Apple Mac Pro MA970LL/A Desktop (Two 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon Processors, 2 GB RAM, 320 GB Hard Drive, 16x SuperDrive) Reviews

• Very quiet. Incredible performance.

  
  By A1P3DDFL423B3C on 2008-01-16
  If you're reading this review, you probably already know the basics about this computer. Let me tell you a few things you might not be able to find elsewhere:
  
  This computer is practically silent. The fans rotate at around 600 (six hundred!) RPM. This is much slower than the fans on most computers, and as a result they cannot be heard even with my ear a few inches from the computer. The 320 GB hard disk is very quiet as well--I installed two 500 GB Seagate drives I already owned, and they are the noisiest part of this computer. For comparison, this machine is significantly quieter than my old dual 2.0 GHz G5 tower.
  
  With four hard drives and two 2600 video cards installed, the computer draws about 220 watts of electricity when it is under little load. I've seen the wattage get as high at 300 watts when things really get cranking. The computer generates a fair amount of heat. I found that I wanted to leave at least 6" clearance behind the computer for good ventilation.
  
  This Mac Pro is really really fast. I have the 2.2 GHz MacBook Pro as well, and had been very impressed with the speed of the laptop. But the Mac Pro is far faster for the work I do (software development, so a lot of VMs, a lot of code compilations, etc.). Compilations of Linux software in VMware are far faster on this machine than my old dual core Linux tower.
  
  For any kind of serious work, you're going to want more than the 2 GB of RAM it comes with. Unfortunately, very few 3rd party vendors have significant amounts of the 800 MHz Mac Pro RAM in stock as of this writing (8 days after the introduction of the computer). I have an additional 10 GB on order. Even Apple has delays for the FB-DIMMs bigger than 1 GB.
  
  I am running 4 displays with two ATI 2600 cards in the two 16 lane PCIe slots. 2D performance is very fluid. I have not tried any 3D games or applications.
  
  A lot of people on the web have complained about the price. Yes, $2800 + accessories is a high entry point, but if you're considering this computer, you're probably using the computer for hard core work. If you need this kind of performance, then this computer is money well spent.
  
  Update (May 2008): I've since upgraded to 12 GB of RAM, 2x1000 + 2x500 GB internal drives, and a third 2600 video card. The computer uses a bit more electricity than it did prior to the upgrades, mostly due to the RAM. However, it's still a very quiet computer and runs with cool temperatures. I've had this machine since a few days after its release in January and still am happy with the performance.
  
  

• Best computer I have owned

  
  By AQMBKOIAYQ6DJ on 2008-02-06
  Here are some things to consider when shopping around for this type of system. This machine is dual-CPU, with a 1600MHz frontside bus and 800MHz memory. Most server-grade systems like this, say from HP or Dell, are still shipping with a 1333MHz bus and 667MHz memory. The extra bandwidth helps on applications like video encoding.
  
  The tower case is perfection. You're looking at a 1000 watt power supply, aluminum case, a large number of huge fans that run slowly, meaning quietly. It would cost about $300 to assemble a comparable unit for a dual-CPU PC, and you'd end up with something weighing 70 or 80 lbs, instead of 50. I know, I've lifted them. This case has some marginal improvements on the original Mac Pro case, like rubber bumpers on the drive sleds to decrease vibration. I sold a Mac Pro quad 2.66 to buy this dual quad 2.8. This machine is all around faster, more polished, and quieter. Which is saying something, because the original Mac Pro was quiet. I cannot stress enough how quiet this tower is. If you do any sort of audio work, or just like to have a quiet house or work environment, you can appreciate a computer that is almost completely silent. Occasionally I'll hear some disk activity, almost inaudible. Seriously, my laptop makes more noise because its hard drive has less shielding.
  
  Each of the CPUs in this Mac is an Intel Xeon E5462 running at 2.8Ghz. These chips are $850 APIECE if you buy them retail. Dell and HP generally sell comparable systems with the Xeon E5440 running at 2.83GHz and a slower 1333MHz bus... for much more money. You are getting a great deal with this Mac.
  
  You don't buy a machine like this and hobble it with the stock memory and hard drive. (Dell and HP also skimp on the included RAM and HD). Do yourself a favor and get another 4GB or 8GB of RAM, using 4 DIMMs. This architecture performs best when you use DIMMs in matched sets of 4, for quad-channel performance. This will increase your memory bandwidth by 5-15%. Shop around for RAM, and make sure that they are CAS 5-5-5 800MHz FB-DIMMs.
  
  The stock hard drive in mine turned out to be a 320GB Western Digital. You never know what you'll get, as Apple also uses Seagate and other vendors. Again, do yourself a favor and add a high-performance drive and make it your boot drive. See sites like tomshardware.com or thetechreport.com for drive comparisons. I personally use a WD 750GB RE2 and a Seagate 7200.11 500GB drive. 1 Terabyte drives will perform even better. You're not just buying extra capacity. High capacity drives generally have higher transfer rates as well. These drives are now relatively inexpensive. The Samsung Spinpoint F1 is the fastest out there, but I'm waiting to hear reliability reports. The two I mentioned are well-proven in the PC world and I've heard good reports from other Mac users.
  
  If you need this sort of power or simply want the best experience that OS X can offer you, with a machine that will last you a long time, the 2.8 is a good choice. Unfortunately, this is currently Apple's bottom of the line tower machine (unless you configure-to-order a single-CPU unit directly from Apple). Apple has had a history of always using server-class, rather than desktop-class chips in their tower machines. Unless Apple ever releases a tower Mac that uses Intel's desktop chips like the QX6850 or forthcoming QX9770, this is likely the cheapest tower Mac we'll see. But at least you can feel safe in getting something priced lower, with better performance, than comparable PC dual-CPU systems. And yes, it will run Windows just like any other PC, if you choose to do so.
  
  

• Quiet, Fast, and Powerful

  
  By A36I5QI57MCF93 on 2008-03-03
  Those three adjectives pretty much sum up my experience with the Mac Pro Dual 2.8 Quad-core desktop system. I waited a full 3 weeks before writing my review, to make sure I had a chance to thoroughly put the computer through its paces.
  
