Fellow Dual G5ers... [Archive]

lem0nayde

Oct 19, 2003, 05:39 PM

Just got my G5 and I have some issues with its performance. Wondering if anyone else has them and wants to voice them. Here are mine:

1.) Despite a fresh install on a formatted drive and all current updates - the OS seems sluggish, unresponsive and buggy. It appears as though it is not working well with the new chip. Hopefully Panther fixes this.

2.) Vector trouble - the G5 seems to hate vector, particularly fonts. It slows down a lot when accessing fonts in almost every application. I've cleaned and font doctored all of my fonts, so I know they aren't corrupt.

3.) Photoshop, despite the G5 plugin, is having some weird issues with refreshing and, again, type. Images get all strange and pixelated when I use the type tool on them.

4.) Plus, is it me - or does it just not seem as fast as you expected? That's not to say it is slow, but the boost from my Dual 867mhz G4 is not what I expected.

5.) The power source thing totally sucks - mine chirps, screeches and whizzes constantly. I've called Apple they say it is "normal" behavior for the power source - but they will be offering power source replacements in November through retail outlets.

This is the second time I've had to replace a power source Apple, I'm so over that nonsense.

My machine:
Dual 2gig G5
2.5 gig RAM
2 250GB Serial ATA Drives
All of my software is legit and freshly installed from the box.

Let's here the range of experiences out there.

Joe

Rezet

Oct 19, 2003, 06:13 PM

QCassidy352

Oct 19, 2003, 06:23 PM

Originally posted by lem0nayde
1.) Despite a fresh install on a formatted drive and all current updates - the OS seems sluggish, unresponsive and buggy. It appears as though it is not working well with the new chip. Hopefully Panther fixes this.

well, I'm on a 12" 1 ghz albook, and for me, the OS is fast, responsive, and incredibly stable. I have a 4200 RPM hard drive and 768 RAM.

Clearly, your dual kills my PB in speed in everything from processor to bus speed to HD speed to RAM amount and speed, to GPU.

So something sounds wrong here to me. How can I be having a better experience with the OS than you given the MASSIVELY more powerful machine you're on?

well, I'd say it's one of 4 things:
1) your dual is defective in some way.
2) I got a supercharged powerbook and no one told me.
3) our expectations are drastically different.
4) one of us is lying.

#3 seems the most likely to me. But even still, how could our expectations be *that* different? Since #2 is a joke really, and I'm just going to assume no one is lying, that would mean that in addition to different expectations there's something wrong with your G5. Bad RAM is my first thought.

I've heard of DOA duals, but never one with your high specs and bad performance. As I said, something sounds wrong here.

lem0nayde

Oct 19, 2003, 07:23 PM

Yeah, my fear is that something is wrong. However -- the Apple Hardware Test shows all thumbs up. I wonder if mixing my bought RAM with Apples preinstalled RAM could be the cause. I've mixed RAM brands before with no problem...but who knows.

I know that my Dual 867 MDD felt more responsive than this machine in many ways. Something weird is going on.

I've waited to long for this machine to deal with this crap. ugh.

Maybe Panther will solve the problem.

Golem

Oct 19, 2003, 08:04 PM

Well I went from a G4 800 to 1.6 G5 and it feels snappier,games are faster and my main application is running faster in timed tests.

No apparent noise beyond hd access and certainly the 1.4 p4 2 meters behind me is much louder than the G5 that I have diagonally behind my monitor just over an arms length away. Only problem is where to put it,floor is too dusty, it doesnt fit in cupboard under desk by 1 inch in height and internal speaker sounds funny if machine is at 90's to me with not enough room on my desk to put it facing the front.

macstudent

Oct 19, 2003, 08:26 PM

I would just wait until Panther is released. I have had a few issues with my machine, but I am waiting to reformat and put a fresh install of panther on it when this Friday. Hopefully that will solve my issues, if not I will call and let my bitches and gripes be known.

FYI

Dual 2ghz
1.5 GB RAM
160 GB HD
10.2.8 (g5) now

Rezet

Oct 19, 2003, 08:42 PM

Originally posted by macstudent
I would just wait until Panther is released. I have had a few issues with my machine, but I am waiting to reformat and put a fresh install of panther on it when this Friday. Hopefully that will solve my issues, if not I will call and let my bitches and gripes be known.

