Apple Mac Pro "Eight Core" 2.26 (2009/Nehalem) Specs

Identifiers: Early 2009 - MB535LL/A - MacPro4,1 - A1289 - 2314

All Mac Pro Models | All 2009 Models | Dynamically Compare This Mac to Others

Download: PDF Manual

The Mac Pro "Eight Core" 2.26 (Early 2009/Nehalem) is powered by two 2.26 GHz Quad Core 45-nm Xeon E5520 (Nehalem) processors with a dedicated 256k of level 2 cache for each core and 8 MB of "fully shared" level 3 cache per processor.

By default, it was configured with 6 GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM, a 640 GB (7200 RPM, 16 MB cache) 3Gb/s Serial ATA hard drive, an 18X dual-layer "SuperDrive" and an NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 512 MB of GDDR3 memory.

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), and four PCIe 2.0 slots (one free PCIe 2.0 x16 slot and two free PCIe 2.0 x4 slots with the default single graphics card installed).

Ports include five USB 2.0 ports, four Firewire "800" ports, dual Gigabit Ethernet, and both a Mini DisplayPort and a dual-link DVI port, among others. Bluetooth 2.1+EDR is standard, AirPort Extreme (802.11g/n) is optional.

Although the "Early 2009/Nehalem" models look practically the same externally as the "Early 2008" models, there are major technical differences. The 64-bit "Nehalem" architecture is substantially faster and supports "Hyper-Threading" -- which "allows two threads to run simultaneously on each core" (so MacOS X recognizes sixteen "virtual cores" on this model) -- and "Turbo Boost" -- which "automatically boosts the processor speed based on workload" (so if an application is only using one of the eight cores it will automatically increase the speed of the core in use and turn off the unused cores).

It also replaces the frontside bus with a new "QuickPath Interconnect" (QPI) system described as a "bidrectional, point-to-point connection" that provides "quick access to the disk, I/O, and other Mac Pro subsystems".

Other changes include four PCIe 2.0 slots (instead of two PCIe and two PCIe 2.0 slots), four Firewire "800" ports (instead of two Firewire "400" and "800" ports), and a redesigned interior case with the processors and memory on a removable "tray".

Also see:

• What are the differences between the "Early 2009/Nehalem" Mac Pro models?
• What are the differences between the "Early 2009/Nehalem" Mac Pro models and the "Early 2008" Mac Pro models that they replaced?

Buy Newer Macs at site sponsor OWC. Click for current options.

Upgrade This Mac at site sponsor OWC. Memory, storage & more.

Sell Newer Macs at A+ BBB rated site sponsor Cash For Your Mac. Quick quote!

• Tech Specs
• Ports
• Global Original Prices
• Popular Q&As

Tech Specs

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.

Expand All Details | Contract All Details

Introduction Date:

March 3, 2009

Discontinued Date:

July 27, 2010*

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. *Somewhat unusually, Apple introduced a replacement "Mid-2010" Mac Pro model on July 27, 2010 but continued to sell this model until August 9, 2010. Also see: All Macs introduced in 2009.

Processors:

2 (8 Cores)

Architecture:

64-Bit

Details:

Also see: All models with a 64-Bit processor courtesy of EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Sort.

Geekbench 2 (32):

11864

Geekbench 2 (64):

13363

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 MacPro4,1 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.

Geekbench 3 (32):

1673

Geekbench 3 (32):

12256

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 MacPro4,1 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.

Geekbench 3 (64):

1810

Geekbench 3 (64):

13837

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 MacPro4,1 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.

Geekbench 4 (SC):

1994

Geekbench 4 (MC):

11701

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 MacPro4,1 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.

