Intel unveils Itanium 9300 processor

Posted by Dennis Sellers Intel has introduce the Itanium processor 9300 series, previously codenamed “Tukwila,” which purportedly delivers more than double the performance of its predecessor, boosts scalability and adds reliability features to the Itanium platform.

Posted by Dennis Sellers Intel has introduce the Itanium processor 9300 series, previously codenamed “Tukwila,” which purportedly delivers more than double the performance of its predecessor, boosts scalability and adds reliability features to the Itanium platform.

  • Apple Announces Nehalem-powered Mac Pro

    Apple has announced a number of updates today, including a considerable refresh to their professional desktop line, the Mac Pro. Utilizing the Intel “Nehalem” Xeon processors and a next-generation system architecture, the new machines deliver up to twice the performance of the previous generation system. Philip Schiller, Apple’s ( aapl) senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, noted that: The new Mac Pro is a significant upgrade and starts at $300 less than before. It features an advanced system architecture, new faster processors and our best-ever graphics options to deliver a faster, more powerful system that our professional customers are going to love. Confident words from the man behind Apple's product lineup, and seemingly justified with the new specifications on offer. Improved Performance When compared to the previous generation Mac Pro, performance is up to 1.7x faster: The speed increases are due to the introduction of a new processor and graphics card. Two models offer a choice of either one 2.66 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon 3500 processor, or two 2.26 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5500 processors. The new cores offer up to 2.4x greater memory bandwidth, in addition to a new “Turbo Boost technology” which claims to speed up the processor when all cores aren’t in use. A range of architecture changes assist with improved performance, full details of which can be found at the features page. Following on from recent graphics updates in their notebook line, the new Mac Pros include a NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 512MB of GDDR3 memory — supposedly up to 2.9x faster than the previous model. For even greater performance you can opt to pay more for an upgrade to the ATI Radeon HD 4870. As with many speed claims, it's always interesting to see how they translate to day-to-day use. In this case they seem justified, and I'm looking forward to seeing various application benchmarks. Graphics Options The new machines feature both a dual-link DVI port (as supported previously) and a Mini DisplayPort, with room internally for up to four individual graphics cards. There's no shortage of display options! It will be interesting to see whether both of these can function at the same time, supporting two monitors from a single graphics card. Updated Interior The interior design of the Mac Pro has long been a source of pride for Apple, showcasing their excessive attention to detail in hardware design. The new alterations are no exception: An updated interior provides easy access to all components within the Mac Pro for easy expansion, and the case includes four direct-attach cable-free hard drive carriers for installing up to 4TB of internal storage. An optional RAID card delivers enhanced performance and allows the four internal drive bays to be set up in various RAID arrays for additional data protection or speed. Environmentally Friendly Continuing their focus on developing environmentally friendly machines, Apple note that the Mac Pro has a number of “green” features: The new Mac Pro exceeds Energy Star 4.0 requirements and is leading the industry as an early adopter of the more stringent Energy Star 5.0 requirements which will become effective later this year. The Mac Pro enclosure is made of highly recyclable aluminum and the interior is designed to be more material-efficient. The Mac Pro uses PVC-free internal cables and components and contains no brominated flame retardants. The new Mac Pro achieves EPEAT Gold status. Available Models The new Mac Pros are available in two base models, configurable to your required standard: The base model costs $2,499 and includes: One 2.66 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon 3500 series processor with 8MB of L3 cache; 3GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM memory, expandable up to 8GB; NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 graphics with 512MB of GDDR3 memory; 640GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive running at 7200 rpm; 18x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW); Mini DisplayPort and DVI (dual-link) for video output (adapters sold separately); Four PCI Express 2.0 slots; Five USB 2.0 ports and four FireWire® 800 ports; Bluetooth 2.1+EDR; and Ships with Apple Keyboard with numerical keypad and Mighty Mouse. The higher specification with a price of $3,299 (US) includes: Two 2.26 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5500 series processors with 8MB of shared L3 cache; 6GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM memory, expandable up to 32GB; NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 graphics with 512MB of GDDR3 memory; 640GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive running at 7200 rpm; 18x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW); Mini DisplayPort and DVI (dual-link) for video output (adapters sold separately); Four PCI Express 2.0 slots; Five USB 2.0 ports and four FireWire 800 ports; Bluetooth 2.1+EDR; and Ships with Apple Keyboard with numerical keypad and Mighty Mouse. Availability Apple notes that the new systems will be available next week (with their online store stating four business days), so you won't need to wait much longer if you've been holding out for the latest specification bump. More information can be found at the Mac Pro product page or you can order one of the new machines now through the Apple Store. Green your IT. Save Money. Save the Planet Register at $295/$495 regular Hear Microsoft, IBM, Dell and Cisco execs at GigaOM's Green:Net.