FYI

Dual 2ghz
1.5 GB RAM
160 GB HD
10.2.8 (g5) now

What kinda of problems are you guys having? My 1.8 works flawlessly, and i have very high expectations from the new things i buy.

Powerbook G5

Oct 19, 2003, 08:56 PM

Originally posted by QCassidy352

2) I got a supercharged powerbook and no one told me.

You too? Wow...they must have put those new G4s on crack because these things run circles around G5s!

Not really, though...either your machine is defective or there is a serious software conflict going on, because those things are monsters and I've seen xbench scores that are triple that than any G4 system I've seen tested for those new dual G5s. Perhaps wait for Panther, if it is still not working right, I'd be asking Apple what is wrong.

Sun Baked

Oct 19, 2003, 08:57 PM

You can try running it without Apple's Hynix RAM installed, since there "may" be an issue with early Hynix RAM & 3rd party RAM.

You can try pulling the AGP card and reinstalling it to make sure it's fully seated. Since there "may" have been some machines where the card became unseated.

You can also try Panther, and hope Apple includes a firware update that correct any outstanding issues.

macstudent

Oct 19, 2003, 09:01 PM

From the beginning (when I first opened the package) I cannot poweron the computer if I have a moniter pluged into my dvi side. I am currently using a vga lcd with the vga to dvi adapter. My second moniter is an ADC and it does not have problems with it.

What happens is that when the dvi moniter is plugged in and I try and hit power, nothing happens. but if I unplug it and hit power, it begins to power up. So I simply plug it back in and be on my way. Since restarts are not affected by the moniter it doesn't bother me. I also rarely turn the computer off. I am hoping panther fixes this.

My other issue is something that has happened a few times. My computer is in my bedroom and a few times in the middle of the night it starts to go full tilt with the fans( full blast to nothing, back and forth) and turning the moniters on. It scared the crap out of me the first time it happened to me. It has happened twice since I recieved my dual at the beginning of this month.

The rest are minor software issues which I feel I can fix when I reformat for Panther.

macrumors12345

Oct 19, 2003, 09:07 PM

Originally posted by lem0nayde
Just got my G5 and I have some issues with its performance. Wondering if anyone else has them and wants to voice them. Here are mine:

1.) Despite a fresh install on a formatted drive and all current updates - the OS seems sluggish, unresponsive and buggy. It appears as though it is not working well with the new chip. Hopefully Panther fixes this.

....

4.) Plus, is it me - or does it just not seem as fast as you expected? That's not to say it is slow, but the boost from my Dual 867mhz G4 is not what I expected.

No, my Dual G5 is not as fast as I expected. It's faster. =)

Here was my initial reaction (copied from a post I made on another board):

*****

Just received my Dual G5 on Monday (stock config except for 1.5 GB of RAM plus Airport Extreme and no modem).

Wow, this computer is really, really ridiculously fast. Admittedly I am upgrading from an iBook 500, so that skews my view a bit, but I swear this is the biggest *perceived* performance jump I have ever seen in an upgrade, and back in 1995 I upgraded straight from a Mac SE (not even the SE/30...we are talking about an 8 Mhz 68000) to a PowerPC 601!! Okay, admittedly the SE was running System 6 and the PPC was running System 7.x (which was only partially PPC native), so it's not quite a fair comparison, but still...

Jon Rubinstein was right, the G5 *is* the best computer that Apple has EVER built. And I don't mean that in an absolute sense (obviously it is better than any of the previous machines...that's why it's replacing them), but relative to its contemporaries.

I just don't understand how this machine is SO fast. It's the first computer I have ever had where I feel like I can run as many different tasks at any given time as I want and there will be no effect at all on its responsiveness. And it's not like I have only been using slow machines. The iBook was getting quite slow by this time, but at work I use P4/3.06 machines running XP with 512 MB of RAM, which is pretty much state of the art (yes, I know that the P4/3.2 machines with 800 FSB exist, but it is close enough for govt. work ), and somehow this just feels much faster and more responsive than even those machines (which already felt very fast in general compared to the iBook). And I'm not even running Panther yet!!!

