World of Apple

Apple is set to release a new model of LED-backlit Cinema Display as well as introduce a major update to its Mac Pro workstations.

The report from AppleInsider passing on information from “people familiar” with the matter suggest that Apple is preparing the two products for a June release. The first product will be a larger version of Apple’s current 24-inch LED-backlit Cinema Display which was released in October 2008.

The 27-inch display is said to go by the codename “K59″ and has apparently been in Apple’s labs for sometime while the company waited for the cost of large LCD panels with resolutions of 2560 x 1440 pixels to drop.

In addition despite recent rumours of a January release AppleInsider pinpoints June as the release for its latest Mac Pro offerings, according to the newest rumour details of specs are scarce but are likely to include a pair of Intel Westmere-based hexacore processors, giving the Mac Pro a total of 12-cores.

Mockup of 27-inch LED Cinema Display | Courtesy of AppleInsider

It is being rumoured by ZDNet that Apple will release a new Mac Pro model this coming Tuesday with a new hexacore Core i7-980x processor. According to ZDNet the “tipsters” point towards Tuesday, March 16 as the likely date for the release.

The Core i7-980x is due for release from Intel this coming Tuesday and will mark Intel’s first six-core processor running at 3.33GHz (TurboBoost to 3.6GHz) and based on 32nm technology.

9to5 Mac is speculating that the release will be tomorrow.

An issue that has plagued early 2009 Nahalem-based Mac Pros has been purportedly rectified with a small update from Apple. The issue would cause a 20 percent performance drop when audio was played in Mac OS X, and playing music in iTunes causes temperatures to sore in the Mac Pros.

Apple issued an update yesterday with an aim to fix the issue is available through software update. The 1.6MB download is described by Apple to “reduces processor utilization during audio activities, such as playing or recording music.”

Boot Camp Software Update 3.1 for Windows 32/64-bit

This update adds support for Microsoft Windows 7 (Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate), addresses issues with the Apple trackpad, turns off the red digital audio port LED on laptop computers when it is not being used, and supports the Apple wireless keyboard and Apple Magic mouse.

This update is highly recommended for all Boot Camp 3.0 users.

Boot Camp Software Update 3.1 for Windows 32 bit
Boot Camp Software Update 3.1 for Windows 64 bit

iMac Late 2009 Windows 7 Drivers

This download the contains the necessary drivers to implement Windows 7 on the iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2009) and iMac (27-inch, Late 2009) computers.

Download the Windows 7 Installation Enabler, which contains the required drivers for the iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2009) and iMac (27-inch, Late 2009) computers.

Graphics Firmware Update 1.0 (iMac and Mac Pro) compatibility with Windows 7

Download and install the Graphics Firmware Update 1.0 if you run Windows 7 using Boot Camp on your iMac (with NVIDIA GeForce 7300 or 7600 GT) or Mac Pro (with NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT or Quadro FX 4500) computer.

Apple has today quietly added the ability to configure Mac Pro and Xserve systems with a 3.33GHz Quad-Core processor for an additional $1200 as well as the ability to configure both the quad-core and 8-core models with 2TB hard drives.

The new option of 2TB hard drives priced at $550 each will allow Mac Pro’s to contain up to 8TB of internal hard drive space. The same option is available for the Xserve allowing for a total hard drive capacity of 6TB.

[Update - the new options only appear to be available on the U.S. online Apple Store.]

Hardmac is reporting that Apple will release new Mac Pro models in early 2010, the site also pinpoints Intels yet to be released Xeon Gulftown CPU for the next generation of top-end Mac Pro models.

The future Intel CPU features 6 cores and is manufactured using the new 32nm process. PCLab had run benchmarks on the CPU but swiftly removed them due to an Intel NDA (nondisclosure agreement) their report suggests that Gulftown is “50% faster than the corresponding quad core Xeon for parallel tasks. Despite having 50% more transistors, the CPU strongly benefits from 32-nm engraving as it drains 50% less power in idle mode and 10% less in full loading mode.”

HardMac citing sources is reporting that Apple is planning to bring Xeon Gulftown CPU to a future Mac Pro revision.

The Xeon Gulftown chip offers several enhancements over the processors used in the current Mac Pro’s, namely 32 nanometre engraving, 12MB of L3 cache and 6 cores with 12 threads.

If current Mac Pro configurations are anything to go by, Apple will most likely put two Gulftown processors in, giving the workstations 12 cores. The new processors which have only been demoed by Intel a few times are not expected until second quarter 2010 which could give Apple exclusive access.

HardMac offers additional information about the revision which is expected in the first quarter of 2010 including changes to the Mac Pro motherboards allowing support for 8 and 16GB RAM modules and 10Gbps ethernet ports.

NVIDIA today released updated drivers for the GeForce GTX 285 graphics card. The GTX 285 is a graphics card currently available for the Mac Pro at $449.95 and offers significant advantages over the standard options available for the Mac Pro.

According to Mac Rumors updating to the latest drivers will gives users an up to 20% performance boost compared to the previous drivers.

Owners of the GeForce GTX 285 will also be required to update to the new drivers before updating to Mac OS X 10.5.8.

The EVGA GeForce GTX 285 graphics card is now being listed on the online Apple Store in the US and Canada. The GTX 285 is listed as being compatible with the “Early 2008″ and “Early 2009″ Mac Pro models and is priced at $449.95.

Currently the card is listed as shipping in 1-2 weeks and is not currently available as a build-top-order option on new Mac Pro models.

AppleInsider reports that Apple today announced plans to being shipping the NVIDIA Quadro FX 4800 for the Mac Pro next month.

The graphics card which will carry a price tag of $1800 features 192 parallel processor cores, 1.5GB of memory with 76.8 GB/sec of bandwidth.

With its sophisticated GPU architecture and industry leading features, the Quadro FX 4800 delivers a substantial boost in graphics performance and capabilities, allowing users to continue to push the boundaries of realism and performance in markets such as: architecture, content creation, science and medicine,” NVIDIA said.

The NVIDIA Quadro FX 4800 will be available from the online Apple Store and select Apple resellers in May.