Norr: Dual 1.8GHz Power Mac G5 the Best Value?


Henry Norr's review of the Power Mac G5 DP 1.8GHz suggests that the mid-range model could be the value pick of the lineup, he writes at MacNewsWorld.

As Norr says in his conclusions, "the dual l.8-GHz Power Mac G5 delivers 97.5 percent of the performance of the top-of-the-line Power Mac for less than 85 percent of its $2,999 price. Any way you slice it, that's a bargain."

So the bottom line is, unless you drive your Mac at ten-tenths all day, every day, working at 90%-plus of the available power of a DP 2GHz Power Mac is more than sufficient, even for the most intensive tasks.

The DP 1.8 comes out of the box with 512MB of RAM, a mere fraction of its 8GB maximum. It also gets a 160GB, 7,200rpm hard drive, a SuperDrive as standard, and an nVidia GeForce FX 5200 video card. Of course, better cards can be optioned in. As you would expect, FireWire 400 and 800, as well as USB 2.0/1.1 ports are standard issue.

But Norr argues that the main reason for buying the DP 1.8 is its sizzling performance: it benches only around 10% or less slower than the big iron, the DP 2GHz G5. The 2GHz model's better performance also comes courtesy of a 9000 Pro ATI Radeon video card, which gives it superior graphics capabilities. The money you save by not getting a DP 2GHz will get you a much better video card.

Analysis: If the DP 1.8 is the pick of the litter, the 1.6 single processor must be the runt. We don't know how many Apple sells, but it benches little faster (and in some cases slower), than the DP 1.42GHz G4 it displaced. The 1.6's existence must only be to get people into the store...so they order a 1.8 DP.

Better still, you can delete option the SuperDrive from the DP 1.8 (a saving of $200), get a Combo drive and get yourself exactly the kind of internal drive you want for much less than $200 (for example, a multidrive that writes DVD-RAM, or one of the forthcoming 12x, 16x DVD-/+R/RW drives, or the newly-released Dual Layer 8.5GB drives (will cost more). That way, you can have exactly the sort of Power Mac you want.