Apple Quietly Adds 3.33 GHz Quad-Core Option to Mac Pro [Updated: Xserve]

Apple has quietly upgraded its Mac Pro offerings, adding the option of a 3.33 GHz quad-core processor and adding the ability to configure both the quad-core and 8-core models with 2 TB hard drives, doubling the machine's total build-to-order hard drive capacity to 8 TB.


The upgraded processor carries a hefty price tag as a $1,200 option over the base quad-core 2.66 GHz model, or $800 over the upgraded 2.93 GHz processor. Pricing, however, remains well below the company's top-of-the-line 8-core models running at 2 x 2.66 GHz or 2 x 2.93 GHz.

The additional option of configuring the Mac Pro with 2 TB hard drives, an increase from 1 TB drives available previously, expands the official total hard drive capacity of the Mac Pro, which carries four hard drive bays, to 8 TB. The 2 TB hard drives are priced at $550 each.

The current generation of Mac Pros were introduced in March 2009, receiving early access to Intel's latest Nehalem processors before they had even been officially announced.

Update: Apple has also upgraded its configurable options for its Xserve rackmountable servers, now offering 2 TB hard drives for a total hard drive capacity of 6 TB. The company has also begun offering 4 GB RAM modules, doubling the official total memory capacity of the quad-core Xserve to 24 GB and the 8-core Xserve to 48 GB.