The latest update to the Power Mac G5 note is very much an evolutionary , rather than revolutionary , effect . Apple made no changes to the invention , centre technologies , or the line ’s price point . What it did cede is faster CPU , roomy hard drive , beefed - up television cards , and a novel and meliorate double - layer SuperDrive .

Altogether , the change are hardly startling , and they probably do n’t justify a trade - up for most users who bought one of last year ’s Power Macs . But for new buyers , the pocket-size modification add real value .

Although the long - awaited 3GHz G5 crisp still lies somewhere beyond the apparent horizon , the new $ 2,999 Power Mac G5 add up unaired to it . This Power Mac ’s two liquid - cool down G5 central processing unit run at 2.7GHz , up from 2.5GHz in the previous top - of - the - line of reasoning model (; December 2004 ) . The midrange conformation , price at $ 2,499 , now has a brace of 2.3GHz CPUs , up from 2GHz , while the $ 1,999 base threefold - processor system went from 1.8GHz to 2GHz per processor . With the faster CPUs , the frontside bus — the channel that plug in the central processing unit to the system memory controller — also generate a quickening , because in these machines it ’s designed to run at half the speed of the CPUs .

( The one Power Mac unmoved by this update is the $ 1,499 launching - level exemplar [ ; February 2005 ] : for the moment , it still has a exclusive 1.8GHz G5 CPU , feed by a jalopy that runs at one - third the speed of the CPU . )

The treble - processor role model ’ higher clock speed translate to correspondingly better performance in the actual - living applications that make up Macworld Lab ’s novel Speedmark 4 benchmark entourage . Overall , the new machines are 11 to 15 percent faster than their predecessors . ( See how they stack up in the Macworld Lab ’s bench mark test ) . For those who prevail the most demanding Mac applications , the ostensibly small increment can make a big difference . For lesson , Apple points out that the young dual-2.7GHz Mac , combined with the latest interlingual rendition of Final Cut Pro , is the first personal computer ever to allow simultaneous , real - time redaction of two streams of uncompressed video .

One complexity to view out for : while the old dual-2GHz Power Mac could accommodate as much as 8 GB of RAM , the new one can hold only half as much ; likewise , the newfangled one ’s three enlargement slots are based on the PCI standard , not on the faster PCI - disco biscuit technology establish in the 2.3GHz and 2.7GHz system ( as well as last twelvemonth ’s 2GHz and 2.5GHz model ) . In these respects , the new 2GHz example more closely resemble its $ 1,999 predecessor , which had two 1.8GHz processor , than it does the previous dual-2GHz organisation .

Tons More Storage

All three updated fashion model boast appreciably large 7,200 - rpm Serial ATA toilsome drive . In the $ 1,999 configuration , surd - campaign capacity has replicate , from 80 GB to 160 GB ; in the two other system , it has jumped from 160 GB to 250 GB . Standard memory in the $ 1,999 organisation also doubled to 512 M , catching up with the pricier good example .

All three threefold - processor machines descend with a raw SuperDrive , which extend two advantages over the one in previous dual - CPU Power Mac G5s . First , this SuperDrive can read most DVDs and burn standard DVD - R discs at 16x , twice its late speed . Second , the novel drive is the first from Apple that can burn duple - layer recordable platter , which harbour a whopping 8.5GB — a big jump from the 4.7 GB capacity of single - layer DVD media . In concrete term , double - stratum discs harbour as many as 3.5 hours of MPEG-2 video , compare with 2 time of day on undivided - layer discs .

Anyone who uses optic media for patronage or archiving will appreciate the extra capacity of double - bed videodisk , but the big beneficiaries are video editor in chief working on long motion picture . Until now , if they require to send clients undivided - disk versions of big projects for a final feel , they had two alternative : beam their work out to a service of process chest of drawers or utilise non - Apple drives that are n’t directly compatible with Apple ’s iDVD and DVD Studio Pro ( see “ Dual - Layer 16x DVD Burners , ” April 2005 ) . Now they can burn professional - scale projects directly from the Apple applications .

A few cautionary notes , though : First , DVD+R DL discs , the double - layer format the newfangled SuperDrives require , are not cheap . At brick - and - mortar stores , packs of three typically go for about $ 20 . you could find abject prices online , of course , especially if you buy in bulk , but do n’t anticipate the kinds of bargains that are common for unmarried - level DVD media .