  In that time, I've had the opportunity to open the case up and install additional hard drives. The case design for the tower units is still the metal "cheese-grater" look, and while I was hoping that Apple would have revamped its design, I'm amazed as to how well thought out the inside of the case really is. Installing those aforementioned drives was literally a snap to do. There are 4 internal SATA drive bays, and outside of using a Phillip's screwdriver to mount the drives into the MacPro's racks, the rest was a technical no-brainer.
  
  The machine runs extremely quiet - so quiet that I sometimes have to look down at the power indicator light to verify that the unit is, in fact, on. The Mac Pro also has no issues in 'Sleep' mode. This was my biggest concern, having read sites like xlr8yourmac.com and macintouch.com, where other readers have reported such issues. In my case, the machine works flawlessly.
  
  I'm running a stock memory configuration, but it looks like additional RAM will be just as easy to install. The shipping box itself comes with the much touted aluminum keyboard (which I personally find to be excellent in my heavy usage), a Mighty Mouse (which I've never used, as I prefer trackballs), Leopard restore discs, a VGA-DVI cable, a very tiny manual, and a few Apple stickers. Oh, and the computer.
  
  My previous Macintosh computer was a Dual 2GHz G5 (2003, Rev. A model). The speed difference is there between these two machines, but it's more subtle than I would have expected. I suspect that adding additional RAM beyond the stock 2GB will allow me to see more substantial performance improvements.
  
  This computer is used regularly with Adobe Photoshop CS3 and Corel Painter X, with a myriad of other apps I use on a day-to-day basis. Everything has worked flawlessly out of the box. Overall, I'm very pleased with my purchase. Highly recommended.
  
  

• A switcher, thanks to the Mac Pro and OS X

  
  By A3OSA5F5TWVNH4 on 2008-06-07
  I'm writing this review from the perspective of a power Windows user, switching to OS X after 20 years of Windows. If you have been using Windows, I'm hoping this review will help you with your transition to the Mac.
  
  PROS:
  -To start off, as everyone else in their reviews has stated, the Mac Pro is whisper quiet. I can barely hear the system, even when running many applications. You do hear the hard drive, especially after adding a second drive, but the sound is minimal. I thought most of the other reviewers were exaggerating about the quietness, but they were not at all.
  
  -Setting up the Mac Pro was very easy. I did not have to change any network settings to connect to the internet, my PCs, my NAS drive, or my printer. Since my printer was networked, all it took was a username/password to connect. My printer's picture even shows up when printing and viewing the details. Everything connected seamlessly out of the box. I just had to do a quick configuration for my multi-monitors, which took about 30 seconds. I should point out that setting up multi monitors on Vista took about 4 minutes, even though I have been using Windows all of my life.
  
  -Simply, the Mac Pro is very fast. Before ever using the Mac Pro, I did think the system would feel slightly faster than it is, but checking the "Activity Monitor," the processors are barely used, so it could be the lack of dual quad support for most of the programs I'm using. When programs start to take advantage of dual quads and quad cores in general, I do think the system will feel even faster.
  
  -Installing programs is a breeze. Every single program that needs to be installed, installs the exact same way. The same # of steps, the same process, and the same results. Most programs don't include an uninstaller (of course, Office Mac does). Just drag and drop the single file from the Applications folder to the trash, and it's deleted.
  
  -I installed Vista using Boot Camp, for programs not yet available for the Mac. I then installed Parallels to run a virtual machine of the Boot Camp partition. Installation was a breeze and Parallels is a great program, as long as you're using build 5604+, since a flickering issue was present with .3 and parallels prior to that version. Using Parallels to run Vista and OS X simultaneously since there is a seamless integration of both operating systems when moving from one to the other. For example, the mouse moves from one OS to the other without any button presses. You can also open Vista programs on OS X programs and vice versa. There is also a Coherence mode, where you can have both Vista and OS X running seamlessly together in one window. I'm using dual monitors, but you can use Spaces for a virtual multi monitor setup and still have the seamless integration between OS X and Vista. One recommendation for using Vista on Parallels is to upgrade to 4 gigs of RAM. 2 gigs for Vista and 2 for OS X. I would not recommend running Vista with just 1 gig. If you use Windows XP, 1 gig should be fine, but Vista uses a lot of RAM. I do feel like I made a mistake going with Vista instead of XP.
  
  -You can still watch your WMV files on OS X. Download Flip4Mac straight from microsoft.com and those files will open with Quicktime.
  
  -Adium is a great and free instant messaging client that will work with almost any service out there. The integration of a program called Growl takes instant messaging to a new level. You can change the icon in the Dock, where I have Yoda Duck as my icon.
  
  -As stated above, I did upgrade to 4 gigs of RAM. The installation of the RAM was extremely easy. Opening the system and taking a look inside, the design of the Mac Pro is a work of art. You cannot see a cable, and the air flow of the system is unbeatable. (will Apple have a water-cooled Mac Pro?) I paid $125 for Kingston RAM (instead of $500 from Apple). The installation was very easy, though it did require one more step than standard RAM installations. The RAM was displayed in the OS X system info right after booting. I highly recommend 4 gigs of RAM if you are using a VM, especially if that VM is Vista.
  
  -I also added a second hard drive to the system to use as my Time Machine backup. Again, installation was a breeze. Hit a button and pull out the tray. Use the built in screws and push the tray back in. That's it. Once I booted, OS X stated a drive was not formatted and that I needed to format the drive. A quick click and 5 minutes later, I had an extra 320 gigs of space.
  
  -Time Machine is simply the easiest backup solution. Click a button to turn it on, choose a hard drive, and that's it. If you want to sell someone on the the Mac Pro or any Mac, show the recovery of a file using Time Machine.
  
  -Working with the Finder is quick and easy. Find the files you want and click the spacebar to get a preview. Additionally, you can quickly and easily find a program, files, etc., using Spotlight. Spotlight indexes your entire computer without reading and writing to the hard drive as much as Vista. If you use Vista, you'll hear the hard drive indexing every so often, whereas on OS X, you will not hear a blip.
  
  -No need for defragmenting. There isn't a native defragmenter in OS X. Apple recommends that if you feel you need to defrag, a system restart will do it. Though there are defrag utilities in the Apple support docs, it states that defragging could even decrease performance!
  
