Apple Mac Pro 'Eight Core' 2.8 (2008) Specs
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Though Apple publicly stated the promise of 'auditing our development processes to help prevent this from happening again', users who installed the security update while running the older 10.13.0 version of the High Sierra operating system rather than the then-newest 10.13.1 release experienced that the 'root' security vulnerability was re. Apple formally supports up to 4 TB of storage with four 3.5' 1 TB hard drives (one in each internal bay). This system also supports Serial Attached SCSI drives with the installation of the Mac Pro RAID card, and Apple formally supports up to 1.2 TB (1200 GB) in this manner with four 300 GB (15,000 RPM, 16 MB cache) SCSI drives.
Identifiers: Early 2008 - MA970LL/A - MacPro3,1 - A1186 - 2180
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The Mac Pro 'Eight Core' 2.8 (Early 2008) is powered by two 2.8 GHz Quad Core 45-nm Intel Xeon E5462 (Harpertown/Penryn) processors with 12 MB of level 2 cache per processor (each pair of cores shares 6 MB), a 128-bit SSE4 SIMD vector engine, and 1.6 GHz '64-bit dual independent frontside buses.' Via custom configuration, this model could be equipped with a single 2.8 GHz Quad Core Xeon E5462 processor, two 3 GHz Quad Core Xeon E5472 processors, or two 3.2 GHz Quad Core Xeon X5482 processors.
By default, it was configured with 2 GB of 800 MHz DDR2 EEC 'fully-buffered' FB-DIMM memory, a 320 GB (7200 RPM, 8 MB cache) 3Gb/s Serial ATA hard drive, a double-layer 16X 'SuperDrive', and an ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT graphics processor with 256 MB of GDDR3 memory and two dual-link DVI ports.
Expansion includes two external 5.25' 'optical' bays (one free by default), four internal 3.5' 'cable-free, direct attach' hard drive bays (three free by default), two PCIe x4 slots, and two PCIe 2.0 x16 slots (one free with one graphics card installed). Ports include dual Gigabit Ethernet, five USB 2.0 ports, two Firewire '400' ports, two Firewire '800' ports, and optical digital audio in/out, among others. Bluetooth 2.0+EDR is standard, AirPort Extreme (802.11g/n) and a modem are optional.
Compared to the original Mac Pro that it replaced, the Mac Pro 'Eight Core' 2.8 uses a more advanced architecture with faster and more efficient processors with larger level 2 caches, a more advanced vector engine, faster frontside buses (1.6 GHz instead of 1.33 GHz), faster memory (800 MHz instead of 667 MHz), support for optional faster Serial Attached SCSI drives (with the installation of the Mac Pro RAID card), and two 16-lane PCIe 2.0 slots.
Also see:
- What are the differences between the 'Early 2008' Mac Pro configurations?
- What are the major differences between the 'Early 2008' (Harpertown/Penryn) Mac Pro and the original Mac Pro?
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- Tech Specs
- Ports
- Global Original Prices
- Popular Q&As
Click on a category for related details. The most commonly needed info is 'open' by default, but all info is important. Asterisks (*) reference data in details fields.
| Introduction Date: | January 8, 2008 | Discontinued Date: | March 3, 2009 |
| Details: | The 'Introduction Date' refers to the date a model was introduced via press release. The 'Discontinued Date' refers to the date a model either was replaced by a subsequent system or production otherwise ended.
Also see: All Macs introduced in 2008. |
| Details: | Also see: All models with a 64-Bit processor courtesy of EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Sort. |
| Details: | Geekbench 2 benchmarks are in 32-bit and 64-bit modes, respectively. These numbers reflect an average of user provided 32-bit and 64-bit results as submitted to the Geekbench website. Higher numbers are better.
You also might be interested in reviewing all 32-bit and 64-bit Geekbench 2 user submissions for Macs with the MacPro3,1 Model Identifier, which may include multiple models.
