Apple has updated its range of industrial-looking Power Mac G5s. The three new systems are quicker than their predecessors, but still fall short of the 3GHz claim Apple made over a year ago. The new models are based on dual 1.8GHz, 2GHz and 2.5GHz 64-bit processors, with 900MHz, 1GHz and 1.25GHz frontside bus speeds per CPU, respectively. The low-end model supports up to 4GB of 400MHz DDR SDRAM (256MB supplied as standard), while the other two models accommodate up to 8GB of memory (512MB included). Other key differences are that the 1.8GHz model has an 80GB Serial ATA hard disk, compared to 160GB, and ships as standard with a 64MB nVidia GeForce FX 5200 Ultra graphics card opposed to a more capable 128MB ATI Radeon 9600 XT. More interestingly, the 2.5GHz model uses liquid cooling technology, which is more efficient than a traditional heat sink, according to Apple. Cynics might suggest that the technology is needed because the G5 processor has cooling issues when running at such high speeds. All of the Power Mac G5 systems ship with Mac OS X version 10.3, also known as 'Panther'.
Pros: Dual 64-bit processors; SATA hard disks
Cons: Still fall short of 3GHz; does liquid cooling suggest problems?
Release: Apple has unveiled its new Power Mac G5 desktop line with every model featuring dual 64-bit PowerPC G5 processors. The top model, featuring two 2.5GHz processors, the industry's fastest front-side bus running at 1.25GHz per processor, and advanced liquid cooling starts at $2,999 (£1,646). The entry model, featuring dual 1.8GHz processors, starts at just $1,999 (£1,097).
'Our professional customers, across many creative and scientific markets, have been impressed with the extraordinary performance of the dual processor Power Mac G5 running Apple's Unix-based Mac OS X,' said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. 'This new Power Mac G5 line has dual processors in every model to deliver even higher performance for our pro customers who need it.'
Powered by the PowerPC G5 processor, the Power Mac G5 utilises 64-bit processing technology for memory expansion up to 8GB, and advanced 64-bit computation while running existing 32-bit applications natively. The top of the line Power Mac G5 now offers dual 2.5GHz PowerPC G5 processors, each with an independent 1.25GHz front-side bus for an astounding bandwidth of up to 20GB/s. All Power Mac G5 systems ship with Mac OS X version 10.3 'Panther,' which in combination with the Power Mac G5 provides creative professionals and scientists with computational power never before realised on a desktop system.
The Power Mac G5 outperforms competing desktops on the market today and ran significantly faster than 3.4GHz Pentium 4 systems on performance tests of the most popular applications for creative professionals and scientists, including: on a test of 45 commonly used actions, Adobe's Photoshop ran almost twice as fast on a dual 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 than on a 3.4GHz Pentium 4-based PC; Logic Pro 6 on the dual 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 played up to 138 more tracks with reverbs (over four times more) than with Cubase SX on a 3.4GHz Pentium 4-based PC; and Final Cut Pro HD running on a 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 can run eight streams of 8-bit SD video versus five streams on a dual 3.06GHz Xeon-based Avid workstation.
The Power Mac G5 line offers leading-edge expansion with dual 1.5GB/s serial ATA interfaces, the industry's fastest PCI-X interface technology and AGP 8X Pro graphics. The Power Mac G5 comes standard with either the nVidia GeForceFX 5200 Ultra or the ATI Radeon 9600 XT graphics card; the ATI Radeon 9800 XT high-performance graphics card is available as a build-to-order option for incredible 3D design, visualisation and gaming. All Power Mac G5 desktops deliver industry-leading connectivity and high-performance I/O, including Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire 800 and FireWire 400 ports, three USB 2.0 ports, optical digital audio input and output, built-in support for 54Mbit/s AirPort Extreme wireless networking and an optional Bluetooth module.
The dual 1.8GHz and dual 2.0GHz Power Mac G5 models are available now, and the dual 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 model is expected to be available in July through the
Apple Store, at Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorised Resellers. The single 1.25GHz Power Mac G4, with suggested retail price of $1,299 (£713), will no longer be in production and is available for purchase while supplies last through the Apple Store, at Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorised Resellers.
The Power Mac G5, with a suggested retail price of $1,999 (£1,097), includes: dual 1.8GHz 64-bit PowerPC G5; 256MB 400MHz 128-bit DDR SDRAM (4GB maximum); 80GB Serial ATA 7200rpm hard disk; AGP 8X Pro graphics slot; nVidia GeForceFX 5200 Ultra with 64MB DDR SDRAM; three PCI slots (64-bit, 33MHz); and 8X SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW).
The Power Mac G5, with a suggested retail price of $2,499 (£1,372), includes: dual 2.0GHz 64-bit PowerPC G5; 512MB 400MHz 128-bit DDR SDRAM (8GB maximum); 160GB Serial ATA 7200rpm hard disk; AGP 8X Pro graphics slot; nVidia GeForceFX 5200 Ultra with 64MB DDR SDRAM; three PCI-X slots (one 64-bit 133MHz, two 64-bit 100MHz); and 8X SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW).
The Power Mac G5, with a suggested retail price of $2,999 (£1,646), includes: dual 2.5GHz 64-bit PowerPC G5; 512MB 400MHz 128-bit DDR SDRAM (8GB maximum); 160GB Serial ATA 7200rpm hard disk; AGP 8X Pro graphics slot; ATI Radeon 9600 XT with 128MB DDR SDRAM; three PCI-X slots (one 64-bit 133MHz, two 64-bit 100MHz); and 8X SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW).
All Power Mac G5 systems ship with iChat AV, Safari, Sherlock, Address Book, QuickTime, iLife (includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD and GarageBand), iSync, iCal, DVD Player, Classic environment, Art Directors Toolkit X, EarthLink Total Access 2004, GraphicConverter, Microsoft Internet Explorer, OmniGraffle, OmniOutliner, QuickBooks for Mac New User Edition, Xcode and Zinio Reader.
Build-to-order options include up to 8GB of RAM, 250GB Serial ATA hard disks, Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) drive, graphics cards (nVidia GeForceFX 5200 Ultra, ATI Radeon 9600 XT, ATI Radeon 9800 XT), AirPort Extreme Card, Bluetooth module, Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple Wireless Mouse, PCI-X Gigabit Ethernet Card, Apple Fibre Channel PCI Card and Mac OS X Server version 10.3 'Panther'.
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