Mac Pro to Get 6-Core Xeon Gulftown Processor in 2010?
HardMac reports that Polish website PCLab prematurely leaked performance numbers on Intel's upcoming Xeon Gulftown (Core i9). The results have since been pulled but is summarized by HardMac:
Context & Ripple Effects
HardMac's summary of Polish site PCLab's prematurely published — and quickly pulled — Gulftown benchmarks is circulating widely enough that MacRumors has picked it up, making this one of the first public performance glimpses of Intel's 6-core Xeon (branded Core i9). The claim that Apple will put the chip in the Mac Pro in 2010 remains just that: an unconfirmed report, with no statement from either company.
It lands amid a strong run for Intel on the desktop: its newly released Core i5 significantly undercut AMD's Phenom II on both performance and market position as of September 2009, so a 6-core part reaching Apple's workstation would extend that pressure up the product stack.
First-order effects
- Prospective Mac Pro buyers face the usual pre-refresh dilemma — purchase a quad-core machine now or hold for a rumored 6-core Gulftown configuration that neither Apple nor Intel has announced.
- HardMac gains visibility as an early-leak channel for Intel silicon news, having run what it bills as the first test of the forthcoming 6-core Xeon.
Second-order effects
- If Gulftown reaches the Mac Pro in 2010, AMD's workstation positioning comes under further pressure from above, after the Core i5 already squeezed it in the mainstream desktop segment.
- Other workstation builders tracking Intel's server roadmap would face matching decisions on when to ship 6-core configurations, turning core count into the visible spec battleground.
Third-order effects
- The pattern points toward workstation marketing organized around Intel's tick-tock cadence — system makers' refresh timing increasingly dictated by when each new Xeon core-count tier lands.
- Leaked-benchmark cycles like this one become a recurring feature of chip launches, letting enthusiasts price in next-generation hardware before vendors confirm anything.
The trend: Pro-desktop differentiation is consolidating around Intel's Xeon roadmap, with each new core-count tier resetting the workstation spec race.