  -The system just does not crash. The Force Quit application, much like CTR-ALT-DEL, is something I have not used in the over a month of using my Mac Pro. On the other hand, Vista has crashed on me since installing it, but this could be due to it being setup as a VM, so I cannot completely fault Vista.
  
  -If you want a program, chances are it exists in OS X. There are certain specialized programs that will not work, but with time, these should be added as well, as the OS X market share grows. Programs like Yummy FTP and Coda, to edit HTML, are all out there. Interestingly, I found that many products have multiple competitors, where you'd think OS X wouldn't have that many programs written for it.
  
  -I do like the keyboard that the system comes with. It types very well and is very quiet. The mighty mouse is not useable for me, because I'm left-handed. I do not invert my keys, so I still use the right part of the mouse as my right-click. Try clicking on the right side and 90% of the time, nothing will happen. Now try with your right hand, it will always work.
  
  -Great support by Mac. I called once, and the support was quick and easy. It's obvious that the initial person answering the call has limited knowledge, but she asked many times that I could be transferred to another, more experienced technician. (I called to confirm if Time Machine was not available with my NAS drive.) The phone support should be longer, but you can purchase more time if you feel the need.
  
  -The Mac Pro, though pretty large, looks fantastic and also has nice handles on the top, so you can lift the system pretty easily. Even the power plug is designed to fit seamlessly in the port.
  
  CONS
  -First and foremost, do not expect to play games like Cyris on this system. Though the RAM and processor speeds well exceed the recommended specs, the video card of the Mac Pro is not up to it. The ATi VC is pretty weak in this respect. If you expect to game, I'll suggest the Nvidia 8800GT which can now be bought outside of Apple. Also, the VC options in general are limited. You must use a VC flashed with the Mac Bios.
  
  -The #1 reason I am running Vista is because of Outlook. There is no good way (one program, called Little Machines, was able to transfer the files, but without any attachments, though it did work pretty well) of bringing my PST file from Outlook to either Mail or even Microsoft's own program, Entourage. I have 2 gigs worth of email and losing everything to move to Entourage was too much. I hope there will be a native way of transferring those files over, with their attachments, seamlessly. Much like Boot Camp, I hope Apple comes up with a solution, even if Microsoft does not. Without Boot Camp, I would have never purchased the Mac Pro.
  
  -The same transfer issue applies to Quicken. There is no native way of bringing the QDF file to Mac. There are instructions of how to convert the file, but you will have to make large concessions. For example, all category names must be 15 characters or less. Additionally, not everything is moved over. You lose too much information for a program in which every bit of information is important.
  
  -Though hard drives are cheap, there isn't an option to use Time Machine with my previously purchased NAS drive, even if I were to format in the native OS X file system. Time Capsule, Apple's own NAS, is supported. I was hoping this would be added in 10.5.3, but it was not. I'd like to have an external backup as well, just in case of a power spike causing both hard drives to fail internally.
  
  -A shortage of USB ports on the back. The system comes with 3 USB ports on the back. Pretty low by today's standards. I never use Firewire, even though there are two of them. There are similar ports on the front though.
  
  -A system as expensive as this should not only have a fast hard drive, it should have a fast top-of-the-line hard drive. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The Mac Pro uses a 7200 RPM hard drive with 8mb of cache. I'd expect at least 16mb of cache and possibly even a 10,000 RPM drive. How can a $2,700 system not have a faster hard drive?
  
  -Though Safari is a nice browser overall (the web clip feature, for example) I'd like to see a more complete browser, with constant updates, like Firefox. Though Firefox does have a memory issue, those should be solved in version 3. Overall Firefox is a better browser. I feel Safari has some catching up to do. I hope to see an updated version shortly, even if Safari is at version 3 itself, the updates seem slow and Apple is pretty quiet regarding its Safari plans.
  
  -An extremely small issue, but using Command to copy and paste is frustrating being left-handed, since the keys are so close to each other. I wish there was a way to alter the keyboard shortcuts.
  
  I highly recommend the book Mac OS X Leopard: The Missing Manual. This book contains a lot of information not found elsewhere while containing shortcuts and info in one convenient book.
  
  The bottom line is that I've switched and I'm looking forward to the time when I can delete my Windows partition and move to OS X full time. Once the email and Quicken issues are hopefully solved, I will be using the Mac Pro and OS X full time. (Unfortunately, a PC will be a must as a second computer for some time.) You'll learn the equivalents of Task Manager, keyboard shortcuts, etc., specific to OS X in no time and be a switcher from Windows to Mac. Every user will have their own experiences. I have mentioned many cons, but none of them are a deal breaker. On the other hand, the pros make the switch a must.
  
  

• The Beast Unleashed!!!!!!!!!!!!

  
  By A1905ZF41Q8EOT on 2008-03-07
  I typically replace my main computer every two years. I waited 3+ years this time, so I was growing rather frustrated with my old computer. It was a nice powerful PC in it's time, but apps grow, memory requirements grow beyond the max of a machine etc....and an upgrade is needed. As my business needs evolved I started to listen more to the MAC option. There are alot of PC apps I can't get around using, so running them had to be a key requirement to be able to run those apps.
  
  I actually started shopping for the previous version 2.66 GHZ dual core, dual processor model. By the time I was sure I wasn't going to have issues with the PC apps this beast came out. I call it a beast (it's a great thing) because I loaded it up with 4 1TB drives, 16 Gig of RAM and ordered it with the wireless (bluetooth?) keyboard and mouse. Ironically as I described it (separately)to some MAC and PC users I knew they called it a beast, how ironic the same name....It fits....
  
  I had my PC setup inside a cavity in my desk to keep it quite as I actually use my computers in a recording studio environment. Unfortunately the beast is slightly bigger than the cavity in my desk. I sat it under the desk. It's so quiet, it actually makes less noise under the desk than my old PC did inside the cavity with the door closed. This is a definite plus with recording as sensitive mics pick up any noise.
  
  I love the keyboard and mouse. No cables, low profile...I gave up my ergo keyboard and I love it.
  
  I researched parallels and VMWare Fusion and ended up going with VMWare for my windows virtual machine. I installed XP Pro, not vista and love how it works. It is really weird seeing a windows screen with the mac icon doc at the bottom and the menu bar at the top, but I can go from one environment to the other.
  
