The new rack-mount Mac Pro looks....like a Mac Pro on its side

After a long, long wait the new Mac Pro goes up for pre-order at some point today. And while we're waiting to see just how much those gorgeous new wheels will be we can gawp at the rack-mounted Mac Pro instead.

The rack-mounted Mac Pro is designed for use in data centers, so it's built to be slid into a rack and then screwed in for safe keeping. And as a photo that's appeared as part of the machine's FCC filing shows (via Cult of Mac and IndiaShopps), those handles on the top look like they'll be pretty useful when you need to pull this thing out of a rack.

The Mac Pro is a computer that professionals have been waiting for, and it feels like they've been waiting for a long, long time. Now that pre-orders are here that wait is finally nearing an end and it can't come soon enough.

Apple is understandably very pleased with the Mac Pro, touting its sheer performance in multiple power-hungry tasks.

Up to 28 cores of power. Create without constraint. Mac Pro is designed for pros who need the ultimate in CPU performance. From production rendering to playing hundreds of virtual instruments to simulating an iOS app on multiple devices at once, it's exceedingly capable. At the heart of the system is a new Intel Xeon processor with up to 28 cores — the most ever in a Mac. In addition, large L2 and shared L3 caches and 64 PCI Express lanes provide massive bandwidth in and out of the processor.

the market for Mac Pro is always small, but it's a vocal one. I can't wait to see what people make of this machine once it's in the hands of users.

Fingers crossed it isn't a disappointment.