Geekbench 5 (SC):

430

Geekbench 5 (MC):

3123

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 MacPro4,1 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:

2.26 GHz

Processor Type:

Q. Core Xeon E5520 x2

Details:

The 64-bit 45-nm Xeon E5520 (Gainestown/Nehalem) processors each have four independent processor "cores" each with a dedicated 256k level 2 cache, 8 MB of "fully shared" level 3 cache per processor, an integrated memory controller, and "a 128-bit SSE4 SIMD engine". It also supports "Hyper-Threading" -- which "allows two threads to run simultaneously on each core" (so Mac OS X recognizes sixteen total cores on this model, eight real and eight virtual) -- and "Turbo Boost" -- which "automatically boosts the processor speed based on workload" (so if an application is only using one of the four cores it will automatically increase the speed of the core in use and turn off the unused cores). Also see: How much faster are the "Early 2009/Nehalem" Mac Pro models than the "Early 2008" Mac Pro models?

Turbo Boost:

2.53 GHz

Custom Speeds:

2.66 GHz, 2.93 GHz*

Details:

*Via custom configuration, this model additionally could be equipped with dual 2.66 GHz Quad Core Xeon (X5550) processors or dual 2.93 GHz Quad Core Xeon (X5570) processors for an additional US$1400 or US$2600, respectively. As requested by readers, EveryMac.com also has documented these custom configurations as their own models.

Processor Upgrade:

LGA 1366 Sockets

FPU:

Integrated

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:

5.86 GT/s*

Cache Bus Speed:

2.26 GHz (Built-in)

Details:

*This system replaces the frontside bus with a new "QuickPath Interconnect" (QPI) system described as a "bidirectional, point-to-point connection" that provides "quick access to the disk, I/O, and other Mac Pro subsystems". The system self reports that it has a 5.86 GT/s "processor interconnect speed".

ROM/Firmware Type:

EFI

EFI Architecture:

64-Bit

Details:

N/A

L1 Cache:

32k/32k x8

L2/L3 Cache:

256k (x8), 8 MB (x2)*

Details:

*Each core has its own dedicated 256k level 2 cache and the system has 8 MB of "fully shared" level 3 cache as well per processor (16 MB total).

RAM Type:

PC3-8500 DDR3 ECC

Min. RAM Speed:

1066 MHz

Details:

Uses "1066 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM" (PC3-8500) modules. Also see: How do you upgrade the RAM in the "Early 2009/Nehalem" Mac Pro? How much RAM of what type does it support?

Standard RAM:

6 GB

Maximum RAM:

128 GB*

Details:

By default, 6 GB of RAM was installed as six 1 GB modules. Two slots free. *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 when booting MacOS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard" in 64-bit mode. Later, OWC bumped this unofficial maximum RAM to 96 GB running Mac OS X 10.6 or 10.7, and yet again to 128 GB. When running OS X 10.9 "Mavericks" or later, this model is capable of using 128 GB of RAM, but this is limited to 96 GB of usable RAM when running earlier versions of the operating system. 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 Germany, site sponsor CompuRAM sells memory and other upgrades for this Mac Pro. In Australia, site sponsor Upgradeable sells memory and other upgrades for this Mac Pro. Also see: Actual Max RAM of All G3 & Later Macs.

Motherboard RAM:

None

RAM Slots:

8*

Details:

*Eight memory slots -- four per processor -- are provided on "slide out" processor trays. Note that this model supports triple channel memory addressing and performance is improved by installing memory in groups of three.

Video Card:

GeForce GT 120

VRAM Type:

GDDR3 SDRAM

Details:

By default, a NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 512 MB of GDDR3 memory was installed in a double-wide, 16-lane PCI Express 2.0 graphics slot. It has both a Mini DisplayPort and a dual-link DVI port. By custom configuration, this model also was available with as many as four NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 graphics cards (for US$150/each after the first one) or an ATI Radeon HD 4870 with 512 MB of GDDR5 memory, for an additional US$200. 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.

Standard VRAM:

512 MB

Maximum VRAM:

512 MB

Details:

Other graphics cards could be pre-installed at the time of purchase or can be installed later.

Display Support:

Up to 8 Displays*

Resolution Support:

2560x1600*

Details:

*With four video cards installed. By default, one NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 was installed and it can support two 30-inch displays. The default video card is capable of supporting digital resolutions up to 2560x1600 and analog resolutions up to 2048x1536.

