It’s about time Apple. The company finally announces updates to their desktop product lineup by introducing new models and features to all three major desktop products – the Mac Pro, Mac mini, and iMac all-in-one. Don’t expect anything dramatic here. Most of the changes are small – with the most dramatic change coming from the price drop of the 20 inch iMac (but more on that later on) and the addition of the XEON Nehalem processor for the Mac Pro.

Mac Pro

We’ll start things off with the Mac Pro. The high end desktop system receives a processor and architecture upgrade with the introduction of the new quad core Intel XEON Nehalem processor. Of course, since we’re talking about Nehalem processors, we’re talking about integrated memory controllers, faster RAM, Hyper-Threading, and 45nm process technology. In all, the new 8-core Mac Pros come with lower-clocked processors which actually outperform the previous generation 8-core Mac Pros on the Core architecture.

Other new features of the Mac Pro  lineup include:

  • 8-Core system includes two 2.26GHz, 2.66GHz, or 2.93GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5500 processors
  • Quad Core system includes one 2.66GHz or 2.93GHz Intel Xeon 3500 series processor
  • 1066 DDR3 ECC SDRAM
  • PCI Express 2.0 16 lane bus
  • Choice of either NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 512MB of GDDR3 memory or ATI Radeon HD 4870 with 512MB GDDR5 memory
  • At least two display ports – Mini DisplayPort and dual-link DVI port
  • Four 3.5 inch internal hard drive bays
  • Optional Mac Pro RAID Card with 512MB of RAID cache, 72 hour cache protecting battery, and hardware RAID levels 0, 1, 5, and 0+1
  • Up to two 18x SuperDrives
  • Two Gigabit ports
  • Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
  • Four FireWire 800 ports
  • Five USB 2.0 ports
  • Two USB 2.0 ports on included keyboard
  • Optical digital audio input and output
  • Analog stereo line level input and output
  • Headphone and internal speaker

The new Quad Core Mac Pro has a starting price of $2499 and comes with

  • One 2.66GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon Nehalem processor
  • 3GB RAM
  • 640GB HDD
  • 18x SuperDrive
  • NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 512MB

The new 8 Core Mac Pro has a starting price of $3299 and comes with

  • Two 2.26 Quad-Core Intel Xeon Nehalem processors
  • 6GB RAM
  • 640GB HDD
  • 18x SuperDrive
  • NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 512MB

Mac mini

Mac mini back

Going from large to small..(and we do mean small), we shift our attention to the Mac mini which FINALLY receives SOME attention (although the updates are not as extensive as we would have liked). The main change (or addition I suppose) here – the Mac mini gets beefier graphics finally. Gone is Intel integrated graphics and in is the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M GPU. Yes, there are other somewhat interesting aspects of the updated Mac mini – such as how green of a system it is (it consumes very little when idle, and its chassis is made of recyclable aluminum) and how many new USB 2.0 ports there are … but really, the biggest change is the NVIDIA graphics. Here’s a rundown of features on the new Mac mini:

  • 120GB, 250GB, or 320GB HDD
  • Support for up to 4GB of memory
  • 2.0 or 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 processor
  • Five USB 2.0 ports
  • Dual display ports – the Mini DVI port and the Mini DisplayPort
  • One FireWire 800 port
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
  • Built-in speaker

Prices for the Mac mini are as follows. For $599, you get a system with:

  • 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
  • 1GB RAM
  • 120GB HDD
  • 8x SuperDrive
  • NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics

For $799, you get a system with:

  • 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
  • 2GB RAM
  • 320GB HDD
  • 8x SuperDrive
  • NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics

imac

And finally, Apple’s all-in-one desktop PC lineup, the iMac, receives both updates as well as a nice price drop. The 20 inch iMac receives a $300 dollar price cut – going from $1499 to $1199 while the 24 inch iMac is now priced at the previous 20 inch price of $1499. We’re somewhat bummed that we’re not seeing the new Core i7 processor here (as we did via the XEON Nehalem on the Mac Pro) but oh well. Features include:

  • 20 inch monitor has resolution of 1680 x 1050
  • 24 inch monitor has resolution of 1920 x 1200
  • 20 inch comes with NVIDIA GeForce 9400M
  • 24 inch offers choice of NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 or ATI Radeon HD 4850
  • Intel Core 2 Duo processors
  • Support for up to 8GB DDR3 memory
  • Up to 1TB of HDD
  • Four USB 2.0 ports (with two more on the keyboard)
  • 802.11n Wi-Fi
  • slot-loading SuperDrive
  • Built-in iSight camera

Cool stuff – now let’s get back to that pricing. For $1199, you get the following:

  • 20 inch display
  • 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
  • 2GB RAM
  • 320GB HDD
  • 8x SuperDrive
  • NVDIA GeForce 9400M graphics

For $1499, you get:

  • 24 inch display
  • 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
  • 4GB RAM
  • 640GB HDD
  • 8x SuperDrive
  • NVIDIA GeForce 9400M

For $1799, you get:

  • 24 inch display
  • 2.93GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
  • 4GB RAM
  • 640GB HDD
  • 8x SuperDrive
  • NVIDIA GeForce GT120 with 256MB

AND, for $2199, you get:

  • 24 inch display
  • 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
  • 4GB RAM
  • 1TB HDD
  • 8x SuperDrive
  • NVIDIA GeForce GT120 with 512MB

All models are available now.

Phew… and that’s a wrap. So.. will this spur you on to buy a new Mac???

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