Apple on Tuesday introduced a refresh of the Mac Pro that features Intel's latest quad-core Xeon processors and a $300 price cut.

The processor upgrade, along with a new internal system architecture, delivers up to twice the performance of the previous-generation Mac Pro, according to Apple. To make the high-end professional system more attractive in the current hard economic times, Apple lowered the starting price to $2,499.

"The new Mac Pro is a significant upgrade and starts at $300 less than before," Philip Schiller, Apple's senior VP of worldwide product marketing, said in a statement.

While the price cut is likely to be welcomed by customers, it's unlikely to have much of an impact on sales, since the Mac Pro is not a price-sensitive product, Ezra Gottheil, analyst for Technology Business Research, told InformationWeek. Professionals who need a new system and have the budget will buy one. Those who can't afford it will wait until economic times get better.

Mac Pros make up a small portion of Apple's overall Mac sales, and people who buy them seldom switch to workstations running Microsoft Windows.

"I don't think there's a competitive issue here," Gottheil said. "Apple is bringing the price closer in line with PC workstations, but they're not looking for a straight-up comparison."

On the technical side, Apple has given a big boost to the graphics capabilities in the Mac Pro, as well as in its latest refresh of the consumer-oriented iMac and Mac Mini, also introduced Tuesday.