CNET Editor's rating: 8.0 out of 10
Reviewed by
Rich Brown
Review date: 08/18/06
Release date: 08/07/06
The good: Attractive exterior, innovative interior; great value for the baseline configuration; strong multicore CPU performance.
The bad: Configuration options are not as comprehensive as Dell's; weak support plan.
The bottom line: Apple's Mac Pro has design innovations that we hope will cross over to other systems. Its performance is as strong as you'd expect for a system in its class, and it's priced right, too. You might need more flexibility in your config options, especially for 3D design, but otherwise, the Mac Pro is as solid a professional-class PC as we've seen.
Professional designers, digital media hobbyists, and those simply into great design: meet your new lust object. Apple's new Mac Pro ($2,499 for the base model) is a winner on multiple levels. From the outside, it looks great--far more put together than any Windows-based box. Inside, it boasts powerful specs, including two dual-core Intel Xeon processors, for a total of four processing cores. And to top it off, it's a great value. The only thing that's missing, if anything, is a practical reason for a casual user to justify the purchase; there's more computer here than you'll need for day-to-day tasks. Home users might miss the Apple Remote that made the Mac Mini and the iMac so accessible as home-theater PCs, and as always, Apple's high-end desktop is not intended for the gaming crowd. Photoshop performance also lags behind that of comparable Windows-based PCs because Adobe still hasn't released an Intel-friendly version for the Mac OS. Those few issues shouldn't surprise anyone, however, and on balance, the Mac Pro more than makes up for them. If you need a fast computer for digital media creation, the Mac Pro should be your first stop.
Intro:
The Apple Mac Pro Dual-Core Xeon 5150 2.66 GHz is a Xeon dual Core-based, high-end personal computer.Compared to other high-end desktops on the market, it is midpriced at around $2,155.This system comes with 1 GB RAM, and a 250GB hard drive.
Noteworthy Features:
None noted, given available product data.
Weaker Features:
Only has a nVidia GeForce 7300 GT graphics chip, which is somewhat less desirable than some similarly priced desktops.
Suitability:
A performance desktop, suited for image editing, digital video, and 3-D gaming, beyond basic computing tasks.Also comes with advanced word processing software -- fine for most serious business or academic document authors.However, the Xeon dual Core based CPU installed on this machine is designed for processor intensive applications, or for use in a workstation class PC.Comes with a DVD writer, allowing you to convert home movies from your digital camcorder onto DVD's.Make sharing photographs through the mail easier: put them on a disc with the CD recorder in this computer.
Value:
In general, this desktop has great features for the money.
Suggestions:
(1) Using this PC's Firewire (1394) port, you can connect to many digital camcorders and other equipment and rapidly upload data to the computer's hard drive.(2) If you plan to be playing the latest 3-D games, you may want to invest in a more powerful video card from NVidia or ATI, which are popular with the gaming community (requires an open AGP or PCIe slot).
10 out of 10 - Perfect This machine blows PCs out of the water.
Despite, CNET's not so flattering review of performance (which seems to be more and more of a trend at ...
Despite, CNET's not so flattering review of performance (which seems to be more and more of a trend at this site - if you are going to compare you compare identical stats? same platform? Macs run windows, you know), all other non-biased tech sites out there have showed that the machine not only wins at almost every test, but blows them out of the water - especially when running windows. I had been amicrosoft fanboy for a long time (mostly because most of my programs run only of PC), but became increasingly frustrated with their numerous security patches, Windows Genuine Advantage that they tried to slip on by, and the whole lack of a new operating system for 5+ years. Thus when Mac switched to Intel, I became interested and after learning about what MacOS can now do, I'm hooked on Mac. Apple continues to push the envelope and strive for innovation. I've been waiting for someone to come out with easy-load hard drives, expandable memory (beyond XP's max of 2GBs) and nor chords!! It does not surprise me that it was Apple who did it first. CNET was right in that this machine is designed for high-end professional use and the consumer won't see the whole bang for the buck. It WILL, however, run intensive games at blazing speeds with the Radeon 1900 XT (on windows, since games are only now coming out for Mac). My only wish was that I could have bought the system hard-driveless or videocardless because Apple, not having the market share of Dell of HP (yet - that'll change, especially in light on recent cover-ups of exploding batteries by DELL laptops - one of which I witnessed personally as my neighbor's house became charred because of one), does not get the deals to sell components cheaper, and they need to make money somewhere, especially when they're underselling DELL by $1000, and thus the components I can find cheaper elsewhere. But if you want a really good machine that can render, process, game, Photoshop (well - at least when 10.0 comes out anyway), this machine is the way to go. If you're not sure, wait. The price will drop when Apple adds Intel's Xeon Quadcore to its processor list in January. I, however, couldn't wait. I love this machine, it screams!
