New Power Mac G4s......Mac finally reaches 1Ghz (1 Viewer)

[Kelley_B]

Apple has unveiled three new PowerMac G4's in the Quicksilver case design. They are 800, 933, and Dual 1Ghz.

$1,599

800MHz PowerPC G4

256K L2

cache

256MB SDRAM memory

40GB Ultra ATA drive

CD-RW drive

ATI Radeon 7500

56K internal modem

$2,299

933MHz PowerPC G4

256K L2 cache

& 2MB L3 cache

256MB SDRAM memory

60GB Ultra ATA drive

SuperDrive

NVIDIA GeForce4 MX

56K internal modem

$2,999

Dual 1-GHz PowerPC G4

256K L2 cache

& 2MB L3 cache/processor

512MB SDRAM memory

80GB Ultra ATA drive

SuperDrive

NVIDIA GeForce4 MX

56K internal modem

$3,649

Dual 1-GHz PowerPC G4

256K L2 cache

& 2MB L3 cache/processor

1.5GB SDRAM memory

2x80GB Ultra ATA drive

SuperDrive

NVIDIA GeForce4 MX

56K internal modem

Still no DDR-RAM though....guess we will have to wait until the G5 machines which will happen hopefully this Summer at MacWorld.

What really excites me is the GeFORCE 4 MX....wonder when we will see this on the PC.

 

[AndyVX]

Is it really a GeForce4 MX and not GeForce2 MX? I mean, GeForce4's aren't even out yet.

Just curious...

 

[Patrick Cate]

Yes, they are really Geforce 4 MX's. The PC Geforce 4's are expected to be announced Feb. 4th, so Apple just announced them a week or so earlier. They did the same thing last year with the Geforce 3.

 

[Bob Bazley]

I have just placed my order for the new Dual 1ghz with a 22 apple LCD
anybody wish to buy my current system ?
G4 quicksilver 867mhz with 1 gig ram, 2mb L3 cache, geforce3 graphics card, 90.gigs HD, and a 17 apple LCD !! offers ?

 

[DaveF]

Does OSX support multiple CPUs for all programs, or is it program specific? If the latter, what can you do with dual CPUs?

 

[Joseph S]

OS X itself is designed for spreading the load over several CPUs. I believe apps now automatically benefit from this CPU management but optimization is always available.

With OS 9: Apps like Photoshop had dual processor plugins as did the OS to allow you to share the load for that specific app or apps.

I've got a dual 500 and will probably upgrade this summer or fall when G5s are released w/ the required 64bit OS X update. Hopefully we'll start seeing some Quad machines like the old Daystar Mac CPU upgrades.

Congrats Bob for the above for the purchase. I don't understand why other than financial need you would dump that 17"LCD at a loss. I love mine and will eventually use it in a dual config with a 22" or greater model. The Dr. Bott adapter is fantastic. I can share all my USB devices and monitor with the HTPC by just swapping the ADC cable.

 

[WoodyH]

Bob - don't suppose you'll take a payment plan? A _very_ _extended_ payment plan?
Damn. I need a better paying job. lol
*drools*

 

[Christopher Chung]

Hey Bob, could you email me back with your asking price?

Thanks

 

[DaveF]

OS X itself is designed for spreading the load over several CPUs.

Cool! I didn't know that. Are there any trustworthy benchmarks on the speed increase you get?

I'd enjoy seeing something like a comparison of siongle 500MHz, dual 500Mhz, and single 1GHz G4s.

 

[AndyVX]

Wow, it really is a GeForce4. I must have been living under a rock for the last while, because I have heard nothing about them!
Thanks for the confirmation.

 

[Jeff_A]

Wow, it really is a GeForce4. I must have been living under a rock for the last while, because I have heard nothing about them!

Check out this site for the specs on the upcoming Asus Geforce 4s. The top model will run with a core clock of 330Mhz with a memory clock speed of 660Mhz and will feature 128MB DDR SDRAM!

 

[Peter McDonald]

Bob,
I'll give you $150 (Canadian currency) for that system... it's all I have to spare... what do you say?
Peter

 

[Jon_R]

Theoretically a system running dual processors should outperform a single processor system at total equal Mhz but that is not the case in real life. To utilize numerous processors with great efficiency the program or OS has to split the processes into smaller parts to be distributed to the individual cpus. Applications have to be written to take advantage of it, there is no way around that given the way assembly code works. Obviously high end applicaitons already support it. The OS may fully support dual or multi cpu configurations but it can not extend those functions to all programs running on top of it because of many factors concerning linear assembler compiling / execution and the fetch / decode / execute cycles and ideas therein.

The PC ver of Quake 3 supports dual processors and I saw some benchmarks somewhere that showed single vs. dual setups. The differences were less than 10 fps favoring dual. In most games however the single processor was faster.

Boy, I'm using that CS degree now!

Jon

 

[Kelley_B]

I have looked all over, but does anyone know if these are Apollo G4s?

 

[Ron Alcasid]

Yes, they are Apollo G4s.

 

[Scott H]

And these new 1GHz 7455 SOI processors use less voltage and almost the same wattage as the previous 533MHz PowerPC 7445. The 1GHz runs at 1.6 volts and uses 15-17 watts of power.

 

[Kelley_B]

Hmmm.....I wonder if we will see a PowerBook G4 at MacWorld NY running at 800+ MHZ??? Apollo was supposed to be the key to that. Maybe even a dual processor PB G4....and I really need a new laptop and that would just perfect.

 

[Pamela]

I drool over the new G4s. Too bad I am not in the position to buy one right now. If only I hadn't spent all my money on that damn HT gear!

Well, anyway, I have been upgrading my beige G3 over the last few months. Maxed the RAM, added Firewire and USB, and put in a new hard drive. Now I want to upgrade my processor. I was looking at the XLR8 ZIF processors, but don't know if I should get a single processor, or the dual one. I am running OS X. So maybe the dual one would be better?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Kelley_B]

Or maybe save the $800 or so you would spend on the processor upgrade and use that towards the 800Mhz G4 box???

 

[Pamela]

Kelley-

I thought about doing that, but i don't see myself in a position to buy a new computer for about one year. The single XLR8 G4 500 MHz is only $339. Running OS X and working more and more in PhotoShop, I figure old "Bessie Sue" needs some more juice!