And it's so sleek too. The aesthetics are just awesome.

All in all, I'm a pretty happy customer, if that wasn't immediately clear.

****

5.) The power source thing totally sucks - mine chirps, screeches and whizzes constantly. I've called Apple they say it is "normal" behavior for the power source - but they will be offering power source replacements in November through retail outlets.

Joe

Yeah, I notice a little chirp every now and then, but not enough that I am going to bother exchanging the power supply (unless it gets significantly worse). It usually happens with disk access, and it's not as loud as the disk anyway, so it doesn't really matter.

Oh, my specs are:

Dual G5
1.5 GB RAM
160 GB Drive
Radeon 9600 Pro
Airport Extreme
No Modem
10.2.8

Powerbook G5

Oct 19, 2003, 09:12 PM

I felt the same way when upgrading from my 400 MHz G3 to my 1.25 GHz G4...wow, talk about a night to day jump. I cannot imagine what you dual G5 people are experiencing.

bbarnhart

Oct 19, 2003, 09:26 PM

When I jumped from my PowerMac 8500 with a 300Mhz G3 upgrade card to a dual 1.25 G4 (2003) it was mind boggling faster.

You might try removing the RAM modules that you purchased and just leave the one that came from Apple. That would tell you if it is a memory problem. Also, try running the XBench app and compare with what others have posted (or some other benchmark app).

QCassidy352

Oct 19, 2003, 09:30 PM

Originally posted by Powerbook G5
... those things are monsters and I've seen xbench scores that are triple that than any G4 system I've seen tested for those new dual G5s. Perhaps wait for Panther, if it is still not working right, I'd be asking Apple what is wrong.

this is what I'm talking about. And what macrumors12345 posted above seems to be how most dual G5 owners experience's have been.

Something isn't right in your case. Your old dual 867 is a good machine, but there's simply no way it should be in any way more responsive than a dual G5. Something seems to be wrong here. :-/

manitoubalck

Oct 19, 2003, 09:32 PM

Be "proactive" in fixing the problem, pick up the phone and have a yell. Either that or return it and buy a dual AMD Opteron System, where in that world Money talks and ************ walks. When ever I have hardware problems (most likely what your having) with my AMD system it's a simple trip to the shifty PC dealer and a straight out swap

Don't put up with apples ****, YOU are the customer and YOU are always right!

macstudent

Oct 19, 2003, 09:41 PM

This is true, that I am apples customer. I am currently using this computer for a lot of work, and I can wait until Friday to see if this fixes my problems. If it does not, then I will be calling and letting them know what is going on.

Has anyone else had the problem with not being able to power on with a vga to dvi adapter pluged in?

manitoubalck

Oct 19, 2003, 09:44 PM

is it that much of an effort to press the button on the case:confused:

Sun Baked

Oct 19, 2003, 09:47 PM

If you're running Norton, you can try removing it and any kext files it installed. And wait until they ship a G5 Panther approved version.

macstudent

Oct 19, 2003, 10:00 PM

Pushing a button isn't the issue. The problem is that with the moniter plugged in, even if I press the power button it will not power up. I have to remove the dvi adapter from the back, power on, then attach the adapter again.

It is a pain to do this everytime I wish to power on.

Chad

Oct 19, 2003, 10:14 PM

so far no prob
g52x2 with 2 gigs ram
mainly a photoshop box
I did read about the power supply in some being bad and they will replace them
other than that I didnt have a g4
I still use the PC for some stuff but am enjoying the Mac experience ;)
reminds me of the smile I had when I first got my 128k Mac back in the 80s ;)
man I am getting old !!!!

manitoubalck

Oct 19, 2003, 10:20 PM

Originally posted by manitoubalck
Be "proactive" in fixing the problem... When ever I have hardware problems (most likely what your having) with my AMD system it's a simple trip to the shifty PC dealer and a straight out swap

Don't put up with apples ****, YOU are the customer and YOU are always right!

If I's that much of an issue Fix it!

