The year is 2003, I'm still young and looking to get a new computer. I am instantly drawn to the new G5's that were coming out, particularly the dual processor models.
As luck would have it, at the time I settled on a custom made gaming computer from Velocity Micro. Had multiple hard drives - raid 0 WD raptors, P4 3.6, a lot of ram, great nVidia card, etc. It was great for games.
That was the right decision for me at the time - but something about the G5's left a magically mark on my psyche. A couple of years later, in 2006 or so, it was time to upgrade - and I got an iMac, my first mac.
As time went on and I needed more and more power, I eventually got a Mac Pro - decked it out with ram, upgraded drives and video card, etc. I love it.
It almost quenched my G5 thirst, but not quiet. So what did I do? I went out and bought 2 G5's. I wanted 2 varying models to see how they were, pretty much going straight out enthusiast mode here.
The first was a single CPU 1.8ghz with 3 gigs of ram. The system obviously felt dated, and is fairly slow for even regular internet browsing, stumbling at the most simple of tasks. So I thought to myself; is this what the low end G5 was like?
Next, I decided to go a bit more into the G5 future, and picked up a 2005 dual core 2.3ghz with 8 gigs of ram.
Ah, much better. Everything is fast, responds well, even safari and youtube work pretty decently. In fact, if I throw an SSD drive in there, for everyday web browsing I can barely tell the difference between this G5 and my Mac Pro.
Obviously there will be a difference when you push them, the Mac Pro will win every battle. But for me, that's not the point of the G5. It is relieving an era. I don't want Lion on my G5. I want Leopard and maybe Tiger. On my Mac Pro, I want the newest - but my G5's are historical. Almost like civil war re-enactments, I want to reenact what it felt like to have a G5 in 2003, 2005, etc. They hold a special place in my heart, they give me nostalgia - they are not just a tool or a computer. The design, and what they stand for - just resonate with me. Power Mac- that says it all! Sure, I won't use it as my primary system - but I sure love going on them.
So my surprise is that this 2.3 G5 is actually pretty powerful. Heck, it's only a year older than the 2006 Mac Pros but the intel gap really dragged them down in history.
There is something about having more power, that can work just as well when you limit yourself to a certain situation. (In this case, the G5's power and environment.)
Anyone else with me?
As luck would have it, at the time I settled on a custom made gaming computer from Velocity Micro. Had multiple hard drives - raid 0 WD raptors, P4 3.6, a lot of ram, great nVidia card, etc. It was great for games.
That was the right decision for me at the time - but something about the G5's left a magically mark on my psyche. A couple of years later, in 2006 or so, it was time to upgrade - and I got an iMac, my first mac.
As time went on and I needed more and more power, I eventually got a Mac Pro - decked it out with ram, upgraded drives and video card, etc. I love it.
It almost quenched my G5 thirst, but not quiet. So what did I do? I went out and bought 2 G5's. I wanted 2 varying models to see how they were, pretty much going straight out enthusiast mode here.
The first was a single CPU 1.8ghz with 3 gigs of ram. The system obviously felt dated, and is fairly slow for even regular internet browsing, stumbling at the most simple of tasks. So I thought to myself; is this what the low end G5 was like?
Next, I decided to go a bit more into the G5 future, and picked up a 2005 dual core 2.3ghz with 8 gigs of ram.
Ah, much better. Everything is fast, responds well, even safari and youtube work pretty decently. In fact, if I throw an SSD drive in there, for everyday web browsing I can barely tell the difference between this G5 and my Mac Pro.
Obviously there will be a difference when you push them, the Mac Pro will win every battle. But for me, that's not the point of the G5. It is relieving an era. I don't want Lion on my G5. I want Leopard and maybe Tiger. On my Mac Pro, I want the newest - but my G5's are historical. Almost like civil war re-enactments, I want to reenact what it felt like to have a G5 in 2003, 2005, etc. They hold a special place in my heart, they give me nostalgia - they are not just a tool or a computer. The design, and what they stand for - just resonate with me. Power Mac- that says it all! Sure, I won't use it as my primary system - but I sure love going on them.
So my surprise is that this 2.3 G5 is actually pretty powerful. Heck, it's only a year older than the 2006 Mac Pros but the intel gap really dragged them down in history.
There is something about having more power, that can work just as well when you limit yourself to a certain situation. (In this case, the G5's power and environment.)
Anyone else with me?
I recall just how SHOCKED the world was, and even more so how impressed & quite Microsoft was with this machine and OS version, not to mention the humble nods from Windows gamers for the first 30days trying everything in their might to find fault at it. At that time these boards where on FIRE!!! 
