New PowerMac...thoughts?

[Swinny]

I'm rather impressed personally...talk of 1.4GHz+ etc always seemed like fantasy! Dual across the Pro range makes sense, as long as its a strategy they stick with...if the new revision, be it G4s or whatever is next don't include Duals then it'll seem to me as though dual's were added this time simply to add a tangible difference from the consumer lines...

I'm more tempted by the new Dual 1Ghz than the 17" iMac now...just gotta work out how to pay for it!

Will just have to wait and see what the benchmarks say about the performance differences...I'd have to say I prefer the old Quicksilver case though...On the new one the back looks wierd and the front metal panel really spoils the lines of the case...hohum, still very nice!

Also, why are Apple suddenly saying these things come with DVD-R/CD-RW drives rather than calling it SuperDrive...they still call it SuperDrive on the updated eMac...am I just being dumb or is has this also been updated?

 

[DaedalusDE]

Take out an educational loan... there are so many loopholes that pretty much everyone in the country can get one:

-If you are under 18 and have parents
-If you are in college
-If you are a parent that has kids
-If you work for or represent a school

Thats what i'm doing... 40 buxx a month for 2 years on a 4500 dollar machine sounds good to me

 

[alex_ant]

Originally posted by DaedalusDE
Take out an educational loan... there are so many loopholes that pretty much everyone in the country can get one:

-If you are under 18 and have parents
-If you are in college
-If you are a parent that has kids
-If you work for or represent a school

Thats what i'm doing... 40 buxx a month for 2 years on a 4500 dollar machine sounds good to me

Mmmmmm.... $960 in interest, and that's just for the first two years... all of a sudden, it's not a $4500 machine anymore.

 

[dnelsongb]

Thats what i'm doing... 40 buxx a month for 2 years on a 4500 dollar machine sounds good to me

Forgive me if I am wrong, you probably put $3,540 down on that computer first, in order to only pay "40 buxx a month for 2 years on a $4,500 machine."

40buxx X 24months = $960.00

Your situation sounds like one I'd to be in to only pay so little for a such a big machine.

 

[GrizzlyHippo]

My thoughts - for what they are worth...

I'm generally not that impressed with the new line-up for various reasons.

I'm currently working on a G4 400 AGP with 1.5Gb RAM and wanted badly to upgrade, but instead of buying one of the new PowerMac, I've just ordered a 1Ghz upgrade card for £400 which should tide me over until a decent (please God) PowerMac upgrade sometime next year.

Sorry Apple, but you are really screwing up the PowerMac at the moment - Ugly; False DDR (maybe); Same old El Capitan case. When the ProMac Power4 variant arrives, that's when I buy...

... I did order a 10Gb iPod at the same time as the upgrade card, so Apple does get some of my cash this year.

Grizzly

 

[MacMaster]

What are they calling this new case anyway?

 

[iamspooky]

Originally posted by MacMaster
What are they calling this new case anyway?

A design failure ??

 

[mnkeybsness]

Originally posted by MacMaster
What are they calling this new case anyway?

i don't know but it sure is f**king ugly...i don't know if the power is worth getting for that terrible terrible look

 

[mischief]

This is where I make with the smackdown:

Look you whiney bunch of jerks. If you seriously expected BOTH a totally new case that doesn't look like a box of drives with holes in it AND a G5 you should seriously consider a new drug habit cuz whatever your smoking now has caused dammage.

Have you stopped to ask yourself:" Gee, I wonder how Apple got enough G4's to do universal Dual Processor Towers?"

Have you considered that perhaps IBM HAS ALREADY TAKEN OVER PRODUCTION??

As to the whole "Is is DDR or isn't it?" Why don't you go find out before whining? The Powermac page says the following:


"New Power Mac G4 systems use Double Data Rate synchronous dynamic random access memory, also know as DDR-SDRAM main memory. DDR-SDRAM allows the system to read and write data to and from memory on both the rising and falling edge of each clock cycle. This provides twice the throughput of single data rate SDRAM, which reads and writes only on the rising edge of the clock cycle. The resulting throughput between main memory and the system controller is up to 2.7GBps, more than double the throughput from the previous dual 1GHz Power Mac G4. DDR-SDRAM also increases systemwide memory bandwidth to the processors and all other elements of the system. At the same time, direct memory access allows system elements, such as a hard drive controller or a graphics processing unit, to send and receive data directly from main memory, without going through the processors. The added bandwidth allows system elements to function independently at high data rates, boosting total system performance."

Additionally, the PDF spec sheet details throughput of the 167 bus at:

• 1.3 GB/sec. throughput for the main bus.

• 2.7 GB/Sec. Processor-RAM throughput.

•4GB/sec. L3 Cache throughput.

So YES this is a significant increase in power and speed so SHADDAP!!!!

 

[xelterran]

personaly i think the new machines are pretty good - maby the pricing is a bit off but 1.25ghz with DDR is pretty sweet...

I actually like the new case design better than the old one - just get used to it! Remember when the new imac came out and everyone was saying how ugly it was?

I dont think ill buy a new powermac just yet (i only just got the 933) - when they release the power4/g5 at 1.6ghz+ then ill concider buying.

 

[funkywhat2]

at first i thought it wqas ugly, but the case seems to grow on you. and those specs, they're pretty sweet, considering what i'm using now

but then again, anythings better than a gateway essential 500


wait a minute- i'm a member now! YAY!

 

[eyelikeart]

do I need to reincarnate my older threads??

u guys...

QUIT YOUR BITCHING ALREADY!!

