Although the iMac started the Intel Mac parade at Macworld San Francisco in January, Yonah wasn't such a clear-cut choice. If it wasn't for the fact that Apple wanted to have its most recognizable computer leading the charge into x86 territory, the iMac could have waited for a more desktop-centric processor, like Conroe (the Core 2 Duo). As it stands, Apple decided to put all of its chips in Yonah's basket for the first half-year of its post-Power PC life. But there is still one part of the product matrix stuck in Power PC: the pro desktops. (Yes, the Xserve is still running a PowerPC 970, but it's going to get Intel's server CPU, Woodcrest.)
There are a couple of ways to approach the question of what Apple's upcoming pro desktops might look like. The first is to look at Intel's CPU lineup and see what fits logically and where. The second is understanding what Apple has done historically with its machines and try and extrapolate that to an all-new architecture.
Let's do both.
Source: Story Continued
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