  It turns out we had to run our recording software on the mac side instead of windows even though it's technically available for both side. The issue was the VMWare recognized USB ports, but apparently only recognized firewire for drives, not our recording interface. This isn't a shortcoming of the machine, but a short coming of VMWare, which in fairness could be fixed with a future release or update.
  
  I connected it to a 27" monitor (Olevia) and love it. I have a second monitor right beside it of the same size I plan to use as soon as I pick up the extra cable adaptor (the computer only came with one adaptor and I didn't have the other cable format). I was really impressed with the fact that the default video board acommodates two monitors.
  
  Regarding the upgrades, the drives and RAM were super easy to upgrade. Pull the lever up on the back, pull the side off, pull the drive "cover" out, position the drive on it, tighten four screws, push the drive back in and close up. That is all is needed to install a single drive.....
  
  Connecting to printers was easy as well on the MAC and Windows side. We use exclusively HP Printers so we just had to get drivers from their website as needed.
  
  I will admit, the conversion to Apple had me a little concerned with any changes, but I am almost a week into it and no significant issues except finally having a computer that works faster than I can think again for the first time in a long time.
  
  I will say this, if the Apple culture was applied to fixing government, it would be scary how well things would run.
  
  This might sound like a loaded review, but the truth is easy and in this case extreme(ly) powerful and easy......
  
  
• Very nice machine
  By A2CCYWI7ON7435 on 2008-03-25
  Like many Apple designs, the MacPro is one slick machine. I made the switch last year with a macmini to test out the Mac world. While the mini was impressive, it was underpowered for what I was pushing it to do. No lack of power with the MacPro! I upgraded to 6GRAM (recommend OWC memory), and a 1TB drive and it's taken everything that I throw at it. Encoding a movie on the mini was about four hours and about 40 minutes on the MacPro. WIth that much memory I can keep virtual machines (Vmware) for Windows and Linux up all the time, although suspending and resuming them now only takes a few seconds. BTW, I run Windows mostly for Picasa to manage my photos. I never liked iPhoto plus Picasa running in a virtual machine is still WAY faster than a native running iPhoto session.
  
  One negative but couldn't justify taking a star away is the reboot from sleep issue. If you google it you will see that there are many MacPro customers out there that are complaining about it. I did contact Apple and even though they wouldn't acknowledge it, I am confident that they will fix it, but am disappointed that Apple won't admit the problem and let us know that a fix is coming.
  
  
• Superior Technology
  By A1D34RQ7RIERSY on 2008-04-01
  I am a professional multimedia producer/artist/developer, who has been using both Wintel and Macintosh PC's for over 22 years.
  
  I have always been happy with Apples quality products, and just smile when I listen to Wintel owners complain about their computer problems.
  
  In over 22 years I have never had viruses or complete system meltdowns. I have done all the modifications to my system or hardware myself.
  
  I bought my new Mac Pro mainly because all the new software is being written for Intel-based chips.
  
  I have heard some Mac users complain that Apple has committed treason, but in fact Apple is (As always) looking ahead to "Open Systems". The first step was basing OSX on a Unix kernel, and now running with Intel-based chips. This means that you can now run Windows, natively, on a Mac. And OSX on Wintel machines.
  
  You may be seeing "Universal" more and more on software boxes, and that IS the plan. Soon users will be able to pick the machine, and run whatever they want on it.
  
  And when it comes to the machine, Apple rules the world with regard to seamless hardware integration, power and simplicity.
  
  I still use my G5 Dual 2GHZ tower every day, and will continue, even after 5 years it is a workhorse.
  
  My new Mac Pro is incredible!! The sheer power of this system is amazing! But Apple also continues to improve the simplicity of design. The RAM cards are now on easily accessible, pop-in cards. I was able to install 4GB of RAM in about 2 minutes. They have done a similar thing with the hard drive bays, I installed a 750GB hard drive in under 2 minutes!
  
  It is quiet, powerful and easy to use.
  
  When I bought my new router, my friends warned me about the long process of setting it up. I plugged it in and it worked perfectly, I didn't touch the Wintel install disk.
  
  Only with Macintosh has the term "Plug & play" really had any real meaning.
  
  I remember trying to add a new gfx card to my Wintel pc.... took hours to install and trouble shoot, and STILL the onboard card would over ride the new card.
  
  Are Macintosh's more expensive? Sometimes, but when you compare feature-to-feature, not really. Macintoshes are by far the most powerful and easy to use, hassle-free computers on the market.
  
  
  
• Unbelievable!
  By A81XXWC8V9O9H on 2008-05-19
  This machine is ridiculously powerful. My wife works as and Art Director and she uses her Mac every day with Adobe CS3.
  
  She had a dual G5 that was limited in the amount of memory it could support (4Gb max) and to make a long story short, she needed to replace it with a Mac that could open huge files in Photoshop.
  
  This Mac is unbelievable. First of all the design inside the box is brilliant. The way it is designed, it allows the air to go through the entire case (since it has fans in the front and in the back). Adding memory or hard drives has been simplified to the maximum and it is now error proof.
  
  This Mac uses 800MHz RAM and it can support 8 sticks Max. Each stick can be up to 4Gb each for a maximum RAM of 32Gb. Due to the bus they put in this machine, if you can put 8 sticks in it, it is even better as it can now access them in parallel for a bus width of 256 bits.
  
  Don't buy the RAM with Apple as they are obviously gouging. I bought the RAM at Other World Computing and their pricing is much more reasonable.
  
  On top of it, I bought VMWare Fusion to run Windows on this Mac and it simply flies. With its 8 cores, you have more power than most applications will ever need. However, if you need to crunch data for a living, this machine saves a lot of time. Just an example: on her former Mac (the dual G5 with 4GB of RAM) Photoshop 7 took 30 minutes to open a 1.6Gb file and the scrolling through the hi-res image was sluggish. On this machine (8-core with 16Gb of RAM), Photoshop CS3 takes about 1.5 minutes to open the same file and the scrolling is smooth.
  