  • Apple PR - Apple Unveils iWork '09 and iWork.com

    Apple Unveils iWork '09 Introduces iWork.com Public Beta for Online Document Sharing SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple(R) today introduced iWork(R) '09, the latest version of Apple's popular office productivity suite, which adds powerful new features without sacrificing Apple's legendary ease of use. Keynote(R) '09 introduces advanced object transitions, which automatically animate objects with a choice of effects and Magic Move, an innovative way to create sophisticated animations just by applying a simple transition. Pages(R) '09 features a new Full Screen view that helps you focus on your writing and an outline mode to organize your thoughts. Numbers(R) '09 introduces a quick way to group and summarize data and a dramatically simplified way to create complex formulas. Apple also announced iWork.com public beta, a new service Apple is developing to share iWork '09 documents online. “Millions of Mac users have fallen in love with iWork,” said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. “With iWork '09, Apple continues to demonstrate that innovation is possible in office productivity software, and that creating impressive presentations, documents and spreadsheets doesn't need to be complicated.” Keynote '09 introduces Magic Move, which allows you to apply a simple transition to automatically animate the position, scale, rotation and opacity of any image, graphic or text that is repeated on consecutive slides. New text transitions morph text from one slide to the next. New advanced object transitions animate objects off one slide while simultaneously animating objects onto the next slide with a choice of effects. 3D charts now include cylinder shapes, beveled-edge pie charts, new textures and four new 3D build effects. The Keynote Remote application, sold separately in the App Store, lets you view slides and presenter notes and control your presentation with your iPhone(TM) or iPod(R) touch. Pages '09 Full Screen view lets you focus on your document without any distractions and reveals the menus, format bar and page navigator only when needed. Outline mode includes templates that help to quickly build the framework for your document and allow you to collapse, expand and rearrange elements, even inline graphics, with ease. MathType 6 support lets engineers, mathematicians and students easily add sophisticated equations to their documents and EndNote X2 integration lets users add and edit comprehensive bibliographic references. Pages '09 also includes 40 new Apple-designed templates, including newsletters, posters, certificates and coordinated stationery. Numbers '09 provides a great way to quickly categorize data by column, which you can then collapse, expand and summarize to easily make sense of large sets of data. Numbers '09 makes formula writing dramatically easier with an enhanced function browser which includes built-in help for over 250 functions, and visual placeholders with tool tips that explain each variable in a formula. Use the new Formula List to view all formulas in your entire spreadsheet and jump directly to any formula cell with a single click. Expanded chart options include mixed chart types, two-axis charts, and the ability to apply trend lines and error bars. Numbers charts pasted into Pages or Keynote are linked, and can be updated with a single click. Apple also introduced iWork.com public beta, a new service Apple is developing to share iWork '09 documents online. Using your Apple ID, just click the iWork.com icon in the Keynote, Pages or Numbers toolbar to upload your document and invite others to view it online. Viewers can provide comments and notes, and download a copy of your document in iWork, Microsoft Office or PDF formats. A consolidated online list of all your shared documents indicates when your viewers have posted comments. Pricing & Availability iWork '09 is now available through the Apple Store(R) (http://www.apple.com), Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $79 (US). iWork '09 is available for $49 (US) with the purchase of any Mac(R) through the Apple Store, Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. iWork '09 requires Mac OS(R) X version 10.4.11 or Mac OS X version 10.5.6 or later, a Macintosh(R) computer with an Intel processor, PowerPC G5, or 500 MHz or faster PowerPC G4, 512MB of RAM (1GB recommended), 32MB of video RAM, QuickTime(R) 7.5.5 or later, a DVD drive for installation and 1.2GB of available disk space. iWork.com Public Beta is not included with the purchase of iWork '09. Account setup and activation are required. Fees may apply. Internet access and iWork '09 are required. Terms of service apply and are available at http://www.apple.com/legal/iworkcom/en/terms.html. Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone. (C) 2009 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, iWork, Keynote, Pages, Numbers, iPhone, iPod, Apple Store and QuickTime are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

  • Intel expands 2010 Intel core processor

    Posted by Dennis Sellers Intel has introduced Intel Core processors, extending the availability of its award-winning Intel Core processor family to ultra-thin laptops. The number 32 is key—Intel's chip design and manufacturing dubbed “32 nanometers” delivers 32 percent slimmer laptops and more than 32% better performance.

