The Power Mac G4 “Quick Silver” may be the first system ever to be overshadowed by the lack of other products: namely, speed bumps for Apple portables and a new iMac enclosure. But that would be a shame, because the new G4 is one mean machine.
The Power Mac G4 “Quick Silver” may be the first system ever to be overshadowed by the lack of other products: namely, speed bumps for Apple portables and a new iMac enclosure. But that would be a shame, because the new G4 is one mean machine.
Aside from being a beautiful, if subtle, update to the original G4’s enclosure (see our gallery), the new G4 packs a much more powerful price-performance punch. Even the mid-range G4 boasts a DVD-playing (4x), DVD-burning (2x), CD-burning (4x), CD-reading (24x) SuperDrive, a 256K L2 cache at processor speed and a hefty 2 MB L3 backside cache, and an NVIDIA GeForce2 MX graphics card, with an 867 MHz processor, all for $2499. All told, Apple has saved us $1,000-$2,499 on SuperDrive capabilities.
Upgrade to the high end for $3499 and get two 800 MHz processors, with separate 2 MB L3 backside cache for each processor, and dual monitor support via the new NVIDIA GeForce2 MX with TwinView, 64MB SDRAM in a 4x AGP slot. Downgrade to the “low end” and you still get a G4/733 and an NVIDIA GeForce2, for just $1,699, plus all the advantages of the G4 improvements introduced in January.
In already notorious tests, Apple has again demonstrated superior performance on the G4, with the G4 dual 800 running up to 83 percent faster than a 1.7 GHz Pentium IV-based PC, based on routine Photoshop 6.0 tasks.
We get up close and personal at the Apple Booth with the new “Quick Silver,” so check out its unearthly silver glow.