I'm for the opinion that we are damned lucky to see dual processors all across the board...no one thought Apple would do that did they??

I admit...I'm a little disappointed in not seeing higher speeds....but they are dualies...makes a huge difference along with DDR & L3!!

 

[Mr Jobs]

new powermacs up cheek apple.com

the front plate has a crome (not sure how you spell that word) border around it this should make it a bit more presentable, plus cheek out the logo on the display its also crome coooool

oh yeah and headphones at the front

 

[DaedalusDE]

chrome... i think

 

[funkywhat2]

that would be right

 

[spuncan]

I agree w/ mischeif all thisfake DDR stuff is b.s. It says all over the main and powermac page upgrades through out and explain exactly how the ddr works. Why would Apple lie that much instead if it was just a DDR slot put on a old non ddr mobo why wouldnt they just push it off to the ste and mention it for short amounts of time?
Furthermore this is a major upgrade for hopefully the last of the powermac g4's 25%+ upgrade just in the cpu. No other company does that frequently unless theres a new chip. Then all the other factors which greatly reduce bottlenecks throughout the system causes it to be a much greater percent increase in performance. The only thing I would have liked to have seen was pci-x or something of the sort becuase that is still a major bottle neck in the system along w/ the ddr but u cant say anything against that seeing that it is currently that fastest available from prebuilt machines.

 

[Spike Spiegel]

Dual GHz

Well, i just bought a new dual GHz, and i gotta say, looking at that thing for a bit while ordering, it grows on you. the front is kind of pleasantly crowded, and the monitor looks a little cooler. Also, the fact that the crystal clear savings go until sometime in September helped take the Lofty price down some. i only got the mid-range but the pricetag topped out at $4196.00!!! The sals tax blows horribly, but at least there is no shipping for ground delivery.

 

[ibookin']

Did anyone notice that Audio In has returned to the PowerMac?

http://www.apple.com/powermac/specs.html

 

[tortus]

Benchmarks, benchmarks, benchmarks

First of all, you can only move as fast as the system bus permits. In the case of the dual 867 with the 133 mhz and DDR, we are looking at 333 Mhz bus for the main memory.

But, with this said, I have yet to see benchmarks on the new systems. Apple's continued use of Photoshop and Quake 3 Arena as hack benchmarks does not cut it with me. I want to see real world performance marks compared to the marks of Intel/AMD machines.

The benchmark that I want to see is the comparison between the dual 867 and the older dual 1 Ghz machine. I want to see if the dual 867 can outperform the latter with DDR.

Apple is just biding there time until the new generation of PowerMacs are unveiled next year. I am thinking upgrade card at the moment. I think I can last until spring 2003.

 

[LethalWolfe]

Originally posted by spuncan
I agree w/ mischeif all thisfake DDR stuff is b.s. It says all over the main and powermac page upgrades through out and explain exactly how the ddr works. Why would Apple lie that much instead if it was just a DDR slot put on a old non ddr mobo why wouldnt they just push it off to the ste and mention it for short amounts of time?

No offense but the answer is kinda obvious. Apple can honestly say it's machines have DDR (even if it is a year or so late and a hack job). Do you think people are going to ask, "Well, is it *real* DDR or *fake* DDR?" (besides the geeks like us)? No. Regular consumers will see "DDR" and assume they are really getting all the speed bennifits that come along w/a proper DDR using computer. Apple did this for marketing reasons 'cause if they still advertised SDRAM they would be laughed at (more than they have been mind you).


Lethal

 

[uae]

Hmmm....http://www.macminute stated:

"processor heatsink is considerably larger than previous models, but lacks a fan "

Does this mean they're quieter?

 

[topicolo]

I'd like apple to add the ability to adjust the fsb and clock multiplier to the open firmware. I wanna overclock the hell outta those 1.25GHz babies. (push them up to 1.5Ghz with some watercooling or peltiers)

 

[MacMaster]

I just saw the heatsink in the VR movie. That's one big heatsink!!!!!!

 

[bousozoku]

Re: This is where I make with the smackdown:

Originally posted by mischief
Look you whiney bunch of jerks. If you seriously expected BOTH a totally new case that doesn't look like a box of drives with holes in it AND a G5 you should seriously consider a new drug habit cuz whatever your smoking now has caused dammage.
...
So YES this is a significant increase in power and speed so SHADDAP!!!!

Excellent! It seems like so many people want Apple to innovate but then they complain when it isn't up to their imaginations. These are seriously faster systems.

I keep hearing about fake DDR. Well, the truth is that PCs have been using fake DDR for a while too. If the bus was 266 or 333, then it wouldn't be DDR anymore if it operated at 266 or 333, would it? That is single not double.

 

[pgwalsh]

I'm psyched that new Macs are out!
I'm not sure whether to buy the 1 Ghz or 2 Ghz. I'm upgrading from an old b/w G3 400. Think I'll notice a speed increase? Just kidding.

I would like to put the new ATI Radeon 9700 card (when it comes out) in the machine, but I'm under the impression it's 8x AGP and you need the pro slot. However, the 9000 is a pro version. Does that use the pro slot?

Now to decide whether to go with the 22" or 23" screen… hmmm.

With Jaguar and all the great new apps loaded onto this computer, I don't see how anyone can complain. I'm running mainly Adobe products and Reason and they will be sweet on this new machine.

I'm tired of hearing about the ddr discussion. We have what Apple has offered and if you're happy then buy one and if you're not happy then buy one anyway. Ha! Please take the discussion on Ram to it's own forum. Please!