  • Apple announces new Mac Pro and Xserve

    Apple today announced two new updates to popular products. They issued a press release this morning for a new version of the Mac Pro as well as Xserve. From the Mac Pro Press Release: The new Mac Pro combines two of Intel’s new 45 nanometer Quad-Core Xeon processors running up to 3.2 GHz, powerful new graphics and up to 4TB of internal storage to offer the ideal system for creative professionals, 3D digital content creators and scientists. The standard 8-core configuration starts at just $2,799. The new Mac Pro features the latest Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5400 series processors based on state-of-the-art 45nm Intel Core microarchitecture running up to 3.2 GHz, each with 12MB of L2 cache per processor for breakthrough performance and power efficiency. With a new high-bandwidth hardware architecture, dual-independent 1600 MHz front side buses and up to 32GB of 800 MHz DDR2 ECC FB-DIMM memory, the new Mac Pro achieves a 61 percent increase in memory throughput**. Every Mac Pro comes standard with the ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT graphics card with 256MB of video memory. The Mac Pro includes a new PCI Express 2.0 graphics slot that delivers up to double the bandwidth compared to the previous generation, and supports the latest generation of graphics cards from NVIDIA, such as the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT with 512MB of video memory, or NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 with 1.5GB of video memory and a 3-D stereo port for stereo-in-a-window applications. With support for up to four graphics cards, the new Mac Pro can drive up to eight 30-inch displays at once for advanced visualization and large display walls. Apple also announced the release of the new version of Xserve in another Press Release: Apple® today introduced the new Xserve®, a 1U rack-optimized server that is up to twice as fast as its predecessor* and includes an unlimited client license for Mac OS® X Server Leopard™. Starting at just $2,999, the new Xserve has up to two Quad-Core 3.0 GHz Intel Xeon processors for 8-core performance, a new server architecture, faster front side buses, faster memory, up to 3TB of internal storage and two PCI Express 2.0 expansion slots for greater performance and flexibility. “With the latest Intel processors and no client access licenses, Xserve offers unbeatable server performance and value for under $3,000,? said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Xserve’s power, storage and Leopard Server make it ideal for supporting Mac clients and mixed platform workgroups.?

  • Intel unveils 2010 Intel Core processor family

    Posted by Dennis Sellers Intel has unveiled its 2010 family of Intel Core processors at this week's Consumer Electronics Show (CES). And you can be that some of these babies will show up in Macs in the coming months.

