Apple releases trio of long-awaited desktops

The new Mac Pro is a whole new "beast," according to Apple. The machine uses Intel's Nehalem-based quad-core Xeon processors in either a 4- or 8-core configuration, with a "Turbo Boost" for the high-end 2.93GHz 8-core system, which can push the clock speed as high as 3.33GHz in bursts. Of course, 1066MHz DDR3 ECC RAM is standard, with four-core systems maxing out at 8GB and eight-core systems maxing out at 32GB. Apple offers NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 or ATI Radeon 4870 HD graphics card options, including the option to run up to 4 NVIDIA GT120s to drive up to eight 30" Cinema Displays. And, all four FireWire ports are the FW800 variety. Like the other models, the external design remains the same. A quad-core Mac Pro starts at $2,499, and an 8-core model starts at $3,299.