Apple Releases New PowerMacs

[Studio Dweller]

The thing that kills me is that even if you can be happy with the Radeon 9800XT, it eats up an extra PCI slot due to the size.

"Special note on the ATI Radeon 9800 XT: due to size of this advanced graphics card, the adjacent PCI or PCI-X slot will be blocked and cannot be used. This reduces the number of available PCI or PCI-X slots from three to two."

I have a G4 800 right now and it's bad enough for me that I would be going from 4 slots down to 3. Going down to 2 is out of the question as I'm already using all of them.

 

[xtbfx]

I was hoping for another machine between the 2 & 2.5Ghz range, but oh well.

I'm not real impressed with the update (except for the liquid cooling). Other than that, it's pretty blah.

Do we think that Steve would announce a 3Ghz at WWDC and hack all the people off that bought the 2.5Ghz?

I bet everyone will be waiting on the 3Ghz so it will be interesting to see what the sales of the 2.5Ghz are.

 

[nagromme]

Feedback link

Don't forget, everyone, this isn't the ONLY place to deliver an effective message to Apple if you'd like something different

http://apple.com/feedback

I have a 5200 mobile in my toshiba laptop and it cant even come close to playing Halo. Somebody called it a midlevel card above-- I dont think that it even counts as that.

A mobile GPU is not the same as a desktop GPU. They use similar names/numbers for the top end of both lines, but the products are NOT similar.

 

[avjason]

8x Superdrives, anyone notice

I think this is a great move since PC's have offered this for some time now. Especially for burning movies to DVD.

 

[The Lost]

Perhaps the G4 will have to be the chip of choice for laptops going forward. It might be up to 1.7 mhz in a year. IBM probably has something in the labs to replace the G4 in 2005 or 2006 also.

1.7 mhz ? I think my calculator is faster than that

 

[mj_1903]

While i'm in a ranting mood. How about the price in Australia!?! What's going on with that. There's a $1,000 mark up AFTER the currency exchange on a RETAIL price! This is a joke. Surely I can get one from the states to Australia for less than $1,000. And I'm sure Apple australia can get them wholesale and in bulk, why the massive mark up?

I hear you. If the prices stay that high for the next update I will definitely get one shipped from the US. I am sure it would cut $800 off the price and that is worth the wait. The only change you need to make is the power cable.

 

[allpar]

The main source of disappointment to me is pricing. It seems that Apple has simply decided market share isn't important at all except in laptops, where they are still fiercely competitive. Yes, you can argue that for a high quality machine the dual G5 is competitive - but you know that most people are not spending $2,000 and up on computers. The iMac and eMac are both "with monitor" and neither has dual processors even as an option. I'd go for a dual 1.6 G5 at $1,200... I realize that would steal dual 1.8 sales, but so what, if it keeps companies producing software and hardware for Macs!

 

[Sabbath]

Hmmm on the customise page it says this:

"Choose from the SuperDrive (now with 8x DVD write speed on all dual processor models) or Combo optical drive options to fit your needs. "

Italics added

Does this mean we will see the 1.8 single that was mentioned yesterday later? or maybe you can still customise old 1.6s somewhere on the store. It probably means nothing though I guess, maybe they just wanted to highlight the fact its now a 8x superdrive

 

[MrSugar]

This is probably nothing, but there's something on the back of the G5 in the QTVR.

as far as I know these are the airport and blue tooth antena's

 

[proglife]

All this whining about video cards is just dick waving. These cards were more than capable when they were the latest and greatest - in fact I bet the very same people who are complaining about them now are the ones who lauded them when they first appeared. Do pros - yes you know, people who use their Macs for work, not playing games, need uber-schnitz 3D cards ? Probably not. They are mostly just pushing pixels around just like they were last year...

And if you are really considering spending 3K on a Mac for gaming - well, you need head surgery. I've got an XBox - it cost me £150, sits under the TV, plays games online and has a wider selection of games available than the Mac. One hundred and fifty quid - that's less than one of these video cards alone.

You're 100% right, but shouldn't the hardware reflect the premium price?

 

[macmunch]

Hmm, Ok but not the best update.

But there remains a big question !!!!
What a kind of G5 PowerMac was that one in the Service Foto at appleinsider.com ???

1. Thats the 3GHz G5 which Steve will announce at WWDC with shipping in 3 Months.

2. Its a not released line based on the 970fx and the 975 from 2.xx to 3.00GHz. And they dont released it because of the production Problems from IBM.

Does anybody now if this 2.5GHz G5 is a 970fx ? It could be a overclocked 970 thats because he is the only modell with a liquid system !!! Think of that.

That would also mean that IBM has big Problems to produce fast and enough Chips.

And always think on the Service Foto of a G5 which does not exist right now !

 

[aus_dave]

Dual 1.8Ghz owners must be laughing - their old machines are actually superior to the current 1.8Ghz offerings!

As an owner of an 'old' dual 1.8 I think they do stack up pretty well - the 80 gig hard drive in the revised model is a big downgrade.

 

[ts1973]

All this whining about video cards is just dick waving. These cards were more than capable when they were the latest and greatest - in fact I bet the very same people who are complaining about them now are the ones who lauded them when they first appeared. Do pros - yes you know, people who use their Macs for work, not playing games, need uber-schnitz 3D cards ? Probably not. They are mostly just pushing pixels around just like they were last year...

And if you are really considering spending 3K on a Mac for gaming - well, you need head surgery. I've got an XBox - it cost me £150, sits under the TV, plays games online and has a wider selection of games available than the Mac. One hundred and fifty quid - that's less than one of these video cards alone.

I think you are partly right, but that implies that Power Macs are almost exclusively aimed at the Photoshop market - talking about a niche market...

