Apple fanboys - as unbearable as they can be, at times - definitely know how to hype the products from their favourite manufacturer.
A case in point would be the refreshed line of iMac desktop computers and Mac Pro workstation computers, released today. A product-line refresh is usually preceded by stock shortages of that specific model, something American Web sites were reporting on, for the iMac and Mac Pro models.
So when the Apple online store went down for maintenance today - usually signaling the addition of new products to the store - fans started checking their balances and doing mental sums.
The new iMac is the first Apple computer to be fitted with Intel's entry-level performance processor, the Core i3. Previously, only the i5 and i7 chips were used, in the Macbook Pro laptops.
Available with either a 21.5-inch or 27-inch display, the self-contained iMacs have now been upgraded across the range with Intel i-series chips. An entry-level 21.5-inch model can be had with a dual-core 3.06GHz chip or 3.2GHz chip, while the larger 27-inch model also has two chip options: a 3.2GHz dual-core processor or a quad-core 2.8GHz Intel Core i5.
All iMacs come with 4GB of memory, ATI graphics cards and a dual layer superdrive. Hard drive options start at 500GB, with an option to upgrade to 1TB.
There is no official word on when we'll get the new iMacs in SA; but stay tuned for updates, along with local pricing.
With the desktop line-up out of the way, let's talk about what power users can expect. Apple's Mac Pro has long been a mainstay for design and multimedia professionals. These massive, all-aluminium desktop towers boast the most of everything, from processing power to memory.
Every new Mac Pro is now shipped with the latest version of Intel's Xeon workstation processors (based on the Westmere architecture). Shipping in August, the new workstations will be available in quad-core (a single, 2.8GHz quad-core chip) or eight-core configuration (two 2.4GHz quad-core processors). Also on the cards are a six-core (one 3.33GHz six-core chip) or a 12-core (two 2.93GHz six-core chips) monster station.
If that's not enough processing power, the Mac Pros are now also available with either an ATI Radeon 5770 or Radeon 5870 graphics card. These are pretty capable gaming cards, but given the kind of user who purchases a Mac Pro, they'll end up doing a lot of professional 3D rendering.
Apple is also giving users the option to have two cards installed per system, giving Mac Pros the capability to drive six separate displays.
Since these are Apple's professional solutions, they're completely configurable to suit the work they'll be used for. The single-processor machines have four memory slots, for up to 16GB total system memory, while the dual-processor machines have eight memory slots, for a total of 32GB.
Apple will offer a variety of storage solutions, from multi-terabyte SATA hard drives to super-speedy solid state hard drives (probably with a huge price tag).
American pricing on the Mac Pro starts at $2 499 for a single-core system, while the 12-core monster will cost a whopping $4 999. There's no confirmation on when we'll see these locally, but expect a price on the wrong side of R60 000, here in SA.
Share