Apple Updates Power Mac G5s

Apple Computer this week announced three new dual-processor Power Mac G5 configurations, with the fastest model topping out at 2.5 GHz.

The new high-end systems miss the 3-GHz mark that Apple CEO Steve Jobs said the company would achieve at last year's Worldwide Developers Conference, but Tom Boger, Apple's Director of Power Mac Product Marketing says it came down to a technology challenge that was bigger than they expected. Boger also says that users shouldn't expect to see a PowerBook G5 before the end of the year because of the challenges of putting the G5 in a small enclosure.

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Anyone who has seen the heatsink from a Power Mac G5 knows that it would not fit in a portable computer. This is the challenge that faces Apple as it tries to move its professional product line to the new fast processor technology.

"I think it's important to realize that the technical challenges are not trivial--putting that G5 in a PowerBook or anything else--and not to expect a G5 anytime soon in a PowerBook, certainly not before the end of the year," says Boger.

While Boger didn't give a time frame for an iMac G5, he did say the company faced similar challenges getting a G5 to work with their consumer desktop.

"It's the same story--the challenges are obvious when you look at the G5 and the size of the heatsinks and the enclosure; that would be a heck of a challenge as well."

Speed Limits

When Apple's CEO took the stage at last year's Worldwide Developer's Conference, he wowed the attendees with the new Power Mac G5 dual 2-GHz design and technology. Jobs further excited the crowd when he said that Apple would release a 3-GHz model within a year. With two weeks to go before that deadline, Boger says Apple will not meet the 3-GHz promise.

"It's actually quite simple," says Boger. "When we made that prediction, we just didn't realize the challenges moving to 90 nanometer would present. It turned out to be a much bigger challenge than anyone expected."

"All in all, no, we are not getting to 3 GHz anytime soon, but what we are announcing today is a very significant upgrade in performance, and it's something that our customers will be very happy with."

How They Stack Up

All systems share some common traits: an 8X speed DVD-R/CD-RW SuperDrive, a single FireWire 800 port, two FireWire 400 ports (one in back, one in front), three USB 2.0 ports (two in back, one in front), Gigabit Ethernet and 56K modem, an AGP 8x Pro graphics card slot, and ADC and DVI video interfaces. They're ready for AirPort Extreme wireless networking cards and can be ordered with internal Bluetooth support as well. Analog and optical digital audio inputs and outputs are also supported.

The low-end Power Mac G5 sports dual 1.8-GHz processors and a frontside bus clocked at 900 MHz per processor. The system comes equipped with 256MB of DDR SDRAM memory expandable to 4GB, and an 80GB Serial ATA hard drive. It ships with an Nvidia GeForceFX 5200 Ultra graphics card equipped with 64MB of memory, and it's also equipped with three full-length 33-MHz 64-bit PCI slots for further expansion. It costs $1999--$200 higher than the previous low-end model, which features a single processor configuration.

The midrange model ships with dual 2.0-GHz processors and a 1-GHz frontside bus. It ships with 512MB of DDR SDRAM memory, expandable to 8GB, and a 160GB Serial ATA hard drive. The system also ships with a GeForce FX 5200 Ultra graphics card, and features three 64-bit PCI-X expansion slots (one clocked at 133 MHz, the other two at 100 MHz). It costs $2499.

Top of the Line

The forthcoming high-end model will feature dual 2.5-GHz processors operating on 1.25-GHz frontside buses, 512MB DDR SDRAM, and a 160GB Serial ATA hard drive. Like its midrange sibling, the top model will feature three PCI-X slots, one at 133 MHz and two at 100 MHz. It uses an ATI Radeon 9600 XT graphics card with 128MB of memory. The 2.5-GHz system also features a liquid cooling system that Apple says helps reduce temperature without increasing fan noise. The 2.5-GHz model will cost $2999 when it's released in July.

"The top of the line model uses a new cooling system--it's a state-of-the-art liquid cooling system that's only available on the high-end model. It's a closed-loop system and basically liquid runs by each processor, pulling heat away from the processor and it's returned back to a grill that fans are blowing air over, returning the liquid to its original temperature. It's completely maintenance free and is very quiet, which is important for this product line," says Boger.

All systems come equipped with Mac OS X v10.3 and a suite of software including Apple's iLife applications, Art Directors Toolkit, EarthLink TotalAccess 2004, GraphicConverter, OmniGraffle, OmniOutliner, QuickBooks for Mac New User Edition, Zinio Reader, Mail, iChat AV, Safari, Sherlock, Address Book, QuickTime, iSync, iCal, DVD Player, Classic environment, and Xcode Developer Tools.

The new 1.8- and 2.0-GHz models are available now, and Apple expects the 2.5-GHz model to ship in July. Prices range from $1999 to $2999.

The new product line does include some new technology in the processor. First introduced in the Xserve, the 2.5-GHz G5 now uses the new 90-nanometer processor technology.

In announcing the new Power Mac G5 models, Apple also indicated that its single-processor Power Mac G4 models have been taken out of production. Since the Power Mac G5's introduction, Apple has continued to manufacture and offer 1.25-GHz Power Mac G4 systems in single- and dual-processor versions. Apple says the $1299 Power Mac G4 "is available for purchase while supplies last."