Sun Baked

Oct 19, 2003, 10:27 PM

>manitoubalck

Calm down, don't get in a fight with yourself. :eek:

You're quoting yourself. I do it myself -- but only when I'm too lazy to retype a response I answered in another thread.

Doing it in the same thread like that makes it seem like the meds are a tad off. ;)

macstudent

Oct 19, 2003, 10:30 PM

The worst part about talking to yourself, is when you get a response.:D

manitoubalck

Oct 19, 2003, 10:40 PM

Originally posted by macstudent
The worst part about talking to yourself, is when you get a response.:D

The point is that the problem wont fix itself, and apple wont call you and ask how are things going. YOU have to take the first step

macrumors12345

Oct 20, 2003, 12:09 AM

Originally posted by manitoubalck
Be "proactive" in fixing the problem, pick up the phone and have a yell. Either that or return it and buy a dual AMD Opteron System, where in that world Money talks and ************ walks.

Riiight. And what OS are you running? Linux? I hear that Microsoft is a very customer centric company. The customer is always right...except when s/he doesn't install the latest 4,578 security patches, in which case it is *completely* the customer's fault that SoBig.F or Slammer or whatever hosed the machine.

Go troll elsewhere.

lem0nayde

Oct 20, 2003, 01:13 PM

Interestingly, I ran some Xbench test and my scores were in the mid-tier of Dual G5 owners listed on the Xbench test, with a score ranging from 180-185.

I then tested it with the performance set to "highest" (which causes my power source to be unbearably noisy - like a field full of crickets) and my number jumped to around 197.

Finally - I did a test and removed the 512MB of Apple RAM and just left in my Hyperspeed 18004memory RAM (2GB worth). The scores were almost the same and averaged out to around 198 - except for one thing. The overall CPU score jumped about 20 points.

What do you guys make of that? Why would removing memory cause the CPU to perform better? Could it be that Apple's memory is slower than mine and the difference is causing a system lag?

Interesting. I will wait a week and see if Panther fixes it.

Joe

Chad

Oct 20, 2003, 02:46 PM

Joe ,
Just curious what HD and Graphics card you have in your sys ??

I put my setting on highest and no noise dif ?? maybe a touch in the fan speed noise but hardly noticed
I read some articles that some had bad power supplies that were been changed out ???
forgot where I read that but might be a thing to look at

chances are the memory is a touch faster ?? maybe it has a Cas 2 or 2.5 rating over the 3 that my original memory was

basically in theory going to a faster cas speed can help a bit sometimes 1-3% but not much over that
Good memory is a bit quicker and also usually more stable

also if you have one that is slower it will usually pull the better memory down to its level so to speak ;)

now what I am still curious if the timings are locked down some how and if we put in pc4000 will we see a gain ??
thinking of ordering some and trying to find out

also sometimes going with single banks over double sided banks ??
I am coming from a PC world ;)
so I might be a bit off in my thinking on the Mac side
but in a sense puters are puters
a good cas article here
http://www.sysopt.com/articles/latency/

lem0nayde

Oct 20, 2003, 03:00 PM

Yeah,
I think not everyone is suffering this noise problem. From speaking to Apple - they said that the sounds were "normal" but that they will be offering a replacement in November. Apparently some have gotten them already - I was told I had to wait until November and Apple Stores would have them.

To make it clear - the noise I am complaining of is not fan noise. It is electrical noise, beeping, screeching, chirpping and zapping noises. They are constant.

Trust me - if your machine had it you would notice it. It's very annoying.

All I have to do is scroll a webpage and the entire time it is scrolling it makes the sounds. When I stop scrolling, it stops. You can imagine how much sound it makes when I am doing something heavy duty in Photoshop. Like a parade of tiny robot crickets.

I just hope that they do the installation for me for free. I can tell by their "well, the noise is normal but if you WANT to change you can" tactic that they are going to charge for the upgrade.

I hate when companies skimp on the details - cheap memory and lousy powersupplies.

Oh - and I have the two Maxtor 250GB Serial ATA drives, build to order. One of those is giving me some trouble too. But, I just zeroed all of its data, so hopefully it will start acting right. I'm going open the G5 tonight and make sure that the ATI card and the serial connections are all seated correctly.