  I had a look at a comparable Dell PC before buying this one, but as of today, there is still no configuration that directly compares to this Mac. The Precision T5400 or T7400 are probably the closest machines. However, as soon as you add 2 quad core CPU's to the configuration of the Dell, the price explodes and the Mac is much cheaper.
  
  There are other configurations of this Mac (8-core @3.0 GHz and 8-core @3.2 GHz.) I think these other configurations cannot justify the extra cost. So far, with the 8-core @2.8 GHz, I have never been able to max out the CPU's and this looks like there is a bottleneck in the system that is limiting the amount of data the CPU's can crunch. Considering the amount of RAM I have in this box (16Gb) I don't think it was swapping. My hunch is that the bus, even though it is faster than the previous generations, is still limiting what the processors can do. I think this version is the best deal as the faster CPU's in the other versions will be marginally faster than this one.
  
  Bottom line: This is an amazing machine for the price. Most users won't need this kind of power but if you make a living with your machine, having a monster like this is definitely worth it, especially if you add a ton of RAM.
  
  
• Worth the Expense
  By A3GCN93TTAJVZ on 2008-03-28
  Have used this machine now for about a month. What an incredible job Apple has done to incorporate style and function into a complete package. There are the obvious attributes, like blazing speed and multitasking chores being handled in it's sleep thanks to 8 cores of Xeon power, but what really impressed me was the thought going in by Apple to create, from the ground up, a wonderful MACHINE. The design of the case is awesome, the airflow is remarkably simple, one wonders why no other manufacturer has done it this way. The result is practically noiseless operation, even under demanding conditions. ( I do video and audio rendering ). The ease of upgrading the memory is so simple, again, makes one wonder why no one else does it.
  The peripheral connection options are great (look at their spec pages for details) on both back and FRONT.
  All in all, a perfect computer for intense video and or audio professionals.
  A word about virtual machines......
  I did want to install XP Pro, too, as I do have some audio/video programs that are native only to Windows, and after purchasing this, I have no money left over for ProTools, etc. ! Ha!
  So I installed Fusion. It works great, even is capable of using the multiprocessors available, except I found that the more intense programs running in Fusion became sluggish. My dual core Windows 64 bit system was quicker running those. That was discouraging. I'm sure it's fine running things like Office and such, but not REAL demanding applications. So I nixed Fusion and went ahead and installed Windows under Apple's own BootCamp. Much better. Windows sees all EIGHT processors and it is running at native speed. Remember, when Windows is running under Fusion (or Parallels, I think) Mac's OS is still running as well, therefore, not all resources are available. Under BootCamp, they are.
  The only drawback, if you want to call it that, is that you have to reboot going from one OS to the other, and you can't drag and drop files from one OS to the other. Not a big deal for me!
  And I like the ease of use of Leopard, too. Very nice OS.
  If you have the money, and are on the fence in any way about what to get for yourself or business. just get it. You will NOT be disappointed.
  
  
• Best of both breeds (Mac&Win) in sleek thoroughbred -- fantastic support
  By AJPH8OQSWKR7K on 2008-03-30
  Just a few months ago, I was a fed-up Windows user, tired of constant crashes, patches, and malware threats. The Vista fiasco convinced me that Microsoft had put more effort into polishing up the eye candy (and enriching its owners) than in beefing up consumer security or product usability; the time had come to switch to a more robust and less paranoid operating system. The thought had been brewing awhile, but with so many productivity tools written for Windows it seemed cumbersome to transfer financial and client data to the Mac. That is ... until Apple moved to Intel processors, and software like Boot Camp made it reality to run both OS-X and Windows on the same machine. At last, I can manage fancy graphics as well as plain business transactions on one computer.
  
  This is a cutting-edge engineered, handsomely designed, and quality built machine with large efficient fans that run whisper quiet yet keep the components cool. Hardware expansion is incredibly simple: the four drive slots have direct contacts, so you can just slip in an extra hard drive without having to fuss with cables -- RAID configuration is a breeze. Adding more memory is simplicity itself (although the buffered fast DRAM is expensive) with 8 slots holding 1 to 4 GB sticks each. The one beef I have is with the measly 3 USB slots in the rear (plus 2 up front) that just aren't enough nowadays to accommodate all those ubiquitous printers, scanners, cameras, external drives and other gadgets. Four Firewire ports are generous (probably because Apple holds the patent), but aren't all that common yet on external devices to substitute for USB ports.
  
  The ability to run Windows [stay with XP, if you possibly can] turns the MacPro into a truly all-purpose workstation. You can use either the operating system's Boot Camp, or 'virtualize' Windows (with "Fusion" or "Parallels") so that you can run Windows tasks within the Mac environment without rebooting. Great in theory, but a bit of a gamble with Microsoft's obnoxious 'Activation' procedure that detects reinstallation of the OS, yet seems incapable of concluding that you are reinstalling the software on the same machine ... required hours of hassling with distrustful off-shore call centers. Ugh.
  
  I greatly appreciated the professional support team [after years of dealing with foreign accents rotely reciting the same crib sheet that I'd downloaded the week before] that had the decision-making authority to arrange for instant repair. I was stunned when walking out of the 'Genius Bar' with a brand new replacement MacPro (hardware and software transferred) because parts shipments were delayed by back orders. Dell, HP and their lesser brethren might wish to relook their business models - nothing beats satisfied customers, even if you have to add a modest premium. In this instance, you really get what you pay for; top quality product, outstanding service and support.
  
  
• Initial problems gone, I'm loving it now. Would upgrade to 5 stars if I could.
  By A1O3AM1W8HSG7V on 2008-02-08
  UPDATE: I've now owned my new Mac Pro for a little over two months. I've been extremely pleased with it and have seen none of the problems I had with the first one I bought from another vendor. I changed out the keyboard for a Microsoft Natural wireless and the mouse for a Logitech Bluetooth wireless. It's great!
  
  2nd Update: After 6 months in the Mac life, I'm so totally pleased. After 20 years in the PC world, I'm astounded at how THINGS JUST WORK. No weirdness, no conflicting drivers, no "gotta get version 8.2c228 of MS Whatzit Framework". And with VMWare Fusion, I can still run the occasional Windows program. We're converting our entire house and business over to Mac.
  
