluetooth, fibre channel, etc. etc.) and of course, an Applecare protection plan but no extra software — costs $15,900.
Leander Kahney is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac, and author of three books about technology culture: 