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by guffwd (see profile) -
August 21, 2006
10 out of 10 - Perfect Both Beauty and a Beast! Brilliant Design! Frighteningly Fast!
This machine is a beast! I just picked mine up about three days ago at the local apple store. I ...
This machine is a beast! I just picked mine up about three days ago at the local apple store. I cannot believe how fast this system is. I have a few other dual proc systems in my studio that I just recently purchased in February and June, and this out performs all of them by leaps and bounds. Not only am I impressed by the design and configuration of the hardware, but I am also blown away by the Operating System. What an amazing OS! I intend to replace all of my PCs with these new MacPros. The only drawback for me is the weight of the system. I have a bad shoulder and lifting this hefty machine out of the box was no picnic. Other than that, I have absolutely no complaints! This is one beautiful system.
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by user_99 (see profile) -
August 21, 2006
10 out of 10 - Perfect A Ferrari in a Porsche body
I bought my first 'PC' in 1977 and worked my way up to running a sophisticated 46-node Windows NT network ...
I bought my first 'PC' in 1977 and worked my way up to running a sophisticated 46-node Windows NT network for several years, so I had some trepidation about buying an 'Apple.' I initially made the move because of irritation at having to update 'Windows' virus protection every day and having to reformat hard-drives infected with viruses, worms and Trojan horses.
The MacPro is like having the Space Shuttle in your room, with the looks of a Porsche and (when you look inside) the build of a Ferrari. Out-of-the-box I found it so easy to use, moving from being a Windows user to an Apple user was a snap. One example was setting up a RAID system for fault tolerance. The Mac O/S X operating system makes it a breeze to configure, so easy that it surprised me.
Want a 2-button 'Windows' mouse? No problem, just plug one into the many available USB ports. Want to be able to continue running 'Windows?' Just buy a $79 program called 'Parallels Desktop' or Apple's free 'Boot Strap' program and you can do it... side by side!
As a network manager, I did not buy a lot of Apple computers, because they did not run a lot of 'Windows' programs... but now that these machines have been built using Intel chips and can run 'Windows' software as well, I consider these machines far superior to any PC's I have researched at the same price.
I bought a lot of DELL and GATEWAY computers, and my personal opinion is that they were affordable but 'throw together' inside. Not impressed. I was always having to fix something (maybe part of why their market share has dropped so quickly)?
The MacPro was not designed as a kid's 'gaming machine,' so I don't expect that. I do a lot of photography, and the 'Aperature' program sold by Apple is incredible (but I also run Photoshop on the same machine). With my Apple LCD display, I just click a 'button' on the screen and it instantly changes settings for Photoshop's standard ( as well as several other configurations built in).
My experience with Apple's Support Team has been only positive. In fact, happily, when I have called the Tech people they actually sound pleased that you have called, and pleased to be able to help you. No 30-minute waits to connect with them (you know what I am talking about if you have ever owned a computer you bought from anybody else)because they are always on the line within 1-2 minutes of my dialing the Support number.
There are perhaps better machines out there, but I bet not for less than $8,000 - $10,000. This is a computer that is so much fun to use, and so good at delivering the goods, you may not come out of your room for the first 30 days.
Add to this the ton of free software 'Widgets' on the Apple site(one gives me constant readings on the weather forecast... another my stock market... another turns the computer into a seismograph... etc)its really quite amazing.
Because this was to be my first-ever Apple computer (after owning, building, and fixing Windows PC's for almost 30 years), I spent 3 full months researching desktop computers. I just kept coming back to the MacPro, and now using one have validated my good decision.
Want more RAM? It takes 8 Gigabytes of it. Want more hard-drive storage space? The MacPro takes up to FOUR 500-Gigabyte SATA 3Gb/s drives that just slide into drive bays (no wires or cables to connect).
8 out of 10 - Excellent ..just waiting for intel native apps..
If you work in an environment in which you need to access an exchange server and you use a mac, ...
If you work in an environment in which you need to access an exchange server and you use a mac, you'll likely be using Microsoft's Entourage as a mail client.
Entourage, like the majority of major third party apps are not yet optimized for Apple's new intel-based machine, making it a less-than-optimium choice for some users at this point.
The same is true for the popular Adobe application suite unfortunately.. so designers.. keep your G5s for now. The photoshop performance on these intel macs is terrible (about equal to a G4) and crashes have been known to occur.