  Original Review
  ---------------------------------------
  I was in the market for an upgrade to my current Windows PC. I do a lot of digital photography and need serious horsepower. I was astounded at how inexpensive the Mac Pro was, considering the dual-quad processors and high-speed RAM.
  
  I bought a Mac Pro from another vendor, because at the time Amazon didn't have them in stock. During the week I owned it, I really really loved it. Processing large batches of photos took less than 1/4 the time of my old Dell (dual-core 2.66). It was a little tough adjusting to the "Apple Way" of doing things, but overall things are easier on the Mac. Especially installing/uninstalling applications, trivially easy compared to a PC. And I really loved the way the machine didn't have all this stupid "trialware" clogging up the system.
  
  One definite drawback of the Mac Pro is the horrible keyboard. It looks and feels like a super-low-end "chicklet" keyboard from the 1980s. It *is* super thin and stylish, but in this case it's a triumph of style over usefulness. If you do any significant typing and you're used to a nice ergonomic keyboard, you'll hate it. The "mighty" mouse is better, but (like the keyboard) the shape put unnatural stress on my wrist and it began to ache, like the old days of straight keyboards and flat mice.
  
  Why did I write "when it works"? Well, after a week, I had to send my Mac Pro back. It was constantly locking up and only a hard power-cycle would reset it. From my subsequent reading, it appears that there are a lot of problem machines. I found dozens of other users with symptoms identical to mine. When I called Apple technical support and described the issue, they immediately told me to return it as a DOA, so they know there's a problem.
  
  Hopefully, it was just a glitch of the early machines. Now that Amazon has more in stock, I'll be ordering one from them and see if they fixed the problem in later batches. Just that few days with the Mac Pro was great, I'm looking forward to getting another.
  
  
• The Best
  By A2CDM45LL7S5XR on 2008-03-15
  Very fast, very quiet. And it even runs the junk OS known as windows vista. I should have bought one of these things a long time ago.
  This is my first Mac, so I do have a little learning curve. However, OS X is really easy to learn. I can't wait to finally rid myself of microsoft, once and for all. If you are looking at Mac Pro, do yourself a favor and Buy it.
  
  
• The Finest PC you can buy
  By A2V5TX3SMJS1XP on 2008-10-01
  Read my other review about the G5 for the software advantages of the Mac. And my MacBook review about running Windows on your Mac. Let's talk about the hardware:
  
  First off I don't own one of these machines, but I work with them extensively at work (I'm a PC/Mac Technician). This model in particular. I've probably seen at least 300 of these machines, and the failure rate is about 1 in 300 thus far. So, build quality is great.
  
  Its 2 USB and one Firewire 400 port on the front are very convenient. It has 3 USB, 1 FW400 and 1 FW800 port on the back. The stock video card can drive 2 decent sized DVI monitors. It has a combined Optical/Analog minijack for audio in and one for audio out, as well as SPDIF in and out ports. It also has 2 Ethernet ports. Inside it has 3 open PCIe slots, 4 drive bays and an open removable/optical bay. Aesthetically, it's one of the nicest looking machines I've seen. The case is aluminum, and very solid. (We often take a couple of Macs and sit on the machines without fear of breaking the case. We're even jokingly, made a MacBed out of about 5 or 6 of them. The MacBed gets 1.5 stars.)
  
  It is simply the best designed hardware money can buy PC or Mac. Upgrading parts is as easy as it can get. Installing a drive is child's play. It's so simple my mom could do it. Upgrading RAM is a snap. (Though maybe not mom-proof.) It runs very quiet as everyone has said. I have to look at the light on the power switch often to see if a machine is on when the screen has been powered down, that's how quiet it is. Everything in this machine is as well thought out as the software (OS X) is, if not better. In fact I would almost venture to say that there is nothing I can think of that could have been done better. (See Caveats below for its 2 flaws.)
  
  Even the side door is a snap. If you're a PC user you know how hard it is on some PCs to even close the side door because the panel is flexible and won't line up? So you sit there for 10 minutes trying to get it back on, only to give up and leave it off half the time? Well the MacPro is just ht opposite. You have to TRY to mis-align the thing. To open it you simple pull a latch and the door pops open. To close it you slide the tab into the slot and close it like a door, and there is a satisfying click when it's closed. And that's just the side door.
  
  Let's talk about speed:
  Most of the current Macs boot up in less than 30 seconds from button press to logon screen. After you type in (or select) your user name and type in your password (*though you can configure it to automatically logon), the machine is ready to use -- meaning everything is completely loaded and the system is idle in maybe 15-20 seconds in stock configuration. And that's with the stock 320GB HD. So, all told you can be up and running in about a minute from a cold start on this model Mac.
  
  Applications launch very fast as well. Most will bounce in the dock a few times and just come up. Some, like Adobe Photoshop and MS Word take longer, but they're very big programs. I've never taken a stopwatch to them, but I estimate about 5-10 seconds for most app launches. With a few, you literally blink after you click the icon on the dock and they're up and running.
  
  Caveats:
  With all these pluses there must be some minuses right? There's 2: First off: The weight. Unless you're used to carrying around 50 pounds of weight, these are pretty cumbersome because of the second design flaw: The handles, they're very uncomfortable to use (after all there's 50 pounds cutting off your circulation at the edge of the handles), but I'm glad they're there. I'm not worried about a system slipping out on my hands when I'm moving one, unlike a lot of PCs where you have to hunt for a stable place to hold on to the plastic most of those boxes are made out of.
  
  A word about 10.5 (Leopard):
  My other reviews on the G5 and MacBook cover Mac OS X (the mac's unique operating system) more generally and give the pros and cons vs. Winodws, but they were written before Leopard came out. In short, 10.5 (Leopard) is awesome. So, without further ado, here's the best of what Leopard offers:
  
  Screen sharing/remote control is the best new feature. It works better than Windows RDC too because you don't have to have one person log out.
  
  Time machine is a backup application built into the OS that makes backups painless -- just shell out a hundred bucks for another Hard Drive and you'll be set.
  
  Stacks (where you click one folder icon in the dock and a grid of other icons spring up out of it) is a mixed bag. New users might like it, while older users might not. It's easy enough to switch is back to list view or folder behavior. (Right click the stack icon on the dock -- or click and hold -- and choose View content as "List" and/or Display as "Folder".
  
  iChat 4: about the best and easiest teleconferencing software out there.
  
