Xserve

Xserve Intel

Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com

OWC: Plug & Play Hardware RAID up to 8.0TB. High Performance, Data Redundant Solutions. FireWire 800, FireWire 400, USB2, or eSATA. Hot Swappable Bays, Data Rates over 200MB/s. Click here

Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full Tilt Poker Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.

Xserve 'Nehalem'

Got an Intel-based Xserve or thinking about buying one? Join the Macintel email list.

Overview

Apple upgraded the Xserve to the same Nehalem CPUs found in the Mac Pro. Even though the clock speed of these chips is lower than on the 2008 Xserve, the efficiencies of the Nehalem architecture power it well past last year's models. The Nehalem chips also support Hyperthreading, so each core can emulate two cores, and Turbo Boost, which allows some cores to run faster than their rated speed when other cores are not being used heavily (for instance, a 2.93 GHz core can reach 3.33 GHz when necessary).

Another efficiency is energy efficiency, and for the first time Apple is offering a Solid State Drive (SSD) option for Xserve, which reduces power draw, heat, and noise vs. a normal hard drive and costs $500. Apple says the SSD is "ultrafast", with minimal seek time (0.16 ms) and the same throughput as a 7200 rpm hard drive. All this while sipping less than 1 Watt of power (vs. 12-18 for a typical hard drive). And because the SSD is so small, it doesn't use a drive bay, leaving all 3 available for hard drives.

For optimal memory performance, RAM is installed in sets of 3 matching modules, as Nehalem's memory controller can work most efficiently that way. Mac OS X 10.5 supports up to 32 GB of RAM, and the 2009 Xserve should be able to use 48 GB once OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard" ships.

Like other 2009 Macs, Xserve uses Mini DisplayPort for video output. This means anyone using it with an existing monitor will need to purchase an adapter.

Xserve supports up to 3 TB of internal storage, RAID ($700 option), hot swappable drives, and remote management while running Mac OS X Server. It supports the SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) interface, which gives it access to 15,000 rpm hard drives.

Xserve includes an unlimited user license for Mac OS X Server.

Details

introduced 2009.04.07 at $2,999 with one 2.26 GHz quad-core Intel Xeon 5500 "Nehalem" CPU; dual 2.26 GHz, $3,599; dual 2.66 GHz, $4,999; dual 2.93 GHz, $6,199
requires Mac OS X Server v10.5.1 or later
CPU: 1 or 2 quad-core Intel Xeon 5500 CPUs, dual CPUs available at 2.26, 2.66, or 2.93 GHz
bus: 1.6 GHz
system performance: unknown
RAM: 3 GB standard, expandable to 24 GB using 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC FB-DIMMs in 12 slots
video: nVidia GeForce GT 120 with 256 MB RAM
L2 cache: 256 KB per core
L3 cache: 8 MB per processor
hard drive: 160 GB 7200 RPM, 128 GB SSD optional, 1 TB drive optional, 450 GB 15,000 rpm SAS available, 3 drive bays, Serial ATA
optical drive: 8x SuperDrive DL
2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots
no 400 Mbps FireWire port
two FireWire 800 ports on back
two USB 2.0 ports on back, one on front
one DB-9/RS-232 port
dual 10/100/1000Base-T ethernet
size (HxWxD): 1.73" x 17.6" x 30" (44 x 447 x 762mm)
weight: 30.8-38.3 lbs. (14.0-17.4 kg)
PRAM battery: 3.6V half-AA
upgrade path: none yet
Part no.: MA882

Accelerators & Upgrades

none yet

Online Resources

Best online Xserve deals, updated biweekly.
Apple trumps Microsoft in making the 64-bit transition transparent to users, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 2008.09.18. To use more than 4 GB of RAM under Windows, you need a 64-bit PC and the 64-bit version of Windows. On the Mac, OS X 10.4 and later already support it.
Xserve, Apple

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2009 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.