Definitely ready for a refresh, the Mac Pro is rumored to be getting Intel’s forthcoming “Gulftown” Core i7-980X processor in early 2010.



That’s the word on the street from AppleInsider, courtesy of leaking information relayed by Hardmac, the English-language version of French Apple site MacBidouille. Instead of getting new processors under the Core i9 name, the Mac Pro will supposedly adopt a 32nm, six-core processor code-named “Gulftown.”



The Intel “Gulftown” processor falls under the i7 “Extreme Edition” category, starting with the i7-980X. According to the alleged roadmap from Intel, the i7-980X clocks in at 3.33 GHz and is expected in March, 2010. Since Apple has historically had exclusive agreements to be the first to carry some new processors, it’s expected that the new Mac Pro will debut around that time.

Prior rumors about a new Mac Pro suggested that Apple has been testing a new Xeon chip based on the Gulftown architecture. The upgraded processor is said to feature more horsepower with lower power consumption and will be Intel’s first dual-socket, six-core processor.

The new 32 nanometer chips feature 12 MB of L3 cache and six cores with 12 threads for each CPU. Since Apple traditionally doubles the processors for its high-end workstations, AppleInsider suggests that the new Mac Pro could arrive in the first quarter of 2010 with a total of 12 cores and 24 threads.

Earlier this month, Apple rolled out a modest upgrade to its existing Mac Pro with a 2.93 GHz, eight-core version, which still featured the older Nehalem Xeon processor.