G5's at the Apple Store - Palo Alto

[Captain Canuck]

Was just wandering down University Ave. in Palo Alto and stuck my head in the door of the Apple Store and low and behold two (2) G5 towers on display -- with a crowd of about a dozen or so people. Needless to say I didn't stick around long enough to actually get my hands on one (my pizza was getting cold) so I can't tell you if they are single or dual models.

First impression, BIG! They are noticeably bigger than the G4 towers.

If you're in the area you can check 'em out for yourself!

Cheers!


cw

 

[Remus]

Just seen a 1.6 Ghz G-5 at the CompUSA store in Bellevue Washington. Did not have much time to play with it but it seems pretty fast for the low end G-5 and only with 256 MB of RAM.....

 

[jrv3034]

G5 in New York City

Just saw a G5 on display at CompUSA here in Manhattan. Cool. This thing is gigantic! I'm not yet won over by it's looks, especially standing next to the G4 Power Mac, but I'm sure it will grow on me, since I'll probably order one next month!

 

[KCK]

I got to play with a G5 at the Walnut Creek store today. They had two G5s set up yesterday.Interesting to note that the Demo machine I was using had extra memory installed.

 

[themadchemist]

yeah, saw a 1.6 in CompUSA, Charlotte, NC, (Carolina Pavilion, if you're from around here).

Unfortunately, I didn't have the feeling of awe and nervousness that I imagined, maybe because I hadn't psyched myself up (I wasn't really too confident that there would be a G5 there) and because it wasn't an Apple Store, which lends a feeling of excitement in itself. The fact that we've known it exists for the past few months didn't help either.

On the other hand, I was extremely surprised by how nice the G5 looks. I didn't have high expectations for it, but it is gorgeous, by its own right. I definitely would be proud, in an aesthetic sense, to see this on my table.

It felt fast enough. I opened a few apps and they seemed to open faster. It's been a while since I've opened stuff like iMovie, so I'm not sure, but I think it was noticeably faster. Well, I would hope so, since my standard of comparison was a 400 MHz G4 (wow, it feels weird to write 'MHz').

Anyway, ran XBench on it while I was there. Results were a little bit lower than others on the XBench site. See the thread in Community Discussion if you want to see the exact numbers.

Well, I'm glad I checked out CompUSA before I drove 3 hours to see it at the Apple Store in Raleigh.

 

[mactastic]

I saw one at the local mac store today too. It was a 1.6 with 256MB RAM. It didn't feel terribly snappy, but it didn't have much RAM, and I'm sure none of the applications I played with were optimized for the G5. I bet these things will smoke when they have plenty of RAM and Panther running on them. The interior of the case looks nice, very sterile looking. Lots of room for more goodies in it too. It's definetly bigger than a G4 though. I didn't really like the new keyboard though, it seemed a little confined for some reason.

I saw the iSight for the first time too. First impression: it's bigger than I was expecting. Nice though.

 

[themadchemist]

Originally posted by mactastic
I saw one at the local mac store today too. It was a 1.6 with 256MB RAM. It didn't feel terribly snappy, but it didn't have much RAM, and I'm sure none of the applications I played with were optimized for the G5. I bet these things will smoke when they have plenty of RAM and Panther running on them. The interior of the case looks nice, very sterile looking. Lots of room for more goodies in it too. It's definetly bigger than a G4 though. I didn't really like the new keyboard though, it seemed a little confined for some reason.

I saw the iSight for the first time too. First impression: it's bigger than I was expecting. Nice though.

You hit it on the target...I didn't really want to say it (afraid of blasphemy, perhaps?), I was in denial myself, but I wasn't floored by the 1.6 GHz G5. I mean, it was probably a lot faster than my G4 400 MHz (duh), but it didn't get my adrenaline going. Maybe it would have if CompUSA had had Photoshop, so that I could see how fast those filters could be applied.I suppose you're right though: More RAM, Panther, and apps compiled with optimized compilers would sure make things better.

The keyboard seemed confined because it had the clear plastic sides all but totally chopped off.

One thing that I definitely noticed was that the front of the system was COOL. I mean, temperature wise, it was below room temperature. It's probably because there are fans near the front of the case, but a case below room temp. is still a good feeling. Whatever it is, it proves that the air flow is just fine. And I'll parrot others in agreeing that the G5 is quiet. There was loud music playing in CompUSA, so I couldn't be for sure...However, when I put my ear to the front of the case (which should release more sound than the average, since the sides are fully closed), there was a slight whirring, but nothing that wouldn't be largely masked by having your ear a foot-and-a-half away.

All in all, good stuff.

 

[Captain Canuck]

Update on the G5's at the Apple Store - Palo Alto

Cruised by the Palo Alto store this afternoon to see if could get some hands on time on the G5's on display.

1.6 with 768 MB ram
1.8 with 512 MB ram

The copy of Photoshop on each machine has been updated with the G5 plug-in and seems faster.

Not enough to make me wanna buy one -- yet!

cc

 

[shhh]

G5 dual 2.0 ghz Raffle

We've decided to raffle off our new Dual 2 ghz G5, but are still working out the way it should be done. For raffle ticket buyers, we are trying to decide if it should be set up so each prospective winner gets a couple minutes with it before they are widely available, or to keep it pristine in the box. I'd like to get the opinion of the people here to get an idea for whether it's better to show it off, since it's so hard to see one anyway, or to keep it all packed up and new and not open it.
Thoughts? Replies to this can also be sent to shhh9@yahoo.com.

 

[themadchemist]

Re: G5 dual 2.0 ghz Raffle

Originally posted by shhh
We've decided to raffle off our new Dual 2 ghz G5, but are still working out the way it should be done. For raffle ticket buyers, we are trying to decide if it should be set up so each prospective winner gets a couple minutes with it before they are widely available, or to keep it pristine in the box. I'd like to get the opinion of the people here to get an idea for whether it's better to show it off, since it's so hard to see one anyway, or to keep it all packed up and new and not open it.
Thoughts? Replies to this can also be sent to shhh9@yahoo.com.

keep it in the box! nobody wants a used computer!

plus, if a person wants to see it, send him to the Apple Store or CompUSA. There's are slower (no top of the line on sale), but they "look" the same.

Remember, that feeling of opening the box and pulling out your own G5 just can't be beat...Or I would imagine...Don't ruin that for the winner.