Apple quietly adds Mac Pro server config post-Xserve
updated 10:45 am EDT, Fri November 5, 2010
Mac Pro gets special server model after Xserve
Apple in the wake of plans to phase out the Xserve has brought out a new, server-oriented configuration of the Mac Pro on the Apple Store. The new version has the same 2.8GHz quad-core Xeon as the entry model but focuses on upgrades friendlier to the pre-installed copy of Snow Leopard Server. It more than doubles the RAM to 8GB and carries a second 1TB hard drive for options like a RAID mirror or keeping app performance unimpeded by the OS.
The system still uses a Radeon HD 5770 for stock graphics and isn't upgradeable to faster video like other configurations. It can still get all the faster processor options, up to two 2.93GHz six-core Xeons, as well as up to 8TB of storage across all four drive bays. Fiber Channel, hardware RAID cards and Xsan 2 are also persistent options.
The base configuration is available today in the Apple Store for $2,999 and mirrors the pattern taken with the Mac mini, which received a special server configuration that quickly became the most popular server choice, according to Apple.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Mar 2009
too much hardware for Xserve
When you look at a Mac Pro's hardware, I can't see how all of this could be crammed into 1U anymore. Maybe that's why Apple decided not no try. Looking at the huge heat sink over the CPUs would kill any 1U Xserve unless it was fitted with liquid cooling again. There's also more I/O space than in the Xserve so maybe using 6U of space actually gives you the capability of more power and options than the Xserve would ever have been capable of providing.