  Coverflow and page previews in the finder makes it even easier to find just what your looking for. cover flow basically shows document previews of everything from images to Word and PDF files to videos and audio files. Want to see a larger preview? just highlight the document and hit the space bar. This saves you the trouble of launching the application just to look to see if that .tif is the right one.
  
  Exposé and Spaces are huge time savers too. Exposé is a way to control all or some of the windows on screen. Just hit a function key (assignable by you) and all the windows on screen or of an app tile on you display so you can find the one buried under 5 other windows. Spaces allows you to have "virtual desktops" that you can quickly switch. Say you're working on music is garage band or reason and oyu have all the windows laid out how you like them and a Friend instant messages you. Instead of having to minimize and juggle windows, you simply switch to another desktop where you only have to see your IM window. When you're done a lcick of garage bad on the dock or a key-combo will switch the desktop and windows right back to where you were. Check out the Spaces and Exposé System Preferences for more cool features and ways to customize it.
  
  There's more but ths rview is getting long. SO buying advice:
  You can't go wrong with this machine or the 3.0 model if you have the money to spend.
  
  To PC users considering this or building/buying a PC: I built a PC system on par spec wise with the last rev of this machine about a year and a half ago for about $300-$400 less* (and I still didn't have as nice of a machine hardware design-wise as this one) -- but then I have to run Windows or Linux on it. The OS X will save you time and energy in the first 6 months to justify the added expense.
  
  (*Yes, I probably could have built it cheaper but I was buying parts comparable in quality to Apple Hardware.)
  
  To First Time Mac Purchasers:
  Unless you're pretty well off, you have a demanding Application (video/3d rendering/software development) or need the extra 3 PCI slots, (or if you just like to cut to the chase and get the best when you jump into things), you'll probably be better served saving a bit of cash by getting an entry level consumer Mac first to try things out, then step up to the big boy if you need it.
  
  To Mac Users considering this machine:
  If you're comning from a non-intel Mac, you'll be blown away by the speed boost. If you're coming form a consumer level Mac, then you'll also be very pleased with the added speed and the quality of the hardware. I'm assuming you're gettin this because you need the speed. If you just surf the web all day and write Word docs, save your money and get an iMac, MacBook or MacBook Pro or even, dare I say, a Mac Mini. This is really a machine for people who need the power and are willing to pay for it.
  
  Summary:
  There is yet to be any review under 4 stars for this machine and it's been out for the better half of a year. And this is in a world where you can't please everyone. That right there should tell you how good these systems are. Expect this machine to outlast everything else currently on the market. If you cna afford it, it's a great purchase decision. You won't be disappointed.
  
  
• Fast & Quiet!
  By A1E2V33YOM83A1 on 2008-04-06
  This computer replaces an Imac 24" Core 2 Duo. What a difference! Now I can edit my high definition videos with no hiccups. Great expandability options. Super fast and quiet. If you need processing power this is the computer to get. Highly recommended!
  
  
• Quiet, Heavy, Big. no AirPort option.
  By A11JZ5AAFUDD8V on 2008-04-27
  Quad-Core Xeon they call it, but Harpertown is the newest version and it is server grade COOOOL. Heat kills and this is fast and cool and should be around for a good long time. It is the easiest Mac to expand, period.
  Amazon got it to me fast and in pristine shape.
  RANT time! Can not order with AirPort installed. Airport for this puppy has three cables and you use two and is best done by Apple, really. So if AirPort is a must, the money you save here is not worth the hassel of taking this big dog in for the card.
  
  
• This is a great machine...
  By A1MY72R8RHK0W7 on 2008-04-20
  This machine was purchased as an upgrade to my MDD G4. The stock configuration makes this machine great for web browsing, but not too useful for processing images and page layout,- something I expected, so I upped the RAM to 6GB and it is doing much better. This is the quietest machine I have ever owned. I added two more SATA hard drives, plus 2 external hard drives for various projects I have in the works. Leopard is as stable as can be expected from an operating system. Not bulletproof, but pretty good. This machine has locked up, needing a hard shut down, only once since purchase. This is a typical Mac - its a workhorse, its stable, its pricey. But it does what its supposed to. I highly recommend this to anyone that is serious in graphic design.
  
  
• Insane to the Brain!!!
  By A4PYU3URLBU3R on 2008-04-21
  
  Pro's
  
  This computer is insane I usually run 3 operating system (OSX,VISTA 64 bit, XP 64 bit using vmware and only used about 12% on the computers power with about 9 programs open at the same time. I have 6 gigs, and the most Ive used so far was 5.3. I do a lot of video editing (final cut pro + soundtrack pro) and this machine will literally last me probably 7-10 yrs because of its power. I'd say this machine is 2 yrs ahead of it time! I have at one time used 76% of the computers power when I was encoding a video...... But other wise well built machine, and plenty fast! Plus its quieter than my macbook pro!!!
  
  Con's
  
  Memory 4 gbs $200! No choice for gpu's, but the one that comes with it is plenty good.
  
  
• NOT backwards compatible with OS 10.4
  By A3EBGMS7PTD5FM on 2008-05-12
  This is a fantastic computer, as all MACs are, but it comes with OS 10.5 Leopard installed is NOT backwards compatible to OS 10.4 Tiger. Tiger is the last operating system with Rosetta, which will run OS 9 programs. I need this backwards compatibility, so I had to return the system. That said, Amazon was very easy with the returns.
  
  
• Very fast and quiet
  By A1PLZAT3MZT0KD on 2008-05-17
  I'm not a switcher, but have been chugging along on an old G4 for the last 9 years. The Mac Pro 2.8 is simply an incredible upgrade. 8 processors means video encoding is a breeze, and any other task I throw at it just can't seem to slow it down. Sorry if the other reviews are more in depth than this -- I mostly just wanted to add in my 5-star rating. This is a great machine and you won't regret it.
  
  
• My best Mac ever.
  By A121SAOLHJBLKO on 2008-04-24
  I purchased this Mac particularly for it's processing power. I do a lot of work in 3D and my G5 was taking days to complete some of my rendering work.
  