  • 10 OS X Games for the Holidays

    Recently, my boss at my day job was considering getting a Mac and asked that fateful question: So, what about games? A few years ago, any response to that question would have been met with an awkward silence and an embarrassed look and a rush to change the subject to the weather. Now a days, thankfully, the answer is: Not that bad, actually. The switch to Intel processors, along with TransGaming's Cider, has allowed companies to port their games to OS X. The bad news is, almost all the games on this list require a Mac with an Intel-based processor to run, and most of them either do not work on the old GMA 950 chip, or are severely limited. Massively Multiplayer Online Games I've got a weak spot for these enormous time sinks. They do come with a not-so-hidden cost of a monthly subscription fee and potential dirty looks from your spouse as you're up until 3am trying go get “just one more level.” Warhammer Online Derived from the old Warhammer miniatures war games, we've covered this one previously. It's still a good choice for someone who also likes bashing their fellow man in the face as well as computer-controlled monsters. You can download the endless trial, which will let you play a portion of the game for free, or you can also buy the retail Windows version for about $20 — you don't need to install it, and the Mac version isn't on the disc, but you can use the account key to create the account and then download the Mac client. Eve Online A space-themed MMO where you pilot your own ship is a nice distraction from the chicks-in-chainmail you find in fantasy games — really, that bikini has a high armor rating?  Riiiiiight. While my experiences with Eve are limited, from what friends have told me, “once you get over the learning curve, it's quite fun.” So, if you're tired of burly elves and svelte dwarves (or is it the other way around?), Eve Online might be worth a look. As with Warhammer, you can either download it online or pick up a box set at a retailer. World of Warcraft It's hard to mention a gaming roundup without talking about the 800 pound gorilla of the gaming market. Recently celebrating its fifth anniversary and over 11 million subscribers, WoW shows no indication of slowing down this decade. Blizzard has always been a staunch supporter of the Mac, and the box you buy at the store will have the Mac installers on the disc. There's even a handy iPhone app you can view your character and guild info with. Shooters Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare In a break from the World War 2 theme of the earlier Call of Duty game, as you'd assume from the title, this one is set in the modern era. The single-player campaign is one of the best I've ever experienced — I've got a fairly low finish rate on games, and this once was interesting all the way to the end. You'll play the part of two soldiers in different areas of the world (A British SAS trooper and an American marine) working on two plot lines. I found the level design varied and well-paced — each level felt bereft of the usual “padding” developers add to the game to make it longer. At around 12 hours long, the campaign is relatively short, but, frankly, I'd rather most games be this short and well done than inflated. Bioshock Yeah, I know, like Call of Duty 4, it came out a few years ago for consoles and PCs. This Art Deco themed shooter answers the question: What would happen if Ann Rand built an underwater complex based on her Objectivist theories? Naturally, something goes wrong and you get to unravel it. As with Call of Duty 4, Bioshock is one of the few games that compelled me to finish it, and is one of the few games so scary it caused the hair on my arms to stand up. Sim Games Sims 3 It's hard to ignore the siren's call of a game that lets you block off the bathroom and watch your Sims go mad. The Sims franchise is a guilty pleasure of mine. Apparently I'm not so busy micromanaging my own life, I need to micromanage a Sim's virtual life, too. The Sims 3 has a few new features, like careers. Previously, when your Sim went to work, he or she disappeared into a black hole from which money spouted. Now, they can advance up a career path. I just wish they'd learn to use the bathroom at work. X-Plane Back in my PC gaming days, I was a huge fan of Microsoft's Flight Simulator series. Unfortunately, Microsoft's shuttering of that development group killed the program — not that we'd have seen a Mac version. X-Plane seems to be the Mac equivalent of it. I've yet to play it, and, sadly, any attempt at downloading the demo has failed. You can get it at the Apple store but the online store claims a 2-3 week shipping time. Strategy Games Civ 4 The Civilization series has been a long staple in the strategy era, and Civ 4 is one of my favorites. Civ 4 adds a few new features over previous versions: religion is much more important, you can promote units, and now you can see your overall score. There is also a slimmed down iPhone version. Whimsical Lego Series If there's something more fun than a Lego adaptation of Star Wars or Indiana Jones, I don't know what it is. I love how they are both true to the source material, yet light-hearted. These are fun for the whole family. Peggle Part pinball, part blockout, part crazy, the idea behind Peggle is to eliminate the orange pegs. You are given 10 balls to complete this task. If the ball lands in the scoop at the bottom, you get a free ball. Most of my experience has been with the iPhone app, but I've been loving it. Any sort of a roundup like this is heavily biased on the author's tastes: in my case, it's apparent I like MMOs, shooters, and strategy games. Now it's your turn: What games would you like to give or receive this holiday season?

  • Intel unveils 45nm System-on-Chip for Internet TV

    Posted by Dennis Sellers IntelIntel unveiled the Intel Atom processor CE4100, the newest System-on-Chip (SoC) in a family of media processors designed to bring Internet content and services to digital TVs, DVD players and advanced set-top boxes.

