Apple Power Mac G5 Quad Desktop Computer

Apple Power Mac G5 Quad Desktop

By Sreehari  Jul 17, 2006 | 3 out of 3 found this Apple Power Mac G5 Quad review helpful

Pros: Powerful, workstation-class graphics card on a PCI Express bus; excellent performance on multithreaded applications; fastest system ever

Cons: Poor AirPort reception, External Modem, Uneasyness to add second drive, No RAID option.

The Power Mac is impressive right out of the box, with its beautiful aluminium enclosure. Truly, it is a piece of art. Processor - The power, in this Powermac, comes from its dual-core 2GHZ Power PC G5 processor. This is the latest technology, from ...IBM. This single dual-core chip provides significant speed increase over the previous dual processor model. The processor features a 1GHZ front side bus. This is a trend that will continue. More and more computers are going to sport dual-core processors, and you can enjoy it in your Power Mac now. Memory - This Power Mac G5 comes with 512 MB of memory. 512 MB of memory might be sufficient, for someone checking their email and browsing the web. However, obviously, buyers of the Power Mac are going to be power users, or at least multitask extensively. For that reason, the included 512 MB of memory is truly not sufficient. However, what's the great thing? This Power Mac supports up to a whopping 16 gigabytes of memory. Once you have your machine, simply pick up an affordable upgrade, from one of the trusted memory suppliers out there. Hard drive and optical drive - This Power Mac's hard drive is 160 GB. This would be plenty of space for many consumers, but there will be some power users who need more. Nevertheless, if you find yourself needing more space you can add a second hard drive to your system. The included optical drive is a 16x Superdrive, with double-layer burning support. What more do you need? Burn up to 8.5 GB of data, on a double-layer disk. Fantastic. Video Card - Apple is often given a hard time about providing what some consider less than the very top, when it comes to video cards. The card in this Mac is a NVIDIA GeForce 6600 LE with 128MB of GDDR SDRAM, one single-link DVI port, and one dual-link DVI port. This Power Mac provides significant features over the standard graphic card, in the previous low-end Power Mac. For example, you'll be able to connect an Apple 30-inch cinema display, plus you could connect a 20 or 23 inch cinema display next to that. Ports - You'll have the standard ports you'd expect on a Power Mac. Firewire 800, 2 Firewire 400, 4 USB 2.0, and 2 USB 1.1 on keyboard. When it comes to networking, Apple has provided 2 gigabit ethernet ports, so they really have you covered there. A Mighty Mouse and Apple Pro Keybaord are included in the box, both of which have a good feel to them. Mac OS X - If you're considering Macintosh for the first time, you're going to love the Mac operating system, Mac OS X Tiger. It is incredibly user friendly, and you'll quickly find the interface and design is saving you time. Furthermore, Mac OS X is much more secure than Windows, so you can put your mind at rest. iLife - Although many power and professional users of a Power Mac are going to be using his or her Mac, for a lot of professional work, with professional applications, Apple still includes iLife with every Mac. iLife can still be a great way to manage your personal digital life. Store and manage your digital images in iPhoto, jam to music in iTunes, create music in Garageband, and simple movies in iMovie. Furthermore, there are convenient applications built right into the operating system such as Dashboard, iCal (a great calendar that syncs up with your external devices including iPod), Dictionary, Expose, Stickies, DVD Player, and more. Overall, the newest Power Mac G5 is another phenomenal product, from Apple. You'll be impressed many times, when you use this Power Mac. You'll be impressed when you pull its stunning aluminum case out of the box, when you use it for the first time and witness its speed, and everyday as you come to appreciate the convenience and joy of owning a powerful machine like the Power Mac G5. Apple has improved upon the Power Mac in several areas, and quite simply, they give you more value, for your dollar. Enjoy the Power Mac. Read more Less