Mac Pro (Early 2009)
Nehalem Xeons and DDR3 memory arrive in the Mac Pro.
Overview
The Early 2009 Mac Pro was a substantial redesign inside the familiar aluminum tower. Intel's Nehalem Xeon architecture brought an on-chip memory controller, so memory became DDR3 ECC with up to 32 GB.
The entry model had a single quad-core Xeon at 2.66 GHz with 3 GB of memory, a 640 GB drive and a GeForce GT 120; an eight-core version used two quad-core chips. Four PCI Express 2.0 slots offered one double-wide x16 slot, one single-wide x16 and two x4 slots, with five USB 2.0 and four FireWire 800 ports.
Wi-Fi 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.1 were also built in. A Radeon HD 4870 was a build-to-order graphics option.
Why it mattered
It brought Nehalem and DDR3 to the Mac Pro, and its later firmware-upgradable hardware led to years of enthusiast upgrades.
At a glance
- Announced
- March 3, 2009
- Released
- March 3, 2009
- Discontinued
- July 27, 2010
- Launch price
- $2,499
- Chip / processor
- Intel Xeon quad-core, 2.66 GHz
- Storage
- 640 GB
- Status
- Vintage
Highlights
- Nehalem Xeon with DDR3 ECC memory
- Four PCI Express 2.0 slots
- Four FireWire 800 ports
- Entry model with one quad-core processor
Tech specs
Specifications as published at launch. Some values (like battery life) are manufacturer estimates.
Chip
- Chip
- One quad-core Intel Xeon (Nehalem), 2.66 GHz; eight-core option
- CPU cores
- 4 or 8
Memory
- RAM
- 3 GB DDR3 ECC, expandable to 32 GB
- Storage options
- 640 GB standard; options up to 2 TB
Graphics
- GPU
- Nvidia GeForce GT 120, 512 MB
Expansion
- Slots
- Four PCIe 2.0 slots (two x16, two x4)
Ports
- Ports
- 5 USB 2.0, 4 FireWire 800, 2 Gigabit Ethernet
Connectivity
- Wi-Fi
- 802.11n
- Bluetooth
- 2.1+EDR
Design
- Weight
- 18.1 kg (39.9 lb)
Software
- Launch OS
- Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard
Availability
- Announced
- March 3, 2009
- Released
- March 3, 2009
- Discontinued
- July 27, 2010
- Launch price
- $2,499
Colors
- Finishes
- Aluminum
How it compares
More in the Mac Pro family
Mac Pro (2006)
The Power Mac G5 case with two dual-core Xeons: the Mac Pro is born.
Mac Pro (Early 2008)
Eight Harpertown Xeon cores as standard.
Mac Pro (Mid 2010)
Westmere Xeons bring a 12-core Mac Pro.
Mac Pro (Mid 2012)
A modest update that was the end of the aluminum cheese-grater tower.
Mac Pro (Late 2013)
A black cylinder with two workstation GPUs and a single fan.
Mac Pro (2019)
The tower returns, modular and with a 1.4 kW power supply.
Mac Pro (2023)
The last Mac Pro: an M2 Ultra tower with PCIe slots but no GPU upgrades.