My advice, if you don't use photoshop, illustrator or the other adobe apps and you can get by with Apple's mail application (which isn't half bad) - get over to the Apple store and grab one of these.. If, on the other hand, you need design productivity - hold off until Adobe makes the switch.
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by evil_dracula (see profile) -
August 19, 2006
10 out of 10 - Perfect power house, doesn't disappoint
I bought the quad 2.66 ghz model with 2 gigs of ram and thus far it has served me ...
I bought the quad 2.66 ghz model with 2 gigs of ram and thus far it has served me exceptionally well. I'm an experienced computer tech / designer with roughly 13 years of experience. Machines packing less power just can't meet my needs as far as tasking out the multitude of applications I use when I'm designing a website, editing gigabyte sized image files, or working with video and the fact of the matter is I don't necessarily want to be forced to dedicate everything I have power wise to just one application. This is especially the case if I'm using two or more of those programs in conjunction with each other to create a specific final product so this machine is perfect for me. It's not necessarily something one would recommend to an average web surfer / emailer but that should be apparent in the price tag. As for it not having a wireless card, that should be expected seeing as it weighs a ton and will more than likely be stationary for any professional who is using it. Wireless isn't secure, nor is it as fast as a wired ethernet connection so the reasoning behind excluding it is acceptable. What isn't acceptable, however, is the fact that apple decided to use 7200 rpm hard drives instead of 10k as well as the fact that it comes stock with a substandard nvidia GPU chipset. Other than that, this system is perfect. Upgrades are easy, the internals of the case are extremely organized and there is much more room for airflow than the previous G5. Installing memory is as easy as pulling out one of the riser cards and popping it in. Hard drive installation is so easy a 4 year old could do it. Bravo Apple. Lastly, there has been some talk about this computer having a lot of power which it might not necessarily be capable of fully facilitating when it comes to multiprocessing in programs that are not yet designed to take advantage of it, but the fact is that many professional programs have been authored in the past to take advantage of dual and quad chipsets from the old G5's so its only a matter of time before they're rewritten as universal binaries. With heat issues rapidly becoming the barrier between processor / mobo manufacturers and higher clock speeds it only makes sense that multiple core processing would be the next logical step in the progression of computer evolution so its only a matter of time before it becomes the standard. I recommend this computer to any professional looking for the next level.
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by doc362 (see profile) -
September 7, 2006
I read your review, and for a basic review you did fairly well. I like the video's CNET ...
Rich,
I read your review, and for a basic review you did fairly well. I like the video's CNET has with reviews - a very nice touch!
However some thoughts here:
1) When you test the speed of the machine, it would be nice to mention the PC speed was 2.9 Ghz while the Mac was 2.66, but could be upgraded to 3Ghz (for a large premium). This makes the photoshop in Rosetta test even more amazing. Hard disk speed also comes to play here and the Raptor is great on the PC side. Mentioning you can add one yourself in those slick sleds would have been nice.
2) In features, you missed some minor things and one huge one: this is the only performance system on the planet that will run Mac OS X, Windows XP and Linux at native speeds! Cross platform developer? Want to use Mac and Windows programs? Want access to 10s of thousands of free opensource programs? (Fink/Xcode) With Bootcamp for reboots and Parallels for simultaneous use of them makes this a computer enthusiast dream. Why do you think this system is so popular on your site? Maybe you should look into why users like it so much and you might learn something interesting.
I totally agree with you that Apple should carry a larger array of graphics card options, even though they do hit the major ones. How hard can it be to have the driver accept differnet clock speed and memory on the same generation GPU cards? I would dock them a point for this, no hardware RAID and the fact they don't offer a Raptor config option as well. Buying a 150 GB Raptor and XP Pro OEM to add to it is an option for a dual boot system.
3) As far as games go, if the ones you like are available (World of Warcraft, Quake 4, etc.), it would make a great gaming machine with the ATI card. If you like to play lots of games or just one that isn't there - time for Bootcamp! It won't be the fastest or cheapest game machine - but it will work just fine.
4) You gave a score of 4 for support, yet Apple for years has had the highest support service rating of any computer manufacturer. Why is this? You didn't even mention it, which is really where your bias shows (besides the snicker )
Compared to Dell, I can decide to pay the $249 for 3 years parts/phone support, and the Mac is still significantly less then the Dell equivalent. Yet not only do I get hardware support, I get SOFTWARE support for OS X and all that ships with OS X - iLife, Mail, Safari, etc. With Dell/Windows you get one OS support call free from MS.