Second , do n’t wait blaze speed . The raw Power Mac SuperDrive has a maximal speed of 4x for duple - level burning , and even that — like all speed ratings on ocular drive — isn’t a very good templet to genuine - life story tan time . When we tried back up up 7.5 GB of data from the Finder , it took 51 min and 37 seconds to complete the problem , including check .

Faster Bluetooth, Bigger Screens

Like their predecessors , the new Power Macs offer a wealthiness of meshwork and peripheral connexion . A USB 2.0 embrasure , a FireWire 400 connector , and a phone jack are handily located on the front panel . On the back there ’s a dozen ports : two for USB 2.0 ; one each for FireWire 400 , FireWire 800 , Gigabit Ethernet , and an interior V.92 56 - Kbps modem ( now a $ 29 choice ) ; four audio jacks ( both analog and optical inputs and output ) ; and antenna connection for optional internal AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth scorecard ( $ 79 and $ 50 , respectively , or $ 99 for both , if ordinate at the time of purchase ) .

The only change here is that Apple ’s Bluetooth card for the Power Macs now supports the recent standard , Bluetooth 2.0+Enhanced Data Rate ( EDR ) . away from the late PowerBooks , there still are n’t many Bluetooth 2.0 equipment out there yet , but when they arrive , the young Power Mac bill of fare will be able to exchange information with them at three times the rate of older Bluetooth connexion . The degenerate rate should translate into tenacious life for battery - power twist and smooth performance if you have multiple Bluetooth gadget unite at once . ( For more on Bluetooth 2.0+EDR , see “ Inside Bluetooth 2.0 ” . )

Apple has also update the default option video cards in all three dual - central processing unit Power Macs . The $ 2,999 modeling , in which an ATI Radeon 9600 XT card with 128 Mbit of video store used to be standard , now has a Radeon 9650 card with 256 MB of video read/write memory . In the other two models , the Radeon 9600 with 128 megabyte of RAM is now received , replacing the Nvidia GeForceFX 5200 Ultra with 64 mebibyte of memory .

We did n’t detect any particular carrying into action benefit from the new cards — in fact , the dual-2.7GHz Power Mac with the Radeon 9650 wit delivered few frames per second in our Unreal Tournament test than the old dual-2.5GHz model with the Radeon 9600 XT card . The main benefit of the new card game is that they provide painless support for larger screens — in special , Apple ’s 30 - inch Apple Cinema HD video display . antecedently , none of the Power Macs , not even the top - of - the - assembly line model , supported the 30 - in Cinema HD without a $ 450 or $ 500 raise to the Nvidia GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL , a card that also had the disadvantage of jam one of the PCI or PCI - Adam expansion slots . You ’ll still call for that upgrade if you want to tie two 30 - inch Apple monitors , but if you may scrape by with just one , the Radeon 9650 will do the whoremonger at little or no extra cost . The Radeon 9600 , the card that ’s standard in the $ 1,999 and $ 2,499 systems , still ca n’t handle the 30 - inch display — it ’s limited to a paltry two 1,920 - by-1,200 - pixel display , such as Apple ’s 23 - in HD flat panels — but buyers of either of those simulation can upgrade to the Radeon 9650 for a mere $ 50 .

One historical Federal Reserve note : the new Power Macs score the pass of the Apple Display Connector ( ADC ) . All the video carte du jour Apple offers with the fresh Power Macs boast two DVI connectors . If you want to hook up an older ADC - based display , you ’ll need Apple ’s DVI - to - ADC transcriber ( $ 99 ) or a third - party equivalent .

Macworld’s Buying Advice

All of these car have strong merits and would be safe choices for multitude in the grocery store for a Power Mac . If you spend your days doing processor - intensive tasks on big files — whether it ’s applying image filters , encode video , or engineering genes — the dual-2.7GHz system may be worth its price . However , if you’re able to live with less than maximum public presentation , the other two models offer more boot for the buck . The dual-2GHz model fork over 82 pct of the public presentation of the top - of - the - telephone circuit model at two - thirds the cost , but it lack PCI - Adam slots and is specify to 4 GB of RAM . If those limitation nettle you , the dual-2.3GHz system of rules may volunteer you the honorable balance of performance , applied science , and toll .

[ Henry Norr is a former editor in chief ofMacWeekand a former engineering columnist for theSan Francisco Chronicle . ]