Apple Taking 12 Core Mac Pro OrdersApple Taking 12 Core Mac Pro Orders

Apple started selling Monday a Mac Pro with two six-core Intel Xeon processors. Apple introduced its fastest Mac workstation to date late last month, when it also unveiled a refresh of the iMac desktop line that included faster processors and higher performing graphics. While the iMacs went on sale immediately, the 12-core Mac Pro was delayed until August.

The base configuration of the latest Mac Pro include two 2.66 GHz six-core Xeons, 6 GB of memory, a 1 TB hard drive, an 18x double-layer SuperDrive and an ATI Radeon HD 5770 graphics card with 1 GB of GDDR5. The system ships within 10 business days and has a starting price of $4,999.

Build-to-order options include two 2.93 GHz six-core Xeons for an additional $1,200. The system also can be configured with up to 32 GB of DDR3 system memory and 8 TB of storage.

The new Mac Pro line is also available with single or dual quad-core Xeons. Prices start at $2,499 and $3,499, respectively.

The new Mac Pros enter the market as businesses increase spending on replacement systems. A sign that commercial sales is rising this year was better-than-expected desktop shipments in the second quarter, according to IDC. As a result, companies with large commercial businesses did well in the quarter, particularly Dell and Lenovo.

Overall, PC shipments grew 22.4% in the quarter from the same period a year ago, IDC said. The gain was less than IDC's projected 22.9%, due mostly to the impact on consumer spending from the thus-far jobless economic recovery.

FURTHER READING:

-- Apple Refreshes iMac, Mac Pro

-- PC Sales Surge In Q2