Electronic Gadget Reviews

From the Manufacturer
Professionals need superior tools to produce designs, music, high-definition video or the next scientific breakthrough. The new Power Mac G5 line extends as far as you require. Two 64-bit G5 processors reaching top speeds of 2.7 GHz, room for up to 8 GB of main memory, pro performance graphics cards and ultrahigh-bandwidth system architecture will give you more results than systems costing twice as much.

Supersonic Speed The Power Mac G5 offers a 2.0 GHz, 2.3 GHz, and this 2.7 GHz dual-processor model with a speed boost at the top of the line. This dual 2.7 GHz model packs so much power into tight quarters that Apple designed a liquid cooling system for it, resulting in a cool tower that runs Photoshop nearly two times faster than a Pentium 4-based system. In fact, for most creative endeavors, the Power Mac G5 simply has no competition in its class. Does It Faster The PowerPC G5 processor dramatically accelerates performance in real world applications. When compared head-to-head against PCs in a series of Photoshop tests, the dual 2.7GHz,2.3 GHz and dual 2.0 GHz Power Mac G5 systems ran the 45 filters 98%, 78% and 59% faster, respectively, than the 3.6GHz Pentium 4-based system, and 72%, 56% and 38% faster than the dual 3.6GHz Xeon-based system. Up to 8 GB of Memory The Power Mac G5 comes with eight DIMM slots that use fast PC3200 DDR SDRAM. Combine that with a 128-bit memory controller for up to 6.4-GBps throughput. The 2.7 GHz dual-processor model comes with 512 MB of RAM. And since memory is scalable up to 8 GB, you can add RAM as your application and workflow requirements increase.

The dual 2.7GHz, dual 2.3 GHz and dual 2.0 GHz Power Mac G5 systems ran the 45 filters 98%, 78% and 59% faster, respectively, than the 3.6GHz Pentium 4-based system, and 72%, 56% and 38% faster than the dual 3.6GHz Xeon-based system.

The 16x SuperDrive built into every dual-processor Power Mac G5 now supports double-layer (DVD+R DL) discs.

Double-layer Drive The 16x SuperDrive built into every dual-processor Power Mac G5 now supports double-layer (DVD+R DL) discs. While single-layer DVD-R discs hold up to 4.7 GB of data, double-layer discs have two layers of data, allowing the SuperDrive laser to read and write on either layer, almost doubling the storage to 8.5GB. Using iDVD — included on every Power Mac G5 — or DVD Studio Pro, you can author discs with over three hours of MPEG-2 video on one DVD+R DL disc. If you work with high-definition video, use the SuperDrive to burn double-layer discs with more room for high-bit-rate H.264 video.

Up to 800 GB Of Internal Storage
The Power Mac G5 has two Serial ATA hard drive bays for up to 800 GB of fast internal mass storage — ideal for video, audio and high-resolution graphics. Built-in software RAID allows you to stripe the two drives for increased performance or mirror them for high reliability. And it’s easy to add storage as your needs grow. Single-drive systems come with the cabling to connect a second hard drive, and the easy-to-open side panel lets you insert a new drive yourself. Want massive system storage? Just use a Fibre Channel PCI card to connect to Xserve RAID, Apple’s high-performance storage system.

Exquisitely Advanced Technology With 64-bit power and high-bandwidth architecture, this groundbreaking system alleviates the limitations and bottlenecks of the traditional PC — opening up a wealth of possibilities for 2D and 3D designers, video and audio producers, scientists, researchers and game developers and players. The industry’s fastest frontside bus, an advanced system controller and high-speed, high-capacity memory combine to make the Power Mac G5 one of the fastest PCs ever built.1.35 GHz Frontside Bus Designed to harness the power of the PowerPC G5 processor, a 1.35 GHz, 64-bit bidirectional Double Data Rate (DDR) frontside bus maximizes throughput between the processor and the system controller. And unlike most processor interfaces, which can carry data in only one direction at a time and waste precious time changing directions, the PowerPC G5 features two high-speed unidirectional 32-bit data paths — one flowing continuously into the processor and one flowing from the processor. This lets data move in opposite directions simultaneously, with no other demands on the data stream and no wait time while the processor and system controller compete for use of the bus. What’s more, the data streams integrate clock signals along with the data, allowing the frontside bus to work at 1.35GHz for an astonishing 10.8 GB per second of aggregate bandwidth. Plugged In It’s easy to plug printers, scanners and other devices into the Power Mac G5. In addition to sporting a full complement of ports on the back, the front panel has FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 ports, as well as a minijack for headphones and desktop speakers. PCI-X Expansion Slots PCI and PCI-X cards enable the Power Mac G5 to perform specialized tasks, such as video capture and playback and audio digital signal processing (DSP). PCI-X supports 3.3V signaling and Universal 33MHz and 66MHz PCI cards. Choose a PCI or PCI-X Power Mac G5 system: Three 64-bit PCI-X slots let you add one card running at 133MHz and two cards running at 100MHz, and three 64-bit PCI slots allow you to add three 33MHz cards.

The Power Mac G5 comes equipped with one FireWire 800 port, two FireWire 400 ports (one on front); three USB 2.0 ports (one on front), two USB 1.1 ports; AGP 8X Pro slot with graphics card installed.

