apple updates the desktops

By Simon Strantzas (procurement@loop.ca), Product Specialist

After a long wait, Apple has announced upgrades to their entire desktop line, from the Mac Mini to the Mac Pro tower. Though the case designs have not changed, inside each is the latest in processing technology, combined with a change to the external ports to allow for the greatest of ease.

For instance, each computer now ships with a DisplayPort connection, finally allowing the LED 24" Cinema Display to connect to the entire Apple line-up (which is long overdue, considering Apple discontinued the 20" display last month, and the best-selling 23" display three months ago!). One absence from the line is the FireWire 400 port. This high-speed interface has been part of the Apple lineup for close to a decade, but Apple felt it was finally time to either migrate users to the faster FireWire 800 interface, or allow them to focus on the more ubiquitous USB 2.0 interface.

The specifications of these new systems are drool-worthy, to say the least, and far too numerous to outline fully here. A sampling though shows the iMac now ships with up to 4GB of RAM out of the box (expandable to 8GB) and a 320GB or 640GB hard drive. There are also four USB 2.0 ports and one FireWire 800 port. With it's NVIDIA integrated graphic card, the machine has more than enough to handle the basic graphic design job.

The Mac Pro, for the first time, now ships in two stock builds. The first, a 2.66GHz Quad-Core, ships with 3GB of RAM standard (expandable to 8GB) and a 640GB hard drive, along with the other specifications that are familiar such as Superdrive and four PCI Express 2.0 slots. This would be the "starter" unit, especially compared to the second build. The 8-Core 2.26GHz unit ships with two 2.26GHz Quad-core Xeon 5500 processors and 6GB of RAM (expandable to a whopping 32GB). The machine leaves previous Mac Pro units in the dust, and has the room to grow into one of the most powerful workstations on the planet. Upgrade it with the Mac Pro RAID card and run the most demanding applications with ease.

Best of all, all these new desktops are shipping now from Apple.

For more information on Apple's revised desktop line-up, and information on purchasing plans, please speak with one of our Loop Sales Managers.

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