To dynamically compare Geekbench 2 results from different Macs side-by-side, see EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Comparison. |
| Details: | These Geekbench 3 benchmarks are in 32-bit mode and are for a single processor core and all processor cores, respectively. Both numbers reflect an average of user provided results as submitted to the Geekbench website. Higher numbers are better.
You also might be interested in reviewing all 32-bit single core and multicore Geekbench 3 user submissions for Macs with the MacPro3,1 Model Identifier, which may include multiple models.
To dynamically compare 32-bit Geekbench 3 results from different Macs side-by-side, see EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Comparison. |
| Details: | These Geekbench 3 benchmarks are in 64-bit mode and are for a single processor core and all processor cores, respectively. Both numbers reflect an average of user provided results as submitted to the Geekbench website. Higher numbers are better.
You also might be interested in reviewing all 64-bit single core and multicore Geekbench 3 user submissions for Macs with the MacPro3,1 Model Identifier, which may include multiple models.
To dynamically compare 64-bit Geekbench 3 results from different Macs side-by-side, see EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Comparison. |
| Details: | These Geekbench 4 benchmarks are are for a single processor core and all processor cores, respectively. All Geekbench 4 benchmarks are 64-bit. Both numbers reflect an average of user provided results as submitted to the Geekbench website. Higher numbers are better.
You also might be interested in reviewing all single core and multicore Geekbench 4 user submissions for Macs with the MacPro3,1 Model Identifier, which may include multiple models.
To dynamically compare Geekbench 4 results from different Macs side-by-side, see EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Comparison. |
| Details: | These Geekbench 5 benchmarks are are for a single processor core and all processor cores, respectively. All Geekbench 5 benchmarks for the Mac are 64-bit. Both numbers reflect an average of user provided results as submitted to the Geekbench website. Higher numbers are better.
You also might be interested in reviewing all single core and multicore Geekbench 5 user submissions for Macs with the MacPro3,1 Model Identifier, which may include multiple models.
To dynamically compare Geekbench 5 results from different Macs side-by-side, see EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Comparison. |
| Processor Speed: | 2.8 GHz | Processor Type: | Q. Core Xeon E5462 x2 |
| Details: | Each of two 45-nm Xeon E5462 (Harpertown/Penryn) processors has four independent processor 'cores' with 12 MB of level 2 cache per processor (each pair of cores shares 6 MB). It also features a 128-bit SSE4 SIMD vector engine, and 1.6 GHz '64-bit dual independent frontside buses.'
Also see: How much faster are the 'Early 2008' (Harpertown/Penryn) Mac Pro models compared to the original Mac Pro? |
| Details: | *Additionally offered, via custom configuration, were a single 2.8 GHz Quad Core Xeon E5462 processor for US$500 less, two 3 GHz Quad Core Xeon E5472 processors for US$800 more, or two 3.2 GHz Quad Core Xeon X5482 processors for US$1600 more.
As requested by readers, EveryMac.com also has documented these custom configurations as their own models. |
| Details: | *Details regarding the processor mounting can be added when they become available. By default, this type of processor uses a Socket P (LGA 3647). |
| System Bus Speed: | 1.6 GHz | Cache Bus Speed: | 2.8 GHz (Built-in) |
| Details: | 1.6 GHz (1600 MHz) 64-bit dual independent frontside buses. |
| Details: | *Each Quad Core processor has 12 MB of level 2 cache with 6 MB of level 2 cache shared between each pair of cores. |
| Details: | Uses '800 MHz DDR2 ECC fully-buffered DIMM (FB-DIMM) memory' and has a '256-bit wide memory architecture'.
Also see: How do you upgrade the RAM in the 'Early 2008' (Harpertown/Penryn) Mac Pro? How much RAM of what type does it support? Is it backwards compatible with RAM from the original Mac Pro? |
| Details: | 2 GB of RAM installed as two 1 GB modules. 6 slots free. RAM must be installed in pairs, and for 'best acoustic performance' contain an 'Apple-approved heat sink'.
