Apple Mac Pro (2.66GHz, 3GB RAM, 640GB Hard Drive)  

With the muscle for serious audio production, this Apple Mac Pro computer is loaded with a 2.66GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon "Nehalem" processor, 3GB of RAM, a 640GB hard drive, NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 512MB of GDDR3 memory, 18x SuperDrive, and much more.

The Apple Mac Pro Computer has a redesigned interior that feels like the well-organized workstation that it is. Designed to be customized, you won't find a rat's nest of components inside the Mac Pro. You don't need to turn the system on its side or struggle to reach into awkward spaces to make changes. Just remove the side panel for instant, easy access to everything. Slide out the processor tray to add memory. Slide out hard drive bays to add storage. Slide a simple bar to change up to 4 expansion cards at once. And with the Mac Pro computer's abundance of I/O ports both front and back, you'll have room for all your external devices. And that's only if you want to expand.

Next-generation architecture
Many quad-core processors are composed of two separate dies, which means some cached data has to travel outside the processor to get from core to core. That's an inefficient way to access information. Enter the Quad-Core Intel Xeon "Nehalem" processor. Its single-die, 64-bit architecture makes 8MB of fully shared L3 cache readily available to each of the four processor cores. The result is fast access to cache data and greater application performance. Combine that with the other technological advances and you get a Mac Pro that's up to 1.9x faster than the previous generation.

Memory bottlenecks begone
System memory is often connected to a processor through a separate I/O controller. But each Intel Xeon "Nehalem" processor features an integrated memory controller—another leap forward for workstation system architecture. By connecting memory directly to the processor, this Mac Pro processor has faster access to data stored in memory, and memory latency is reduced by up to 40 percent.

The integrated memory controller, along with fast 1066MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM, also gives Mac Pro up to a 2.4x increase in memory bandwidth over previous generations. More bandwidth allows for more data to be fed to the processor faster, helping each core spend its time processing data, not waiting for information to arrive. Its Error Correction Code (ECC) corrects single-bit errors and detects multiple-bit errors automatically. That's especially important in mission-critical and compute-intensive environments.

Power when (and where) you need it
This Mac Pro introduces Turbo Boost: a dynamic performance technology that automatically boosts the processor clock speed based on workload. If you're using an application that doesn't need every core, Turbo Boost shuts off the idle cores while simultaneously increasing the speed of the active ones.

The virtue of virtual cores
The Intel Xeon "Nehalem" processors support Hyper-Threading, which allows two threads to run simultaneously on each core. With this 8-core version, it presents 16 virtual cores that are recognized by Mac OS X. Performance is enhanced because Hyper-Threading enables the processor to take better advantage of the execution resources available in each core.

Path of least resistance
A bidirectional, point-to-point connection called QuickPath Interconnect gives the Intel Xeon "Nehalem" processor quick access to the disk, I/O, and other Mac Pro subsystems. It's just another way the Mac Pro boosts performance across the board.

Powerfully efficient
Based on 45-nm process technology and combined with improved power management capabilities, the Intel Xeon "Nehalem" processors are more energy efficient than before. So the Mac Pro is faster than ever, while using less energy when idle.

Don't keep those pixels waiting
If you're a pro who wants a desktop computer that keeps pace with your imagination, the Mac Pro delivers with faster graphics application performance across the board. Whether you're decoding H.264 content in Final Cut Pro, creating 3D graphics in Motion, processing massive RAW images in Aperture, or playing the latest games, the graphics hardware in the new Mac Pro makes graphics applications faster.

The foundation of this new graphics architecture is the latest generation of GPUs connected to the system via a fast and wide PCI Express 2.0 16-lane bus. Couple that with Core Animation, Core Image, and Core Video technologies in Mac OS X Leopard. The result is a graphics platform for applications to seamlessly tap into a teraflop of graphics power.

Performance, it's in the card
The high-performance NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 graphics card with 512MB of GDDR3 memory comes standard, making the Mac Pro graphics technology faster than before. Perfect for motion graphics, 3D modeling, rendering, or animation, it provides up to 2.9x the performance of previous Mac Pro standard graphics cards.