Joe

Joe

Chad

Oct 20, 2003, 03:18 PM

sounds like the noise sucks for sure then
guess I dont have it but wonder what the new PS are like??
better or ???
hmmmm

just curious what video card you has as my slow stock 160 HD gets about a 181 on xbench and noticed those with faster timings are on the 9800 cards and better drives

I want to wait until the new raptors come out and throw two of them in there ;)

excited about the new toy though ;) best built box in the world I must say ;)

lem0nayde

Oct 20, 2003, 03:26 PM

It is an incredible box, everytime I pick it up and open it I am just floored by the design, inside and out.

I am using the ATI 9600.

What are these Raptors you speak of?

Joe

daveL

Oct 20, 2003, 05:35 PM

Originally posted by lem0nayde
What are these Raptors you speak of?

Joe
10k RPM SATA disk drives.

lem0nayde

Oct 20, 2003, 05:49 PM

mmmmmmmmm *drools*
wish I would have waited.

Chad

Oct 20, 2003, 06:39 PM

allready answered ;)

but they are not for everybody as they are a bit more noisy
also are less storage for the buck the current 37 gig is about $120
but you get a fast drive that is beating most scsi units the second gen of these coming out soon I hope ;)
will have a 74 gig version but will have tcq and fluid bearings ;)
so will be the drive to have at least for a while ;)
hehehehe

head over to http://storagereview.com/ and scroll down a bit there is a bit of info on the next ones coming out ;)

there is a test on the current ones also
good site to read about HD info etc...

benixau

Oct 20, 2003, 07:06 PM

ok those scores are crap. My DP1G does 120-130.
You DPg5 should be doing around or above 200. The scores are against a dual800 cube.

call apple and say:

listen here, this is the nineth time i have had to cal you and put up with your ********** cr*p about my machine. I hate to be mean but i will not put up with substandard products from your company. How can i be expected to reccommend this machine to both my friends and IT department if my own machine doesnt run well without sounding like you put a canary in my powersupply?

Then when reception transfers you through to hardware troubleshooting repeat without the swearing, and in a calmer voice.

Chad

Oct 20, 2003, 08:01 PM

benixau ;)
heheheheh love that post

I agree scores should be above 200
I think when 10.3 hits we will see the above 200 as the norm on the 2x2
also getting rid of the slow drives that are in there will help also

just my thoughts ;)

macrumors12345

Oct 20, 2003, 08:37 PM

Originally posted by benixau
ok those scores are crap. My DP1G does 120-130.
You DPg5 should be doing around or above 200. The scores are against a dual800 cube.

I only get a total Xbench score of 170 on my Dual G5 (with Energy Saver set to Automatic): 144 on CPU, 180 Thread, 312 Memory, 190 Quartz, 170 Open GL, 203 UI, 107 Disk.

But trust me, this machine is A LOT faster than that. I wouldn't use XBench scores for anything that matters - it's notoriously inconsistent and unreliable across processor cores. The scores are basically meaningless when trying to compare a G5 to a G4.

However, on the same G5, my understanding is that the XBench scores go up quite a bit on Panther vs. Jaguar (something which actually seems to be reflected in reality, since everyone says that Panther is faster than Jaguar).

Powerbook G5

Oct 20, 2003, 08:39 PM

That must be inaccurate, because my 1.25 GHz G4 gets CPU scores of 149-154 without a sweat.

manitoubalck

Oct 20, 2003, 09:12 PM

Originally posted by benixau
call apple and say:

listen here, this is the nineth time i have had to call you and put up with your ********** cr*p about my machine. I hate to be mean but i will not put up with substandard products from your company. How can i be expected to reccommend this machine to both my friends and IT department if my own machine doesnt run well without sounding like you put a canary in my powersupply?

Then when reception transfers you through to hardware troubleshooting repeat without the swearing, and in a calmer voice.

Make a personal showing, and force them to give you a replacement, upgrade, or refund.

Don't lose your nerve though if you go in though

Rower_CPU

Oct 20, 2003, 09:16 PM

manitoubalck-

Stop attaching images to posts. You've already been warned via private message.

