by , 8:45 AM EDT, April 4th, 2007

Apple released the much anticipated quad-core and 8-core Mac Pro models on Wednesday. The new pro-level Macs are available in speeds up to 3.0 GHz.

Mac Pro: Now with 8 cores.

The 8-core model is available with two 3.0GHz quad-core Intel Xeon 5300 series processors with 8MB L2 cache per processor, 64-bit data paths and registers, and 1.33GHz 64-bit dual front-side buses. The quad-core models are available with two 2.0GHz, 2.66GHz, or 3.0GHz dual-core Intel Xeon 5100 series processors with 4MB of shared L2 cache per processor, 64-bit data paths and registers, and 1.33GHz 64-bit dual front-side buses.

The new Mac Pro models support up to 16GB RAM, up to 3TB of internal hard drive storage, and include a 16x SuperDrive with double-layer support, two FireWire 800 ports, two FireWire 400 ports, five USB 2.0 ports, TOSLINK optical digital audio in and out ports, analog stereo line-level in and out minijacks, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, and three full-length PCI Express expansion slots.

The front panel sports one of the FireWire 800 and FireWire 400 ports, two of the USB 2.0 ports, and a headphone jack.

802.11n AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0 EDR are optional add-ons.

The new Mac Pro ships with either an NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT video card with 256MB RAM, one single-link and one dual-link DVI port; an NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 video card with 512MB RAM with two dual-link DVI ports and one stereo 3D port; or an ATI Radeon X1900 XT with 512MB RAM and two dual-link DVI ports.

Pricing starts at US$2,499, and orders are shipping within 24 hours.