  • Apple DOUBLES Xserve Performance with Latest Update

    Apple issued a press release early this morning announcing that an update to Xserve is now available that delivers “up to twice” the performance of the previous system. Using Intel “Nehalem” Xeon processors and a next generation system architecture, the 1U rack-optimized Xserve delivers up to an 89 percent improvement in performance per watt.** Xserve is available with up to two 2.93 GHz Intel Xeon processors and industry-leading storage options that include a low-power solid state drive (SSD) and up to 3TB of internal storage. Starting at $2,999, Xserve includes an unlimited client license for Mac OS X Server version 10.5 Leopard. View the rest of the press release after the jump Apple Updates Xserve with Twice the Performance Features Next Generation Architecture and Intel 'Nehalem' Xeon Processors CUPERTINO, Calif., April 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple® today announced an updated Xserve® that delivers up to twice the performance of the previous system.* Using Intel “Nehalem” Xeon processors and a next generation system architecture, the 1U rack-optimized Xserve delivers up to an 89 percent improvement in performance per watt.** Xserve is available with up to two 2.93 GHz Intel Xeon processors and industry-leading storage options that include a low-power solid state drive (SSD) and up to 3TB of internal storage. Starting at $2,999, Xserve includes an unlimited client license for Mac OS® X Server version 10.5 Leopard®. “The Xserve is the best workgroup server for our education, business and creative customers,” said David Moody, Apple's vice president of Worldwide Mac Product Marketing. “With up to twice the performance, better power efficiency and an innovative SSD drive option, this is the best Xserve we've ever made.” The new Xserve includes Intel Xeon processors running at speeds up to 2.93 GHz, each with an integrated memory controller with three channels of 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC memory that delivers up to 2.4 times the memory bandwidth while cutting memory latency up to 40 percent.*** Using high-efficiency power supplies and intelligent thermal management, Xserve delivers a 19 percent reduction in idle power use. Xserve's industry-leading storage capabilities include a 128GB SSD boot-drive option that requires a fraction of the power of a hard disk and delivers up to 48 times faster random access times without occupying a drive bay. Xserve's three 3.5 inch drive bays support both 7200 rpm SATA and 15,000 rpm SAS drives and can be configured with up to 3TB of internal storage. Two PCI Express 2.0 x16 expansion slots provide massive I/O bandwidth to support the latest high-bandwidth expansion cards. The Xserve RAID card option now delivers improved performance up to 497MB/s**** and supports RAID levels 0, 1 and 5 with 512MB of cache without using a valuable PCI Express expansion slot. A 72-hour backup battery is included for enhanced data protection. Every Xserve ships with an unlimited client edition of Leopard Server, offering support for Mac®, Linux and Windows clients without the added cost of client-access licenses. Leopard Server extends Apple's legendary ease of use with Server Assistant and Server Preferences, which allow even nontechnical users to quickly manage users and groups on the server and easily set up key services. Leopard Server includes Podcast Producer, the ideal way to automatically publish podcasts to iTunes® or the web; Wiki Server, allowing people to collaboratively create and modify their shared websites with just a few clicks; and iCal® Server, the world's first commercial CalDAV standard-based calendar server. Leopard Server is fully UNIX compliant and LDAP and Active Directory support allows Xserve to fit right in to existing IT environments. The new Xserve joins Apple's latest hardware products in setting new standards for environmentally friendly design. Xserve uses PVC-free internal cables and components, contains no brominated flame retardants and features a power supply with an average energy efficiency of 