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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
4.0 stars
"Beautiful and Powerful"
Pros: fast, multitasks well,ram support excellent, esthetically sound, G5 chip surprisingly versatile, 64 bit ready for future, OSX is a perfect 10
Cons: few USB ports, finding compatible PCI expansion card can be tricky, bit pricey
Summary: I got this computer and I can honestly say this has been the most enjoyable experience on a desktop ever.
Where to begin?
To start off, this computer looks really, really cool. Its clean and simple on the outside and inside. Access to USB and Firewire ports on front and back is a great asset and cannot be overlooked for ease of use.
Looks count for some things, but not for everything. Inside, very impressive, cooling zones keep the dual processors cool (also there is liquid cooling, but I am not sure which models carry that now) It a very nice experience hearing the fans speed up like jet engine roaring at the ready when the workload increases and the processors work harder.
That takes me to the next point. This computer is FAST. More importantly however, this computer multitasks well. (this is part software part hardware) I do heavy multimedia work (digital video, graphcis etc) and usually have several memory and processor heavy apps running simutaneously. No lag switching apps, (must say I have 2gigs of RAM) but more importantly, little lag when several rendering jobs are going on at the same time. The G5 chip seems to work more efficiently when heaps of work are thrown at it.
There are a few slightly annoying things about the design though
There are only 3 USB ports. Due to many peripherals, I had to buy a USB hub. Apple should have thrown in at least 2 more.
Secondly, I have had a bit if a hard time getting PCI cards that will properly work with the G5. I wanted to get a USB PCI card,but could not get one that either fit properly or worked.
Also, not so much Apples fault, because they are often ahead of the game, but such advanced ports like F/W 800 and S/PDIF otical audio in and out do not have much hardware support in the form of external peripherals or audio devices. Not too much support YET, however in coming year or so this should improve (will get a F/W 800 external HDD by then)
Most importantly, I have found OSX the best part of this computer.
I find it much more enjoyable to work with a OS that will work like you do, not the other way around. Windows has some great features, but Panther/Tiger (whichever you may have) is just too efficient, easy to use and beautiful.
Overall, 8/10. The Powermac G5 is definately one of the top 5 high end PCs out on the market.
FOR BUYERS unless you really NEED speed,multitasking power,extended RAM support, and high end ports, do not buy this computer. It is a bit pricey. If you do basic music/photo/video management and light apps like word processing and internet browsing get one of Apples' less expensive computers, because the only difference youll really notice is how much money you have left in your wallet.