Graphics on display
Every Mac Pro graphics card features two display ports for maximum workspace flexibility. A Mini DisplayPort connects to a 24-inch Apple LED Cinema Display (sold separately) with ease. A dual-link DVI port connects a 30-inch Apple Cinema HD Display or any other DVI display (sold separately). And with support for up to four NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 cards, you can connect more displays—up to eight total.

Massive storage
The Mac Pro comes with four 3.5-inch internal hard drive bays for an enormous amount of internal storage—up to 4TB if you install four 1TB Serial ATA 3Gb/s drives. Each bay provides its own independent 3Gb/s channel for fast access to data. Thanks to the cable-free, direct-attach installation system, adding (or replacing) hard drives is a surprisingly simple process.

Double-layer burner times two
Sure it's great to have one 18x SuperDrive at your disposal, but think how much more productive you could be with two. Imagine backing up your data to two double-layer DVDs at once, or burning Aperture projects to one DVD, while importing music from a CD into your iTunes library. With two optical drive bays in every system, the Mac Pro makes it possible if you so desire.

Mac OS X Leopard
Mac OS X Leopard is engineered to get the most out of the advanced architecture in the Mac Pro. Built on a rock-solid UNIX foundation, Leopard delivers true 64-bit performance and incorporates intelligent developer tools.

UNIX compliant
What makes Mac OS X Leopard a powerful operating system is the technology behind it: a fully certified UNIX foundation. With a rock-solid UNIX infrastructure, it's one of the most secure and stable operating systems on any platform. As a developer, you'll appreciate Leopard even more because it's fully UNIX compliant. That means it compiles and runs all your existing UNIX code, so you can deploy it in environments that demand full conformance. The result: Software performs exactly as it's meant to. And, because the powerful tools built into Leopard improve application performance on multicore processors, the new Mac Pro is the ideal workstation.

64-bit power
Leopard is to the Mac Pro what a skilled driver is to a car with a powerful engine—a perfect match. Since the entire operating system is 64-bit ready, you can take full advantage of the 64-bit architecture of the Quad-Core Intel Xeon "Nehalem" processors inside the Mac Pro. Add to that the 32GB of memory available for the Mac Pro, and the performance of Leopard is even better than before. Leopard also enables developers to build complete 64-bit applications using the Cocoa, Quartz, OpenGL, and X11 GUI frameworks. And, because Leopard supports 64-bit and 32-bit applications, you don't need a new set of devices or drivers.

Multicore. Multitask.
At the heart of the Mac Pro is an Quad-Core Intel Xeon "Nehalem" processor with an incredible amount of processing power. Optimized for multicore technology, Leopard provides powerful tools that make it easy to reap the benefits of the Mac Pro. The scheduler in Leopard, for instance, is very efficient at allocating tasks across multiple cores and processors. So Leopard spends less time managing tasks and more time performing computations. As a developer, you can build applications that execute the same efficiency, thanks to NSOperation, a breakthrough API that optimizes applications for multicore processing.

Core Animation.
From the cascading windows of Time Machine to the smooth animation of the reflective 3D Dock, stunning visual effects truly set Leopard apart. Behind all that beauty is a technology built into Leopard called Core Animation. The performance of Core Animation benefits from the multicore processors and advanced graphics hardware in the new Mac Pro. For developers, Core Animation easily opens up the power of Apple's graphics technologies. You can create animated user interfaces and visualizations that simultaneously layer different media types, such as text, 2D graphics, OpenGL rendering, and QuickTime video, all in realtime.

Xcode developer tools.
Xcode is the graphical development environment that comes with every Mac. It's the same software used by Apple to produce Mac OS X, and it's packed with tools and features, including a powerful graphical debugger, a code editor supporting dozens of languages, and the amazing Instruments tool to visualize your application's performance. Xcode is optimized to take advantage of the multicore Intel Xeon "Nehalem" processors and system memory in the Mac Pro. It performs 20 percent faster than before, supports multiple languages (both computer and human), and offers programmers everything they need to make stunning Mac OS X applications.