89 percent. Pricing & Availability The new Xserve is immediately available through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com) and Apple Authorized Resellers. The Xserve standard configuration, with a suggested retail price of $2,999 (US), includes: · a single 2.26 GHz Quad-Core Xeon 5500 series processor with 8MB of fully shared L3 cache; · 3GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC RAM; · a single 160GB 7200 rpm SATA Apple Drive Module; · dual Gigabit Ethernet on-board; · two PCI Express 2.0 x16 expansion slots; · Bonjour®-enabled Lights-Out Management processor and Server Monitor Software; · internal graphics with Mini DisplayPort output; · two FireWire® 800 and three USB 2.0 ports; and · an unlimited client license for Mac OS X Server version 10.5 Leopard. Build-to-order options and accessories for Xserve include: dual 2.26 GHz, 2.66 GHz or 2.93 GHz Intel Xeon processors; 160GB and 1TB 7200 rpm SATA Apple Drive Modules; 450GB 15,000 rpm SAS drives (third party option); internal Xserve RAID card; Gigabit Ethernet, 4Gb Fibre Channel cards and a 750W redundant power supply. *Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using a preproduction 2.93 GHz 8-core Xserve (2 chips, 8 cores, 4 cores per chip, 2.93 GHz; SPECjbb2005 bops = 203,439, SPECjbb2005 bops/JVM = 50,860) and a shipping 3.0 GHz 8-core Xserve (2 chips, 8 cores, 4 cores per chip, 3.0 GHz; SPECjbb2005 bops = 103,387, SPECjbb2005 bops/JVM = 25,847). SPEC® and SPECjbb2005® are trademarks of the Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation (SPEC); see www.spec.org for more information. Competitive benchmark results stated above reflect internal Apple testing and were submitted to SPEC in February 2009. For the latest SPECjbb2005 benchmark results, visit www.spec.org/osg/jbb2005. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Xserve. **Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using a preproduction 2.93 GHz 8-core Xserve (SPECpower_ssj™2008 result of 464 overall ssj_ops/watt; 173W at Active Idle; 227,974 ssj_ops and 334W at 100 percent target load) and a shipping 3.0GHz 8-core Xserve (SPECpower_ssj™2008 result of 245 overall ssj_ops/watt; 213W at Active Idle; 141,739 ssj_ops and 353W at 100 percent target load). All units were configured for optimal memory performance (18GB for 2.93 GHz 8-core units and 16GB for 3.0 GHz 8-core units). SPEC® and the benchmark name SPECpower_ssj™ are trademarks of the Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation (SPEC); see www.spec.org for more information. Competitive benchmark results stated here reflect internal Apple testing and were submitted to SPEC in March 2009. For the latest SPECpower_ssj2008 benchmark results, visit www.spec.org/power_ssj2008. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Xserve. ***Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction 2.93GHz 8-core Xserve units and shipping 3.0 GHz 8-core Xserve units. All units were configured for optimal memory performance (18GB for 8-core 2.93 GHz units, 12GB for 4-core 2.26 GHz units, and 16GB for 8-core 3.0 GHz units). Results are based on the STREAM v. 5.8 benchmark (http://www.cs.virginia.edu/stream/ref.html) using OMP support for multiprocessor-compiled builds. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Xserve. Memory latency data provided by Intel. ****Testing conducted by Apple in February 2009 using preproduction 2.93 GHz 8-core Xeon-based Xserve units configured with Xserve RAID Card. Testing conducted using Iometer 2006.07.27 with a 30-second ramp-up, five-minute run duration, 512KB request size, four outstanding IOs, and using non-OS-cached reads and writes. System configured with the operating system on Xserve SSD drive. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Xserve RAID Card. Drive average read latency data from manufacturer's published data sheets. Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone. © 2009 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, Xserve, Leopard, iTunes, iCal, Apple Store, Bonjour and FireWire are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