Do it again and you're banned.

manitoubalck

Oct 20, 2003, 09:19 PM

Originally posted by lem0nayde

All I have to do is scroll a webpage and the entire time it is scrolling it makes the sounds. When I stop scrolling, it stops. You can imagine how much sound it makes when I am doing something heavy duty in Photoshop. Like a parade of tiny robot crickets.

I get a similar noise when I have my speaker AMP turned up quitre loud. Like you this only happens with my computer when I scroll. This is only a problem with the computer doesn't happen with the CD player of Tape deck when the volume is turned right up and no music is playing. Hence it's not a problem with the power supply, but one with the sound card. Chances are the issuses you are having are with the sound system in the computer.

No pic this time 'Rower_CPU' Better start writting more replys and threads. No hard felings.

Sun Baked

Oct 20, 2003, 09:36 PM

The fans make a big noise, and you can confirm its electrical vs fan noise by stick your fingers into the power supply fans and stopping them :eek:

And it seems to be a problem with the duals, which have the uprated supply.

Here's a post containing the sound.Originally posted by Scott Ogilvie1 on Apple Discussions

ok, another little update here on the ongoing saga of me having a huge design project with a deadline quickly closing in and spending 10 hours a day in front of my G5, getting pounded by the darn OBN to the point of wanting to pull my hair out. at night, like right freakin' now, for instance, it is the worst.

I was thinking of a better way to explain it when i realized i have a mic on my powerbook, and so i recorded the machine for 5 seconds of OBN nastiness. of course, the mic is poor and the noise is hard to record well, but this will certainly give you an idea:

(option-click this, and save to disk) http://prairiefiredesign.com/OBN.m4a

of course there is no way a recording can give you an idea of how 'loud' something is, since it is all relative, but here are a few of my experiences:

a) louder than my quicksilver dual 1Ghz (and much more annoying)

b) can be heard at night from at least 15 feet away.

c) can be heard over the phone.

d) two people have asked me 'what's that noise?' when walking into my office.

through these forums and the macnn forums i have found a handful of people who all describe the same exact symptoms and many who do not. this leads me to believe this is a real problem, one that we are going to have to push apple hard to address or else end up going insane.

some people have said that those of us with OBN are babies or whiners, but these people clearly don't have the OBN ringing in their ears 24 hours a day. all of us can attest that the sound is loud, penetrating and rigorously annoying, and certainly evidence of a defective product.

sadly, i am so busy that i have postponed dealing with apple until i am done with this project (i couldn't bring the computer in for repair anyway until i am done) which will be on the 14th. i am hoping by then, some progress will be made in having apple recognize this problem.

that is it for this update. has anyone else talked to apple about this?

t.o

macrumors12345

Oct 20, 2003, 10:02 PM

Originally posted by Powerbook G5
That must be inaccurate, because my 1.25 GHz G4 gets CPU scores of 149-154 without a sweat.

Yes, that was exactly my point (XBench does not produce consistent, accurate results across CPU families).

VIREBEL661

Oct 20, 2003, 11:01 PM

Originally posted by manitoubalck
The point is that the problem wont fix itself, and apple wont call you and ask how are things going. YOU have to take the first step

Actually, I got the impression that he DID call Apple, etc, no? Hang in there - it sounds like there could be some issue with yours - if it's in warranty or still pretty new, why not take it back and get another (an exchange)? I did this with a Mac years ago.. I also noticed that there were a couple of other posts here for owners of new Duals that had issues as well (not to discredit those who didn't!), which gives me the impression that there's some inconsistency in the manufacturing process. This is why I wouldn't recommend buying a Rev. A of anything in regards to computers, but the G5 is irresistible if you have the $, I know. I bet these things will get ironed out!

VIREBEL661

Oct 20, 2003, 11:04 PM

ALSO, maybe I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that the G5's ALREADY had Panther installed! Could it be some sort of beta? Any Info?

illumin8

Oct 21, 2003, 01:09 AM

Originally posted by lem0nayde
Yeah, my fear is that something is wrong. However -- the Apple Hardware Test shows all thumbs up. I wonder if mixing my bought RAM with Apples preinstalled RAM could be the cause. I've mixed RAM brands before with no problem...but who knows.
I think you may have hit on something here. Try removing just your bought memory and see if you have the same problems with just Apple memory.

