A 'Must Have' Tool for the Creative Designer... (Apple Power Mac G5 M9747B/A)

Member Name: agazad

Product:	Apple Power Mac G5 M9747B/A
Date:	26/01/05 (347 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Powerful, Well Designed, Forefront of Computer Technology

Disadvantages: None At All

I study Interactive Media Design; it involves a lot of new technology and requires even more! The PowerPC G5 is an invaluable tool, particularly for 2/3D designers, video/sound editors, scientists and researchers alike.

The new PowerPC G5 from Apple is by far the most superior and valuable tool for anyone within the new media industries.

We have two design studios, comprising 8-12 of these beautiful machines, primarily set up as 'top of the range', 'high powered', video editing suites, with twin 30" Apple cinema displays (these are also stunning, and a must have for anyone who takes video editing seriously). I have had experience with video editing on a middle of the road PC, which was not a good experience at all - I find that PC processors just can't match the power and reliability of the new G5's. I also have experience with video and sound editing on the iMac G4's, which do tend to struggle and occasionally fail with larger files. Video and Sound editing is flawless on the G5's, literally, these computers eat broadcast quality digital video for breakfast - by the gigabyte!

We also bought one of these for the family recording studio business along with top of the range 'Pro Tools' audio system. It works like a dream (Twin 1.8Ghz Processors, 1GB RAM, with standard features), and has the ability to handle multiple streams of superior quality digital audio, (tracks up to 96 kHz!), simultaneously! The beauty of the higher powered Apple Macs is their ability to process quickly, high amounts or volumes of audio or video. And the beauty of that; the Mac is the new hub for any recording studio… it can replace, and make obsolete, most of the kit normally found in modern recording studios! A broadcast quality recording can now be done on one of Apple’s PowerBooks (with suitable recording system i.e. Pro Tools) on location – it is truly portable and still retains quality with direct hard disk recording.

I am so impressed with these computers; they are super fast, super silent, cold as ice, can handle what ever you have to throw at it, it can even handle being dropped! Its design is (as always with Apple) beautiful and so very well thought through – have a look on Apple’s website (www.apple.com/hardware/gallery) at the Gallery for the PowerPC G5. When the solid (and quite heavy) casing is removed, and you look inside the monster, you might expect to find it packed with wires, cables, and chip boards? Not with the PowerPC G5; sealed and compartmentalized, its insides are laid out perfectly, and to top it off – covered in a snugly fitting Perspex casing (to eliminate dust build up!). For a starting price of £999 you can't complain. Apple has done it again – the perfect computer.

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Manufacturers Description:
Apple's PowerPC G5 is a revolutionary 64-bit desktop system designed to meet the high-performance, no-compromise requirements of the creative professional. With 64-bit power and a high-bandwidth architecture, this groundbreaking new system alleviates the limitations and bottlenecks of the traditional PC - opening up a wealth of possibilities for 2D and 3D designers, video and audio producers, scientists and researchers, and game programmers and players. All this performance begins with the 64-bit PowerPC G5 processor developed in collaboration with IBM and produced using state-of-the-art process technology. This breakthrough processing power combines with the industry's fastest front side bus, a point-to-point architecture, high-speed memory, and the latest I/O technologies. The result? The world's fastest personal computer.

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The Apple PowerPC G5 can be purchased from Apple directly via their website at www.apple.com.

The lowest spec model can be purchased for £999 (free delivery) but you must bear in mind that for the experience alone you should purchase an Apple display also (which range between £699 and £2,099).

Lowest Spec PowerPC G5: (£999)
1.8GHz PowerPC G5
600MHz frontside bus
512K L2 cache
256MB DDR400 SDRAM
Expandable to 4GB SDRAM
80GB Serial ATA
8x SuperDrive
Three PCI Slots
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra
64MB DDR video memory
56K internal modem

Highest Spec PowerPC G5: (£1,999)
Dual 2.5GHz PowerPC G5
1.25GHz frontside bus/processor
512K L2 cache/processor
512MB DDR400 SDRAM
Expandable to 8GB SDRAM
160GB Serial ATA
8x SuperDrive
Three PCI-X Slots
ATI Radeon 9600 XT
128MB DDR video memory
56K internal modem

Included Software
Mac OS X v 10.3 "Panther", iLife ’04 (including iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD and GarageBand), Art Directors Toolkit, FileMaker Pro Trial, OmniGraffle, OmniOutliner, GraphicConverter, Safari, QuickTime, iChat AV, iCal, iSync, Sherlock, Address Book, DVD Player, Mail, Acrobat Reader, Classic environment and Apple Developer Tools

Hardware accessories
Apple Keyboard, Apple Mouse, USB keyboard extension cable, DVI to VGA adapter, modem cable and AirPort antenna.

These machines are upgradeable as you know - you can have some fun and build up your 'perfect computer' with all its accessories on the Apple Store site... It's good to dream! :P

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Conclusion
In all seriousness, these computers are the forefront of modern computing technology. If you work or study in the field of new media, sound or film, it is a must have tool for your University, College or Studio. In my opinion, the way these computers perform, it would take something special to create a more powerful and useful technology. I think Apple have cracked it - you'll never have to buy another computer again!

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Finally, some interesting facts about the G5:

64-bit breakthrough - enables the G5 to break through the 4Gb barrier, supporting up to 8GB! Four times more than your average PC.

Bandwidth to burn - new high bandwidth system architecture features up to 1.25GHz frontside bus (thats one on each processor)... Maximum throughput at a whopping 20GBps! They've pushed the bandwidth even further with an AGP 8X Pro Graphics bus and optional 3xPCI-X slots, allowing advances in PCI technology - taking speeds from 33MHz up to 133MHz, and throughput from 266MBps to 2GBps!

High-performance I/O - Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire 400/800, USB 2.0 and optical digital and analog audio are all integrated through two 'bidirectional' 16-bit, 800MHz interconnects. Giving a maximum throughput of 3.2GB per second!

Whisper-Quiet - The G5’s enclosure houses four discrete thermal zones to compartmentalize the primary heat-producing components. Fans in the zones spin at very low speeds resulting in a system twice as quiet than the Power Mac G4. The dual 2.5GHz systems include closed-loop liquid cooling for silent performance.

8x SuperDrive - G5 now writes 4.7 GB DVD's at 8x speed!

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Thank you for reading my review of the Apple PowerPC G5. I welcome any comments you have to give!

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