PowerMac G5 Reports and Benchmarks

[MacRumors]

PowerMac reports continue to trickle in to MacBytes.com.

- Barefeats has posted PowerMac G5 2GHz Cinebench 2003 benchmarks.
- Japan G5s to be delayed until September.
- G5 1.8GHz Cinebench scores.
- Virtual PC refuses to run on the PowerMac G5.

Surprisingly few new reports of 1.6GHz G5s have emerged, and no detailed Photoshop results are yet available.

The author of Xbench clarified to xlr8yourmac.com that the current version of Xbench is not well equipped to benchmark the G5 machines:

Xbench 1.0 uses the vec_dst instruction, in the altivec test, and the memory stream tests, which causes a big performance hit on the G5. I talked to some Apple engineers at WWDC about the issue and am working on a 1.1 release that avoids using vec_dst when running on the G5.
The new release should be out real soon.
-- author of Xbench

 

[Haberdasher]

No Virtual PC 6? But what about the incredible comparative benchmarks?!?

 

[Powerbook G5]

Nuts to VPC, I say! The G5 is too good to be running Windows Well, actually, I am sure there will just need to be a patch to get it working before too long. I cannot wait to see some G5 optimized benchmarking done to see just what these babies can do.

 

[mymemory]

Irony:

Getting a G5 Dual 2Ghz with 8GB of Ram
Run Virtual PC
Then play Solitarie

 

[idea_hamster]

Originally posted by Powerbook G5
I am sure there will just need to be a patch...

Oh goody! A Microsoft patch! It'll be my first.

I always felt so, you know, left out...marginalized...different -- and just because everyone I knew would be all "Hey, did you get that patch?" and I'd be all dejected, like, "No, my computer didn't need any patch."

Maybe MS will include VPC patches in their nightmare opt-out auto-patch system. Then we'll really be part of the club!

You gotta be -- what does Strongbad say? -- jockin' me.

(Not a flame on PBG5 -- just not looking forward to the "patch" lifestyle.)

 

[evolu]

Originally posted by idea_hamster
Oh goody! A Microsoft patch! It'll be my first.

I always felt so, you know, left out...marginalized...different -- and just because everyone I knew would be all "Hey, did you get that patch?" and I'd be all dejected, like, "No, my computer didn't need any patch."

Maybe MS will include VPC patches in their nightmare opt-out auto-patch system. Then we'll really be part of the club!

You gotta be -- what does Strongbad say? -- jockin' me.

hilarious

 

[tazznb]

Too bad there's no way

...around waiting until the software's optimized before rushing out there to do tests / benchmarks. This may prove to be misleading for the computer illiterate, or plain old FUD / FODDER for the ones that have an unreasonable bias against the platform.

Sad thing is that people that don't know any better will think it to be as true as the word of god.

Hopefully I'll get my dual G5 among the first since I'm in education.

 

[twinturbo]

Why's everyone running Cinebench on the new G5's, esp. when it's not even optimized for the platform? Photoshop's optimzed now, and no one is running PSBench7 or anything like that to see just how these systems stack up. I'm finding that very agrivating, cause there's a lot of anti-mac bantering going on (and I must admit I've been a bit disappointed in the results myself) around these benchmarks. So how about an optimized Photoshop benchmark to kick things in gear? Anyone?

 

[NavyIntel007]

VPC doesn't work? Not surprising. Watch Microsoft not even release a patch to make it work. Certainly MS doesn't want you to buy a Mac, especially when it's faster than a PC.

edit: or if they do I imagine it will be full of...

while(1);

so that you think your Mac is really slow but it's really just lousy MS crap.

 

[CaptainScarlet]

Yeah Yeah Yeah

Personally, I think all of the Benchmarks so far, are a bunch of sh**!!!!

And yes, we all know they are all not optimized for the G5, well then don't post them or make a big deal about them...

Give us really testing...How is Mail, how is Illustrator, how is PHOTOSHOP!?!?!? How long does iTunes take to rip a CD with 15 songs, to 256 kbps AAC files!!

That's what people really want to see....User testing...not R&D testing....


I'm still buying one, no matter what the benchmarks say....


CS....out

 

[etoiles]

yes, those cinebench numbers are not overly impressive... I got 110 on an 'out of the box' P4 2.4 which costs much less than a 1.6 G5 (which scored 158). So the P4 and the G5 would render about at the same speed at equal mhz. I hope optimization will improve things a bit in favor of the G5...

Personally, I couldn't care less for VirtualPC...

 

[NavyIntel007]

VPC is really a waste. I mean, you could buy a dirt cheap PC for $200 if you needed that one archaic acounting program to work... I really think that people are buying VPC for one or two or at max 5 programs that if they did their homework, they'd find other, cheaper equivilants.

 

[CaptainScarlet]

Originally posted by etoiles
Personally, I couldn't care less for VirtualPC...