I have one of those dual-channel DDR400 systems from Dell (Intel 875 chipset) which takes memory in pairs just like the G5. Well, when I got mine, it only had 256 MB of memory in it (2x 128), and I tried to add two 512MB sticks. They were a slightly different speed so the computer wouldn't operate in dual-channel mode with both types of memory in there. I guess dual-channel chipsets are much more picky about what type of memory they use.

Anyway, to make a long story short, I took out the Dell memory and left my 2 512MB sticks in and everything works fast now.

It wouldn't hurt to give it a try.

illumin8

Oct 21, 2003, 01:21 AM

Originally posted by lem0nayde
What do you guys make of that? Why would removing memory cause the CPU to perform better? Could it be that Apple's memory is slower than mine and the difference is causing a system lag?
I think it's because when you have mismatched memory DIMMs (different manufacturer or speed) they don't operate at full speed. Apple is probably doing what the PC manufacturers are doing and stepping the speed of the DIMMs down to a "lowest common demoninator", or an even slower speed that both DIMMs can operate at without problems.

This is a common problem with the newer P4s (800 mhz. FSB by combining two 400 mhz. DIMMs). Mismatched DIMMs usually slows your FSB down to 533 (2x 266), which would definitely slow things down.

Chad

Oct 21, 2003, 02:13 AM

put in my Mushkin stuff with my stock and all was fine ??
cas 2.5 on the Mushkin
on the xbench I went down about 2 points though ???
so might be the memory speed hard to say
think I will try to take out the stock and run the bench with just 1 gig that is good then put in the stock run it see how it is
one prob the stock will be at the 412 the Mushkin will be at 1 gig ??
so that in itself has got to tip it a bit but can look at just certain parts to check the dif

daveL

Oct 21, 2003, 05:30 PM

Originally posted by VIREBEL661
ALSO, maybe I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that the G5's ALREADY had Panther installed! Could it be some sort of beta? Any Info?
G5s first shipped with 10.2.7, then the second coming of 10.2.8. I guess new orders now will likely have Panther CDs in the box or preinstalled.

Maybe you're thinking of the VA Tech G5 cluster? They've been running Panther beta since they started.

jywv8

Oct 21, 2003, 07:04 PM

1.) Despite a fresh install on a formatted drive and all current updates - the OS seems sluggish, unresponsive and buggy. It appears as though it is not working well with the new chip. Hopefully Panther fixes this.

2.) Vector trouble - the G5 seems to hate vector, particularly fonts. It slows down a lot when accessing fonts in almost every application. I've cleaned and font doctored all of my fonts, so I know they aren't corrupt.

3.) Photoshop, despite the G5 plugin, is having some weird issues with refreshing and, again, type. Images get all strange and pixelated when I use the type tool on them.

I haven't experienced any of the above. I've got over 250 fonts installed, but I don't know if that is considered a large number of fonts or not.

4.) Plus, is it me - or does it just not seem as fast as you expected? That's not to say it is slow, but the boost from my Dual 867mhz G4 is not what I expected.

I'm coming from a 466 MHz G4, so it seems plenty fast to me. Although, I will admit that I was not "blown away" by the speed. And of course, the more I use it (and get used to the speed), the less impressive it seems.

5.) The power source thing totally sucks - mine chirps, screeches and whizzes constantly. I've called Apple they say it is "normal" behavior for the power source - but they will be offering power source replacements in November through retail outlets.

I get quite a bit of regular noise from the HD (sort of a scratchy/grindy sound), although it is not really loud, bothersome, or what I would consider to be out of the ordinary. I definitely haven't heard anything I would call screechy. However, maybe it's just me and my imagination, but I swear that the overall noise level of the machine has risen over the past few weeks. But, my old computer was noisy as all hell, so the noise isn't "loud" to my ears.

My machine:
Dual 2gig G5
1.5 gig RAM
1 150GB Serial ATA Drives