Apple May Be Prepping a New Macintosh Refresh

Apple’s online store is listing 1-3 weeks for shipping any Mac Pro computer with a custom configuration, a move that signals a potential refresh, or worse, a discontinuation of the workstation as we know it.

With the Mac Pro long overdue for a refresh, it certainly seems interesting that the Apple Store's backend churns up a three-week delivery date for any pre-configured model.

Even adding as little as another RAM module will push back the delivery date, according to reports. So the obvious question pops up: why?

Apple is rumored to have scheduled an event for late January, but according to the people who reported on this tidbit, there will be no hardware-related announcement whatsoever. But does the Mac Pro need a special event for its next refresh?

Not really. Apple typically boosts Macintosh specs on the go, so to speak. Rarely are there any 'pit stops' scheduled specifically for a single Macintosh upgrade.

Sometimes a press release will just do for the less-popular but equally important members of the Macintosh family, such as the Mac Pro.

And there's some new hardware coming up that makes good additions inside its sleek aluminum enclosure:

1. Intel's Sandy Bridge E Xeon processors - due out during the first quarter of this year (and Apple may have gained exclusive access to them already).

2. AMD's "Tahiti" Radeon HD 7900 series - scheduled to hit the shelves next week, and Apple is known to have tested the hardware against OS X Lion builds.

Add all the Mac Pro refresh rumors into the mix (including the one about a major redesign of the chassis for a rack-mountable form factor) and we’ve got ourselves a decent limb to go out on.

At the other end of the spectrum are the rumors that say Apple will discontinue its Mac Pro line of computers. While this chatter is far less substantiated than talks about a refresh, it’s certainly worth taking into consideration.

After all, Apple has killed not one but two computers in the past two years. And the Mac Pro is the one that sells less and less units by the passing of each year. What do you guys think? Could a redesign save it from dying of natural causes?