2nd Display Support:

Dual/Mirroring

2nd Max. Resolution:

2560x1600

Details:

The NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 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:

640 GB HDD

Std. Storage Speed:

7200 RPM

Details:

By default, this system shipped with a single 640 GB (7200 RPM, 16 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 Australia, site sponsor Upgradeable 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 8 TB of storage with four 3.5" 2 TB hard drives (one in each internal bay). 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:

18X DL "SuperDrive"

Standard Disk:

None

Details:

Apple reports that this SATA "18X" double layer DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW SuperDrive "writes DVD+R and DVD-R discs at up to 18x speed, DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL discs at up to 8x speed, DVD+RW discs at up to 8x speed, DVD-RW discs at up to 6x speed, reads DVDs at up to 18x speed writes CD-R and CD-RW discs at up to 32x 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?

Standard Modem:

None

Standard Ethernet:

Gigabit (x2)

Details:

External Apple USB Modem offered 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:

2.1+EDR

Details:

Bluetooth 2.1+EDR is standard. AirPort Extreme (802.11a/b/g) can be installed at additional cost.

USB Ports:

5 (2.0)

Firewire Ports:

4 (800)

Details:

This Mac Pro model has five USB 2.0 ports on the system (two on the front panel and three on the back) and four Firewire "800" ports (two on the front and two on the back). Apple also advertises that there are "two USB 2.0 ports on [the] included keyboard".

Expansion Slots:

4 PCIe 2.0, AP*

Expansion Bays:

4 3.5", 2 5.25"

Details:

*This model has four full-length PCI Express (PCIe) 2.0 expansion slots, two x16 slots and two x4 slots. In the default configuration, 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 there is a "300W combined maximum for all PCI Express slots." AirPort Extreme (802.11g/n) additionally could 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. 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.

Incl. Keyboard:

Apple Aluminum KB

Incl. Input:

Mighty Mouse

Details:

Shipped with an "ultra-thin aluminum" Apple Keyboard with an embedded numeric keypad (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?

Case Type:

Tower

Form Factor:

Mac Pro

Details:

Apple Order No:

MB535LL/A

Apple Subfamily:

Early 2009

Details:

The Apple order number should be unique to this system.

Apple Model No:

A1289 (EMC 2314)

Model ID:

MacPro4,1

Details:

Please note that these identifiers refer to more than one model. Also see: All Macs with the A1289 Model Number, the 2314 EMC Number, and the MacPro4,1 Model Identifier. For more about these identifiers and how to locate them on each Mac, please refer to EveryMac.com's Mac Identification section.

Battery Type:

N/A

Battery Life:

N/A

Details:

N/A

Pre-Installed MacOS:

X 10.5.6 (9G3553)

Maximum MacOS:

X 10.11.6*

Details:

*This system fully supports the last version of OS X 10.8 "Mountain Lion" and OS X 10.9 "Mavericks" with the exception of the "AirPlay Mirroring" and "Power Nap" features (AirDrop is supported, but only if an AirPort Extreme card is installed). It is compatible with the last version of OS X 10.10 "Yosemite" and OS X 10.11 "El Capitan" as well, and supports Mac-to-Mac AirDrop (again, if the AirPort Extreme card is installed), but other major features are not supported. It is not capable of running macOS Sierra (10.12) or subsequent versions of the macOS at all. Please 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:

8.1 (64-Bit)*

Details:

*Apple's Boot Camp 4 supports the 32-bit version of Windows XP SP2, Windows Vista, and Windows 7, as well as the 64-bit version of Windows Vista on this model. Apple's Boot Camp 5 supports the 64-bit versions of Windows 7 and Windows 8. Although Apple does not support Windows 10 via Boot Camp 5 (officially or otherwise), this system meets Microsoft's hardware requirements and it very well may be possible to boot Windows 10 on this Mac. If you have installed Windows 10 on this system (successfully or unsuccessfully), please share the results of your experiment. Thank you.