  • Intel Debuts Slew of New Technologies

    Intel has unveiled a trio of new technologies at the International Solid State Circuits Conference in San Francisco: the Silverthorne mobile processor; the Tukwila Itanium chip -- which has a record 2 billion transistors; and a method for doubling the capacity of phase-change products. It is generally agreed that Silverthorne is an attempt to target the lowest end of the market for computing devices, and there has been speculation that Intel will try to get Apple to use it instead of the ARM processors currently powering its iPhones.

  • Buying Guide: Apple’s New iMac

    Apple updated its iMac and Mac Pro desktop line today with little or no design changes, but the technical specifications of these two machines are finally in line with what you can get from their Windows-running counterparts. Let's take a look at these two machines side by side for anyone looking to upgrade or switch. First of all, if you're looking to buy one of those shiny new 27″ Apple Cinema Displays to go with a new iMac, wait to make your purchase as those won't be available until September. In my opinion, Dell's monitor offerings are priced very competitively to Apple's, but you lose out on that Apple touch such as an aluminum enclosure and built-in MagSafe adapter. I have a 30″ Dell LCD hooked up to my 27″ iMac and it performs perfectly with Apple's Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter. The 27″ & 21″ iMac Side by Side For nearly every user reading TheAppleBlog, Apple's new iMac is the perfect machine both in performance and price. It will make your wallet happy compared to the Mac Pro and is a versatile machine with a small footprint and speeds that most users have never experienced. It also uses far less energy than the Mac Pro, which is good for your electric bill. Here's my recommendation for a top of the line Core i7 iMac: 27″ Monitor 2.93GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM – 4x2GB 2TB Serial ATA Drive 8x double-layer SuperDrive ATI Radeon HD 5750 1GB GDDR5 SDRAM Magic Mouse Final Price: $2,549 For this, you're getting eight total cores since the quad-core i7 processor has hyperthreading and the 8GB of RAM is far from the max of 16GB that the new iMac can handle while still being more than enough for most users. Remember, the MacBook Pro can take a max of 8GB of RAM. I'd recommend 16GB to any aspiring filmmaker, CGI artist or science geek doing complex computations that require a ton of RAM. Besides, you can add more RAM a couple of years from now as the price drops and your needs grow. The lowest-end iMac I'd recommend would be the following: 21.5″ Monitor 3.60GHz Intel Core i5 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM – 2x2GB 1TB Serial ATA Drive ATI Radeon HD 5670 512MB GDDR3 SDRAM 8x double-layer SuperDrive Magic Mouse Final Price: $1,699 This is a great machine for people who don't need a spacious monitor or the performance gains of 8 CPU cores. There is a cheaper Core i3 available at $1,199 but jump to this model if you can for a machine that will keep up with your day-to-day activities a year or more down the road. The Core i5 is a dual-core machine with hyperthreading so you get a total of 4 cores. Of note, the clock speed on this machine is much higher than the i7 but comparing the Core i5 and the Core i7 is night and day when it comes to performance. CPUs Compared The most notable difference is that the Core i5 has 4MB of L3 cache while the Core i7 has 8MB for twice as much memory per core and a faster front side bus. This article may be a bit dated but PCWorld had an excellent run-down comparing the two chips that is worth a read. The short story is that the Core i7 is much faster in nearly every aspect. Remember, more cores isn't always faster. It's easy to say the Core i7 has 4 physical and 4 virtual cores so it's better than the i5, but so many applications don't even know the other cores are there and I have some apps that max out one or two cores but leave the others alone. Snow Leopard's Grand Central Dispatch makes it easy for devs to take advantage of those cores, but the extra time involved doesn't make a task manager or note taking app move any faster. Apple's page showcasing discrete graphics and more cores is convincing but don't get caught up in its sales pitch when choosing the machine that's right for you. In actuality, it's the i7′s faster front side bus, enhanced memory architecture, larger cache and features like TurboBoost that truly make for a worthy upgrade. SSD & HDD Available Another observation that Apple didn't spend too much time highlighting is that you can have SSD and HDD drives in the new iMac. The previous model only supported a single 1 or 2 terabyte hard disk drive. Now, buyers on Apple.com can configure a new iMac with a 1 or 2 terabyte drive in addition to a 256GB SSD. If you can afford it, do it. My 15″ MacBook Pro has an HDD but my MacBook Air is SSD and the speed and overall performance of having an SSD is phenomenal. Apple is letting users have their cake and eat it too because SSD is still very expensive so you have to choose performance over storage capacity. Now, you can have the speed of SSD and the storage of a 1+ terabyte drive in the same machine but you're playing an additional $750/$900 for the privilege. This option is only available on The 27″ iMac. The Value Proposition for Switchers To understand the true value of this new machine, let's compare it with a similarly equipped Dell. With the 27″ iMac, you're getting a $999 monitor built into the machine. Subtract that number from the price tag and you're getting a blazing fast Core i7 machine with 8GB of RAM for just over $1500 which will beat any similarly configured Dell Desktop. The Studio XPS 9000 desktop from Dell had a $1,799 price tag pre-tax after I configured it as similarly as I could to Apple's 27″ iMac – and this is before adding a Dell monitor. Apple's iMac is so competitively priced that it's a no-brainer considering you can install Windows 7 on it, if you want. The Magic Trackpad We've already provided a run-down of the Magic Trackpad here on TAB but I wanted to emphasize that this is a big deal. Apple is bringing the tech that makes its notebooks so much better than other PC notebooks and making a standalone input device that everyone can enjoy. In my post discussing the Trackpad two weeks ago, I said: “A Bluetooth trackpad that I’ve eloquently dubbed “MagicPad” (Magic Mouse = Trackpad) would be Apple’s next step into a buttonless world that it so desperately is striving for. The Magic Mouse has fewer buttons than the Mighty Mouse and this would be one button as the entire trackpad is, exactly like we are used to on Apple’s notebooks.” I still agree and it's a $69 add-on when buying your new iMac. But I say go for it; there's always eBay if you really don't like it. Apple notebook owners will see this as a no-brainer way to interact with the desktop computer. My friend, who does graphic design, loves the trackpad over a mouse and she's already ordered one of these for her iMac. Final Thoughts The iMac is the most affordable iMac ever as it blows the pants off any previous desktop Mac under $3,000. If you can afford it, the top model I recommended is perfect and will function as a capable Mac for the next 3+ years without buyer's remorse. The Mac Pro has its place but it can't compete in price and packaging with the iMac. Even the normally affordable Dell machines can't compete in price and that makes this machine perfect for home users, pros and switchers in a way that no other Mac has before.

The Comments Go Here

Software Releases