Apple's Processor Options for Early 2012 Mac Pro Begin to Firm Up

Last week, we noted that Apple is unlikely to update its Mac Pro line until early next year at the soonest, as Intel's Sandy Bridge E processors intended as the successors to the current Mac Pro chips have been delayed until the first quarter of 2012.

Newly-released pricing information from CPU World now offers a bit more data to help analyze which of the new E5-2600 and E5-1600 series Xeon processors Apple is likely to use in the next-generation Mac Pro models.

2012 mac pro processor options
Apple's current dual-processor Mac Pro lineup utilizes Intel's "Westmere" processor family, with the E5620, X5650, and X5670 as options. Intel launched those processors last year priced at $387, $996, and $1440 respectively. With pricing for the upcoming E5-2600 series having been revealed, it certainly does appear that Apple will be able to use the $406 6-core 2.0 GHz E5-2620 in its low-end dual-processor configuration at or near the current $3499 pricing.

At the mid range, which is currently priced at $4999, the 8-core 2.0 GHz E5-2650 comes in $110 higher than the current E5650, a $220 difference when both processors are accounted for. Apple's options may be limited on this model, however, as stepping down in price would force Apple all the way down to the E5-2640 at $884, a 6-core chip running at 2.5 GHz.

The high end of Apple's dual-processor Mac Pro is also a bit murky, with each 8-core 2.6 GHz E5-2670 processor coming in at $1552, over $110 higher than the processors used in the current $5999 Mac Pro. Consequently, Apple could elect to instead use the 8-core 2.4 GHz E5-2665 processor, which is scheduled to carry a $1440 price tag at launch, sacrificing 200 MHz of clock speed to maintain pricing.

As for the lower-end single-processor Mac Pro configurations, Apple is likely to utilize Intel's E5-1600 series processor line, also scheduled for launch in the first quarter of 2012. Pricing on those chips was revealed last month, with the forthcoming quad-core 3.6 GHz E5-1620 ($294) and 6-core 3.2 GHz E5-1650 ($583) slotting nicely into the existing low- and mid-range pricing. At the high end of the single-processor line, however, Apple may have to bump up to the E5-1660 at $1080. The E5-1660 carries the same 6-core, 3.3 GHz specs as on the current high-end single-processor model, but offers higher turbo multipliers and L3 cache.

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

Popular Stories

iphone 16 pro ghost hand

5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

Thursday July 10, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...
apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Expected Later This Year With These New Features

Saturday July 12, 2025 3:09 pm PDT by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Rumors Faster Wi-Fi Support The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports ...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...
macbook pro blue green

M5 MacBook Pro No Longer Coming in 2025

Thursday July 10, 2025 12:38 pm PDT by
Apple does not plan to refresh any Macs with updated M5 chips in 2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Updated MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models are now planned for the first half of 2026. Gurman previously said that Apple would debut the M5 MacBook Pro models in late 2025, but his newest report suggests that Apple is "considering" pushing them back to 2026. Apple is now said to be...
iphone 16 pro pro max

iPhone 17 Pro Models With BOE Displays Will Be Sold in China Only

Thursday July 10, 2025 11:59 pm PDT by
iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models with displays made by BOE will be sold exclusively in China, according to a new report. Last week, it emerged that Chinese display manufacturer BOE was aggressively ramping up its OLED production capacity for future iPhone models as part of a plan to recapture a major role in Apple's supply chain. Now, tech news aggregator Jukan Choi reports...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3: What to Expect

Sunday July 13, 2025 10:30 am PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is nearly over, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the Apple Watch Ultra 3:Satellite connectivity for sending and receiving text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable 5G support, up from LTE on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Likely a wide-angle OLED display that ...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Apple Says iPhone Driver's Licenses Will Expand to These 8 U.S. States

Tuesday July 8, 2025 11:26 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states, Puerto Rico,...
iPhone 17 Air Colors Thumb 2

iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air Rumored to Come in These 9 Colors

Friday July 11, 2025 12:30 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air will be available in a total of nine color options, according to new information coming out of Asia. The iPhone 17 Air's expected color options. According to the leaker going by the account name "yeux1122" on the Korean blog Naver, accessory manufacturers are now producing camera protector rings for the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air in colors to match their...

Top Rated Comments

deputy_doofy Avatar
179 months ago
Uhhhh... i already have a dual 2.5ghz G5. I want something with higher clock speed. Doesnt Alienware sell an overclocked like 6ghz machine!? Also.. this sucks because we HAVE to buy a new Mac before the end of the year (tax reasons) so I'm gonna have to get the current $3499 machine.
I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic, but...
* Your dual 2.5GHz G5 barely holds a candle to my MBP 2.33GHz Core 2 Duo from 2006.
* Your dual 2.5GHz G5 gets smoked by my MBP 2.66GHz Core i7 (dual core) from 2010. SMOKED.

I really hope you're being sarcastic about clock speeds...
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mal Avatar
179 months ago
Uhhhh... i already have a dual 2.5ghz G5. I want something with higher clock speed. Doesnt Alienware sell an overclocked like 6ghz machine!? Also.. this sucks because we HAVE to buy a new Mac before the end of the year (tax reasons) so I'm gonna have to get the current $3499 machine.

Have you seen a comparison of your computer to the current models? You're talking ancient technology that's significantly slower. Remember, clock speed is meaningless outside comparing otherwise identical processors.

jW
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kbfr08 Avatar
179 months ago
Uhhhh... i already have a dual 2.5ghz G5. I want something with higher clock speed. Doesnt Alienware sell an overclocked like 6ghz machine!? Also.. this sucks because we HAVE to buy a new Mac before the end of the year (tax reasons) so I'm gonna have to get the current $3499 machine.

Ah, the good ol' Megahertz Myth. You can't possibly think a dual 2.5 G5 will be faster than even the current gen mac pro, it just doesn't work that way. They used to sell pentium 4 processors at 3.0GHz+, and I'd bet that a core 2 duo would toast that at 1.6GHz
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bubba Satori Avatar
179 months ago
Dear Tim Cook,

Would Apple please offer an affordable i7 tower computer.
One that could be built to order like any other computer.

Thank you.

Regards,

Your fellow Alabamian, Bubba Satori.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
shompa Avatar
179 months ago
These insane Intel prices is because they don't have any competition. When the MacPro was released, AMD had server processor in Intels class = Intel sold Xeons for 300 dollar.

ARM announced its 64 bit CPU for late 2012 release. Lets hope that will force Intel to stop have 95% profit on each CPU.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
*LTD* Avatar
179 months ago
Uhhhh... i already have a dual 2.5ghz G5. I want something with higher clock speed.
:confused: Your machine is like, 8 years old. Virtually any new Mac Pro will run circles around it.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)