Optical Digital Audio
The Power Mac G5 comes with audio capabilities that are not usually found on personal computers. The state-of-the-art optical digital audio in and out ports use the S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) protocol over Toslink cables for connecting to devices such as decks, receivers, digital instruments and even 5.1 surround-sound speaker systems. And since S/PDIF is an optical signal — a beam of light — you won’t get any ground loop interference caused by copper wiring.

The enclosure design allows heat dissipation through four independently controlled thermal zones. A transparent internal air deflector channels airflow over the processor heat sinks and the expansion slots.

Truly Intelligent Design An exceptional computer demands an exceptional enclosure. The Power Mac G5 has a stunning chassis forged of anodized aluminum. Apple engineers were also pretty obsessive about clutter. That’s why there isn’t any. Especially conspicuous by its absence is that tangle of unsightly wires and cables that turn the inside of a typical PC into a veritable rat’s nest. “A place for everything and everything in its place” isn’t just something your mom said: It’s an important philosophical precept that Apple applies rigorously to hardware design. This clutter-free design also allows for intelligently managed heat dissipation through four independently controlled thermal zones. To make the Power Mac G5 even easier to cool, a transparent internal air deflector channels airflow over the processor heat sinks and the expansion slots. Each of the four thermal zones is equipped with its own dedicated, low-speed fans. Apple engineered the nine fans to spin at very low speeds for minimum acoustic output. Using 21 different sensors, Mac OS X constantly monitors component temperatures in each zone, dynamically adjusting individual fan speeds to the appropriate levels for the quietest possible operation. As a result, the Power Mac G5 runs two times quieter than the previous Power Mac G4 enclosure.

Since its introduction, the Power Mac G5 has stunned customers, critics and developers alike with the promise of unprecedented performance in a desktop computer. Unlike other 64-bit systems, the Power Mac G5 runs existing applications natively, without emulation. In fact, unmodified Mac software can already take advantage of the speed benefits of the G5, since Mac OS X Panther has been fine-tuned for the new processor. You’ll find that adding a Power Mac G5 to your workflow will pay you back before you know it. In every way, the Power Mac G5 outpaces the previous generation, thanks to faster processors and a high-bandwidth architecture.

Product Description
Start your next project on the ultimate creative platform. Each of the dual-processor Power Mac G5 models offers lightning-fast performance, built on G5 processors running at up to 2.7GHz. A 64-bit processor with two double-precision floating-point units, two integer units and support for symmetric multiprocessing, the G5 combines an optimized Velocity Engine with a superscalar, super-pipelined execution core that can execute more than 200 simultaneous in-flight instructions. This high-bandwidth core has over 12 discrete functional units that process massive amounts of instructions in parallel.The PowerPC G5 with Mac OS X Tiger offers a seamless transition to 64-bit performance: current 32-bit code – such the Mac OS 9 Classic environment and existing applications – runs natively at processor speed. With no interruptions to your workflow, and no additional investment in software required to take advantage of 64-bit power. The PowerPC architecture was designed from the beginning to run both 32-bit and 64-bit application code. This enables the PowerPC G5 processor to run applications natively for an immediate performance boost.

Product Features and Technical Details

Product Features

• Dual 2.7 GHz PowerPC G5, 1.35 GHz per processor
• 512 MB expandable to 8 GB, 250 GB Hard Drive
• 16x Double-Layer SuperDrive, ATI Radeon 9650 with 256 MB DDR SDRAM
• One FireWire 800 port, two FireWire 400 ports; three USB 2.0 ports, two USB 1.1 ports; AGP 8X Pro slot with graphics card installed
• Software includes Mac OS X version 10.4 Tiger, iLife, Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac Test Drive,QuickBooks New User, Zinio Reader, Xcode Developer Tools

Processor, Memory, and Motherboard

• Hardware Platform: Mac
• Processor: 2.7 GHz PowerPC G5
• System Bus Speed: 1.35 GHz
• Number of Processors: 2
• RAM: 512 MB
• RAM Type: DDR SDRAM
• L2 Cache: 512 KB
• Memory Slots: 7

Operating System and Software

• Operating System: Mac OS X
• Bundled Software: Mac OS X, version 10.4 Tiger Dashboard, Mail, Safari, iChat AV, Address Book, QuickTime, iLife (includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie HD, iDVD and GarageBand), iCal, DVD Player, Classic environment, Art Directors Toolkit X, GraphicConverter, Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac Test Drive, OmniGraffle, OmniOutliner, QuickBooks New User Edition, Zinio Reader, Xcode Developer Tools

Keyboard and Mouse

• Keyboard: Apple Keyboard

Hard Drive

• Size: 250 GB
• Manufacturer: None
• Type: Serial ATA

Optical Drives, Other Mass Storage

• Additional Drives: 16 x Double-layer SuperDrive can read and write both CD-RW and DVD-R discs

Graphics and Display

• Graphics Card: ATI Radeon 9650 with one single-link and one dual-link DVI port
• Graphics RAM: 256 MB

Ports and Connectivity

• Modem: 56 Kbps
• Network Connection: 10-/100-Mbps Ethernet

Cases and Expandability

• Case Type: Tower