News 

While Apple's other computers - the iMac, MacBook, MacBook Pro and Mac mini - each come in several default configurations which can then be customised, there is no equivalent for the Mac Pro. Instead, Apple details a 'suggested configuration' with two 2.66GHz Dual-Core Xeon 'Woodcrest' processors, 1GB of memory, an Nvidia GeForce 7300 GT graphics card with 256MB of memory, a 250GB hard drive and a 16-speed double-layer SuperDrive.

Should you wish to add two Quad-Core 'Clovertown' processors, to configure an eight-core machine, the price will increase from £1699 to £2659 inc VAT - a hike of £960 before tax, or £1128 including VAT. As we revealed yesterday, the eight-core machines are available only with 3GHz processors. The pre-existing line-up, which continues alongside the new eight-core Mac Pro, is available with 2GHz, 2.66GHz and 3GHz processors.

Upgrading to the new processors increases the L2 cache from

ADVERTISEMENT

4MB to 8MB. This super-fast memory outpaces the Mac's main system memory, and so keeps your most-used data close to the processor core, further speeding access, and upping performance.

The spec change also lengthens the build time from two days to five.

Although Apple doesn't explicitly push buyers to one or other processor, it points out that 'The more time you spend using processor-intensive applications - such as video processing, image editing, 3D rendering, and others - the more you'll benefit from the higher performance processors.' This would indicate that key users for the Mac Pro would all benefit from upgrading to eight cores with two Clovertown processors.

Apple has published initial speed test results, comparing the new eight-core machines with the existing quad-core line-up and last Power Mac G5 before that model came to the end of its run. While the Mac Pro Quad 2.66GHz and 3GHz are 1.8 and 1.9 times faster than the Power Mac when performing a 3D render in modo 203, tests conducted using pre-production eight-core Mac Pros showed it to be 3.1 times faster than the Power Mac.

Doing the same in Maya 8.5, the new Mac Pro was 2.6 times faster than the Power Mac, and took only half the time to render a scene in Cinebench 9.5.

Apple's published tests are highly selective, and do not reveal the eight-core Mac Pro's performance in print publishing, video production or audio editing. We will, of course, test the eight-core Mac Pro fully as soon as units are available.