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? 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:

41.2 lbs. (18.7 kg)

Details:

In inches - height by width by depth, (51.1 cm, 20.6 cm, 47.5 cm).

Original Price (US):

US$3299

Est. Current Retail:

US$400-US$550

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.

Ports

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.

Expand All Details | Contract All Details

Video (Monitor):

2

Floppy (Ext.):

None

Details:

One Mini DisplayPort and one dual-link DVI port provided by the default NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 graphics card. Supports dual display and mirroring modes. Can support as many as eight displays with four graphics cards installed. Also see: What graphics cards are available for the Mac Pro? Which models have which ports?

ADB:

None

SCSI:

None*

Details:

*Supports internal Serial Attached SCSI, external SCSI support can be added with an aftermarket PCIe card.

Serial (Standard):

None

Serial (Geoport):

None

Details:

N/A

USB:

5 (2.0)

Firewire:

4 (800)

Details:

This Mac Pro model has five USB 2.0 ports on the system (two on the front panel and three on the back) and four Firewire "800" ports (two on the front and two on the back). Apple also advertises that there are "two USB 2.0 ports on [the] included keyboard".

Modem:

None

Ethernet:

2 (RJ-45)

Details:

No internal modem. External Apple USB modem offered for US$49. Gigabit Ethernet and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR are standard, AirPort Extreme (802.11g/n) and a modem are optional.

S-Video Input:

None

S-Video Output:

None

Details:

N/A

Microphone:

None

Sound In:

2

Details:

Includes a rear mounted "optical digital audio input Toslink port" and an "analog stereo line-level input" minijack.

Sound Out:

2

Headphone:

1

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.

Security (Lock):

N/A

Joystick (PC):

None

Details:

N/A

Power:

1

Power Adapter:

N/A

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

Global original prices for the Mac Pro "Eight Core" 2.26 (2009/Nehalem) 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

Canada:

C$3799

Brazil:

R$14.299

Mexico:

N/A

United States:

US$3299

Original Prices - Europe

Austria:

€2999

Belgium:

€2999

Denmark:

N/A

Finland:

€2999

France:

€2999

Germany:

€2999

Ireland:

€2999

Italy:

€2999

Luxembourg:

N/A

Netherlands:

€2999

Norway:

N/A

Portugal:

€2999

Spain:

€2899

Sweden:

SEK 34.995

Switzerland:

CHF 4'099

United Kingdom:

£2499

Original Prices - Asia

China:

RMB 25,998

Hong Kong:

HK$25,900

India:

Rs 189,800

Indonesia:

N/A

Japan:

¥358,800

Korea:

N/A

Malaysia:

N/A

The Philippines:

N/A

Singapore:

N/A

Taiwan:

NT$114,900

Thailand:

N/A

Vietnam:

N/A

Original Prices - Australia & New Zealand

Australia:

A$5899

New Zealand:

NZ$7299

If you have additional original prices for this model, please get in touch. Thank you.

Popular Q&As

Ten of the most popular Q&As about the Mac Pro models follow.

Permalink | Report an Error/Typo | Sign Up for Site Update Notices

<< Mac Pro (Home) | Also see: Mac Pro FAQ

Established in 1996, EveryMac.com has been created by experts with decades of experience with Apple hardware. EveryMac.com includes, and always has included, original research incorporating detailed, hands-on inspection of packaging, computers, and devices as well as extensive real-world use. All information is provided in good faith, but no website or person is perfect. Accordingly, EveryMac.com is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind whatsoever. EveryMac.com, and the authors thereof, shall not be held responsible or liable, under any circumstances, for any damages resulting from the use or inability to use the information within. For complete disclaimer and copyright information please read and understand the Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy before using EveryMac.com. Copying, scraping, or use of any content without expressed permission is not allowed, although links to any page are welcomed and appreciated.

Contact - EveryMac.com - Kyle Media LLC - Advertising Info - All Rights Reserved - Copyright © 1996