*Apple officially supports 32 GB of RAM in this model, but site sponsor OWC first discovered that it is capable of using 64 GB of RAM with appropriate high-density memory modules.
In the US (and many other countries), site sponsor Other World Computing sells memory -- as well as other upgrades -- for this Mac Pro.
In the UK, site sponsor Flexx sells memory and other upgrades for this Mac Pro.
In Canada, site sponsor CanadaRAM sells RAM and other upgrades for this Mac Pro.
In Germany, site sponsor CompuRAM sells memory and other upgrades for this Mac Pro.
In Australia, site sponsor Macfixit sells memory and other upgrades for this Mac Pro.
Also see: Actual Max RAM of All G3 & Later Macs. |
| Details: | Apple reports that the system has 'eight FB-DIMM slots on two memory riser cards (4 slots per card).' |
| Details: | By default, an ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT with 256 MB of GDDR3 memory is installed in a PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot. It has two dual-link DVI ports. Other graphics card options included the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT with 512 MB of GDDR3 memory or a NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 with 1.5 GB of GDDR3 memory. All of the video cards offered have two dual-link DVI ports, and the Quadro FX 5600 has a stereo 3D port as well.
Also see: What are the default graphics cards provided with each Mac Pro? What Mac Pro compatible video cards are available for purchase later? Which video cards have which ports?
In Spain, site sponsor iRepairs provides affordable repair and data recovery services. In-person and by mail repair services include the graphics card, power supply, and more for this Mac Pro.
In Singapore, site sponsor Esmond Service Centre provides highly regarded repairs for the graphics card, motherboard, power supply, and more, all with a free estimate and fast turnaround for this Mac Pro. |
| Details: | Other graphics cards could be pre-installed at the time of purchase or installed later. Other cards were available at the time of purchase with 512 MB and 1.5 GB of video memory. |
| Display Support: | Up to 8 Displays* | Resolution Support: | 2560x1600* |
| Details: | Apple advertised that this model can support 'up to eight 30-inch displays' (with four video cards installed, one card is installed by default and can support two 30-inch displays). The default ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT is capable of supporting 'digital resolutions up to 2560 by 1600' pixels and analog resolutions up to 2048 by 1536 pixels. |
| 2nd Display Support: | Dual/Mirroring | 2nd Max. Resolution: | 2560x1600 |
| Details: | The ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT is capable of supporting two 30-inch displays with a resolution of 2560x1600 in either dual display or mirrored mode.
Also see: Apple Cinema Displays. |
| Standard Storage: | 320 GB HDD | Std. Storage Speed: | 7200 RPM |
| Details: | By default, this system shipped with a single 320 GB (7200 RPM, 8 MB cache) Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive.
Also see: How do you upgrade the hard drives in the Mac Pro models? How many drives of what type are supported?
In the US (and many other countries), site sponsor Other World Computing sells storage upgrades for this Mac Pro.
In the UK, site sponsor Flexx sells storage upgrades for this Mac Pro.
In Canada, site sponsor CanadaRAM sells SSDs and other upgrades for this Mac Pro.
In Australia, site sponsor Macfixit sells storage upgrades for this Mac Pro.
Also see: SSD Compatibility Guide for All G3 & Later Macs. |
| Storage Dimensions: | 3.5' (25.4 mm) | Storage Interface: | Serial ATA (3 Gb/s) |
| Details: | Apple formally supports up to 4 TB of storage with four 3.5' 1 TB hard drives (one in each internal bay). This system also supports Serial Attached SCSI drives with the installation of the Mac Pro RAID card, and Apple formally supports up to 1.2 TB (1200 GB) in this manner with four 300 GB (15,000 RPM, 16 MB cache) SCSI drives.
