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Apple Mac Pro (2006)

Apple · Mac Pro

Mac Pro (2006)

Released August 2006

The first Intel Mac Pro is an expandable tower workstation with two dual-core Xeon processors and four internal hard-drive bays.

Model history · 13 models, 1999–2006
  1. 1999Power Mac G4 (AGP Graphics)Compare
  2. 2000Power Mac G4 (Gigabit Ethernet)Compare
  3. 2001Power Mac G4 (Digital Audio)Compare
  4. 2001Power Mac G4 (QuickSilver 2001)Compare
  5. 2002Power Mac G4 (QuickSilver 2002)Compare
  6. 2002Power Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors 2002)Compare
  7. 2003Power Mac G4 (FW800)Compare
  8. 2003Power Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors 2003)Compare
  9. 2003Power Mac G5 (2003)Compare
  10. 2004Power Mac G5 (June 2004)Compare
  11. 2005Power Mac G5 (Early 2005)Compare
  12. 2005Power Mac G5 (Late 2005)Compare
  13. 2006Mac Pro (2006)
Type
Tower
Processor
Intel Xeon 5130, 5150 or 5160
Memory
1 GB – 16 GB
Storage
250 GB – 750 GB
Screen
–
Weight
–

What reviewers say

Both reviewers praised quiet operation, accessible expansion and strong native application performance. They warned that translated PowerPC software and applications unable to use all cores reduced the benefit. Ars Technica criticised the standard graphics card; Macworld highlighted expensive memory and the high entry price.

From macworld.com and arstechnica.com

Specifications

Report a wrong or missing spec

Performance

Processor
2 × Intel Xeon 5130, 2 × Intel Xeon 5150 or 2 × Intel Xeon 5160
CPU cores
4
Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT, ATI Radeon X1900 XT or NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
Memory
1 GB, 2 GB, 4 GB, 8 GB or 16 GB
Storage
250 GB to 750 GB
CPU
Two dual-core Xeon 5100-series processors at 2.0, 2.66 or 3.0 GHz, with 4 MB shared L2 cache per processor and independent 1.33 GHz frontside buses; EveryMac identifies Xeon 5130, 5150 and 5160 respectively. Four cores total. Later 2007 eight-core MacPro2,1 upgrade is a separate generation, not included in these configurations.
GPU
GeForce 7300 GT has 256 MB GDDR2, one single-link and one dual-link DVI; Radeon X1900 XT and Quadro FX 4500 each have 512 MB GDDR3 and two dual-link DVI. Quadro adds stereo 3D. Maker also confirms two, three or four 7300 GT cards; multi-card upgrades are described here rather than inferred mixed-card configurations.
Memory type
667 MHz DDR2 ECC fully buffered DIMMs; eight slots on two removable risers, up to 16 GB; factory options 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 GB
Storage type
Four independent SATA 3 Gb/s direct-attach bays. Launch supports 250/500 GB drives and up to 2 TB; later archived specification adds 750 GB drives and up to 3 TB. Configurations list one primary drive; additional independent drives and optional RAID card are separate upgrades, not a Fusion Drive. One or two 16x SuperDrives with double-layer DVD support.
Expansion slots
One double-wide x16 graphics slot and three full-length PCI Express expansion slots with configurable bandwidth; 300 W combined maximum. PCI/PCI-X cards are incompatible.

Display

Screen
None built in

Connections

Ports
5 × USB-A, 2 × Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet
1 Gb/s
External displays
Up to 8
Wi-Fi
Optional AirPort Extreme
Bluetooth
Optional 2.0 + EDR
Front ports
Two USB 2.0, FireWire 400, FireWire 800 and headphone output
Back ports
Three USB 2.0, FireWire 400, FireWire 800, two Gigabit Ethernet, optical TOSLINK input/output and analogue line input/output. Graphics card DVI outputs vary by configuration; included keyboard USB ports excluded from chassis count.
External displays
Up to eight displays requires four GeForce 7300 GT cards. Single-link DVI up to 1920 × 1200; dual-link DVI up to 2560 × 1600; analogue up to 2048 × 1536 using included adapter.
Speakers
Front-panel speaker
Keyboard and mouse
Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse; display sold separately

Design and power

Type
Tower
Width × depth × height
206 × 475 × 511 mm
Operating system
macOS
Size and weight detail
Maker standard-configuration weight 19.2 kg; actual weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process, so shared scalar weight omitted
Power supply
100–120 V or 200–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz single phase; maximum 12 A in low-voltage range or 6 A in high-voltage range
In the box
Mac Pro, keyboard and mouse, DVI-to-VGA adapter, USB keyboard extension cable, install/restore DVDs and documentation. Launch software Mac OS X 10.4.7 Tiger and iLife '06; later archived sheet lists Leopard and iLife '08. Launch AirPort Extreme optional; archive later specifies optional 802.11n.

