Intel on Tuesdayannouncedthe availableness of its newXeon E5processors for server and workstations . That announcement was accompanied byunveilingsby Dell , HP , and IBM of E5 - equip servers .
While the intelligence of new Xeons powering other companies ’ server may not spark your pastime , keep in brain that Apple’sMac Proalso run on that Intel C.P.U. . So does that imply an update to the Mac Pro — which has remained unchanged since August 2010 — is in the works ?
Historically , Apple does n’t announce new hardware that incorporate newfangled CPU architecture on the same day that the computer architecture first becomes uncommitted . But it can happen soon afterwards . For exercise , last year , Intelannouncedavailability of its twofold - core Sandy Bridge silicon chip on February 20 ; four years later , Apple revealednew MacBook Prosthat used the new chips . With Apple place to make a major announcement on Wednesday — most likely on the iOS front — Apple ’s public - relations energies are already spent , so if there ’s going to be a Mac Pro announcement , it probably wo n’t bump this week .
That is , if Apple believes that the Mac Pro is a practicable part of its product line . The hearsay James Mill enjoin that theMac Pro is bushed . And since the Mac Pro has n’t been update in 18 months , it ’s wanton to trust that Apple has abandoned its workstation .
Of course , there ’s another way for Apple to simplify its product billet , and that ’s by discontinuing the Mac Pro . Apple sells more laptops than desktop Macs ( in itsQ1 2012 results , Apple describe that 72 percent of Macs sold were laptops ) , and when it comes to desktop Macs , most customers are quenched with the processing power provide in the iMac — in fact , according toMacworld’sbenchmarks , a $ 1999 27 - in iMac with a quad - core 3.1GHz Core i5 is quicker overall than a $ 3499 Mac Pro with an eight - core group 2.4GHz Xeon processor ( concede , this Mac Pro is much older than the iMac ) .
The advantage the Mac Pro had with its expanding upon slot is gone , thanks to Thunderbolt . While the Thunderbolt peripheral market still has a lot of growing to do , many of the Thunderbolt devices available , such as high - end television capture devices , are the type of machine used by Mac Pro user . For the most part , the time slot in a raw Mac Pro would be to address the motive of legacy users who do n’t require to ( or ca n’t ) give up expansion batting order .
Still , it ’s playfulness to recall of the voltage of a new Mac Pro . The Xeon E5 is base on theSandy Bridgearchitecture , which is used in Apple ’s other Macs . There are versions of the newfangled Xeon E5 processors with eight cores , so it ’s possible a Mac Pro could have 16 cores . The Xeon E5 also has an integrated PCI - Express 3.0 motorcoach that has data rates of 8 gigatransfers per second ; the current Mac Pro has PCI - Express 2.0 ( 5 gigatransfers per secondly ) . Those are just a few of the new features of the Xeon E5 , and a new Mac Pro could be an impressive performing artist .
But is it worth it to Apple ? Having a “ brawniness ” Mac in its lineup used to be important to Apple when it had to fight for aid against Windows microcomputer , but it ’s not necessary anymore . If Apple does n’t make an announcement in the coming weeks , we may have our reply .
[ Roman Loyola is a Macworld senior editor . ]
