A Review of New Features & Performance Enhancements Available with the Apple Mac Pro 2.8 GHz

On January 8, 2008 Apple announced the release of a new Mac Pro model with eight processor cores and a new system architecture that delivers significantly higher performance. The base Apple Mac Pro 2.8 GHz model MA970LL/A is $2,799. For those looking for slightly higher processor speeds, 3.0 GHz ($3,599) and 3.2 GHz ($4,399) models are also available. Apple offers custom configurations at the Apple Store which include a single quad-core Intel Xeon processor (-$500), additional memory, an $800 four-channel internal RAID 5 card, hard drive upgrades, video card upgrades, displays, wireless, fibre channel, modem, software, printers, AppleCare and more. Selecting all of the available options for the Mac Pro at the Apple Store can raise the final price to over $28,000. During this review the Apple Mac Pro 2.8 GHz model was tested to determine how it compares to the original Mac Pro 2.66 GHz model.

"Harpertown" 45nm processors and a new PCI Express 2.0 architecture with an ATI radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB graphics card. Additional graphic card options are available including the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT ($200) and the NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 ($2850) at the Apple Store. The Mac Pro comes with 2GB of 800MHz DDR2 fully buffered EEC memory. It has eight memory slots that can be configured to support up to 32GB of memory using 4GB chips. Each 2.8 GHz quad-core Intel Xeon E5462 processor has 12MB of shared L2 cache per processor (5MB shared per pair of cores) and dual independent 1600MHz frontside buses.

The Mac Pro includes a 320GB SATA hard drive and a 16x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW). One FireWire 800 port is provided on the rear and one on the front. Two FireWire 400 ports are provided with one in front and one in the rear. Five USB 2.0 ports are included. Three are located on the rear and two in front. Bluetooth 2.0 and two gigabit ethernet ports are also provided. Wireless airport and an external modem are optional. The external ports on the Mac Pro 2.8 GHz model are identical in number and layout to the original Mac Pro 2.66 model. I am unable to find any external appearance differences between the new Mac Pro (January 2008) and the original Mac Pro 2.66.

The Mac Pro package includes the new aluminum Apple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse, USB keyboard extension cable and a DVI to VGA adapter. The software provided with the Mac Pro includes Mac OS X (Leopard), iLife 08 (includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie HD, iDVD, iWeb and GarageBand), Front Row (no remote) and Xcode Development Tools.

The stock Mac Pro configuration includes 2GB of PC2-6400, 800MHz DDR2 fully buffered EEC DIMM memory. This is double the amount of memory that was provided with the original Mac Pro. The Apple memory specification includes advanced heat sinks that keep the memory from over heating. As PC2-6400, 800MHz DDR2 FB-DIMM memory is available without advanced heat sinks, I would only purchase additional memory that is advertised as "Mac Pro compatible" from a reputable company with a history of Macintosh support. Installing more memory will help users with applications that require Rosetta and when working with large multimedia files. Most users will want a minimum of 4GB of memory. However, if you are a new Mac Pro user don't be afraid to try the computer with the stock 2GB and see how it performs for your needs. The stock Mac Pro will work for many uses with only 2GB of memory installed.

The Mac Pro has two memory trays that are removed when installing memory. Once the aluminum side panel has been removed from the Mac Pro you will see the memory cage in the bottom right side of the case. The top memory tray is upside down inside the Mac Pro January 2008 model. Intel's 5400 MCH chipset provides the new Mac Pro with significantly higher quad-channel memory performance than the previous Mac Pro models. Each tray holds up to four FB-DIMMs, for a total of eight DIMMs. Memory is required to be installed in matched pairs. Page 43 of the Mac Pro manual provides detailed instructions for adding additional memory. The Mac Pro comes with a minimum of 2 GB of memory, installed as a pair of 1 GB fully buffered dual in-line memory modules (FB-DIMMs) with one DIMM in the rear slot of each tray. Users can install additional pairs of 1 GB, 2 GB, or 4 GB FB-DIMMs in the open DIMM slots, for a maximum of 32 GB of memory. According to Apple, it is important to install FB-DIMMs in matched pairs of equal size and specification. Clicking on the table below will display the Apple Mac Pro manual.



The initial 2GB of Apple memory is installed in the rear two slots of both memory trays. The next pair of FB-DIMMs should be installed in the two rear slots of the top tray and the Apple 1GB moved to the rear of the bottom tray. This method configures the stock Apple memory as a matched pair in the bottom tray. If you add additional memory it should be placed in the front two slots of the top tray as shown in figure "3" below. Figure "4" displays the last two slots of the bottom tray being filled when all eight memory slots are populated. The front of the Mac Pro memory trays provide circular cut outs in the left and right corners so that the boards can be easily removed from the memory cage.


Using both memory trays provides maximum Mac Pro memory performance by increasing the available bandwidth. If you want to increase the memory performance of the Mac Pro with quad-channel technology, a number of different configurations are available. Users can upgrade to 8GB by using 4 x 2GB DIMMs, with two in the rear of the top tray and two in the rear of the bottom tray. A 10GB configuration might use 4 x 2GB in the rear top and bottom trays and 2 x 1GB in the front top tray. A 16GB configuration would use 8 x 2GB in all of the available memory slots. 32GB would require 8 x 4GB FB-DIMMs.

