G5 1.8 SP vs. G5 1.8 DP

[Rick Friele]

I just bought a PowerMac G5 with the bluetooth bundle (keyboard/mouse) and had a question about performance. I have tried out both the iMac G5 1.8 GHz and PowerMac Dual 1.8 GHz at the Apple Store, and the iMac seems sluggish compared. Is this due to RAM? The iMac only has 256 where the PowerMac's they have there have 1 GB. I am planning on ordering 2 512 sticks of Crucial PC3200 RAM to put in my PowerMac. Should I expect it to run as smooth as the dual 1.8 with 1 GB of RAM? Of course the dual is going to be faster rendering, etc, but I am basically talking about everyday use.

[risc]

OS X loves RAM get as much as you can. I wouldn't expect the SP Power Mac to be as fast as the dual, due to the lower bus speed, and the lack of a second processor.

[Sun Baked]

Performance wise, the rev. b SP PowerMac G5 should be nearly identical to the iMac G5.

The only thing that'll make the iMac slower than the PowerMac is non-matching DIMMs.

[Rick Friele]

Got a shipping confirmation yesterday. FedEx says it should be here tomorrow. Also ordered 2 x 512MB of Crucial DDR400 RAM from Newegg which should be here tomorrow as well.

[coconn06]

I just bought a PowerMac G5 with the bluetooth bundle (keyboard/mouse) and had a question about performance. I have tried out both the iMac G5 1.8 GHz and PowerMac Dual 1.8 GHz at the Apple Store, and the iMac seems sluggish compared. Is this due to RAM? The iMac only has 256 where the PowerMac's they have there have 1 GB. I am planning on ordering 2 512 sticks of Crucial PC3200 RAM to put in my PowerMac. Should I expect it to run as smooth as the dual 1.8 with 1 GB of RAM? Of course the dual is going to be faster rendering, etc, but I am basically talking about everyday use.


Nobody seemed to specifically answer your question so I will: 256MB of RAM will pretty much make any Mac running OS X feel sluggish. As I see you've bought 1GB, you'll be fine.

[Abulia]

Don't forget the iMac may have been set to Automatic performance as opposed to Highest. I found the iMac to be pretty snappy, but mine has 2GB in it. The base 256 is certainly not enough to get the most out of that machine.

[Rick Friele]

Ahh, FedEx delayed the shipping a day. It was supposed to come today, but now it is set to be delivered tomorrow.

[Rick Friele]

Woohoo. It is here! It came earlier this morning. I am VERY impressed with the speed. Stock 1.8 SP with bluetooth option. I installed 2 x 512MB sticks of Crucial DDR400 and it is very fast. The only snag I ran into was poor performance out of my wireless keyboard and mouse, but I didn't realize at first that it comes with a bluetooth antenna. Plugged that in and the keyboard and mouse work like a dream. Go Apple! Going to order the 20" Cinema Display today or tomorrow. Doesn't feel 100% like a Mac running it off a 19" ViewSonic CRT.