This is the one you want if you want a high-end Mac!

Having basically switched to Macs vs. Windows PCs several years ago, my primary computer had been a PowerMac G5 for quite a while. The Mac Pro was Apple's first attempt at offering an Intel CPU based "update" to my trusty G5 tower, so I looked at it with great interest.

When it started shipping and reports came back detailing its features and capabilities, I knew it was a worthy successor!

Although Apple advertises that you can order a Mac Pro in thousands of possible configurations, they really only sell it in 3 basic versions. The dual Xeon 2.66Ghz Mac Pro is the middle of the line model, and is the most cost-effective choice on a strictly "price vs. performance" analysis. (The dual 3.0Ghz Xeon model costs $799 more than the $2499 price of the 2.66 Ghz model. By contrast, you only save $299 to step down to a dual 2.0Ghz model.)

When it comes to optional upgrades and customizations, their usefulness depends to a large extent on your intended use for the new computer. If you're interested in gaming, or in working with rendering objects in 3D (such as using Apple's "Motion" product), the stock nVidia 7300GT video card in the Mac Pro should be upgraded. The Radeon 512MB X1900 XT card (for an extra $249) is the way to go!

Since adding internal Bluetooth support only costs an additional $29, I threw that option onto my Mac Pro order too. (I have a Motorola Razr cellphone I can wireless sync with my Mac that way.) For $79, you could add that plus wireless ethernet .. but I wouldn't want to take a "Pro" level computer and cripple its ability to move files quickly over a network by sticking it on relatively slow wireless connections!

Unlike the PowerMac G5, the Mac Pro has a slightly redesigned case. At first glance, it looks identical on the outside, but then one realizes it has 2 slots for CD/DVD drives. It only ships, standard, with 1 "Superdrive" DVD burner - but a second can be ordered, or added later yourself. (Many folks suspect Apple will start offering a Blue-Ray HD DVD drive at some point, giving people more reason to need that second drive bay.)

One item almost everyone should consider upgrading on a Mac Pro is the default memory configuration! The stock setup with 1GB of RAM is certainly "adequate" for either OS X or Windows XP, but if you're in the market for a "high end" computer in the first place, you're surely going to be using software that hits a 1GB memory limit pretty quickly. This is one area where I don't recommend buying the additional RAM from Apple with your order. You can get very good quality (lifetime warranty) RAM from Other World Computing (www.macsales.com) for less money and install it yourself in minutes.

Another welcome feature of the Mac Pro is their redesigned hard drive bays. They now handle up to 4 SATA hard drives (vs. room for only 2 in a G5 tower), and they have elegant drive trays that slide in and out easily. Again, you can take your pick of practically any SATA hard drives on the market and install these yourself, saving some money off Apple's pre-installed price.

In daily operation, this system is much quieter than the G5 PowerMac towers, and doesn't seem to put out as much heat. I've left mine on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (running a server on it, among other things) since I purchased it, and so far, have had absolutely no problems with it. Especially when performing tasks like compressing video, the system is amazingly quick. But the biggest difference I notice between my Mac Pro and a fast Pentium 4 I use at work daily is the ability to run multiple processes and not notice any performance decrease. A task that would usually mean your machine was tied up until it finished can now be run in the background and practically forgotten about, as you surf the net, burn CDs, listen to music in iTunes, or what-not.

The biggest performance "hits" will be taken when running applications in OS X that haven't yet been recompiled/rewritten as "Universal". These have to run inside "Rosetta", Apple's built-in PowerPC CPU emulator inside OS X, since this Mac has Intel processors. They *still* usually run at least as well as what you're used to on a recent iMac or mid-range PowerMac G5 tower -- but they tend to use more more system memory doing it. Adobe finally has their new Creative Suite in beta for a Universal version though, and it's one of the last big "holdouts" that wasn't converted over yet.