In order to determine how the new Mac Pro 2.8 GHz memory performance compares to the original Mac Pro 2.66 GHz model several different memory configurations were tested with Xbench 1.3 and GeekBench. The results are provided in the table below.

Mac Pro 2.8 GHz (January 2008) Memory Performance

Xbench 1.3	Mac Pro 2.8 Top 1GB Bottom 1GB	Mac Pro 2.8 Top 2x2GB Bottom 2x1GB	Mac Pro 2.8 Top 2x2GB Bottom 2x2GB	Mac Pro 2.8 Top 4x2GB Bottom 2x2GB	Mac Pro 2.8 Top 4x2GB Bottom 4x2GB
Memory Shown	2GB	6GB	8GB	12GB	16GB
Memory Test	181.76	203.5	203.87	203.66	202.90
Fill	8376 MB/sec	11672 MB/sec	11775 MB/sec	11735 MB/sec	11808 MB/sec
Copy	4019 MB/sec	6298 MB/sec	6315 MB/sec	6309 MB/sec	6314 MB/sec
Energy Idle	135W	148W	148W	160W	172W
GeekBench
Memory Score	2502	2912	2918	2888	2900
Stream Score	1983	1990	1994	1983	1974

Based on these test results, the new Mac Pro 2.8 GHz model is able to provide significantly higher memory performance while also requiring less energy than the original Mac Pro 2.66 model. The quad-channel performance of the new Mac Pro can provide 60% faster Xbench "Fill" rates and up to 120% faster "Copy" performance. The GeekBench "Memory Score" difference indicates that the new Mac Pro provides over 30% higher performance when each memory tray is populated with a matched pair of FB-DIMMs.

The original Mac Pro can utilize the same new 800MHz FB-DIMMs used by the new Mac Pro. The memory speed simply downshifts to accommodate the older 667MHz architecture. If you have an older Mac Pro and need more memory, I would suggest purchasing 800MHz FB-DIMMs so that they can be transferred to any future Mac Pro upgrade. The real beauty of new Mac Pro memory upgrades is how reasonable the price is compared to what users had to pay for the original 667MHz DDR2 FB-DIMMs. When AMUG reviewed the original Mac Pro 2.66 GHz a pair of 1GB chips were $438. Now Trans International has 4GB (2x2GB) 800MHz DDR2 FB-DIMMs specifically designed for the Mac Pro (January 2008) on sale for $204. An 8GB kit (4x2GB) is available for $398. As you can see, new Mac Pro users can now install 8GB of memory for less than what 2GB cost when the original Mac Pro was released.



The Trans International memory provides six heat sink fins versus four on the Apple memory. The additional cooling area provides increased protection for the Trans International memory. The gold fins on the 2GB Trans International memory looks very nice as well. I have used Trans International memory in my computers for many years and have found it to be of high quality and very reliable.

During these tests, using between 6-12GB of memory worked very well for most computing environments. Heavy audio/video and Photoshop users may want to install as much as 16GB. If you belong to the crowd that believes they can never be too thin or have too much memory, Trans International has a 16GB kit ($788) that will satisfy your needs. The kit provides 16GB of 800 MHz DDR2 FB-DIMMs (8x2GB) delivered in a ridged anti-static case. This upgrade option provides a huge amount of memory that can help multimedia creators manipulate the largest files with ease. Once the memory is installed in the Mac Pro, selecting "About this Mac" under the Apple will display how much memory is installed. System profiler can also be used to display the status of the memory configuration.



Energy conscious users may be interested to know that adding a pair of 2GB FB-DIMM modules increases the energy usage of the Mac Pro by 13 watts. Adding a third or fourth pair of FB-DIMMs increases the Mac Pro's energy requirements by an additional 12 watts per pair. Installing more memory than you actually need may not only drain your wallet from the initial purchase but also decrease the energy efficiency of the Apple Mac Pro. Installing 8GB of memory with four 2GB 800MHz DDR2 FB-DIMMs installed in the two rear slots of the memory trays seems to provide a nice balance. This configuration provides the new Mac Pro 2.8 GHz model with 8GB of memory while still maintaining an energy rating of 148W while idle.

The Apple Mac Pro 2.8 GHz provides double the processor power of the original Mac Pro 2.66 for only $300 more. The base model is $2799 and can be found at Amazon for $2599 after a mail in rebate. While AMUG members can purchase the new Mac Pro directly from Apple and pay significantly more, I find purchasing the computer from Amazon, the memory from Trans International and additional hard drives from Newegg can provide significant savings.

Apple also sells a Mac Pro 3.0 GHz version for $800 more or a 3.2 GHz version for $1600 more. However, the Mac Pro 2.8 GHz model performs so well that it is difficult to justify paying 28% more for 7% additional processor power in the case of the Mac Pro 3.0 GHz or 56% more for 14% additional processor power with the Mac Pro 3.2 GHz model. If you study the Mac Pro (January 2008) cost to performance value equation, the Mac Pro 2.8 GHz model is a clear winner.

No matter which Apple Mac Pro model the user selects they will find that it is well built, pleasing to look at, quiet, has a great cooling system and provides amazing performance. The vast number of upgrades included inside the January 2008 Mac Pro computer makes it one of the best designed systems that I have ever had the pleasure to use.

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Copyright 2008
Arizona Macintosh Users Group, Inc. (AMUG)
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