  This Mac has surpassed every expectation I had. Something that would take 42 hours to render gets completed in a bit under 8 hours.
  
  If you need the processing power get this Mac, if you only need it for Adobe Creative Suite CS3 work, the iMac 24" is probably a better choice.
  
  Aside from the processing superiority, what most impressed me was the ease of migrating my old Mac to this new one with Apple's Migration Assistant. Got everything done in a little bit over two hours. Did not have to reinstall any of my main applications, not even the Adobe CS3 suite. Very smooth and easy.
  
  The fist thing that I did was plug in more RAM. I added 4 GB for a little bit under $200, so now I have 6 GB of RAM. I did notice a huge difference in speed after the upgrade, particularly running several things at once. I will probably add another 4 when my budget allows.
  
  
• Wicked Fast
  By A7JDW6Q6CAZ4G on 2008-06-27
  I purchased the item from Amazon b/c i'm a Prime member, quick shipping. I upgraded the standard build to have an additional TB of hd space (www.macsales.com) and added 8gb of ram. the thing is wicked fast. The sound of the machine is also very low, which is great. I have parallels running my windows vm's (xp and vista) and am now testing out fusion. I added a 2nd video card (same as the one it came with) and now have 3 monitors (fusion beta 2.0 support multi monitor) but i'm not super happy with the speed of the machine which i exported (using the fusion VM Ware export tool). I think it could also be a beta thing. All in all, i used to be a Dell guy and now for the money i'm definately happy with the Mac Pro b/c for about 1k less i have an 8 core power house. I expect this will by my workhorse computer for some time.
  
  Chris Boyd
  www.windwardnetworks.com
  
  
  
• Speed Demon!
  By A24SNIPFA7CZ8M on 2008-05-05
  Best Mac I've ever owned. Speed Demon! Very reasonable price for the performance! It's no mid-level computer but a truly high-end performer. Aperture, Final Cut Pro, file serving, etc all fly.
  
  
• Five stars ain't enough
  By A62P4QOSII5XE on 2008-09-07
  Most of the other reviews have covered this ground already but:
  
  - Have had the machine since 11/7/07 and I'm not sure it has ever crashed.
  
  -Four internal drives and it is almost silent
  
  -Does use a bit of power on start- lights dim
  
  -Awesome power! Fast beyond anything I have that can test it and I use, WINXP via Parallels, FCP HD, Photoshop and inDesign CS3, constantly
  
  -Windows XP roars on this machine, boot camp or virtual
  
  - I have 8 GB RAM- maybe you don't need that much but don't skimp
  
  What more can I say?
  
  
• One Great Mac Power!
  By A1RZ7EMR26PKXF on 2008-03-03
  This Mac Pro offers a lot of power. The Quad-core Xeon processors saids it all. There isn't any application out there this machine can't handle. Not only is it powerful, it is super duper quiet with enough storage space to satisfy anyone, 320GB minimum and upgradable. The quality of the machine is very durable. Most of the outer case is made of metal and semi-metal products. The silver casing looks awesome and gives you a luxury feel. Overall, this is one machine to scream for if you love Macs and love powerful machines.
  
  Review provided by: Reviewedia.com
  Link to product review: [...]
  
  
• fast, but
  By AHZLUREQJ10LU on 2008-06-10
  It is fast for general works, not so much when running APPL's motion. For that, you need a lot of RAM, a lot!
  
  
• Mac Pro Quo
  By ANE6O8WY61A7B on 2008-07-25
  This Mac gives you what you pay for. It works great right out of the box.
  Adding more Ram and such is suggested based on what you need it for.
  It runs quiet and the only problems I have are due to the software.
  
  
• a dream come true!
  By A1AOXGEUNNPJ1E on 2008-08-23
  this computer blows away all pc computers. why did i wait so long to change over to a mac. i love it!
  
  
• Great workstation at great price with few flaws
  By A113CG3ZK7IANQ on 2008-11-07
  I know how you always here how apple products are much more expensive then a like minded pc. well, when it comes to workstations, it just isn't true. If you look at the competition (dell) and look at a similarly specced Precision, the price of the dell is higher. Plus, with Apple, you get the option of running other OS as well as OS X. I run os x, windows xp, vista business, and ubuntu on my macbook pro and i couldn't ask for more flexiblity from a laptop that most people who aren't familiar with the real Apple experience would just say is some type of trend or status symbol.
  There is no doubt this is the real deal when it comes to workstation use.
  The only things about the Mac Pro i can find to criticize are the lack of a higher level video card in the stock machine. You can get it configured with an 8800gt from apple but the nvidia card just can't match the core performance. ATI now offers the hd3870 which is a big step above the 2600xt and a nice performer in os x and windows . i wish apple would have specced the HD a little higher, but the price you are paying for this machine is for the two cpus, the motherboard with a little profit for apple. If you are looking for a workhorse, this is it. Of all the pcs i have ever built for gaming, work, and everything else, i am much more happier with the Mac Pro. If you get this, i would highly recommend bumping the ram up to at least 8gb, the kits are fairly cheap these days, and you get 4x2gb sticks to give you the full output performance of the memory system (2 sticks just doesn't cut it).
  oh, the only other thing is don't strain your back picking the box up, it's amazingly heavy for a computer.
  
  
  
• Great machine
  By A1L39P2MOKH0WQ on 2008-06-22
  This is a well-built, fast, quiet machine. I know of nothing better in a desktop computer, if the price is not an issue. It runs applications quickly. Adding or changing hard drives is a moment's work. The fit and finish of the computer is unparalleled.
  
  The machine has 8 cores but today's software does not really make use of all this power. Perhaps tomorrow's will.
  
  I recommend this computer without hesitation.
  
  
• Blazing Fast and Dependable.
  By A20A523DFHLRBT on 2008-10-14
  Self-installed another 8GB of RAM along with a 1TB drive.
  
  This thing is so fast that I just keep looking for more tasks to throw at it but the Activity monitor keeps showing that it has tons of processing power and RAM to spare.
  
  Wow. Nice machine, Apple.
  
  

• Roxio Toast 9 Titanium
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• AppleCare Protection Plan MA516LL/A for Mac Pro (w/ or w/o display)
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• Mac OS X Leopard: The Missing Manual
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