• The “Nehalem” advantage
  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, the new Mac Pro processors have 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.2 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. And 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
  The new 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, up to 3.33GHz on a 2.93GHz Mac Pro
• The virtue of virtual cores
  The new Intel Xeon “Nehalem” processors support Hyper-Threading, which allows two threads to run simultaneously on each core. So an 8-core Mac Pro 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 new 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. In the new 8-core Mac Pro, there’s a QuickPath Interconnect between the two quad-core processors as well. This connection acts as a direct pipeline, so processor-to-processor data doesn’t need to travel to the I/O hub first. It’s another way the new Mac Pro boosts performance across the board
• Powerfully efficient
  Based on an industry-leading 45-nm process technology and combined with improved power management capabilities, the new Intel Xeon “Nehalem” processors are more energy efficient than before. So the Mac Pro is faster than ever, while using less energy when idle

Apple Mac Pro 2.66GHz Quad Core Mac Desktop Computer Specifications
Processing

• Quad-core: One 2.66GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon 3500 series processor
  
• Next-generation Intel microarchitecture
  • 8MB of fully shared L3 cache per processor
    
  • Integrated memory controller
    
  • Turbo Boost dynamic performance (up to 3.33GHz on 8-core 2.93GHz system)
    
  • Hyper-Threading technology for up to 16 virtual cores
    
  • 128-bit SSE4 SIMD engine
    
  • 64-bit data paths and registers
    
  • Optimized for energy efficiency

Memory

• 1066MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM
  
• Quad-core: Four memory slots supporting up to 8GB of main memory using 1GB or 2GB DIMMs

Graphics and displays

• Double-wide, 16-lane PCI Express 2.0 graphics slot with one of the following graphics cards installed
  • NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 512MB of GDDR3 memory, PCI Express 2.0, one Mini DisplayPort, and one dual-link DVI port
  • ATI Radeon HD 4870 with 512MB of GDDR5 memory, PCI Express 2.0, one Mini DisplayPort, and one dual-link DVI port (optional)
• Multiple graphics card configurations available with two, three, or four NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 cards
  
• Support for up to eight 30-inch displays
• Support for digital resolutions up to 2560 by 1600 pixels
  
• Support for analog resolutions up to 2048 by 1536 pixels
  
• Video adapters available for:
• Additional DVI output using Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter (optional) 
• Additional dual-link DVI output using Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (optional) 
• VGA output using Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter or DVI to VGA Display Adapter (optional)

Communications

• Two independent 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet (RJ-45) interfaces with support for jumbo frames
• Bluetooth 2.1 + Enhanced Data Rate (EDR)
• Optional AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi card with 802.11n2 (based on an IEEE 802.11n draft specification); IEEE 802.11a/b/g compatible

Storage

• Four 3.5-inch cable-free, direct-attach hard drive bays with built-in independent 3Gb/s Serial ATA channels; four internal hard drive carriers included
  
• Up to 4TB of internal storage in hard drive bays 1 through 4 using hard drives in the following capacities
  • 640GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s, 7200 rpm, 16MB cache
    
  • Optional 1TB Serial ATA 3Gb/s, 7200 rpm, 32MB cache
    
  • Optional Mac Pro RAID Card with 512MB cache and 72-hour cache battery backup
    
  • 18x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
    
    • Writes DVD+R and DVD-R discs at up to 18x speed
      
    • Writes DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL discs at up to 8x speed
      
    • Writes DVD+RW discs at up to 8x speed
      
    • Writes DVD-RW discs at up to 6x speed
      
    • Reads DVDs at up to 18x speed
      
    • Writes CD-R and CD-RW discs at up to 32x speed
      
    • Reads CDs at up to 32x speed
      
  • One open optical drive bay for optional second SuperDrive

Electrical and operating requirements

• Line voltage: 100-120V AC or 200-240V AC (wide-range power supply input voltage)
  
• Frequency: 50Hz to 60Hz single phase
  
• Current: Maximum of 12A (low-voltage range) or 6A (high-voltage range)
  
• Operating temperature: 50° to 95° F (10° to 35° C)
  
• Storage temperature: -40° to 116° F (-40° to 47° C)
  
• Relative humidity: 5% to 95% noncondensing
  
• Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet

Connections and audio

• Four FireWire 800 ports (two on front panel, two on back panel)
  
• Five USB 2.0 ports (two on front panel, three on back panel)
  
• Two USB 2.0 ports on included keyboard
  
• Front-panel headphone minijack and internal speaker
  
• Optical digital audio input and output TOSLINK ports
  
• Analog stereo line-level input and output minijacks
  

PCI Express expansion

• Three open full-length PCI Express expansion slots
  
• One PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot
  
• Two PCI Express 2.0 x4 slots
  
• All slots provide mechanical support for 16-lane cards
  
• 300W combined maximum for all PCI Express slots
  

Software

• Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard (includes iTunes, Time Machine, Quick Look, Spaces, Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat, Safari, Address Book, QuickTime, iCal, DVD Player, Photo Booth, Front Row, Xcode Developer Tools)
  
• iLife ’09 (includes iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iWeb, and GarageBand)

What's In The Box

• Mac Pro
  
• Power cord
  
• Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad and Mighty Mouse
  
• USB keyboard extension cable
  
• Install/restore DVDs
  
• Printed and electronic documentation