YIKES! It seems that the 'bargain' single 1.6 MHz G5 model ($2K) has more basic motherboard/features than the 1.8 MHz G5 ($2.4K).
On the other hand, the 'new' G4 models are almost a year old design -- no FW 800 or Airport Extreme. At least Apple, thoughtfully, made these usable by 3/4 of it's customers!
Unless you have a very compelling need to boot into OS 9 (or require room for lots of extra drives) then you can configure the low end G5 with a combo drive (like the dual G4 config has) and bring the difference to $200. I think for $200 the G5 is a much better buy with that in mind.
Is it possible that the mother board on the entry 1.6 GHz machine is another Yikes?
I only say this because since the original MDD machines apple has been touting how all the components of the machine were able to independently communicate with each other (similar to what SJ was saying on Monday). Additionally it has primarily the same features. The same DDR memory, the same PCI slots (less one). A faster AGP and S-ATA vs. ATA/100.
It seems odd to me that Apple would have 2 seperate MB designs for the new machines. However, it might be just one new MB and a slightly modified old design. The fact that it uses the same memory has the same PCI slots and the same number of DIMMS at the same speed as the current PM G4s seems to indicate to me that there is a very strong link between these two.
Can anybody (dis)prove whether this is the case? If so, does that mean that current owners of MDD machines may have an upgrade potential to G5s if the upgrade companies are clever enough to duplicate what Apple has done?
The possiblity that the G5 1.6 may be another Yikes has been suggested before. I do not believe this is the case however the memory speed & PCI design choices are curious. I'm assuming the intent was to get component costs down.
The possiblity that the G5 1.6 may be another Yikes has been suggested before. I do not believe this is the case however the memory speed & PCI design choices are curious. I'm assuming the intent was to get component costs down.
Anyone more knowledgable care to provide input?
when i talk of this to my Apple reseller, he said that Apple did this several times. The G5 1,6 appear slighty crippled by purpose. You can be sure that the mobo can support 400 DDR RAM, but apple manage his best to avoid this configuration. They did the same thing with the previous generation of Dual DDR mac, the mobo supported without any problems the DDR 333.
Here's the Xbench results for the Dual 2Ghz G5 vs. the Dual 1.42 G4.
They seem nearly the same, but keep in mind that the altivec unit on the G5 is inferior, which skews the results of this benchmark and makes the G4 seem a lot faster than it actually is.
The G5 is the future. It's expensive, but it's worth it, even for the low end. Don't let yourself be shackled by the G4's crappy bus...
Comments
Originally posted by murbot
You haven't gone through the checkout with a dual 1.25 at the Apple Store, eh?
Est. Ship: 3-4 weeks
Nope. Haven't gone through the store. However, it doesn't necessarily mean that G5 machines will ship in August either.
On the other hand, the 'new' G4 models are almost a year old design -- no FW 800 or Airport Extreme. At least Apple, thoughtfully, made these usable by 3/4 of it's customers!
YMMV
I only say this because since the original MDD machines apple has been touting how all the components of the machine were able to independently communicate with each other (similar to what SJ was saying on Monday). Additionally it has primarily the same features. The same DDR memory, the same PCI slots (less one). A faster AGP and S-ATA vs. ATA/100.
It seems odd to me that Apple would have 2 seperate MB designs for the new machines. However, it might be just one new MB and a slightly modified old design. The fact that it uses the same memory has the same PCI slots and the same number of DIMMS at the same speed as the current PM G4s seems to indicate to me that there is a very strong link between these two.
Can anybody (dis)prove whether this is the case? If so, does that mean that current owners of MDD machines may have an upgrade potential to G5s if the upgrade companies are clever enough to duplicate what Apple has done?
Have I just been smoking too much wacky tabacy?
Just my 2 cents.
Anyone more knowledgable care to provide input?
Originally posted by tjosal
The possiblity that the G5 1.6 may be another Yikes has been suggested before. I do not believe this is the case however the memory speed & PCI design choices are curious. I'm assuming the intent was to get component costs down.
Anyone more knowledgable care to provide input?
when i talk of this to my Apple reseller, he said that Apple did this several times. The G5 1,6 appear slighty crippled by purpose. You can be sure that the mobo can support 400 DDR RAM, but apple manage his best to avoid this configuration. They did the same thing with the previous generation of Dual DDR mac, the mobo supported without any problems the DDR 333.
I think that i's just a marketing choice.
Here's the Xbench results for the Dual 2Ghz G5 vs. the Dual 1.42 G4.
They seem nearly the same, but keep in mind that the altivec unit on the G5 is inferior, which skews the results of this benchmark and makes the G4 seem a lot faster than it actually is.
The G5 is the future. It's expensive, but it's worth it, even for the low end. Don't let yourself be shackled by the G4's crappy bus...