Configurations

ProcessorMemoryStorageStorage typeGraphics
2 × Intel Xeon 51301 GB250 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51301 GB250 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51301 GB250 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51301 GB500 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51301 GB500 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51301 GB500 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51301 GB750 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51301 GB750 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51301 GB750 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51302 GB250 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51302 GB250 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51302 GB250 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51302 GB500 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51302 GB500 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51302 GB500 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51302 GB750 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51302 GB750 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51302 GB750 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51304 GB250 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51304 GB250 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51304 GB250 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51304 GB500 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51304 GB500 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51304 GB500 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51304 GB750 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51304 GB750 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51304 GB750 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51308 GB250 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51308 GB250 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51308 GB250 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51308 GB500 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51308 GB500 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51308 GB500 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51308 GB750 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51308 GB750 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51308 GB750 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 513016 GB250 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 513016 GB250 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 513016 GB250 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 513016 GB500 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 513016 GB500 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 513016 GB500 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 513016 GB750 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 513016 GB750 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 513016 GB750 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51501 GB250 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51501 GB250 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51501 GB250 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51501 GB500 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51501 GB500 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51501 GB500 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51501 GB750 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51501 GB750 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51501 GB750 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51502 GB250 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51502 GB250 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51502 GB250 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51502 GB500 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51502 GB500 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51502 GB500 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51502 GB750 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51502 GB750 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51502 GB750 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51504 GB250 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51504 GB250 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51504 GB250 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51504 GB500 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51504 GB500 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51504 GB500 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51504 GB750 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51504 GB750 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51504 GB750 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51508 GB250 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51508 GB250 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51508 GB250 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51508 GB500 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51508 GB500 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51508 GB500 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51508 GB750 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51508 GB750 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51508 GB750 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 515016 GB250 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 515016 GB250 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 515016 GB250 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 515016 GB500 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 515016 GB500 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 515016 GB500 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 515016 GB750 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 515016 GB750 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 515016 GB750 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51601 GB250 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51601 GB250 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51601 GB250 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51601 GB500 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51601 GB500 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51601 GB500 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51601 GB750 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51601 GB750 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51601 GB750 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51602 GB250 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51602 GB250 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51602 GB250 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51602 GB500 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51602 GB500 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51602 GB500 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51602 GB750 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51602 GB750 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51602 GB750 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51604 GB250 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51604 GB250 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51604 GB250 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51604 GB500 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51604 GB500 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51604 GB500 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51604 GB750 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51604 GB750 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51604 GB750 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51608 GB250 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51608 GB250 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51608 GB250 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51608 GB500 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51608 GB500 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51608 GB500 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 51608 GB750 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 51608 GB750 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 51608 GB750 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 516016 GB250 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 516016 GB250 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 516016 GB250 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 516016 GB500 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 516016 GB500 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 516016 GB500 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
2 × Intel Xeon 516016 GB750 GBHard driveNVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
2 × Intel Xeon 516016 GB750 GBHard driveATI Radeon X1900 XT
2 × Intel Xeon 516016 GB750 GBHard driveNVIDIA Quadro FX 4500

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Four drive bays and accessible memory risers
  • Two Gigabit Ethernet ports and optical digital audio
  • Choice of workstation graphics cards

Cons

  • Wireless networking and Bluetooth are optional
  • Fully buffered memory modules required
  • No display included

Closest rivals

Model
TypeProcessorMemoryStorageScreenWeightReleased
ApplePower Mac G5 (Late 2005)
TowerPowerPC G5 dual-core 2000 MHz (Power Mac Late 2005), PowerPC G5 dual-core 2300 MHz (Power Mac Late 2005) or PowerPC G5 dual-core 2500 MHz (Power Mac Late 2005)512 MB – 16 GB160 GB – 250 GB––Oct 2005
ApplePower Mac G5 (Early 2005)
TowerPowerPC G5 2000 MHz (Power Mac Early 2005), PowerPC G5 2300 MHz (Power Mac Early 2005) or PowerPC G5 2700 MHz (Power Mac Early 2005)512 MB – 8 GB160 GB – 250 GB–20.2 kgApr 2005
AppleMac Pro (Early 2008)
TowerIntel Xeon E5462, E5472 or X54822 GB – 32 GB300 GB – 1 TB––Jan 2008

Previous model: Power Mac G5 (Late 2005). Newer model: Mac Pro (Early 2008).

Sources

  1. support.apple.com/en-gb/112520
  2. apple.com/uk/newsroom/2006/08/07Apple-Unveils-New-Mac-Pro-Featuring-Quad-64-bit…
  3. everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_pro/index-macpro.html

Photo: cdsassets.apple.com

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