New Mac Pros With Up to 16 Cores Coming in Late July/Early August?

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Apple is preparing to release new "Mid 2011" Mac Pro models, according to 9 to 5 Mac who cites internal Apple documents reportedly mentioning options ranging from six to sixteen processor cores. According to the source, Apple has begun putting together product manuals for the new Mac Pros, which are said to begin shipping in late July or early August.

Following a report from earlier this week that claims that Apple is gearing up to launch a new Mac Pro in late July or early August, a reliable source tells 9to5Mac that Apple has referenced a mid-2011 Mac Pro in multiple internal documents.

The late July/early August timeframe for the new Mac Pro release was first reported over the weekend by CNET's Brian Tong, whose sources had previously accurately pinpointed the latest iMac release within a small window six weeks ahead of time.

The primary question surrounding a Mac Pro release within the rumored timeframe is just which processors Apple will be using. A 16-core configuration would almost certainly come as a pair of 8-core processors, and 8-core Sandy Bridge processors of the server class used in the Mac Pro line aren't scheduled to appear until the fourth quarter of this year as Intel's Xeon E5 line. While Apple has been known to receive early access to Intel processors in the past, it seems ambitious to suppose that Apple would have that much advance access to be able to ship new Mac Pros by early August given Intel's production plans.

One intriguing report from M.I.C gadget surfacing last weekend claimed that Apple will be using a "unique CPU" in the new Mac Pros. Intel has in the past provided custom processors for Apple, pushing out a specially-designed mobile chip for the original MacBook Air back in 2008. M.I.C gadget does not, however, have a track record for Apple hardware records, so the reliability of the claim is unknown.

Related Roundup: Mac Pro
Tag: 9to5Mac
Buyer's Guide: Mac Pro (Neutral)
Related Forum: Mac Pro

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Top Rated Comments

joeyhockey Avatar
185 months ago
The image is a fake. You can query anything in the Apple Service Source and have it show up on the page. Look, Apple is coming out with a SuperMac Pro Widget!


Plus, the Service Source documentation is usually the LAST place that gets updated when a product is released.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bubba Satori Avatar
185 months ago
Please have a bto for an i7.
And don't charge an absurd $2,500 for a base model
with 3GB, 5,400rpm and a junk GPU. It's insulting. :mad:
Thanks.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Lone Deranger Avatar
185 months ago
FCPX is going to kill it for Apple in the proApps. so why get a 12 or 16 core if FCP 7 will not use the power!!! I love Apple Please Fix FCPX

Because for the professional there are many, many non Apple applications out there that will run very nicely on these machines. Maya, Mudbox, ZBrush, Houdini, Cinema 4D, Nuke.. to name but a few.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
twoodcc Avatar
185 months ago
sounds great to me! but please lower the prices this time!
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DaveP Avatar
185 months ago
Please have a bto for an i7.
And don't charge an absurd $2,500 for a base model
with 3GB, 5,400rpm and a junk GPU. It's insulting. :mad:
Thanks.
I highly doubt i7 will be an option, though it would be great. Apple seems to have moved away from what I might refer to as mid-range options in the Mac Pro line. Before the iMac was as powerful, it was nice to get a PowerMac for $1,500. I think Apple wants to prevent the MacPro being an iMac replacement and instead have clear demarcation in speed.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chrmjenkins Avatar
185 months ago
how about a case redesign?

What's wrong with this one? Many consider it the epitome of towers.

Maybe the Sandy Bridge-E CPUs are coming in Q3 after all, or Apple gets very early access, or this will be an announcement and release will be in September-October.

Yeah, it's very interesting. If Intel is practicing this much favoritism, it really makes you wonder, particularly given Apple's ARM fanaticism.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)