What playing games is concerned : the same statement goes for the PC-market. Top graphic cards are very big business nowadays (maybe even more so than the processor market). There must be a very good reason for that !

 

[Ozi]

I hear you. If the prices stay that high for the next update I will definitely get one shipped from the US. I am sure it would cut $800 off the price and that is worth the wait. The only change you need to make is the power cable.

yeah prices in Australia have always sucked major balls. Its pretty damn annoying that we have such a HUGE markup: surely shipping in bulk across the Pacific can't cost THAT much?

Yeah I would suggest going on eBay America after a few months of them being out, and you could probably get one nearly new for about $2000 less than RRP through Apple Australia.

~ozi

 

[themacman]

Good and Bad

I really dont mind this update the dual 2 was so fast and they went up a half a ghz for the top model thats prety good, except it took to much time. The liquid cooling though is great news. If they put that in the G5 Powerbook then I personally will like this update because its a way for apple to show their new technolgy.

 

[macnews]

Can someone explain what the other technology is besides PCI-X? I thought PCI-X was one of the latest technologies and not proprietary to Apple.

I do agree it would be nice to get better graphics cards. Here's a thought - at WWDC Steve announces ADC goes away and then over night these cards get left out of the G5s. Maybe it is best to wait a few weeks before I buy... but if someone could explain the PCI-X thing it would be appreciated.

 

[mj_1903]

yeah prices in Australia have always sucked major balls. Its pretty damn annoying that we have such a HUGE markup: surely shipping in bulk across the Pacific can't cost THAT much?

Yeah I would suggest going on eBay America after a few months of them being out, and you could probably get one nearly new for about $2000 less than RRP through Apple Australia.

~ozi

No need for eBay, I will just ask a friend to send one over.

Interesting, I can get a return flight to the US for $960. Maybe I should just fly over and get one, it would still be cheaper.

 

[iggyb]

You people drive me insane.

.5 Ghz in a year is an amazign effort.

If you don't think so, you really need to do some research.

True, Apple is all glamour, but that's mostly Steve.

Behind it all, they are a technology company who must abide to the laws of nature. It's not magic.

.5 GHz in a year is nice, yes. However, Steve promised twice that. If he kept his trap shut, there wouldn't be such a backlash on the clock cycle.

The other complaints don't have to do with the processor. Craphole video cards are a big issue. Apple's touting themselves for video, and this is what they release in their high end machines??? Old PCI doesn't help either.

I can see why this was announced before WWDC. This would've been a decent update 6 months ago. Today, it's a letdown

 

[mj_1903]

Can someone explain what the other technology is besides PCI-X? I thought PCI-X was one of the latest technologies and not proprietary to Apple.

I do agree it would be nice to get better graphics cards. Here's a thought - at WWDC Steve announces ADC goes away and then over night these cards get left out of the G5s. Maybe it is best to wait a few weeks before I buy... but if someone could explain the PCI-X thing it would be appreciated.

PCI-Express is the new technology. PCI-X and PCI-Express were basically competing with each other and PCI-Express has won out.

 

[iggyb]

I was hoping for another machine between the 2 & 2.5Ghz range, but oh well.

I'm not real impressed with the update (except for the liquid cooling). Other than that, it's pretty blah.

Do we think that Steve would announce a 3Ghz at WWDC and hack all the people off that bought the 2.5Ghz?

I bet everyone will be waiting on the 3Ghz so it will be interesting to see what the sales of the 2.5Ghz are.

Steve will most definitely NOT announce a 3GHz. Apple is getting this update announcement out of the way, because it ain't big news.

 

[form]

I would have liked to have seen a price drop on the G4 OS9+OSX systems, because now they're even more overpriced than they were before, by comparison.

Good for Apple, I say! Breaking promises and watching stubborn, fanatical people keep buying what you have to offer...that's cool, man! Lying to the consumers every single time the CEO opens his mouth is teh pwn! Keep it up!

 

[Windowlicker]

these are ok I think... they should have 1gb of ram on the 2x2,5 though. and the 256mb has been ridiculous for some time already

what i'm interested in is how the liquid cooling works... I mean, it's not gonna have an external pump for it so....???

 

[zulgand04]

Nice speed boost, but disappointed that they haven't bumped the superdrive to a dual layer burner.

I don't see the point for dual layer at this point when, media won't be aviable till at the earliest late 3rd quarter, there will prolly be a update around christmas and then we may see dual layer and actually be able to use them.

-neal

 

[DGFan]

Well I wont be getting one, they use last generations graphics cards.

A R9800XT in the highend? What it the point, they should at least be X800pro. Apple had better be upgrading the graphics cards soon or add the X800XT as a Built to order option at WWDC.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

hold on a sec


HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Not everyone needs a powerhouse $400 video card. Just because you might be a graphics professional doesn't mean everyone is. Sure, it would be nice to see it as an option but let's not get carried away.

 

[klaus]

clearing some things up

They are ALL 90 nm processors.
Only the 2.5 ghz model has liquid-cooling
THe internal is largely the same, except for the somewhat larger cases for the processors, now they match the outside of the case.


anybody know if there is a speed difference between a 2.0 ghz 970, and a 2.0 ghz 970 FX?

It's known to be less hot (but then why the liquid-cooling?), and consumes less power, but is it faster than an equal ghz 970 processor?

EDIT: and something about the graphic cards. STOP WHINING! ever thought of the possibility that those new cards x800, nividia 6800 or whatever just don't exist for mac just yet?? Apple can't magically whip such a card up. They would want it as bad as we would but it's just not the case, the 9800 xt is the best they CAN give you, if you want to blame someone, blaim it on nvidia and ati who are not so eager to invest in equal manufactering of pc-mac GPU's