Also, even if I didn't pay for anything, I can take it to a local Apple store, and the Genius bar guy will look at your system for free and fix anything that does not require new parts for free. He will even answer "how-to" questions face-to-face. You do not have this option with Dell. Laptops of course are much easier then lugging this heavy cpu, but you can do it.
While I had onsite service support with my original G5, I am not sure they do that anymore if an Apple store is close to you.
Overall it should really be a 9. =)
Updated I have the quadro card with a massive heat sink fan and it runs near silent on normal use. It is far quieter than my G5 machine with 7800 GT card.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular No More "Bang For The Buck" To Be Had Anywhere!
I think Apple has designed a machine that will delight a broad audience of computer users. The base system components ...
I think Apple has designed a machine that will delight a broad audience of computer users. The base system components are built on solid technology which should carry the user well into the future without that concern for becoming obsolete before it can be gotten from the box ... a fear which so often occompanies a new computer and confounds the buyer. At the same time, Apple has built an elegant computer around a fantastic 64bit Quad CPU, offering modular components which can be eaisly replaced or upgraded by the user as needs or new technology might dictate, easing the pangs of obsolesence. And Apple has done all this without creating a computer built with so many useless bells and whistles as to require a PhD in Computer Science in order to know which ones to include and which should be left out. CNET's review was correct, that should be left to the PC and Dell perhaps.
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by billyhuck (see profile) -
August 22, 2006
2 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
10 out of 10 - Perfect Product of the Year!
This should be the IT Product of the Year for 2006. What a fabulous machine, like the Ferrari F430 of ...
This should be the IT Product of the Year for 2006. What a fabulous machine, like the Ferrari F430 of the IT world!
The interior of the case is most innovative and the exterior is gorgeous (as in the Power Mac). The Quad-core Xeon rocks!
It's not perfect but I'm giving it a perfect score because of the idiot who criticized the Mac Pro for not bundling a Wi-Fi card, giving it a score of 2. C'mon, the Wi-Fi option is only 60 bucks! Stop being so anal.
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by reng2005 (see profile) -
August 19, 2006
2 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular What I've been waitin for
This is what i've been waitin 4 finally apple has done & it can only get better with the ...
This is what i've been waitin 4 finally apple has done & it can only get better with the introduction of Blu Ray Drives hopefully apple will include one in the package by spring when leopard comes out. I bought a Power Mac G5 the last generation because i really needed it 2 do graphics but until spring i'm gonna trade it in or sell it to get my 3Ghz Mac Pro, cant wait till spring.
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by Rome (see profile) -
August 10, 2006
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Excellent in every way
The Mac Pro is quite possibly the most perfect computer. Yes, many people will whine about Dell and HP and ...
The Mac Pro is quite possibly the most perfect computer. Yes, many people will whine about Dell and HP and their comparable models, but neither one of this offers as much stability or performance for the buck as Apple. The shift to Intel chips also allows a user to download the free BootCamp software from Apple and install Windows and Mac OSX at once. It truly is an all-in-one powerful machine. The hardware is some of the most advanced being offered by any computer company, the price is reasonable for the outstanding performance, and the operating system is tried and true. If you feel the urge, you can also install Windows on the machine and run some PC-specific software if you so choose, with no hardware restrictions or lags.
The Mac Pro is a new standard and the PC market hasn't realized that yet. They'll continue to churn out machines that may match the performance but will cost you far more for much more hardware and software hassle and drawbacks.
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by kellhound1 (see profile) -
February 9, 2007
2 ( 1 ) x Front accessible,
4 ( 3 ) x Internal - 3.5" x 1/3H
Expansion Slots Total (Free)
3 ( 3 ) x PCI Express,
2 ( 0 ) x Processor,
8 ( 6 ) x Memory - FB-DIMM 240-pin,
1 ( 0 ) x PCI Express x16 - Full-length, full-height
Interfaces
1 x Audio - Line-out - Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm,
1 x Audio - Line-in - Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm,
5 x Hi-Speed USB - 4 pin USB Type A ( 2 in front ),
1 x Display / video - DVI-Analog/Digital (dual link) - 29 pin combined DVI,
1 x Audio - SPDIF input - TOSLINK,
1 x Audio - SPDIF output - TOSLINK,
2 x IEEE 1394b (FireWire 800) - 9 pin FireWire 800 ( 1 in front ),
2 x Network - Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T - RJ-45,
1 x Display / video - DVI-Analog/Digital - 29 pin combined DVI,
1 x Headphones - Output - Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm,
2 x IEEE 1394 (FireWire) - 6 pin FireWire ( 1 in front )
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