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Mac Pro with two quad-cores for gamers?

Candace Lombardi
In a software-driven world, it's easy to forget about the nuts and bolts. Whether it's cars, robots, personal gadgetry or industrial machines, Candace Lombardi examines the moving parts that keep our world rotating. A journalist who divides her time between the United States and the United Kingdom, Lombardi has written about technology for the sites of The New York Times, CNET, USA Today, MSN, ZDNet, Silicon.com, and GameSpot. She is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not a current employee of CNET.
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Candace Lombardi

An ad appearing briefly on Apple's UK site last night seems to indicate more processing power is on the way for the Apple desktop.

ZDNet Mac Pro 2 quad cores
Credit: ZDNet

The site's initial ad for a Mac Pro stated: "Now quad-core or 8-core processing power. Configure yours today."

The ad has since been taken down, but here's a screen shot, as captured by ZDNet.

When asked whether a dual quad-core processor for a Mac Pro was in the works, Apple would neither deny nor confirm.

"We have not announced anything," said Apple spokeswoman Lynn Fox.

A dual quad-core configuration is probable since two of Intel's Xeon 5300 "Clovertown" chips, which have four processing cores each, could fit into the same slots as the dual-core Intel chips currently used.

More processing power could be part of Apple's strategy to win over serious gamers, who have been slow to perceive Apple computers as viable gaming machines.