Also see: How do you upgrade the hard drives in the Mac Pro to SSDs? What SSD options are available? Which SSD configuration provides the fastest performance? |
| Standard Optical: | 8X DL 'SuperDrive' | Standard Disk: | None |
| Details: | Apple reports that this PATA '16X' double layer DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW SuperDrive 'writes DVD-R discs at up to 16x speed, writes DVD+R DL discs at up to 8x speed, reads DVDs at up to 16x speed, writes CD-R and CD-RW discs at up to 24x speed, [and] reads CDs at up to 32x speed.'
Also see: What options are available for the second 'optical drive bay' on the Mac Pro? How do you install a second optical drive or replace the primary one? |
| Details: | An external Apple USB Modem was available for US$49. The system has 'two independent 10/100/1000BASE-T [Gigabit] Ethernet (RJ-45) interfaces with support for jumbo frames.' |
| Standard AirPort: | 802.11a/b/g/n (Opt) | Standard Bluetooth: | 2.0+EDR |
| Details: | Bluetooth 2.0+EDR is standard. AirPort Extreme (802.11a/b/g) can be installed at additional cost. |
| Details: | The Mac Pro has five USB 2.0 ports on the system (two on the front panel and three on the back), two Firewire '400' ports (one on the front and one on the back), and two Firewire '800' ports (one on the front and one on the back). Apple also advertises 'two USB 2.0 ports on included keyboard'. |
| Expansion Slots: | 2 PCIe, 2 PCIe 2.0, AP* | Expansion Bays: | 4 3.5', 2 5.25' |
| Details: | *This model has two PCIe x4 expansion slots and two PCIe 2.0 x16 expansion slots (in the default confugration one PCIe 2.0 x16 slot is occupied by the graphics card). Apple also reports that 'all slots provide mechanical support for 16-lane cards [and supports] 300W combined maximum for all PCI Express slots.'
AirPort Extreme (802.11g/n) additionally can be installed at extra cost.
In the default configuration, one internal 3.5' bay is occupied by a hard drive and three are free, and one external 5.25' bay is occupied by a 'SuperDrive' and the other is free. The no longer available Developer's Note also documented 'two unpopulated 3 Gbps SATA buses for expansion'.
Also see: How many PCI slots of what type are provided by each Mac Pro model? How do you install a PCIe card in the Mac Pro?
In the US (and many other countries), site sponsor Other World Computing sells a wide variety of internal and external expansion options and hand-picked accessories ranging from internal PCIe cards to external storage, stands, keyboards, cables, adapters, and more for this Mac Pro.
In Australia, site sponsor Macfixit offers an extensive selection of external expansion options and accessories like docks, stands, chargers, keyboards, and security products (as well as some PCIe cards) for this Mac Pro. |
| Incl. Keyboard: | Apple Aluminum KB | Incl. Input: | Mighty Mouse |
| Details: | Shipped with an 'ultra-thin aluminum' Apple Keyboard (0.33 inches at the front edge) based on the polarizing keyboard design introduced with the MacBook.
Also see: How does the 'ultra thin' aluminum keyboard compare to a more traditional desktop keyboard? How does it feel? |
| Apple Order No: | MA970LL/A | Apple Subfamily: | Early 2008 |
| Details: | The Apple order number should be unique to this system. |
| Details: | Please note that these identifiers refer to more than one model.
Also see: All Macs with the A1186 Model Number, the 2180 EMC Number, and the MacPro3,1 Model Identifier.
For more about these identifiers and how to locate them on each Mac, please refer to EveryMac.com's Mac Identification section. |
| Pre-Installed MacOS: | X 10.5.1 (9B2117) | Maximum MacOS: | X 10.11.x* |
| Details: | *This system can run the last version of OS X 10.8 'Mountain Lion,' OS X 10.9 'Mavericks,' OS X 10.10 'Yosemite' and OS X 10.11 'El Capitan', although it does not support advanced features like AirDrop, AirPlay Mirroring, or Power Nap. It also does not support 'OpenCL' running the default ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT video card. If configured with the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT or NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600, it does support OpenCL. This system is not capable of running macOS Sierra (10.12) or subsequent versions of the macOS at all.