I totally agree....The only reason I would even think of running this would be for Microsoft Access. That's it, if any....

Games?!?! Well I also have a PC in the house, just for that. And lets not forget about the P2 either....


CS.....out

 

[MrMacMan]

Waaiittt a second...


Didn't I see xBench Scores already on the G5?

Um....

 

[xtekdiver]

Originally posted by NavyIntel007
VPC is really a waste. I mean, you could buy a dirt cheap PC for $200 if you needed that one archaic acounting program to work... I really think that people are buying VPC for one or two or at max 5 programs that if they did their homework, they'd find other, cheaper equivilants.

Actually I just bought VPC; and I need it too. You see, I need to be able to write .Net code, but I don't want to buy a PC laptop, so I will run VPC on a Powerbook (WHENEVER THEY COME OUT!!!!) Sorry. Just a bit frustrated. Anyway, VPC will come in handy when my mean boss tells me I have to write in .Net instead of Java That being said, it will be interesting to see if MS will actually make the effort to support the G5 and just how quickly they will get an update out. So the moral of my story is: if the Powerbook updates turn out to be G5s I'm screwed!!!

 

[themadchemist]

Re: PowerMac G5 Reports and Benchmarks

Nice to get all the links to benchmarks in one post! Thanks arn.

 

[NavyIntel007]

Originally posted by xtekdiver
Actually I just bought VPC; and I need it too. You see, I need to be able to write .Net code, but I don't want to buy a PC laptop, so I will run VPC on a Powerbook (WHENEVER THEY COME OUT!!!!) Sorry. Just a bit frustrated. Anyway, VPC will come in handy when my mean boss tells me I have to write in .Net instead of Java That being said, it will be interesting to see if MS will actually make the effort to support the G5 and just how quickly they will get an update out. So the moral of my story is: if the Powerbook updates turn out to be G5s I'm screwed!!!

I'm sorry... I totally forgot about software development. VPC is definitely a great tool to port aps to PC. Probably even better for web designers to make sure pages render right in IE.

 

[arn]

Xbench 1.1 is now available.

Optimized for G5.

Waiting for new results...

arn

 

[dguisinger]

Originally posted by NavyIntel007
I'm sorry... I totally forgot about software development. VPC is definitely a great tool to port aps to PC. Probably even better for web designers to make sure pages render right in IE.

I as well have been looking at buying a G5 to replace my last desktop PC (Dell P4 1.5GHz). I do tons of MS .NET Development (I live and swear by .NET....), and thus need a windows enviroment to code. I know the G5 will run my Windows code faster than my current Dell, the only thing holding me back is the $2k i still owe on the machine (ouch...its 2 1/2 years old!).

 

[MrMacMan]

Is it me or do you guys think there should be 2 benchmarks:

Optomized for the G5 And
Not Optimized for the G5.

Look, right now most products are *not* optomized for the G5, so optomizing benchmarking is almost pointless.

Its giving the advantage to the G5 almost un-fairly.

You must expect they don't optomize to have a fair benchmark.

 

[DeusOmnis]

Can anyone tell me what the vecLib FFT test is? My computer scored EXTREMELY low in it... a 23.97. I'm running a dual 1.0 ghz G4 MDD and I got wasted by a Dual 800 mhz Quicksilver machine.

 

[1stunna]

hey guys, ill have a xbench score for a single 1.6 tomorow.

 

[windwaves]

"Surprisingly few new reports ..."

well I guess a surprisingly large number of people realized that the 1.6 is likely not a great leap forward from the dual G4s. And in any case I am not surprised at all since it seems somewhat clear to me that very very few have been shipped/delivered.

 

[daRAT]

Re: Too bad there's no way

Originally posted by tazznb
...around waiting until the software's optimized before rushing out there to do tests / benchmarks. This may prove to be misleading for the computer illiterate, or plain old FUD / FODDER for the ones that have an unreasonable bias against the platform.

Sad thing is that people that don't know any better will think it to be as true as the word of god.

Hopefully I'll get my dual G5 among the first since I'm in education.

What you said is true, this link http://www.theandyzone.com/Computer/shootout.html found on http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/ shows the AMD machine chewing up the Mac's G5 included.

However, if I hadn't read here that the Cinebench used was the old one, not optimized for the G5 I would be stunned at the results.

If you have the time and money, anyone can build a faster machine. I am waiting for real users to say what they think of the speed of the new machines ;]

 

[daRAT]

Re: "Surprisingly few new reports ..."

Originally posted by windwaves
well I guess a surprisingly large number of people realized that the 1.6 is a piece of c**p. Which, in turn, surprises me - I always thought that "people" never got it right

And what technical data or hands on experience do you base this informative opinion on?

The lack of "reports" ? I know if I had got one, the first thing on my mind would be to spend a weekend enjoying the new machine ;] Not running benchmarks. Give the users a week and we will see more.