Processor:
Based on Intel's next-generation Core micro-architecture, the two 2.66 GHz 64-bit dual-core Intel Xeon processors combine both high performance and power efficiency. Augmenting the speed delivered by the processors, the system architecture features 1.33 GHz dual independent front-side buses that maximize the performance of the dual-core, dual-processor system and deliver maximum processor bandwidth of up to 21.3 GB/s. It also offers an enhanced SSE3 vector engine. Capable of delivering 128-bit vector computations in a single cycle, the SSE3 vector engine accelerates data manipulation by simultaneously applying a single instruction to multiple data--ideal for transforming large sets of data, such as applying a filter to an image or rendering a video effect.
Because Intel designed this dual-core Xeon to be more efficient, it consumes less power than similar workstation-level processors, so your system fans don't have to work as hard to keep them cool. Working with Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard, it also continues the tradition of enabling 64-bit computation. Ideal for scientific applications, the 64-bit Intel Xeon processors can express the extreme precision needed for floating-point mathematics and to express integers up to 18 billion billion.