Please also note that OS X 'Lion' 10.7 and subsequent versions of OS X are not capable of running Mac OS X apps originally written for the PowerPC processor as these operating systems do not support the 'Rosetta' environment. To run PowerPC applications on this Mac, it will be necessary to use Mac OS X 10.6 'Snow Leopard' or earlier.
Also see: Which Macs are compatible with OS X El Capitan (10.11)? What are the system requirements? Which Macs support which features? |
| Minimum Windows: | XP SP2 (32-Bit)* | Maximum Windows: | 7 (64-Bit)* |
| Details: | *Apple's Boot Camp 4 formally supports the 32-bit version of Windows XP SP2 as well as the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7. However, the system does meet Microsoft's minimum requirements for Windows 8 and readers have reported successfully running the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of this operating system with appropriate drivers. |
| MacOS 9 Support: | None | Windows Support: | Boot/Virtualization |
| Details: | Also see: Are there any third-party programs to run Mac OS 9/Classic applications on Intel Macs?
Site sponsor OHS specializes in heavily upgraded Macs capable of running both Mac OS X and Mac OS 9 applications.
For more on running Windows on Intel Macs, please refer to the exhaustive Windows on Mac Q&A. |
| Dimensions: | 20.1 x 8.1 x 18.7 | Avg. Weight: | 42.4 lbs. (19.2 kg) |
| Details: | In inches - height by width by depth, (51.1 cm, 20.6 cm, 47.5 cm). |
| Original Price (US): | US$2799 | Est. Current Retail: | US$500-US$800 |
| Details: | Please note that on average the estimated current retail pricing of used systems is updated twice a year (please refer to the date on the bottom of the page for the date last updated).
Photo Credit: Apple Computer. |
Click on a category for additional details. The most commonly needed info is 'open' by default, but all info is important. The icons correspond with the icons for each port on the computer.
| Details: | Two dual-link DVI ports provided by default ATI Radeon HD 2600 XTgraphics card. Supports dual display and mirroring modes. Can support as many as eight displays with four graphics cards installed. DVI to VGA adapter included.
Also see: What graphics cards are available for the Mac Pro? Which models have which ports? |
| Details: | *Supports internal Serial Attached SCSI, external SCSI support can be added with an aftermarket PCIe card. |
| Details: | The Mac Pro has five USB 2.0 ports on the system (two on the front panel and three on the back), two Firewire '400' ports (one on the front and one on the back), and two Firewire '800' ports (one on the front and one on the back). Apple also advertises 'two USB 2.0 ports on included keyboard'. |
| Details: | No internal modem. An external Apple USB modem was available for US$49. Gigabit Ethernet and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR are standard, AirPort Extreme (802.11g/n) and a modem are optional. |
| Details: | Includes a rear mounted 'optical digital audio input Toslink port' and an 'analog stereo line-level input' minijack. |
| Details: | Includes a rear mounted 'optical digital audio output Toslink port' and an 'analog stereo line-level output' minijack. Also has a front-mounted headphone jack. |
| Details: | Apple reports that the line voltage is '100-120V AC or 200-240V AC (wide-range power supply input voltage)' and the maximum current is '12A (low-voltage range) or 6A (high-voltage range)'. |
Global original prices for the Mac Pro 'Eight Core' 2.8 (2008) in 34 different countries and territories follow; organized alphabetically by region.
For global original prices for Intel Macs in one particular country on a single page, please refer to EveryMac.com's Global Original Prices section.
Original Prices - North & South America
| Mexico: | N/A | United States: | US$2799 |
Original Prices - Europe
| Norway: | N/A | Portugal: | €2499 |
| Switzerland: | CHF 3'699 | United Kingdom: | £1749 |
Original Prices - Asia
| Malaysia: | N/A | The Philippines: | N/A |
Original Prices - Australia & New Zealand
If you have additional original prices for this model, please get in touch. Thank you.
Ten of the most popular Q&As about the Mac Pro models follow.
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